After the tasting, the after party begins. The usual members gather around the table, all pulling wine out of their lockers, and the battle to see who can bring the best wine to the table starts!
1966 Haut Brion – Forest floor and burnt toast with stewed raspberries and a slight cranberry that reminds me of the Ocean cranberry drink. Subtle beef jerky and wood spice with clove and cinnamon on the back. Long finish and lush tannins, with great balance and layers of complexity.
1988 Giacosa Falletto Barolo – Dried cranberries and barnyard with cooking spice on the nose. The palate had velvety tannins with a soft mouth feel. Green tea and ripe red fruit on the palate with a finish of crushed rock and almonds. After some time in the glass the wine evolved to show green cocoa and brambleberry with a hint of guava.
1990 Cos d’Estournel – This wine was a tiger in the glass with ferocious berry blend of red cherries, black cherries, raspberries, currant, plum, and fig. The nose had big forest floor with red roses and violets. The palate was a chameleon, changing every time I went back to the wine. Bold and toasty with a spicy pepper, dry tobacco, cooked cloves, and burnt cigar. Super smooth and easy drinking.
1990 Camille Giroud Echezeaux Grand Cru – Sour cherry and spicy red fruit set on top of chili flakes and lavender. Up front was the earth of schist and limestone, then came a secondary component of fruit included roasted blueberries stuffed with vanilla beans and muddled with mint and white spring flowers.
2003 Pape Clement – Fun little wine with bright cherry popsicle and unripe plum. The back reminded me of a sour watermelon Warhead with sweet and sour, making me pucker and smile. It finished with milk chocolate, red liquorish, and chewy tannins.
2000 Bouchard Batard-Montrachet – We opened this up with great expectations but unfortunately it was cooked…
- We got some to-go food from York Street
2000 Bouchard Montrachet – Honey and caramel with freshly bloomed honeysuckles and a fruitiness of orange peal, apricot, quince, and Asian pear. Very complex on the palate, with limestone, crystallized thick honey, maple and a slight oxidization, finishing with walnuts.
2000 Guigal La Moulin – Smoke and bacon with black pepper and chewy cherries. Quail stuffed with plum and cooking spices. This was a great wine but it was a little disappointing when stacked up against the Guigal’s we have had recently. I went back to this wine the next day and it had opened up considerable; apparently it just needed another 12 hours of decanting.