The fun of BWE

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Nicklasss
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The fun of BWE

Post by Nicklasss »

Tonight, I'll be happy to have dinner in Québec City, with dstgolf and his wife. My wife is coming too, so it will be a rapid trip, as we come back tomorrow, but it is amazing what we can do for BWE.

This community is very special, and I remember when dstgolf joined BWE probably around 2002. He was not participating to the board immensely and at the fall 2003, I organized a mini-offline in Montréal and invited him. On that Friday night of November 2003, everything changed and we were friends forever, doing wine dinner with also MichaelP, Jimhow, my brother. It was that special "little something", that "magic mist", like in Chicago 2001, that was there that night and made us unshy, friendly, funny, surrounded by Bordeaux wines.

Long life to BWE, and I'll try to post picture of tonight fun!

Up to now, I'm bringing with me two 1989, a Pomerol and a Sauternes. Need to select one more. . .

Nic
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dstgolf
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Re: The fun of BWE

Post by dstgolf »

Looking forward to tonight. Checked into the Royal William Hotel in Quebec City close to tonights restaurant La Girolle and relaxing watching the snow fall outside.

No question the friendships created on BWE have been special. I lurked on the outside from 2000 shortly after the site started with Jim calling out and Ben answering. Early days of the internet and bulletin boards. Just trying to learn more about my developing passion for Bordeaux and started to get to know the personalities without even posting. That first encounter in Montreal was truly a life changing moment. Danielle thought I was crazy saying we were going to Montreal in the Fall to hook up with strangers in the Plateau region at YOYO restaurant. Cold night,drizzly and huddled in the entrance with my wife listening to her say no ones coming! Then in through the door comes Jimmy How....recognized the glasses from postings!! Then Nic with his brother and Michael P. What a great night that went into the wee hours of the morning. Many similar encounters over the years and thanks to Jim and others who make this site so special. We all know the site is nothing without the generosity of the people participating though and tonight will be no different. Nic and MC we haven't seen often recently wife the gaggle of kids they've produced but I'm sure looking forward to catching up.

Wine should be good with 96 Winston Churchill to start and will tow a 2001 Leoville Las Cases for Nic. I know this is favorite Chateaux in Bordeaux and its the only vintage that I have left in my cellar....hopefully it shows well.

We'll update as the festivities get underway.
Danny
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JimHow
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Re: The fun of BWE

Post by JimHow »

Wow what s night in Quebec, PC!
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dstgolf
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Re: The fun of BWE

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Finally back in the room. Christmas miracles do come true. The BD Jimmy How made the trek from Lewiston Maine to met Nicolas,Marie Claude,Danielle and I in Quebec City. 5 minutes before leaving the hotel like a scene from one of the Christmas classics Danielle answers the phone in our room and the receptionist says there is a Monseur Jim in the lobby waiting for you!!?? What a pleasant surprise...like the kid waiting for ultimate surprise hoping that Jim would join us but...who knows. After seeing not a single posting on BWE through the day from Jim today I told Danielle that I'm sure that Jim is on his way to meet us and sure enough he was. What a great surprise!!

Too tired to talk about the wines at 3am but I'll say there was not a single disappointment tonight. Dinner and service was superb but the wine and company were simply too good to be true. Thanks to Jim,Nic and MC for making this happen. Notes on wines to follow later.
Danny
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Nicklasss
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Re: The fun of BWE

Post by Nicklasss »

Have you ever slept into a hotel room bath? It is not that bad actually...

No shit on BWE, only the truth!

Nic
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Re: The fun of BWE

Post by JimHow »

An epic night.
Danny, Danielle, MC and Nic all looked amazingly great.
What a night.
Long live BWE.
Having breakfast, now off to NYC.
Will report more when I have a chance.
All of the wines were stellar, really strutting their stuff.
The restaurant was A++, fantastic food and service.
And then there were the after-hour activities, until after 2am.....
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dstgolf
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Re: The fun of BWE

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Finally the fog has cleared in more ways than one. The drive home from Quebec City normally taking 4 1/2hrs took closer to 7hrs in rain/snow/fog and road closure/ detour on the main hiway home. That was the downside to the conclusion of a very special BWE get together in Quebec City following a fabulous relaxing week in the Charlevoix region. What a great time with everyone coming from afar to meet for a quick in and out rendezvous for an evening of friendship,laughs and of course great wines and food.

Nic and I had been trying to get together for some time and with us crossing through the region what a better thought than to meet on the way home before Christmas with our wives. Both of us worked in sync trying to convince Jim How our BD to take a jaunt up from Lewiston to meet us for the eve. There was no commitment but 5 minutes before leaving to the restaurant the call came to the room from the lobby desk that "a Mr Jim" was waiting in our hotel lobby for us. Nice surprise but after not seeing Jim post on BWE for the day I said to Danielle earlier that I bet he was on his way up to meet us and sure enough this magical night began. Jim with no Canadian $$s jumped into the cab we had called to take us to the restaurant booked by Nic called La Girolle. On the way in the cab Nic called saying that they would be delayed as their drive from Chicoutomi had taken longer than anticipated again because of weather.

After a 20 minute wait and a chance to catch up with Jim at the restaurant Nic and MC walked in and wines began to pop.

First up was an impeccable bottle of 1996 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill. Wow!! This was as good as it gets with fine effervescent mouse,lively acidity,lemons,green apple and brioche with a smooth long finish on the palate. Boy was this good and what a great intro to the night. With all of the great wines to come this was tops or a close second wine of the night for me.

Bottles started to open in succession initially showing some common sense then what the heck why not open them all. Waitress offered up Reidl style Bordeaux glasses at $2 per but there was no corkage at the restaurant so this was a bargain. Menu was a chalkboard brought to the table and the tough part was choosing. Everything sounded amazing and it truly was when dishes came to the table. Man I wish we could have this kind of food ,service and quality along with BYOB at home.

Table was divided with seared foie gras(thinking of Howard as we ordered!!) and Ris de Veau/sweetbreads and both were heavenly.

The foie paired beautifully with a 1989 Chateau Guirard Sauternes that was golden coloured and still full of life. Honey,apricots,pineapple and what I love is the snappy acidity with present boytritis in the background. Delicious with the entree and equally so with desert.

With the Ris de Veau I concentrated on a couple of wines back and forth between a lovely 1998 maturing Pape Clement and a glacial youthful 2001 Leoville Las Cases initially but quickly switching to 1996 Lynch Bages. Oh how tough it was to chose between levels of greatness!!

2001 Leoville Las Cases incredibly slow off the mark. No nose and muted palate initially. Hours later this opened nicely with brambly fruit on the nose,inky purple, and a little uni dimensional at this stage. Still eventually showed much better later in the evening than we all initially anticipated. This will eventually reward patience and was delicious in the end with our main courses showing classic cassis, a little cedar and deep dark fruit with nice length.

1998 Pape Clement was beautiful with cassis,brambly fruit,leather,tobacco and wonderful balance all in a very nice balanced place right now. This is definitely between its old and more modern styled Papes of the 2000s to come and I liked it a lot pairing very well with the sweetbreads.

1996 Lynch Bages. What can I say but this is a classic in the making rivalling Jimmy Hs 1989 wine of the century. Maybe a step behind but still classic Pauillac showing balance and poise. This is real good and still early in its stages of evolution. Cassis,blackberries,lead pencil and cedar closet all of the hallmarks are there and a wonderfully crafted wine pairing exceptionally well with the app and main.

Table was split again on their mains between filet mignon with pepper sauce and red deer with veal reduction and ceps. Both were amazingly tender,rich and beautifully plated.

As if we didn't have enough wines already going we got into a decanted 1989 Fleur de Gay which is fully mature but in a nice place...certainly not over the hill yet 27 yrs later. The nose was beautiful cherries and plums with same up front and decent length. Balance a little off showing heat on the finish which was odd seeing it was only 13%.

Nic insisted on trying a 2011 Calon Segur so late into our mains he popped and poured. This is amazingly fresh,open and balanced for such a youthful St Estephe. This was certainly a pleasant surprise and one to look for and/ or will reward those that have it in their cellars. Youthful cassis,cedar and a little vanilla oak but all nicely balanced. Thanks Nic for forcing this upon us as it was a memorable wine and show cased a Chateau that has been flying under the radar producing great stuff at still somewhat reasonable prices for Bordeaux.

Desert was split between creme brule and apple/pear tart tatin with Nic the outlier choosing maple tart with pine nuts. All must have been good because it was very quiet with everyone washing the crumbs down with the Gruiard.

The night was still young leaving in cabs at 12:30am with Nic leading the charge to a brew pub around the corner from our hotel. The crisp night and short walk did us all good. The last thing we needed was more to drink but we weren't finished talking about Jim's love life which spilled into Nic and MCs relationship which sparked a few flames ending with Nic sleeping in the bathtub for the night!! Another memorable and unforgettable BWE event. Looking forward now to the next event in San Fran/Sonoma.

PS I have no idea how Jim endured the next day travelling to see his girlfriend(s) in NYC suffering through the elements, prolonged border interrogation with that unabomber look and I'm sure 10hr travel time. He's going to be one tired spent man come Monday morning!!

There certainly are a lot of trailing stories to catch up on and looking forward to tying up the loose ends. Until next time.
Danny
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JimHow
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Re: The fun of BWE

Post by JimHow »

Reporting in from the road, heading back north from Manhattan to Maine.
Wow what a weekend.
Just ordered six bottles of 2011 Calon Segur from Kahn's.
Will report back in detail later.
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Blanquito
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Re: The fun of BWE

Post by Blanquito »

Add another epic night to the logs.

I thought the 96 Lynch was brilliant in DC '16, and I think you're right Danny that this could run with the 89 in time.
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Nicklasss
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Re: The fun of BWE

Post by Nicklasss »

Nice report dstgolf. Fit mine quite well, so palate alike persons?

I intend to sleep in the bath, and was smoothly installed in it, but MC insist that I move back to the bed. I said yes, but under only one condition: she needs to make everythings she can to attend BWE 2017 in California... So I ended up where you think?

Extremely tough to say which wine was the best, but I guess surely not my 1989, while it was very good and decent. My heart seems to go for the wine with a heart on the label...

i agree that the 1996 Lynch is excellent, but saying it is near in quality to the 1989 is like saying the Ottawa Senators are near in quality to the Montréal Canadiens...

:-)

Nic
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Nicklasss
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Re: The fun of BWE

Post by Nicklasss »

And yes, looking at all the wines, the best was surely your Pol Roger. Thanks again for that marvellous bottle.

Nic
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dstgolf
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Re: The fun of BWE

Post by dstgolf »

And we thought the night was going to end with romance away from the kids...in Quebec city and lightly liquored(well maybe not lightly) but I guess the tub won out!! :lol:
Danny
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Chateau Vin
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Re: The fun of BWE

Post by Chateau Vin »

Nicklasss wrote: .
.
.

Extremely tough to say which wine was the best, but I guess surely not my 1989, while it was very good and decent. My heart seems to go for the wine with a heart on the label...

:-)

Nic
Reminds me of the good coincidence of the words and the name....

The Prince of Vines, who once owned the Pauilkac first growths Lafite, Latour and Mouton along with Calon Segur and the land holdings which now are Pontet Canet and Armailhac was a great wine maker of his time, nearly hundred years before the official classification. It's amazing for one person having the ownership of such majestic properties...

He once said something like "I make my wines at Latour and Lafite, but my heart is at Calon". If I am not mistaken, that is the reason why Calon Segur has 'heart' on its label. That Prince of Vines was Nicolas Alexander Marquis de Segur...

Nice coincidence Nick, choice of words and the name...

Congratulations on a great BWE gathering. I have Calon vintages 03, 05, 06, 08, 09 and 10 along with a lone bottle of 82. Wonder what the style is after the property changed hands recently...
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DavidG
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Re: The fun of BWE

Post by DavidG »

Well done for the Great North Chapter of BWE!! Sounds like an epic evening.

Danny, great narrative, glad you made it home safely.

Nic, I envy the youthful suppleness that allows you to sleep comfortably in a bathtub, but not the circumstances requiring you to do so.

Jim, if an impromptu visit to Québec City to jeebus with your subjects isn't a sign of a great and enlightened BD, I don't know what is.

I enjoyed the TNs almost as much as the narrative. Of the wines, I was most interested/relieved to hear that the 1989 Guiraud was drinking well. The largest bottle in my cellar is a 6L of 1989 Guiraud, bought 20-some years ago in anticipation of my daughter's wedding. It's been a deep golden color for years, but doesn't appear to be getting any darker the last few years. Odds seem good that I will continue holding it for years to come.
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