I had the enjoyment of having my good friend Michael who lives in Bordeaux come stay last night with us. He brought his beautiful daughters and we were joined by Mark, a longtime friend of Michael's.
This meant two things ..1) Stu was going to transform into the BBQ master once again and 2) the wine will flow. And flow it did! Between my wife, Mark, Michael and I we shared 5 bottles over the course of 5 hours.
By no means do I conduct a scientific tasting in controlled circumstances. I break out the giant Riedel crystal, decant all the wines and enjoy with food siting on my deck. However, this is hoW people drink wine...not in a boardroom with a spit bucket and a notepad.
So what did we drink?
First we started with some homemade wine of mine. It's good for homemade, but was about to be waaayyyy outdone by some outstanding players.
Then I opened the 2001 Casanova de Neri ... possibly one of the finest wines I have ever tasted. It remains as the best of the evening by far. And just to show how little ratings mean, Wine Spectator gave this wine a perfect 100 rating and named it the #1 wine on their top 100 list a few years ago. Yet Robert Parker gave it a [still impressive] 93pts and Steven Tanzer a crappy 89! Is it a 100pt wine? Darn close in my opinion, but certainly not an 89. So you can't have too much faith in these scores. So what did this wine have going for it? delicious Stewed fruits (plums, berries, cherries, etc.), incredibly rich mouthfeel and very soft tannins. This wine had virtually no faults... sans one... I only had one bottle and this wine is impossible to get...sigh :(
Next I opened the Sassacaia 2007. This Super Tuscan reigns as tops, but to be honest we were all a little disappointed. Perhaps partly because of the incredibly rich texture and balance of the previous Brunello, but also it just was not quite there. The nose was fantastic with ripe dark fruits and berries, but on the palate it was sort of closed down. Now it is still pretty young for this wine, and although I did decant it it could probably stand another 5-7 years aging. Still I expected more for a $200+ wine.
On to the 2007 Phelps Insignia Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa. 2007 being one of the best vintages of the decade and the Insignia regarded as one of the best Cabs from Napa, I was hoping for big things. It didn't disappoint. A huge wine, with a heavy mouthfeel, ripe fruits and pretty hefty tannins, that I suspect will softened substantially should you allow this wine to age for another 5-10 years.
But wait, we have one last wine. A 2005 Chateau Talbot. This St. Julien Cabernet-heavy Bordeaux has a good reputation and hailed from a stellar vintage. But, would it stand up to the other heavyweights? A resounding YES! I was incredibly impressed by the wines heft and elegance at the same time.
So if I were to put these wines into order from best to worst (although worst is harsh for this grouping) i would have to go with the following 1--Casanova De Neri..2--Ch. Talbot...3--Phelps Insignia...and 4-- Sassacaia.
Oh and the London Broil and grilled butterfly chicken was good too.
So what are the most memorable wines you've had? Have to opened wines you expected to be fantastic only to be disappointed? Do tell!
This meant two things ..1) Stu was going to transform into the BBQ master once again and 2) the wine will flow. And flow it did! Between my wife, Mark, Michael and I we shared 5 bottles over the course of 5 hours.
By no means do I conduct a scientific tasting in controlled circumstances. I break out the giant Riedel crystal, decant all the wines and enjoy with food siting on my deck. However, this is hoW people drink wine...not in a boardroom with a spit bucket and a notepad.
So what did we drink?
First we started with some homemade wine of mine. It's good for homemade, but was about to be waaayyyy outdone by some outstanding players.
Then I opened the 2001 Casanova de Neri ... possibly one of the finest wines I have ever tasted. It remains as the best of the evening by far. And just to show how little ratings mean, Wine Spectator gave this wine a perfect 100 rating and named it the #1 wine on their top 100 list a few years ago. Yet Robert Parker gave it a [still impressive] 93pts and Steven Tanzer a crappy 89! Is it a 100pt wine? Darn close in my opinion, but certainly not an 89. So you can't have too much faith in these scores. So what did this wine have going for it? delicious Stewed fruits (plums, berries, cherries, etc.), incredibly rich mouthfeel and very soft tannins. This wine had virtually no faults... sans one... I only had one bottle and this wine is impossible to get...sigh :(
Next I opened the Sassacaia 2007. This Super Tuscan reigns as tops, but to be honest we were all a little disappointed. Perhaps partly because of the incredibly rich texture and balance of the previous Brunello, but also it just was not quite there. The nose was fantastic with ripe dark fruits and berries, but on the palate it was sort of closed down. Now it is still pretty young for this wine, and although I did decant it it could probably stand another 5-7 years aging. Still I expected more for a $200+ wine.
On to the 2007 Phelps Insignia Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa. 2007 being one of the best vintages of the decade and the Insignia regarded as one of the best Cabs from Napa, I was hoping for big things. It didn't disappoint. A huge wine, with a heavy mouthfeel, ripe fruits and pretty hefty tannins, that I suspect will softened substantially should you allow this wine to age for another 5-10 years.
But wait, we have one last wine. A 2005 Chateau Talbot. This St. Julien Cabernet-heavy Bordeaux has a good reputation and hailed from a stellar vintage. But, would it stand up to the other heavyweights? A resounding YES! I was incredibly impressed by the wines heft and elegance at the same time.
So if I were to put these wines into order from best to worst (although worst is harsh for this grouping) i would have to go with the following 1--Casanova De Neri..2--Ch. Talbot...3--Phelps Insignia...and 4-- Sassacaia.
Oh and the London Broil and grilled butterfly chicken was good too.
So what are the most memorable wines you've had? Have to opened wines you expected to be fantastic only to be disappointed? Do tell!