Some of you will no doubt have seen this post over on the Wine Spectator board, where I put it up as my 1000th post, so apologies for the repetition but I really wanted to post here for discussion as well.

About BAWE:

GATC and I first ‘met’ a little over six months ago on the Squires board, where I was lamenting the fact that there didn’t seem to be any organized tasting groups in our area. I never thought at the time that this chance encounter would result in our creating what was to become the Bay Area Wine Explorers, a simply marvelous group of passionate wine lovers with unbounded enthusiasm for the subject. Honestly, neither of us knew the first thing about creating a tasting group! But someone’s got to take the first step – so off we went, stumbling along with some great ideas, but no experience.

GATC first suggested to me that I should come over to the Wine Spectator forum, that our cause might get more play there. He could not have been more correct, and within a few days our idea took hold, enough interest was generated, and BAWE was born. I can think of no other medium were something like this could be possible. The unique ability of the forum, and the web, to bring together people from diverse backgrounds and experience, from all walks of life, but with a shared common interest, is extraordinary.

Six months later BAWE is going stronger than ever, and we concluded our 2002 tasting events yesterday, Sunday, Dec. 15th with the theme of a “high end” tasting. What is high end? We left that open to personal interpretation, whatever fits into member’s individual definition according to their own tastes and wine budget. We tasted some amazing wines…

A fortunate lull between two of the largest storms of the season set the backdrop for the December gathering of BAWE. The gloom outside however had no discernable impact on the spirited and lively participation inside, where 17 BAWE’ers debated, discussed, swirled, and rarely spit, some of the finest wines ever poured at one our events. Great food, great company, and wonderful surroundings (thanks GATC!) made for a great afternoon.

Flight #1 was a casual, walk around flight of six Rieslings, all generously provided by GATC. This was a blind tasting, and consisted of the following:

• 2001 J.J. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese (Mosel) $28.00
  
• 2001 Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermanshohle Spatlese (Nahe) WA98, +++, $39.95
  
• 2001 J.J. Christoffel Urziger Wurzgarten Auslese (Mosel), ++, $29.95
  
• 2001 Muller-Catoir Haardter Burgergarten (2134) Spatlese (Pfalz), +++, $31.99
  
• 2001 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Spatlese (Mosel), $29.95
  
• 2000 Leeuwin Estate Artist Series Margaret River (Australia), $20.00

Having little experience with Riesling, the only one of the lineup I could correctly identify was the Leeuwin, which was quite distinctly different from the rest of the lineup, showing completely dry (all the others had noticeable residual sugar). The overwhelming winner of the flight was the J. J. Prum, getting far more first place votes than any other. Second place went to the Donnhoff. My brief notes:

Prum: A WOW nose, intense mineral, stone, earth and citrus, mild sweetness, impeccable balance and a long, lingering finish. Excellent.

Donnhoff: Nice mineral on the nose, very creamy and lush, good acidity balancing the mild sweetness, long finish. Excellent.

J. J. Christoffel: Very pale in color, great citrus notes along with mineral and a huge, creamy palate. Very good.

Muller-Catoir: Huge nose, rich, creamy, and voluptuous, maybe the highest RS of the group, mild citrus notes, very good.

Fritz Haag: Great nose, tight and maybe a bit closed still. Good acidity and well balanced sweetness. Very good.

Leeuwin: Huge petrol component along with grapefruit. Very dry, rich, but a bit ‘gritty’ on the palate. Ok.

All the German wines were excellent, and it should be noted that they probably still needed more time to open up. I noticed Glenn kept going back throughout the evening and re-tasting, commenting that they just kept getting better and better.

Insert some nice sparkling wine here, the Iron Horse Brut Cuvee (very dry, very nice) and Acacia Brut (superb), sorry – didn’t take detailed notes here.
----
The first sit down flight was comprised of the only two Pinots (both Burgundies), and all four pre-1990 Bordeaux, including the clear WINE OF THE NIGHT, the 1986 Lafite.

• Dark red core with slight bricking, mature nose showing violets, dried roses, cherries, and a touch of cola. Elegant, rich, soft, and refined, a terrific wine. I guessed this to be the 1993 Pinot but was dead wrong…
  1986 Clos Rene Pomerol
  
• Light red in color, showing dried flowers and anise in a medium-light body. Moderate tannins, and a medium finish. Only one person pegged this one (and it wasn’t me)…
  1993 Clos de Vougeot Grand cru, Domaine Comtesse de Loisy
  
• Dark red with very mild bricking, earthy, leather, and a tad harsh. Clearly a mature Boardeaux, but a bit raw and tannic…
  1985 Ducru Beaucaillou – tied for #2 wine of the flight
  
• A WOW wine, very dark red color, rich with soft tannins, supple, elegant, refined, a finish that goes on forever…
  1986 Lafite overwhelmingly the #1 wine of the flight – and of the tasting.
  Note: The person who brought almost did not, as he does not have a proper cellar and was concerned it could be spoiled. It is a testament to the quality of this outstanding wine that it showed so incredibly well, even without proper cellaring!
  
• Very dark color, really nice and showing somewhat young. Almost a Pinot like character, but not quite. Notes of plum and leather, a bit thin on the palate…
  1989 Les Tourelles de Longueville
  
• Light in color with an obvious Pinot nose, young, a little candy-ish nose, good tannins, very nice – needs time…
  2000 Marc Michelet Nuit-St.-Georges
  

Flight #2 consisted of all post 1990 wines, and were all California Cabs except for one Washington Cab.

• Dark red in color, the nose screams black pepper! Spice, with a long finish, what’s with the pepper though? Odd for a Cab, good, but not what one expects…
  1995 Ridge Monte Bello (I pegged this one!)
  
• Very dark, just barely a hint of bricking, huge nose at first but it fades quickly as it sits in the glass. Notes of plum, roses, vanilla, and spice, tasty but fading…
  1993 Heitz Trailside
  
• Very dark consistent color, huge meaty nose of game, American oak, spice, vanilla, a finish that just wont quit. Outstanding now, could still use some time…
  1997 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages #2 Wine of the flight!
  
• Dark, dark red, light spice, black currants, and vanilla wrapped in a tight, tannic frame. Superb structure and richness and a tremendous, long finish. Young, needs time!…
  1999 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages
  
• Medium red color with light bricking, good plum notes. Soft and elegant, with smooth rich tannins, graceful wine showing it’s age quite well…
  1993 Delille Chaleur
  
• Brownish red, showing violets, currants, and smooth tannins, and a medium short finish – a bit tired, seems as if it’s on it’s way out…
  1994 Mondavi reserve
  
• Deep red color, clearly a young wine, showing a huge nose of American oak, spice, cassis, vanilla, cedar. A dense, chewy wine, excellent structure, and a long, long, long finish. Outstanding. Young, needs a few years…
  1997 Lewis Cuvee L #1 Wine of the flight!
  

Finally, wrapping this up we tasted the 1970 Fonseca Vintage Port. I didn’t make detailed notes on this either, but it was surprising youthful, rich, not overly sweet, still tannic, excellent. And then the NV Chambers Special Muscat – WOW, what a wine. I’ve had the regular Muscat and loved it – this blew it away, an amazing wine showing tremendous depth, lively spice, an exciting, thrilling wine. How much better could the Rare Muscat possibly be?? This was one of the wines of the night for me. And last but not least, the TRIA Zinfandel Port, a smooth, rich, easy drinking port – very pleasant.

Another fantastic tasting. I know I’ve left out some details, so I’ll leave it to the other members to add their thoughts. Thanks to all the members for making BAWE what it is. Here’s looking forward to next year!

What a terrific lineup and what sounds to have been a great evening. I just can't wait until East Coast meets West Coast someday, I can only imagine the lineup.

Seek1: I like to think that our group is strong (actually 1 of the strongest), but I think that we have to admit defeat to these guys. They probably have us beat.

1 day, I hope to join these guys. The last time I was in the area, I could Not because we were with a some friends that did Not feel comfortable with the idea. But, 1 day...

One of these days we should get together and do a mega offline of our two groups, the geography may make the logistics a bit difficult. What a tasting that would be

Eric, that's what next Nov. is for...the MEGA-OFFLINE!!!

Eric, thanks for taking notes. It is amazing to think how far we have come in 6+ months. That was our 7th event and they have all been very enjoyable. A special thanks to you for setting up the system so that we can communicate with each other, for stepping up with the organization when needed and for special contributions like the venison and the Lewis.

If anything, I think our success will make it harder for us next year. Our options for hosting will become more limited as our membership increases. We'll have to get more creative as we go. Maybe we can learn from the others here in this Forum.

BTW, the rieslings did get better and better. I should have decanted them 3-4 hours before we started instead of 1 hour. I saved the scant leftovers and they were great the next day (mixing them all together gave it a nice complexity).