AJ McClellan
Dave was ready to redeem himself and pulled two more bottles for us to blind while at dinner. We decided not to let Dave have all the fun and pulled a bottle for him to blind, too.
2006 Perrot Minot Gevrey Chamberton – We let Dave blind this one first. He got very close, calling it a new Pinot Noir, although I think the bright raspberries, cherries, and ripe plum with burnt popcorn and a slight smoke on the back made it all too easy for Dave to guess what it was. The wine was very complex with lively acidity and a long finish; this bottle is an absolute delight to drink.
1983 Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage – Now it was time to get down and dirty and try to figure out what Dave had poured us. Right after this wine hit the glass it gave off some roasted notes, resembling a wine that had seen some heat. We all looked at Dave, ready to give him a hard time for yet another cruddy bottle, but then the roasted notes blew off and revealed an excellent little wine. Light red berries on the nose with forest floor and compost jumping out of the glass paired with light game notes and big smoke. We had this with a smoked quail and antelope chili served over corn bread; it was a match made in heaven. The big smoke and gamey notes gave this wine away almost instantly. I called it 83 La Chapelle Hermitage.
1970 Chateau Bouscaut – This was the most difficult wine of the evening for me to blind. There was plenty of compost and funk to indicate Bordeaux, but there was also a good amount of fruit and the telltale iron minerality that always says old Cali Cab. After contemplating what wine I was drinking with a seared tenderloin and hedgehog mushrooms, D and I finally decided to call it Cali Cab. Simon went the other way and called it Right Bank Bordeaux. As Dave revealed the bottle, happy that he finally got us to miss one of the wines, D explained that the iron minerality came from the gravely soil in Graves.