dhammer53

Glad to hear that you're feeling better. Fairway has one flight of stairs. Hope that isn't a problem.

Do tell, what 2 bottles are you bringing? Do they even sell wine in New Jersey?

Dinner is at 6:00.

Below is the updated list:



Table 1

dhammer53 +1. Another wine geek.
jswong
UCBeau +1
sc flier and Mrs. sc flier
violist

Table 2

StockmanJr +1
abraxis
cordellis
Mrs. xyzzy +1 So far: 15.[/B]

Xyzzy

I'm sorry -- it looks like we won't be able to make it after all. For a whole pile of reasons this has turned out to be a bad weekend for us to attend out-of-the-house events.

cordelli

2001 Talenti Brunello di Montalcino
2001 Van Der Heyden Petiee Syrah

will be coming with us.

cordelli

This gathering was so much fun. Just wanted to say thanks for everybody for making it the success it was.

Then again, all that great wine for all those great peoiple, with none left over at the end of the night can't possibly go bad.

sc flier

2005 Cantina Terlano Müller-Thurgau
2007 Garlider Müller-Thurgau Valle Isarco / Eisacktaler St. Magdelena
1998 Beaulieu Vineyard Tapestry Reserve
1997 Beringer Vineyards Zinfandel North Coast
1995 Krug Champagne Brut
2005 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing
2004 Erath Pinot Noir Prince Hill
2006 Radio-Coteau Pinot Noir La Neblina
2002 Kilikanoon Shiraz Covenant
2005 Domaine Serene Syrah Rockblock "SoNo"
1997 Valandraud
2001 Van Der Heyden Petite Syrah Estate Bottled
2001 Piero Talenti Brunello di Montalcino Podere Pian di Conte
1989 Latour Blanche

cordelli

The evening's wines left over

<<this space intentionally left blank>>

UCBeau

As a wine geek, this was the highlight of my weekend. Talk about an awesome time with fellow wine lovers. Thanks to all who brought wine, it was so fun trying so many different things

Although, Jeff, I still don't see how you thought that Radio-Coteau was like a Burgundy

jswong

It's been some time since i've had any U.S pinots which are another world to me. Perhaps I exagerated and what I should have said is that compared to the previous wines it was the most burgundian (certainly I was more impressed by this wne than the other pinots and tasters). There were many wines that surprised me. I was most impressed by the 2001 Piero Talenti Brunello di Montalcino Podere Pian di Conte. Might be able to offer more thoughts later. (posting from SFO RCC on my new eee PC 900 isn't that easy)

Many many thanks to Dan for organising this. I shall try my best to get to next years. If I do I already know what I shall bring

Jeff

UCBeau

Bummer you aren't still at the RCC, I'm sitting here now counting the hours till I depart for SAN.


For next year's Wine Do, I personally wouldn't mind seeing a more equal distribution of whites and reds, maybe some white burgundies, gruners, kiwi sauv. blancs..

dhammer53

Beau,

You can start planning for Wine Do II in 2009. A new tradition to the SoupDo and BRT.
================================================== =========

My friend Cheryl posted her notes on the Parker boards. I added my notes below hers as marked with DH.
I'm not the wine geek that knows if a wine tastes like grass, chalk, blueberries or mocha. I do know good wine when I taste it, even if it's corked.

As long as UCBeau is around to add the professional descriptives, I'm ok.

I want to thank everyone for stepping up by bringing some great wines. Special thanks to JSwong for bringing the 95 Krug and the 1997 Valandraud.

All of the wines tasted were good, even the corked wine. But what do I know. I'm not 'in the business' (ITB).







Originally Posted by Cheryl
WINES FROM AROUND THE GLOBE OVERWHELMED MY TASTE BUDS - Fairway, NYC (6/22/2008)


2005 Cantina Terlano Müller-Thurgau - Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige
Interesting. First time I'm having this grape. Tastes like a blend of two things I know well, but can't recall. Slightly sweet.

DH Sparklie, slightly acidic, and crisp. This was $30 at Astor Wines in NY.
It tasted better than the 2007 below.

2007 Garlider Müller-Thurgau Valle Isarco / Eisacktaler St. magdelena - Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Alto Adige, Valle Isarco / Eisacktaler
Not as sweet as the first, apples and acid and citrus are the overwhelming notes on the palate here. Interesting, but not a buy.
DH Sweeter than the above, with a grassy nose. Nothing special $15.

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1998 Beaulieu Vineyard Tapestry Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
Others thought this wasn't ready, but couldn't argee if it was too old or too young. In any case, it wasn't ready today. Not a traditional big cali cab, but okay. "Burgundian" was thrown around a few times. I got a raisiny quality. Fine, but nothing I'd buy.
DH Smooth, easy drinking, tannic. Retasted at 3 hours - bitter taste.


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1997 Beringer Vineyards Zinfandel North Coast - USA, California, North Coast
Tannic, alcohol on the midpalate, a little sediment. Very nice and I came back for more of this one. But I'd have a young one before I'd have this again. This wasn't lacking fruit, but I like mine with a bit more.
DH Nice smell, slightly tannic, sweetish, some heat. Fruit. Held up nicely.
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1995 Krug Champagne Brut - France, Champagne
Yeast was the predominate note on the nose and the palate. I got this interesting taste of lemons. Not sour lemons nor sweet lemons as in lemonade. Just lemons. Citrus on the back of this. Many ooh'd and aah'd over this. It was just champagne to me.
DH I tasted the bubbles, but didn't see them. Very impressive champagne, as it should be at that retail. ^
Got better as the minutes went by. Yum.
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2005 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing - USA, California, Central Coast,
Santa Rita Hills

Now we get something with some body to it! Bright translucent cherry
color (whereas the ones before this had been burgundy with some brown
mixed in). Traditional Sea Smoke. Cherry, sweet candied flavors, but not
as much as last year. More balanced now. Very nice.

DH Nice smell. Sweet. Smooth. Full bodied. Ok to drink or hold. 10% syrah according to UCBeau. Many in the wine community say to let this rest for another few years. My guess is this will taste even better at Wine Do 4. I'll bring my bottle then.
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2004 Erath Pinot Noir Prince Hill - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Earthy!! Not balanced, not nuanced. Just E-A-R-T-H-Y with big capital letters. Hard to find the fruit behind the Great Wall of Earth here.
DH Typically light colored Oregon pinot. Smooth and tasty. I'd go out and buy this.
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2006 Radio-Coteau Pinot Noir La Neblina - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Oddly effervescent at first. This blew away, but was flat. Better after an hour. Some cherries, but not much else.
DH This pinot was very sweet and slightly tannic. Some syrah. I'd
pass on this. I was really looking forward to my first RC.
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2002 Kilikanoon Shiraz Covenant - Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley
This was the first opaque wine on the table. An Aussie shiraz that others said was elegant and balanced. I liked it, but would like to have had it alone to focus on it.
DH Disclaimer. I bought this 3 years ago on a day trip to Sydney.
95 RP. Nice smell. Fruit. Some tannins. Full rich color. Good w/ steak.
I've been anxious to drink this ever since 2005. Glad to have shared this with my friends.
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2005 Domaine Serene Syrah Rockblock "SoNo" - USA, Oregon
Corked.
DH If you didn't know this was corked, it was ok to a rookie like me.
UCBeau and SC Flier were having an interesting discussion.
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1997 Valandraud - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Lots of the french earthiness that I don't prefer. However, there was more fruit here than I normally find on French wines.
DH Anxious to drink this controversial, and expensive wine. $250 ish.
Smooth, easy drinking wine. Distinct smell. Cederwood, pepper, earth.
This merlot blend was elegant, but I wouldn't spend $250 on it.
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2001 Van Der Heyden Petite Sirah Estate Bottled - USA, California, Napa Valley
I don't know the price point of this, but it didn't taste as well-produced as other things on the table. There was particularly sweet fruit, even for me, which is saying a lot. The first red that didn't stand up to the others.
DH Nice smell, a grapey sweetness, and slight tannins. No big deal.
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2001 Piero Talenti Brunello di Montalcino Podere Pian di Conte - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
I am in the definite minority in thinking this had a short finish. This is the best Italian wine I've ever had. Mind you, I don't prefer Italian wine, but this was smooth and kep the traditional characteristics of that terroir at bay. If I'd had a full glass of this, I would not have minded.
DH A little tannic, with a nice smell. I thought this wine had the longest finish of any wine this evening. A solid 30 - 40 seconds. Goes to show you how people can disagree on wines.
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1989 Latour Blanche - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
This is not one of the better sauternes I've had. I like more sweetness on mine. Not much fruit here. Pretty light orange color.
DH Very nice color and fragrant to smell. Sweet, but not syrupy. Very
tasty. ^




For the sake of discussion, I'll leave out the Krug and Latour Blanche in
discussing WOTN (wine of the night). At Parker wine dinners, they rate wines.

My favorites:

2001 Piero Talenti Brunello di Montalcino Podere Pian di Conte - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

2002 Kilikanoon Shiraz Covenant - Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley

1997 Valandraud - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

2004 Erath Pinot Noir Prince Hill - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

2005 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing - USA, California, Central Coast,
Santa Rita Hills



And my WOTN is ... 2001 Piero Talenti Brunello di Montalcino Podere Pian di Conte - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino.
The long finish pushed this to #1. Thanks to cordelli for bringing this wine.

sc flier

Photos of the wine labels are now online.

Dan, we are now in possession of 2005 The Prisoner! It and a 2006 bottle shall now get locked up for a while.

UCBeau

Cool writeup, just goes to show how everyone's palate differs slightly. I loved the Brunello and the Valandraud for reds, and the Krug was outstanding. Dan's Kilikanoon was an amazing bottle as well, I'm thinking I'll bring an Aussie and a Burgudny to the Wine Do II, maybe the Mollydooker '05 Carnival of Love and something fun from southern Burgundy.

jswong

Thought I would post my thoughts about these wines

My usual disclaimer is that I find it difficult to assess a wine in these circumstances preferring to allow a wine to evolve over a few hours. The number of wines to taste that evening made this somewhat of a challenge. Also the line up was quite different to what I am used to especially given the U.S focus. Many thanks to violist for providing me with some context to many of the wines

2005 Cantina Terlano Müller-Thurgau
2007 Garlider Müller-Thurgau Valle Isarco / Eisacktaler St. Magdelena

Per volume I have almost certainly drunk more Müller-Thurgau (also Riesling-Sylvaner) than any other wine variety. Mind you this was mostly consumed in the 80’s from cardboard boxes although also though bottles such as Blue Nun, and many many New Zealand wines from that era (IIRC MT was at one point NZ’s most planted varietal)

That said, it was essentially plonk. Semi sweet one dimensional wine. Serviceable but without any potential for greatness. Never had Italian Müller-Thurgau so this was very interesting. Both were very clean, straight forward wines, but still undistinguished. There was good quality fruit but to me prove that MT is still at best one dimensional. I’d love to be proven wrong btw. This pair did provide a great start to the evening

1998 Beaulieu Vineyard Tapestry Reserve

I had rather higher hopes for this wine having been impressed in the past. Notable anise and cedar and it was surprisingly earthy (which I do like) The fruit and tannins did not seem well integrated and clearly this wine was not ageing gracefully. Medium length

1997 Beringer Vineyards Zinfandel North Coast

Interesting wine. Had very little experience with Zinfandel and essentially none with age. A little acidic for my taste and the fruit seemed overripe but I was very pleased to have tried this

1995 Krug Champagne Brut

Massively concentrated with strong peaches and pears (moreso that other vintages) with a colour to match. Yeast less evident than expected. Great complexity and finish. I’m, for the most part not a fan of Champagne but am a fan of this wine. Had a bottle of the 1998 VK at Kiwi Mainland Do November 2007 but this wine was significantly better (albeit served under far more optimal conditions)

2005 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing
2004 Erath Pinot Noir Prince Hill
2006 Radio-Coteau Pinot Noir La Neblina

Back in the 90’s I developed a taste for earthy acidic Pinots from Oregon (primarily Saintsbury) whilst I was in the UK. Had very little US pinots since but have noted the ascendency of Californian Pinots over the last few years so I was very interested in this

The Erath I thought had a nice colour and good intensity/body. Also I found the fruit quite pleasant although a tad unripe. A pleasant wine although not outstanding. The Sea Smoke to me was less “varietal” but more enjoyable. Better fruit ripeness and quite spicy/smoky. My first Central Coast Pinot. I enjoyed the Radio-Coteau the most of this trio. It had a massive heady bouquet and certainly was the most concentrated of the trio. Unlike the others I thought the fruit was very strong (summer berries) but perhaps this is more acidic than usual for US pinots. I also felt this wine evolved the best and was almost a different wine an hour later but remained nicely concentrated and very complex

2002 Kilikanoon Shiraz Covenant

First time for me for this wine also even though, for geographic reasons, I drink a moderate amount of Australian Shiraz. The colour put me way off with none of the black inky colour I expect. Very alcoholic but good balance although not overly complex. Absolutely delicious fruit with good intensity and just the right amount of spiciness. Clearly a very well made Shiraz

2005 Domaine Serene Syrah Rockblock "SoNo"

Not sure what I thought about this wine. Corked perhaps but only to the noticeable rather than intrusive level. Perhaps screwcaps are the answer. Somewhat exotic flavours. Medium body. Very pleasant but not great

1997 Valandraud

This was my third bottle and all have been somewhat different. Pleasant nose and lovely mineral and vanilla flavours. Moderately complex and a medium finish. Ripe fruit and to me just the perfect amount of tannins and whilst it was only 11 years old I believe will not improve further (although probably unlikely to deteriorate significantly over the next 10 years). Whilst I don’t have the vocabulary to describe it I just feel that this is an absolutely delicious wine!

2001 Van Der Heyden Petite Syrah Estate Bottled

Odd wine which is a little forward and somewhat unbalanced. One dimensional. Suspect this would have been significantly better consumed within 4 years of the vintage

2001 Piero Talenti Brunello di Montalcino Podere Pian di Conte

Lovely colour. Fine tannins and a good amount of acidity. Perfectly balanced. A very big wine although very easy drinking style. Long finish. I admit that I could almost have mistaken this for a great Bordeaux blend

1989 Latour Blanche

The bouquet in this was stunning. The fruit was delicious with lovely butterscotch notes and the acidity in good balance. Not particularly complex. A fine way to finish the evening

Many thanks to Dan for organising this. It was a fantastic eveing

Jeff

stockmanjr

Why don't you bring your mom along? I would think Stef's mom would be almost as awesome as my mom
Cheers
Howie

Gaucho100K

Nice wine event.....

But, no wines from Argentina....???