Hey we pulled something off with under 20 posts!!!  granted it was a small gathering but sometimes they can be the best.

Tuesday night Jaimetown, Mrs. JT and Dave came over to Alexandria to visit Julie and me in our back patio and they endured some simple grilled burgers, hot dogs, some fruit & veggies and some "i think that is a hotspot" chicken.

the weather was perfect, a little overcast w/ a little breeze and about 70-75.Â

Wines
2005 Peay Viognier
2004 Kosta Browne Amber Ridge Pinot
2001 Clos De Lambrays
2003 Williams Selyem Weir Vineyard 
JT Mystery wine

then later in the evening we were talking about Priorat and the grape radio broadcasts of the HdR jaimetown got a little smile on his face, went to his bag and voila! he pulled out another winner.

2001 Alvaro Palacios Priorat Finca Dofi


we started at about 6:15pm with some 2005 Peay Viognier that we remarked tasted like they put the chardonnay in the wrong bottle.  lemony and nice acid, and definitely tasty, but not the viognier experience that i enjoyed with the previous Peay viogniers.

I had opened a 2003 Williams Selyem Weir vineyard about 5:30pm and James brought a mystery wine opened about 6:15.  Dave showed up with a 2001 Clos De Lambrays and a 2004 Kosta Browne Amber Ridge Pinot which we opened about 6:45.Â

the pinot comparisons were really cool.  the KB was screaming RRV and had cinnamon and baking spices going with cherry like fruit.
the CdL was more subtle, no surprise, and i thought it had a minty like aspect to it which no one else seemed to find.Â
The WS didn't show much at all even later in the evening (yesterday it was doing much better, an actually nose emerged and it actually had some nice lavender and forest flavor going on.  still have some leftover for tonight).

The KB and the CdL couldn't have been much more different.  Dave declared that he had seen the light (no surprise from the "what are you buying" thread) and that the Burgundy was his favorite.  I liked the KB better at least at this time and was happy that it was pleasurable (for some reason i keep expecting to be disappointed given the hype, but this was a tasty bottle).

JT poured his mystery bottle and we all got a chance to try to figure it out.  Dave and I were guessing that it was made with Bordeaux varietals given the dusty elegance of the fruit and fine tannins, wrong.  We guessed that it had a little bottle age on it given the maturity of the fruit, pretty accurate.  We were better with the region, going with Spain, Ding, ding, ding.  although knowing James that was a good guess anyway.

2001 Bodegas Mauro Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León

A very tasty bottle of wine, (100% tempranillo, 16 months in american oak) and it went very well with the food.Â

overall a great evening, we were psyched to be able to sit outside and enjoy the temperate weather and only a few drops chased us in about 10:00 maybe?  we sipped some more inside and then said goodbye.

My WOTN was the Dofi.  The Mauro was really nice as well and tasting it blind was a lot of fun.  
I was psyched the KB was so tasty.  bummed the WS held off until the next day to show up.  guess i learned from that one...

we forgot the dessert that was in the fridge... apple tart  whoops.  thanks guys for a great evening...

Alex

That part is sometimes rather amusing. Thanks for the notes, it sounds like a good evening. I liked the Finca Dofi enough to drink all of them already.

I can't believe I haven't seen this thread until now!

Thanks again for hosting Alex - you and Julie provided a fantastic evening with some great food and wine.

I enjoyed all the wines that were poured, and was excited to try my first W-S wine, which was my favorite of the three. The Clos de Lambrays improved very much throughout the evening, though I felt it was still very tightly wound up and unyielding - I also think I am a little harsh on the Morey St. Denis burgundies (being a Volnay/Chambolle kinda guy). I enjoyed the KB Amber Ridge, and though the DC Cru know that I'm not the biggest KB fan, lately I've had more bottles that I have enjoyed than not (perhaps 2004s are more my style than the 2003s?).

The Mauro was showing very well and I preferred it to the Dofi on this night.

A side thanks to Dave and Alex for their whirlwind conversation on the world of private equity, finance and banking.

We left very happy, and I suspect quite a few mosquitoes did that night as well!

JT,

Any further notes, opinions, or tasting notes on the '01 Finca Dofi? How would it drink in a restaurant setting? Pop and pour.

Hi Jason,

I think the Dofi would do just fine pop-and-pour the next couple of years - to me, the wine has always been accessible straight out of the bottle, though it has benefited from 1 hour of decanting. The bottles I have tasted have integrated the oak and have drunk all very well. I still think the best Dofi in the past 10 years is the 1998, but the 2001 is probably right behind it, along with the 1996.

Sounds like youi guys had a great time. I wish we could have made it. I take it all back. The DC Crü is alive and well.

no worries TJ. i thought it worked out well. we got to try a bunch of wine and it was a nice relaxed atmosphere ( i hope). AND it wasn't hot.
Maybe we will be able to do it again and we can kick up the ingredients/food.

also if we can pull one off on a weekend i can get the ball rolling sooner in the day on the prep. The small group was nice, but we should be able to handle a few more.