Another BWE Sarasota Rendez Vous

[jal]

Jill and and I yesterday evening met Danny, Danielle and their friends, Claude and Darlene at a new Italian restaurant in town. While we both have been BWEers for over a decade, this was our first meeting with Danny and his lovely wife, and it was like we've always known each other. Great time, great food, great company, and the wines weren't too shabby either.
We started with a Laurent Perrier Cuvee Rose Champagne; a delicious aperitif, bright, elegant, with a fine mousse and good structure, Delicious.
With the appetizers, mine was a fantastic vitello tonnato, we opened two Tuscan wines. The first was 2006 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova, a wine James Suckling rated 100. Well, this reaffirms what we thought about Suckling, it starts awkward and hot with a lot of dry tannins but quickly settles down and the core of black cherries is very pronounced. It is very good with massive amounts of fruit and no subtlety but the score is ridiculous. 91, maybe 92 tops for me. I like the second wine, a 2011 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia Bolgheri more. Good nose of earth and black fruit, more complex and elegant than the Brunello, Claude says it's a bit young, Danny finds it monolithic, I like it, it has good core of fruit and a long finish but for a lot less, I can get any la Lagune, Smith Haut Laffitte, du Tertre or Calon Segur to dance circles around it. 93
With the entrees, we move on to the good stuff. The 2003 Pontet-Canet that we all know and love has a subdued nose but it's really good on the palate, none of the burnt flavors I dislike in the vintage, a lot of earth and fruit, but it is missing some of the complexity we find in the recent vintages of Pontet-Canet and doesn't improve much in the glass, 93 for me. The 1996 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron on the other hand is here to play. It's a wine I have really had trouble liking in the past, finding the first 11 bottles of my case awkward and disjointed, the last bottle I opened a year ago, though was finally enjoyable, and this one, that Danny brought is classic Pauillac. Nose of cedar, tobacco and led pencil, black forest cake like fruit, good balance, complex with layers and layers of flavors, long finish, it started slower than the Pontet-Canet but kept improving throughout the evening. The wine of the night for me. 94
We had an excellent evening, and it was great to finally meet. Come and visit BWEers, hope to do it again soon.

[Racer Chris]

I drank some of the '06 Tenuta Nuova in January alongside '14 Maybach Materium, '14 Macdonald Cabernet, 2000 Peby Faugeres, 2000 Langoa Barton, and 2014 Calon Segur.
My impression was that it was in the middle of the pack. I gave that bottle a 95.
Certainly as good as any Brunello di Montalcino I've had.

[Claret]

Jacques, glad the 96 PB showed well this time.

[jal]

Jacques, glad the 96 PB showed well this time.

Who knew that these wines needed patience, Glenn?

[Comte Flaneur]

Jacques thanks for the notes...I bet Danny had you chuckling all night..have you revised your opinion on the 96 Baron on this showing?

[jal]

Jacques thanks for the notes...I bet Danny had you chuckling all night..have you revised your opinion on the 96 Baron on this showing?

I did, Ian. The wine needed a lot of time, but it showed very well yesterday. Now I regret being so impatient, but so many other 96 left bankers showed so well in their youth that I just couldn't understand why the Baron was underperforming. It just took twenty years or so...

Hmmmm, maybe there's hope for the 2009 Grand Puy Lacoste? What am I saying? Naaaaah

[AKR]

Sucklings ears are turning purple when he hears you talking about him

[jckba]

Haha Suckling on the Austin Powers couch, one million points!

With respect to Casanova di Neri, it is a decisive wine which I think can be safely classified as modern given their use of oak and while I generally don’t agree with Galloni on wines, he did call them out in the 2010 vintage where he knocked the Tenuta Nuova and rated it a couple of points (89) less than the normale (91) whereas Monica Larner rated it 100 and the Suckling rated it 99. You have got to know on which side of the fence you sit on regarding oak usage.

[Nicklasss]

I can't believe it was the first time you met each other! Nice way to "break the ice".

I could have bet 100 $ it would be a great first time.

Nic

[DavidG]

Sorry we missed Danny and Danielle by a few days. Enjoyed the report.

[dstgolf]

Jacques,

Just climbing in to bed finally and exhausted. This has been a bit of a whirlwind visit starting in southeast Florida then up to Jupiter,across to Bradenton and now down in Fort Myers for a couple of days. The pace has been tiring. The golf so so especially after all the drinking and eating. I must say that I was feeling a little beat up on the golf course today and another evening with friends....

Last night was fabulous finally meeting Jacques and Jill after posting back and forth for years. A few nerves in the beginning but they soon passed around the table and the conversations flowed back and forth along with the wines. Jacques and I had never been to the restaurant before but my good friends Claude and Darlene(Ottawa snowbirds) had been several times to this new place that's only been open for 6 months. The pasta dishes shone with my tagliatelle funghi and the girls lasagna with foie gras and mushrooms was stellar.
Jacques summarized the wines nicely and the de Neri Brunello was pleasant modernized Brunello a little too hot, with ripe cherry fruit and a little too much use of oak but smooth. Tannins still need to come around and the wine will hopefully continue to improve but not close to a 100pt wine bringing the Suckers judgement into question. 92 pts is being generous.

The Laurent Perrier Rosé is always pleasant and a nice start.

Sassacaia always a treat on its own but is dwarfed in my mind when served at the same table with a reasonable Bordeaux. Over priced and unidimensional showing similar to a Cali Cab but this 2011 should continue to improve with time and a little youthful baby fat needs to be shed. Claude has had cases of this stuff and the 98s have been drinking very well at this time so I think popping this one at this time didn't do the wine the justice that it deserved. Danielle on the other hand loved it and it was her favourite of the night and she usually dislikes Italian wines so maybe I'm wrong!!!

The 2003 Pontet Canet started off showing very well and certainly no over ripe notes or charred oak as panned by this vintage. Drinking very well but lacked the layers of complexity and nuances that the Pichon Baron displayed. This started out strong but was fading by the end of the meal whereas the 96 PB just kept getting better and better. It was for me the star of the night and I know some have felt like Jacques that this wine has disappointed but patients is really paying off with this wine that is just coming into its own. Everything that a great Pauillac is supposed to be. Took a little while to open in the beginning but the nose was superd after 30-60 mins. Graphite,earthy,cedar,cassis etc etc. Nicely evolved tannins and very well integrated at the moment. Probably should have had this decanted well before arriving at the restaurant and this one would have sung right through the evening.

Another BWE success and thanks for sharing your time, company wine and most of all sense of humour. Too bad our schedule hasn't allowed a second get together while in the region and we'll have to take a rain check for our next visit to Sarasota/Bradenton.

[JimHow]

Hard to believe your paths haven't crossed in 18 years.
Another BWE offline success story.

[DavidG]

Sounds like you liked the restaurant, what was its name? We plan on an annual pilgrimage and always nice to have some good spots in your back pocket.

[dstgolf]

David,

Two good ones a few doors apart... IT Restaurant and Martini Bar on North Orange is where we ate. Pasta dishes outshone the filet that some of us had. Just up the street is The Rosemary that Claude says is a step above for food and service but always crowded. For this little BWE gathering we had a back room to ourselves, good service, reasonable stems and the night was ours. Good spot. Louis Modern also quite good.