BWE Sacramento Cadre Sep 17

[AKR]

BillP hosted the western faction meeting last nighting, and an eclectic collection of wines were represented, along with some BDX.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/FMI7DrMvmV9uN1bp1

There was a lot of food!

Starters: shrimp, olives, crackers, truffle salumi, fresh baked ciabatta, Caesar salad
Dinner: prime beef brisket smoked for 12+ hours over oak, leg of goat crusted with fennel/lavendar, potato galette, green beans & mushrooms in butter
Afterwards: 5 kinds of artisanal cheeses and Acme bread, and a chocolate torte with ice cream and raspberries

People started with

06 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne [Champagne] Jenn had some but I passed/missed this. The bottle shape is crazy awkward, and apparently has always been that way.

06 Von Schubert Abtsberg Kabinett By the time I got to this it was pretty warm.

Then we had two blind wines

The first was very pale, almost rose in color, very delicate and watery. It had a little sweetness to it. People guessed it to be old Bordeaux, with estimates of it being a 60's era Medoc. When unveiled it was the 70 Lafite Rothschild [Pauillac]. One can see why critics were harsh on that era of Lafite.

The second was wildly different. It had a nervous edge to it, a prickle on the tongue and an aroma of unripe raspberries. I guessed it was a Gamay blend, which was just a lucky guess. It turned out to be 14 Ganevat 'Tout de Beaune Nature' [Vin de France] which is a gamay and friends blend made by the cult Jura producer Ganevat. They can't label it as anything other than VdF because the cepage is not approved for that AOC. It's interesting to try, but it is genuinely strange, and I don't think I'd want to drink a whole bottle of this by myself.

We sat down for dinner and had pseudo flights to go with the food. By luck, things paired up well in natural/interesting contrasts for our stems.

I started with the Rhone duo

97 Marc Sorrel 'La Greal' [Hermitage] 12.8% abv. A leaner, more iodine driven Northern Rhone. Its a blend of two flagship vineyards - Greffieux and Meal - so gets a fantasy name. It's nice, but starts fading as the night goes on, but is a good wine for the fennel goat.

00 Brunel 'Cuvee Centanaire' [CNDP] This is a very small production tete du cuvee that ones sees infrequently. I think I last had a 1990 maybe 10-12 years ago. It's very powerful, rich, and dense. The wife likes it. I know this is just selfish, but my main objection to this category of wine is simply that I'm unlikely to purchase them, so I'd rather the best barrels and grapes simply go into the base blend, improving that, and keeping the prices sane.

I then moved on to the brisket to go with a Sonoma vs. Napa cab pair

05 Dehlinger 'Cabernet Sauvignon' [Russian River Valley] One doesn't see this much/ever. I think it's 14.9% abv. Maybe the last time I had one was perhaps the 90's when I got one as a gift from someone on their list. (or maybe that was a Martinelli CS, another oddball rarity, these things get blurry). It's a big wine, lots of oomph. I pick up licorice here, but that could be aftertaste from the fennelly goat.

06 Dunn 'Howell Mountain' [Napa] This has a wax closure, which is supposed to assure the integrity of the contents. One winemaker participant said that it doesn't actually take any more labor to do that kind of seal compared to a typical lead foil. The wine was pretty good. I was expecting something tannic, backwards and generally tough, but perhaps this got decanted, or their winemaking has modernized. But this was good with the meat. I've not had any Dunn's in a long time but he makes two bottlings and this is supposedly his bigger one.

There were actually cuts of the brisket - both the point and the plate. So now we moved on to the right bank versus the left bank.

03 Pontet Canet [Pauillac] Big ripe strong wine. It doesn't taste like Bordeaux - it's more like the young California wines we had before. This continues to be delicious, and I suspect will drink well over a long plateau of maturity, surprisingly people decades from now, when other 2003's have slunk away, not having acidity to last.

98 Certan de May [Pomerol] This example showed a slug of pyrazines to me. A strong bell pepper element. Others didn't seem to get that, but it seemed out of place to me. Most good ripe 98's have nutty, chocolate merlot notes to me, but this didn't have that. I thought it was better younger.

We moved on to a New Wave Spanish wine

01 Numanthia [Toro] 15% abv I think. These were very trendy maybe 10-15 years ago and I remember buying various vintages, although generally drinking them up by age 10. They are big extracted wines. This was the most concentrated wine of the night to me. Still I think these are better in panel tastings, than in consumption by itself over a meal. Good wine to bring to a tasting to show people the top echelon of modern Spanish quality though. I can't remember if this a Jorge Ordonez or Eric Solomon import, but they tend to have a similar feel to their portfolios, so if one likes it, other wines from the same agent might be similar.

Then with the cheeses (I hope someone can fill in the precise kinds, I heard them but didn't write them down, but there were sheeps, goats, cows milk, raw ones etc.) we had:

03 La Tour Blanche [Sauternes] Orange gold. Glaceed apricots. Viscous palate. Very delicious, and I think the first bottle totally drunk up over the evening, other than the bubbly. Personally I quite like the 03 Sauternes, they are like (long gone) 1990 vintage to me.

Thanks everyone for the awesome food and wines. A great time was had by all!

[SF Ed]

Arv nails the notes (as always). He also nailed the lavendar & fennel goat, which was an amazing dish. Bill's smoked brisket is always a treat as well.

For me, I continue to be disappointed by the 2003 Pontet Canet. It isn't bad wine, but I would never identify it as Bordeaux. I have 6 bottles and while I'd like to think it will evolve like a 1982, I don't think I'm ever going to like it much.

The 2003 La Tour Blanche was outstanding. Given how great 2001s are and how little attention Sauternes get these days, bottles like this are outstanding value and drinking exceptionally well right now.

SF Ed

[Nicklasss]

Good aray of wines, and I wish I could have been there. Let say that BillP/Linda, Arv/Jen and SfEd/Lisa, that makes already a great evening, so imagine if you add wines!

I'm with you Arv regarding Ganevat. Many good review of his VdP natural wines, but to me, like you, they're weird a bit. Not bad, but surely not great too.

Dunn, probably one of my favorite in California, with Ridge. jean-Fred bought a 2013 Dunn Howell...

2003 Pontet Canet, keep talking about it. I'm not a fan of 2003 red Bordeaux at all, but I want to be amazed by someone who will be impressed by them. Missing freshness to me.

But when you think 2003 isn't that great for red Bordeaux, you open a bottle of the 03 Tour Blanche and... WOW.

Nic

[stefan]

Sounds like a great evening. Sorry that Lucie and I could not make it.

[JimHow]

BWE continues on, now in our 18th year.

Gotta start thinking about the annual convention in spring 2018.
I think it is time for the every-other-year celebration in the U.S. capital.

[William P]

First, many thanks to everyone who attended the BBQ. It was great fun and wonderful food. Thanks to Ed and Glenn for traveling some distance to attend.

Arv notes are hard to improve upon, so just a few comments.

The 1970 Lafite. Little if any fruit left, just structure and even that was not much. It appears to be a very slight wine, even in its youth. Interesting from a intellectual and historical POV but not very moving.

The Dunne was fantastic. Still some tannins but not the beast that it was in it youth. Has a few years before its zenith and it should hold for a long time.

The Pontet Canet, an excellently made wine yet as described above, a soulless Bordeaux. It has many decades left. I still find it enjoyable.

00 Brunel 'Cuvee Centanaire' [CNDP] Went perfectly with the Brisket. Concentrate and delicious CNDP.

05 Dehlinger 'Cabernet Sauvignon' I'm not a fan of Sonoma Cabs based on their early favor profile. Still this was a finely made wine. Well balanced. It's not close to maturity. A really strong showing.

03 La Tour Blanche Exquisite. What a great wine to end the night.

Thanks to all.

Bill

[Claret]

I will add comments later, but another fun gathering in Sacramento.

[stefan]

I had some good bottles of 1970 Lafite, but it has been at least 15 years since I last tasted it. It was never a powerful wine, but had a lovely nose, good balance, and was classy.

[Comte Flaneur]

Thanks for the notes and pictures! Sounds like a lot of fun.

Ed is pretty hard to please! Doesn't like Mouton, and now Pontet Canet 2003! Next he will be saying he doesn't like Lynch-Bages 1989 !!

[SF Ed]

Ed is pretty hard to please! Doesn't like Mouton, and now Pontet Canet 2003! Next he will be saying he doesn't like Lynch-Bages 1989 !!

I am tough to please, but 1989 Lynch Bages is a great wine.

SF Ed

[Claret]

Great night of fine things. Joanne and I enjoyed the 06 Taittinger, Lafite, Dehlinger and Latour Blanch the most. She also liked the Jura. I concur with stefan’s description of Lafite 100%. I guessed 74 Cheval Blanc and it improved in the glass.

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

In relative terms I have way too much Sauternes even if in absolute terms it is not a large quantity. It is nice to see the 03 La Tour Blanche in fine form as I have several bottles, halves I think. And it was very inexpensive as are the very solid 05s of which I have several 750s. I like the 03 Pontet Canet, regardless of style drift.

[AKR]

I think Sauternes is too often regarded as a special occasion / group dinner kind of treat.

Yet it can be very easily opened midweek, or anytime, as it keeps well in the refrigerator for a week.

If one was motivated they could even decant to a smaller container, or use a vacuvin.

But I think that's usually overkill as Sauternes is a vibrant elixir, that doesn't fade fast.

So I hope more folks enjoy it often.

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My favorites of the evening were the La Tour Blanche, and then the Dunn -- surprisingly.