What a crazy night!!! It’s not a party until you bring out the big guns and we did last Thursday for our members for this year’s Graileys’ Holiday Party! As a 3 Liter bottle of 2014 Azur Rose was splashing around the tables, our beloved members were greeted with a 6 Liter- that is correct- a SIX LITER bottle of 1986 Joseph Phelps Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and wow was it showing at a beautiful place!! Blind this bad boy and anyone would have called it an aged Bordeaux. Talk about dried berries and tobacco!! The flavors were beautifully seamless; black berry, black currant and raspberry with chunks of gravel, condensed baking spice, leather, dried herbs, compost and dug up forest floor with wild eucalyptus and black tea. It was stunning!
Well one 6 Liter bottle wasn’t enough… In Graileys’ fashion, we opened another one- another 6 Liter 1986 Joseph Phelps that is! This time, Backus Vineyard. Compared to the Eisele, the Backus was big and meaty with sweet condensed, purely black fruit. Crazy rich, crazy huge, crazy good, but I enjoyed the Eisele Cabernet a little more.
This year, Simon changed things up a little bit. In previous years, our members discreetly shelled out their finest for a mega blinder for us sommeliers to conduct. Last year we blinded around 40 bottles of wine, which was a lot for any palate. This year, we turned the tables and our members who were the ones to blind the wines! After a flight of six wines, two white wines and four reds; great food; many laughs and more great wines, Simon announced the top three winners of our blind tasting.
Wines From The Blind Tasting
2012 Donelan Nanci Sonoma Chard
2013 JM Boillot Domaine Les Roques Roussanne
2012 Domaine Arlaud Chambolle Musigny
2008 Leeuwin Estate Prelude Vineyards Margaret River Cabernet Merlot
2006 Pontet Canet
1992 Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel
There were many terrific wines but these were the wines that shined throughout the night…
2009 Leroy Domaine d’Auvenay Meursault Les Narvaux!!! Holy Grail wine!! Popcorn, candied pear, caramel, pink salt, crushed rock, sweet herbs and golden flowers. Merry Christmas indeed!!
1987 Le Pin!! The holy liquid in the Holy Grail!! Sexy Sexy!! Opulent, dense, smoky goodness with beautiful rich red and blue fruit with soft, sweet leather, damp soil and the perfect amount of spice. No words on a screen will do this wine justice; this wine might go on my top 10 best of 2015.
1996 Emmanuel Rouget Vosne Romanee Premier Cru Les Beaumonts- Woah… this is still a young one! Ripe red cherry, cranberry and bright spice with a killer structure that could put any big boy Cabernet to shame. As much as I wanted more air to hit the glass, it was just too good not to keep sipping.
1982 Pichon Lalande- it’s ’82 Pichon Lalande- need I say more?
2011 Tusk- Tusk is my jam!! Rich, supreme fruit with sweet petals, licorice, spice and everything nice from Pritchard Hill.
The Many Terrific Bottles of the Night
1998 Dom Perignon P2
2002 Piper Heidsieck ‘Rare’
1993 Chapoutier Ermitage ‘Le Pavillon’
2004 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame
1983 Leoville Las Cases
2007 Jack Quinn
2009 Buccella
2011 Le Dome, St. Emilion Magnum
1986 Joseph Phelps Eisele Vineyard CS 6L
1986 Joseph Phelps Backus Vineyard CS 6L
1996 Emmanuel Rouget Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Les Beaumonts
2014 Azur Rose 3L
NV Jacques Selosse Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne
2009 Domaine d’Auvenay Leroy Meursault Les Narvaux
1978 Lafite Rothschild
2000 La Conseillante, Pomerol
1998 Domaine Ponsot Chapelle Chambertin
1982 Pichon Lalande
1981 Pichon Lalande
NV Krug Grande Cuvee Brut Champagne
2010 Quintessa
2003 Leoville Barton
2012 Domaine Arlaud Chambolle Musigny
2009 Deus ex Machina Clos St Jean Chateauneuf du Pape
2005 Araujo Eisele Vineyard Syrah
2006 Marita’s Vineyard Select Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
2009 Rudius Panek Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
2010 Domaine d’Ardhuy Grand Cru Corton Charlemagne
2011 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon
2012 O’Shaughnessy Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
2011 Robert Foley Claret Mag
2012 Futo OV|SL
2011 Tusk
2013 Guiberteau Clos de Guichaux Monopole Bizay, Saumur
2007 Monprivato Mascarello Giuseppe E Figlio
2004 Le Brun Servenay Exhilarante VV Brut Millesime Brut Champagne
2007 Vazart Coquart Special Club Grand Cru Couilly Brut Blanc de Blancs
2007 Arnaud Ente Clos des Ambres Meursault
2007 Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape ‘La Crau’
2005 Match Baconbrook Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
2010 Switchback Ridge Merlot
Krug Brut Rose Champagne
1981 Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve Magnum
2009 SQN The Thrill Of Stamp Collecting
2013 Antica Terra Botanica Pinot Noir
1998 Clinet
2004 Quiceda Creek Galitzine Vineyard Red Mntn Cabernet Sauvignon
2011 Futo Big Futo
2012 Domaine Arlaud Chambolle Musigny