BWE DC gathering tonight

[Jay Winton]

Looking forward to see Chris, David and spouses tonight for a fall dinner. Our local group has dwindled but we will do our best to keep the spirit alive!

[DavidG]

A long overdue gathering of our remaining DC BWEs made for a great evening at Dino’s Grotto, where the burrata, duck bolognese lasagna, cinghiale pasta, and lamb chop were among the many hits on the menuthat we sampled. Jay and Chris are regulars at Dino's and knew the menu as well as the staff knew them. I had to leave before dessert but there was a notable lineup of wines and BWEs.

2018 11 05 Peggy, Margie Chris David Jay at Dinos Grotto DC.jpg (120.16 KiB) Viewed 1539 times

Very brief impressions of the wines follow. Jay and Chris may need to correct any errors and fill in the blanks. All were opened on site, and the reds were decanted and enjoyed over about 3 hours.

2006 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne was stunningly good.

2014 Bouzereau (sp?) Meursault Perrieres - outstanding. I gave up on white Burgs due to premox but this is good enough in youth to tempt me to come back.

We then did a mini+preview of the upcoming BWE Denver flight of 1989s:

1989 Lynch Bages - drinking great and showing some nice complex maturity but it’s still not yet at peak. It got better with time in the decanter. This wine is a BWE Legend for good reason. I’d say Blanquito it but a magnum of this is being opened at BWE 19 in March. It will get some air time.

1989 Montrose - showing even more complexity than the Lynch, this is at peak and likely to stay there for years.The consensus "winner" of the two 1989s, but both were wonderful

1998 Palmer - yes, 1998, not a typo. Also excellent but not showing the depth or complexity of the 1989s. Jay said Jeff Leve commented that this is fading, but the ingredients are there IMO. It just needs to be Blanquitod once or twice.

I had to leave before dessert. There were 2 dessert wines which I didn’t sample:
1998 Muller Catoir Musbacher Eselshaut Riesling Eiswein
19?? JJ Prum ???

[DavidG]

Hmm, looks like the pic was too big. Maybe Mr or Mrs Vino can repost a better-sized version.

...

OK, resized - better.

[Jay Winton]

Quite a race with the two 89s. Montrose by a nose; or not? No issues with this bottle of 96 Comtes-young and wonderful. 98 Palmer in fine form and ran a strong 3rd. We didn't get to the desert wines-next time. A great evening.

[DavidG]

Some more detailed TNS.

2006 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne - France, Champagne (11/5/2018)
Nose has a great mix of lemony citrus and peach plus fresh baked bread. Ripe yellow fruits, bracing fresh acidity, sense of minerality, very concentrated and focused on the palate. Medium finish. Still young but showing more depth than last year. Will drink well for many years. Outstanding.


2014 Michel Bouzereau Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru (11/5/2018)
Pale yellow. Lemony citrus and minerals on the nose. Medium body, palate follows the nose, crisp acidity, medium finish. Excellent.


1989 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (11/5/2018)
Dinner at Dino's Grotto DC. Perfect cork and fill. Decanted and drunk over 3 hours. Dark red core, lightening at rim. Excellent nose of dark fruits, cedar, iron, just beginning earthy complexity. Full body, great palate feel and balance, medium-long finish. Outstanding but a half step behind the 89 Montrose, which was more mature and complex. Well-stored bottles of Lynch have still not peaked. This one was still on the upswing. Would expect more in another 5 years.


1989 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe (11/5/2018)
Cellared since release, cork stained 80% of the way up but no signs of leakage, perfect fill. Decanted and drunk over 3 hours. Red core, lightening and a bit of bricking at rim. Wonderful complex nose of black fruits, leather, earth, cedar, with hints of olive and greens to add more complexity. Soft on the palate yet full-bodied, dark fruits and complexity follow the nose, beautiful balance, medium-long finish. Fully open and ready but I wouldn’t rule out potential for added complexity over time, this should continue to drink well for many years. Outstanding.

It was given a stiff challenge by a well-stored 1989 Lynch Bages with a perfect cork, great depth, balance and palate feel, and emerging complexity. The Lynch was a half step behind but still on the upswing. Would expect more in another 5 years.


1998 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux (11/5/2018)
Dinner at Dino's Grotto DC. Decanted and drunk over 3 hours. Dark red core, minimal lightening. Mix of dark and red fruits on nose with hints of leather and spice. Not as effusive as the 1989 Lynch or Montrose. Medium body, firm structure, good fruit on palate, well balanced, medium finish. No real complexity yet but the fruit and structure are there. Should improve with further cellaring. Very good-excellent now with an upside.

[AKR]

That is some heavy duty booze

[DavidG]

Waiting for Jay or Chris to follow-up with notes on the dessert wines.
Perhaps they're still recovering.

Peggy and I stood out in the pouring rain greeting people for 3 hours at the polls earlier today after we voted.
Currently warming up in front of the fireplace and deciding if we're up for another round.

[Nicklasss]

Awesome. Miss you guys. Hope you voted the right way or we might never be able to go back to the USA as Trump inventing ennemies everywhere!

I hope I will be able to try the 1989 Montrose one day. I still remember when it was available for 150 $ at the very beginning of BWE... now, more around 450$!

Nic

[JimHow]

Love that picture....

[stefan]

Great picture, great wines, and, most of all, great people. Congratulations!

[Blanquito]

Such a great night.

[marcs]

Our local group has dwindled

(Ahem) feel free to invite me in the future!

More seriously, looks like a great evening!

[Jay Winton]

Our local group has dwindled

(Ahem) feel free to invite me in the future!

More seriously, looks like a great evening!

Sure. Please send me your contact info via PM.

We did not get to the dessert wines as we were satiated (believe it or not). Chris took both bottles home for a future event.

[DavidG]

Awesome. Miss you guys. Hope you voted the right way or we might never be able to go back to the USA as Trump inventing ennemies everywhere!

I hope I will be able to try the 1989 Montrose one day. I still remember when it was available for 150 $ at the very beginning of BWE... now, more around 450$!

Nic

Nic, I’ve made my feelings clear in the Trump thread. We campaigned for a first-time D running for state delegate in an R district. He lost but only by a coup,e of points against a long-time incumbent. We also campaigned for a D county exec who succeeded in unseating the incumbent.

In 1992, I paid $32 for the 1989 Montrose that we drank this week.

[Comte Flaneur]

Lovely picture of old friends.

Thanks for the notes David...I had my first of my £60 Tatt Comtes with Ramon who came over last Friday and we did a Northern Rhône dinner in his honour. I loved it and your note nailed it.

Super contest between Montrose and Lynch 1989 - bit like Ali.vs Forman!

[dstgolf]

David,

Looks like you had a great eve with that cheshire ear to ear grin. A few beautiful wines shared with good friends....priceless!

[Winona Chief]

Ok, Ok, I'll say something. We did not open either of the dessert wines - a Muller-Catoir Eiswein and a JJ Prum Gold Cap Auslese. And yes, David I do have your bottle and will hold it for a future event.

It was a great evening, getting together with old friends. The wines all showed very well and the food was very good at Dino's Grotto. No corkage charge either.

The 2006 Taittinger Comtes was excellent, very fresh and a bit on the young side.

The 2014 Michel Bouzereau Meursault Perrieres was just wonderful. A great example of 2014 white Burgundy. Because of some bad pre-mox experiences, I tend to drink them pretty young - 3-4 to 6-8 years depending on the producer. Also, I have pretty much given up on high end white Burgs - it's not worth the risk - I had a $250+ bottle of 2012 Criots Batard Montrachet that was stating to go over the hill two years ago!!!. I have been very happy with the less than $100 white Burgs that I have purchased in recent years.

Great showing by the 1989 Montrose - well into it's maurity phase. It has always been great and is one of my favorite 1989s.

This bottle of 1989 Lynch Bages (purchased relatively recently) was excellent but so young, needing many more years. Wonder if had been stored at 45-50 degrees. It did start to come around after a couple hours in the decanter.

I thought the 1998 Palmer was surprisingly good - in a really good place right now with some exuberant fruit . Very nice

A good time was had by all - let's do it again soon.

Chris Bublitz

[Tom In DC]

Looks like a great night! 1989 Lynch is what it is, and 1989 Montrose is one of the best wines I've ever tasted, better even than the highly regarded 1990 but I'm still kinda old school.

I concur that many white Burg producers are making wines that don't need bottle age. Regrettably, for sure, but premox is another "it is what it is" situation. These should still be the best Chardonnay grapes on earth, right? The pricing does make early consumption a bit painful at the high end (producer and/or vineyard.)

We certainly miss the DC gang and have been happy to get together when you've been in our mountainous neck of the woods. And we will certainly let y'all know when we're in back in the "City of Magnificent Intentions" (first coined by Charles Dickens) with a free moment.

[tim]

Looks like great fun!