Bon Voyage dinner for Tom and Gail (not long to be) in DC

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DavidG
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Bon Voyage dinner for Tom and Gail (not long to be) in DC

Post by DavidG »

The Baltimore/Washington chapter of BWE, represented by Jay & Peggy Winton, Chris Bublitz, Peggy and me, met at Ripple in DC to send Tom and Gail off on their next big adventure to Denver. We've been good buddies for a few decades and we're really going to miss them when they hit the road on Saturday. It was a mellow and warm farewell. I know Patrick and the rest of the CO wine gang will take good care of them.

Tomorrow is a work day so I'll just list the wines for now. I didn't take notes but should be able to add a few impressions over the weekend. Hopefully others will chime in so Tom and Gail have some familiar touchstones to shepherd them on their way.

Every single wine was delicious and strutting its stuff.

2004 Pommery Cuvée Louise
2006 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame

1979 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle
1979 Palmer
1982 Branaire Ducru
1982 Talbot
1989 La Conseillante

1995 Yquem

Safe travels and many happy memories to come, you two.
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Nicklasss
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Re: Bon Voyage dinner for Tom and Gail (not long to be) in DC

Post by Nicklasss »

Have a safe and good move to CO Gail and Tom. See you soon guys. But you should have choosen Québec instead of Colorado!

With that move, it make even more sense to go to Denver for a BWE convention (of offline) soon.

Great selection of wines David.

Nic
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Comte Flaneur
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Re: Bon Voyage dinner for Tom and Gail (not long to be) in DC

Post by Comte Flaneur »

Good luck Tom and Gail in your new chapter...superb choice of wines and good to hear they were all on top form...nice send off...
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JCNorthway
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Re: Bon Voyage dinner for Tom and Gail (not long to be) in DC

Post by JCNorthway »

Tom and Gail,

I trust the move to CO will be uneventful (in a good way). I do hope you are able to continue making it to BWE annual events, though it seems the only ones that we have been able to attend lately are in DC. I do hope our paths cross again in the future.

Jon
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dstgolf
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Re: Bon Voyage dinner for Tom and Gail (not long to be) in DC

Post by dstgolf »

A new phase in your lives. Now you'll be trading the red stuff for Coors Lite! Good luck and hope to cross paths soon.
Danny
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stefan
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Re: Bon Voyage dinner for Tom and Gail (not long to be) in DC

Post by stefan »

Congratulations, Tom & Gail. Lucie and I look forward to seeing you in Colorado, Texas, DC, or wherever.
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Blanquito
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Re: Bon Voyage dinner for Tom and Gail (not long to be) in DC

Post by Blanquito »

DC's loss is Colorado's gain!

Here's to a smooth transition, the 'moving' part of relocating is never fun, but hopefully we can assist in making the other parts fun. Let us know what we can do to help get you settled in.

Also, the timing could be good, as I'm just now organizing an offline at my place for 4/21 to celebrate our moving to a new house in Denver combined with the annual birthday wine party, etc. All BWEers are welcome to join in.
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Jay Winton
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Re: Bon Voyage dinner for Tom and Gail (not long to be) in DC

Post by Jay Winton »

A really fun evening all the way around. Best meal I've had at Ripple-the new chef is cooking up a storm! Thanks Chris for organizing and as David notes, all wines in a good place. I slightly preferred the Pommery over the Widow but both tasted relatively young with lots of potential. We'll miss Tom and Gail but know they will wine companions nearby.
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AKR
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Re: Bon Voyage dinner for Tom and Gail (not long to be) in DC

Post by AKR »

Moving to Colorado! like a scene out of Atlas Shrugged!
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AlohaArtakaHoundsong
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Re: Bon Voyage dinner for Tom and Gail (not long to be) in DC

Post by AlohaArtakaHoundsong »

I was in Denver just last week, which in one year in Hawaii is about as many times as I went to Denver when I lived in the Springs (ex-going to DIA). It is a happening place (dined at Acorn in the Source building--small plates) and a majestic one too. The Museum of Nature and Science has a fascinating mineral gallery. The city is unmistakably redolent of curing cannabis in the way that Kansas City is of stockyards (maybe imagining the latter but not the former). Having lived in the DC area and Colorado I can endorse the move without reservation. It's tied with Hawaii for my favorite place. Enjoy!
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DavidG
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Re: Bon Voyage dinner for Tom and Gail (not long to be) in DC

Post by DavidG »

I agree with Jay on the Champagnes. Both young. I preferred the steely acidity and laser focus of the Pommery to the softer sweeter Veuve.

The La Chapelle fill was several inches below the cork, but it was still fully alive and kicking. Plenty of fruit, acid and tannin, nice aged complexity. It became one dimensional after an hour or so in the glass.

All 4 Bordeaux were firing on all cylinders, with great complexity that comes with maturity, beautiful balance and great length. The Palmer had the most effusive, exotic nose, though over time the Conseillante began to approach it. The Talbot was everything I remembered of this funky complete Cordier Classic. The Brainaire Ducru was the most complete and most powerful on the palate. A nice reminder of its dominance at the 2003 NYC BWE convention where Tom as the Anonymous Benefactor brought half cases of it and a bunch of other top 1982s, including Mouton. Brought back a lot of fun memories.

The 95 Yquem was just a perfect cap to the evening. Everything you would want/expect from a great Yquem.
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JimHow
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Re: Bon Voyage dinner for Tom and Gail (not long to be) in DC

Post by JimHow »

The end of an era. Best of luck in CO!
We'll have to do a BWE event in Denver at some point.
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Winona Chief
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Re: Bon Voyage dinner for Tom and Gail (not long to be) in DC

Post by Winona Chief »

Sad to see Tom and Gail leave the DC area but hope to see them occasionally on our frequent trips out to Colorado.

As to the dinner, a great time was had by all as we drank through a number of BWE legends.

Both Champagnes were excellent - like others, I had a slight preference for the Pommery.

A couple 1979s (La Chapelle and Palmer) to celebrate Tom & Gail's wedding year. Both showed well but as DavidG mentioned, the La Chapelle faded as the evening progressed. Always been a fan of Palmer and especially liked the under-the-radar 1979. This was my last bottle, au revoir old friend.

Tom's 1982 Branaire Ducru was stunning and deserves its well earned place in BWE legend - probably the best wine of the evening. The 1982 Talbot was in a very good place with its wild animal flavors calmed down a bit from what it was 10 years ago. Easy to see why 1989 La Conseillante was a big hit in San Francisco - the bottle that DavidG brought was really singing a beautiful song.

The 1995 Yquem was wonderful once again. This bottle was a little darker and more mature than the bottle JimHow shared in San Francisco.

Chris Bublitz
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JimHow
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Re: Bon Voyage dinner for Tom and Gail (not long to be) in DC

Post by JimHow »

Well done. Well done.
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Tom In DC
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Re: Bon Voyage dinner for Tom and Gail (not long to be) in DC

Post by Tom In DC »

Finally getting a bit settled in the rental condo out here in Lakewood...

Thanks again to everyone for getting together for our BWE Mid-Atlantic swan song! We had a blast catching up with everyone, the food was really creative *and* delicious, and we had a few good wines as well.

Another one here with a preference for the Pommery - very lively. I've always thought the 1978 and 1979 Palmer's were in the same class as the 1983 and 1989, and this bottle reinforced this for me. My red wine of the night. The Talbot had plenty of Cordier funk, a good thing for me. We took home the last 1/3 of the bottle and the funk had completely overrun all other aspects by the next evening - pretty nasty, actually.

And the '95 Yquem proves itself a worthy BWE Wine of the Year, my wine of the night

I'll miss our (all too infrequent) get-togethers but we look forward to seeing any BWE visitors to Denver.

Tom and Gail
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