BWE SF Dinner Notes & Pix (Nov 13, 2021)

[AKR]

Album is here https://photos.app.goo.gl/YZAqxoSWLra7BT328

An elite cadre of Western BWE were able to meet last night at Piperade in San Francisco and many wines were opened, with much merriment. Thanks to SF Ed & Lisa for securing a fine venue which was accommodating with corkage and Riedels; it feels harder to pull this off on prime nights like Saturdays nowadays. There were many old wines, as well as bottles served blind so my comments are Spartan, given the pace everything was being poured at, along with my own consumption. Although there were a few cancellations, we still had a big group so the larger formats worked out well I thought.

Two Champagne led off - a hand painted magnum of 1996 Perrier Jouet 'Belle Epoque' and a 2006 Mumm 'Cuvee Lulu'. I found the Belle Epoque zippy and crisp, while the 'Lulu' was smoother, softer. The latter is a special friends and family only bottling offered privately at the estate. Hard to believe the first one was a quarter century of age...such is the power of aging in large formats for methode Champenoise.

We started with our first blind bottle, which seemed grapey, soft, and low tannin to me. My guess of what it was totally wrong. It was revealed to be an a relatively expensive Argentinean malbec, the 2017 Montervini [Mendoza]. One of the attendees had a friend whose family is involved in this.

Next up were two fine older wines from other regions. 1978 Clos du Val CS [Napa] Back in this era, this producer was better regarded, and their leaner, European styled wines more appreciated. They lost their way later, but 78 showed iron and chipotle like flavors. The year was a strong one in the valley, and the cabernet is good. Side by side was the 1964 Marchese Villadoria [Barolo] which was sweet, rich and wonderfully vibrant. I think the last time I had this producer was a magnum of their 1978 Barbaresco a few years ago. Traditional and long lived Piedmontese. I actually recently picked up a lower end Villadoria in the 2016 vintage, hopefully to be consumed before it gets as old as the one we had at Piperade...

A brace of Grand Puy Lacoste's went around the table as the impressive first course(s) arrived. 2001 Grand Puy Lacoste [Pauillac] was from magnum and showed good balance on a medium bodied frame. Saddle notes, and then cooler, and leaner than the other GPL. The 1986 Grand Puy Lacoste [Pauillac] seemed more savory to me, and had a linear feel, as it lengthened in its finish. I didn't note any unusual tannins (now). One of our more New World wine oriented fans kept going back for the 2001, finding it more in their wheelhouse than the older Bordeaux.

Two older, awkwardly shaped bottles were next. 1966 Gruaud Larose [St Julien] which was still dark and had a line of acid holding it together. The 1978 Gruaud Larose [St Julien] showed more sweet fruit to me, but as befitting the miracle vintage conditions, it had a short finish. But for context, to have gotten anything drinkable 40+ years later, considering how the situation looked in August of 1978, is amazing.

1955 Leoville Las Cases [St Julien] and 1978 Leoville Las Cases [St Julien] were next. I found the 1955 to have pruney notes, some cedar, and thought it extremely advanced. The 1978 had some celery, vegetal notes mixed in with its fruit but was all in all quite lovely.

As our main courses arrived, a 1966 Haut Brion [Pessac Leognan] went around the table. For my tastes it was showing too much VA. And then the 1964 Cheval Blanc [St Emilion] was sent around. This was a strong vintage on the right bank, perhaps comparable to 1998 in modern times, and the wines have endured. This bottle was not perfect, having leaked a little, but I didn't find it oxidized, and quite enjoyed it. Others who had tasted pristine examples of this top St Emilion felt that other experiences had been better. The usual discussion of Figeac vs. Cheval Blanc ensued, even if the sweet kisses of these cab franc driven cepages are getting rarer (for me at least). SF Ed laid out his reasons why he believes Cheval Blanc is making the better wine.

A blind flight was next, and was eventually revealed to be: 1962 La Pointe [Pomerol] which felt tight, thin, and lean. A 1955 Grand Barrail Lamarzelle Figeac [St Emilion] was next. Medium bodied and 'ok'. My first experience ever with this estate, which has some vineyards that were acquired from the more famed Figeac in the late 1800s. And then there was a 1964 La Croix St Georges [Pomerol] which was darker in color than the other flight mates with surprisingly dense lush fruit.

We had a number of unopened bottles and decided to stop with a final dry red 1990 Valoux [Pessac Leognan] which my only note is that it was zippy AFWE style. This was decanted and served. Notes by the tail ends of dinner start to get skimpier!

The dessert platters were served with the 1959 Suduiraut [Sauternes] which had a dark maple syrup hue, and thick viscosity, with caramel flavors. This was a case where a possibly riskier bottle played out well, as the dessert wine was quite tasty.

Most of the bottles were finished, surprising given the sheer volume of wine on the table, but people could sleep in on Sundays, and Ubers were sort of available in the City. I'm still debating over what my favorite wines were, but after further review would note that my favorites were the 64 Villadoria, 64 La Croix St Georges, and the 78 Clos du Val. I love that we're including a few blind bottles in events, it really sharpens the mental tasting acuity. Overall, even though I enjoyed everything, these were on the far side of tertiary aging characteristics, and I tend to favor Bordeaux with more vibrant fruit. I should note that many of these bottles were either opened/decanted ahead of time. Still, these peak years can keep so much longer than enthusiasts ever realize.

[SF Ed]

Thanks for the notes, Arv. I agree with nearly everything you said. The only major difference I would have is on the 1955 Las Cases. It had some VA but once that blew off, it was really nice with ripe fruit and while tasting aged was vibrant and delicious to me.

This was a very fun evening with a lot of old wines and old friends. The friends showed better than the wines - we had a bunch of truly great wines (e.g. 1964 Cheval Blanc and 1966 Haut Brion) that were not perfect bottles. But all the attendees seemed to be doing extremely well, which was great to see.

We got lucky with great weather, and Lisa did a great job of arranging everything. Hopefully we will be able to do something similar soon with the wines showing better next time!

SF Ed

[JimHow]

Thanks for posting, guys, interesting event, great to see the west coast chapter in full swing.

[William P]

Many Mahalos to Lisa and Ed for setting this up. It was a perfect location and as Ed said, a perfect "warm" San Francisco night. As he alluded to in his post, unfortunately there were a few bottles with VA. The 78's were interesting. Both bottles started strong but after mid-plate, they lost steam. I believe Ed or Michael mentioned this is the nature of the 78 Bordeaux vintage. I was shocked how together the Clos du Val was. Sadly, I was introduced to the beautiful nature of old Barolo. I'm too old to start collecting young Barolos and too poor to buy old ones. .

It was fun to see Tim again and I hadn't seen Peter's wife Victoria in years. Of course when I see Peter, Michael, and Ed, I always remember the 89 Haut Brion story of so many years past.

The food was great, the company better. Another great SF dinner.

Bill

[AlexR]

Wish I'd been there!

Looks like there were 12 of you, so you avoided bad luck with 13...

AlexR.

[Blanquito]

Great to see so much of the gang together! I remember Piperade well from BWE ‘17.

[Cabfan]

I have a few great pictures but after 20 minutes my attempts at uploading photos is an epic fail. Anyone have some tips?

[SF Ed]

I have a few great pictures but after 20 minutes my attempts at uploading photos is an epic fail. Anyone have some tips?

Upload them somewhere else (like Arv linked to a Google Photos album) and then post the link. That's the easiest/quickest way to let us see your photos.

SF Ed

[dstgolf]

Great to see some familiar faces connecting over a few bottles of grape juice. Lots of smiles all around and feeling envious. Thanks for sharing the photos, notes and memories.

[tim]

Was great to see everyone again. Agreed that the company was better than the wines, but I did think there were a few standouts on the fermented grape juice. In particular, the 2001 Magnum of GPL was in a great place. Great to see everyone, I hope we can do this more regularly!

[Michael-P]

Great summary by Arv (thanks!) that I mostly agree with.

My WOTN was the Barolo (yes, I know this is "B"WE and the "B" is not Barolo). My second was the Perrier. I thought the Cheval was thick and port like, not maderized, but mostly linear. I've had a few 66 HBs and this one was not singing like others I'd had.

Wonderful people, which is what it's really all about, and all the wines were good and drinkable (as Arv noted, most bottles were finished). A big thanks to Lisa for organizing everything and we were sad she couldn't make it. We need to do this more often.

Michael-P

[stefan]

Lucie and I hated not seeing ya'll. Soon, we hope.

[Nicklasss]

The SF BWEers made it again! Seems like a nice dinner and i'm always happy to learn everyone are in shape.

I guess that it is normal that aged Bordeaux always come with higher risks. I would have been interested by the 2 LLC, as one of my favorite producer, never had 55 and to see where the 78 is at. This last one i had already 3 times, but can't remember when was last time.

Look like the Barolo was anice one. I have a few Barolo but will i wait that long before opening? Don't think i'll be able. I had a few 2002 Perrier-Jouet Belle Époque in the past, and really like them.