Saturday's offline

Post Reply
User avatar
William P
Posts: 1210
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:43 pm
Location: Sacramento, CA
Contact:

Saturday's offline

Post by William P »

So Arv, Jenn, Glenn, Linda and I enjoyed a lovely gathering on Saturday evening.

We started with cheeses and a pinot. The opener was Roche de Bellene 2009 Taille Pied. A very structured wine, far too young to be anything other than an experimental tasting. Dark, tight with some minerality. Try this in seven years.

1999 La Clusiere. Nice right banker. Good concentration, full bodied. A little flabby but not to the point of annoyance. Decent length. I don't think this was worth the tariff that I paid but an enjoyable even in the company of very special wines.

Next was the 1982 Calon Segur. Dare I say this was an atypical 82. I am used to the Grand Puy Lacoste, Lynch Bages, and Sociando. I submit the 82s I know are the warm weather, big fruit but super structure wines. The Segur was still fresh with nice acid. Tannins are resolved, but velvet is not in it's lexicon. It's lean, minerals and structure. It's old school but not without old school charm.

Then the 1990 Montrose. This is big wine. Fruit and good structure. Tannins are resolving but hardly gone. My one criticism was that it lacked precision or focus. It seemed a little overweight. Wonderfully long finish. Again it's a great wine but not as good as the next one.

My favorite was the 1989 Montrose. Not as concentrated as the 1990, but it seemed to be more focused and balanced. It also has years to go. Nice acidity, tannins are resolving but I would say they are not mature. Nice long finish. Again all the wine were special but 1989 was my choice of the night.

The smoked duck tasted wonderful but it was too tough, which I am sure my guests would not admit. It did make incredible soup. I will have to try this again maybe cook it a bit longer.

The last wine was brought by Arv and it was a Chenin Blanc Loire dessert wine. It went well with the chocolate torte. I think by that time i was burnt. In all it was a great evening with friends.
Last edited by William P on Thu Oct 11, 2012 2:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Ramon_NYC
Posts: 810
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 12:29 am
Contact:

Re: Saturday's offline

Post by Ramon_NYC »

Thanks for the notes. Looks like a fun offline with terrific wines. Great to read about everybody there, including Arv, Jenn and Glenn.

In the few instances that I've had the chace to compare, I've always preferred the '89 Montrose to the '90 Montrose. One of the glitches that i've experienced with these Montrose have been the presence of brett in some and not in all bottles. More so in some of the 1990 versions that I've drank. However, there was 1 offline where a pristine 1990 Montrose was hands-down the great wine that it was purported to be and it bested the 1989.
User avatar
William P
Posts: 1210
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:43 pm
Location: Sacramento, CA
Contact:

Re: Saturday's offline

Post by William P »

None of the bottles could be called brette bombs. I thought there was a little barnyard in the 1990 but I didn't not feel it was a flaw. Again, these were wonderful wines but when I compare them, I tend to over-emphasize the negative in order to reach some conclusion. All the bordeaux were a pleasure to drink and if you own them, you will enjoy them.
Last edited by William P on Thu Oct 11, 2012 3:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
stefan
Posts: 6224
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:08 pm
Location: College Station, TX
Contact:

Re: Saturday's offline

Post by stefan »

Good wine; good food; good company. That is what BWE is all about.
User avatar
Nicklasss
Posts: 6384
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:25 pm
Contact:

Re: Saturday's offline

Post by Nicklasss »

Thanks for sharing.

I did not had any of those wines, but hope someday, I'll try the 1989 and 1990 Montrose.

Nic
User avatar
William P
Posts: 1210
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:43 pm
Location: Sacramento, CA
Contact:

Re: Saturday's offline

Post by William P »

As some may know, La Clusiere was folded into Pavie in 2001.
User avatar
Claret
Posts: 1143
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:16 pm
Location: Reno, NV
Contact:

Re: Saturday's offline

Post by Claret »

Back online again.

That was a fun evening with good food, wines and of course company. Bill the duck was very good and I am sure the soup was wonderful too. There is some fine dim sum to be had in Sacramento as we gorged ourselves the next morning. And of course the Sunday morning farmers market under the freeway is uterley amazing, brimming with the fresh diverse bounty of the central valley of California.

I found the Clusiere to be typical of 1999, ripe and fruity. The Calon Segur was a fine mature 1982.

Onto the Montose. I preferred the nose on the 1990 and and the flavors of the 1989. These are both big wines that will age longer.

Being a Chenin Blanc fan I enoyed the dessert wine.
Glenn
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 13 guests