For those of you who may remember past posts on the Parsec Cup, this event is the replacement. The person who used to host those events has resigned from hosting. Yet, we still enjoyed the format, and wished to come up with a replacement, so we re-formed the event under a new name.
This inaugural event was held up in Silverthorne Colorado last Saturday night, with yours truly as the host. The Cup properly honored its’ heritage by remaining a testosterone laden event, with trash talk flowing in the weeks leading up to the event. The night also became a night of gustatory and beverage excess, completed by the beautiful surroundings of the Rocky Mountains.
The events began around 3:30 in the afternoon, and ended somewhere around 1:00 in the morning. Of course, not all tasters managed to make it that long, but a valiant effort was made by all.
The competition wines were all supposed to be Syrahs (90% or more) from the US and France. No Aussies allowed on this night. Though many vintage limitations were suggested, in the end none were agreed to, so the wines could be of any age.
In keeping with the tradition of the Parsec Cup, the object was to bring the wine that more competitors will like than anyone else, so the idea was to try to capture the largest number of first place votes. We did put in a system of 4/2/1 for first through third place, but that system was only used to break ties (if any) in the number of votes for a given position. So, the person that brought the wine with the most first place votes would win. In the case of a tie for number of first place votes, then we would revert to number of second place votes, then to the number of third place votes, and only then would we use the 4/2/1 system. On this night, we ended up only using the place votes.
The winner of the event will have their name engraved on a trophy that has yet to arrive, and gets to declare the varietal restrictions for Resurrection Cup II. The last place finisher of the event received the distinct pleasure of drinking a large pour of 2003 Cavit Pinot Noir from a proper burgundy stem, but only after the wine was properly heated up in my car during the day. The loser will also receive an engraved trophy of a horse’s rear end, The Charles Shaw Memorial Award, to remind them to bring better wine next time. They also get the pleasure of cooking the meal at the next Cup.
We changed up the format slightly from past events. All six competition wines were tasted early in the event, then a meal was prepared for everyone, then we went back and tasted the competition wines a second time before votes had to be cast. On this night, using two passes likely benefited the youngest wines the most, giving them additional time to open and soften.
The wines in order of their finish:
2000 Château de la Negly Coteaux de Languedoc Clos des Truffiers 2003 Pax Castelli Knight Ranch Syrah2002 Sine Qua Non Just For The Love Of It Syrah 1990 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque2002 Behrens & Hitchcock Chien Lunatique Syrah 1999 Jory Central Coast Coastal Mountain SyrahDinner included dry aged prime ribs on the grill, baked potatoes, pasta asiago, numerous breads, nine different kinds of cheeses, etc. Despite how good the food was, to me it was overshadowed by the view from the deck, as we watched the nearly-full moon rise to the east over the Continental Divide while the sun set over the mountains ranges to the west, including the 10 Mile and Gore Ranges, Buffalo and Ptarmigan Mountain, etc. The only thing missing from the meal was an appearance by the neighborhood foxes, who likely strolled down the road before we moved outside to eat.
A few of the more memorable phrases overheard during dinner: “God Bless America” and “Our kidneys are our spit cups.”
Other wines were enjoyed before the competition, during intermission and the meal, and after the second competition session. These wines included (in no particular order):
2002 Bressan Pinot Grigio1996 Pierre Moncuit Blanc de Blancs champagne
1996 P. Lancelot-Royer Cuvée Marie Lancelot Blanc de Blancs champagne
I am not an official member of the CSC. Both of these bottles had been opened the day before and sampled, then closed overnight and transported to the event. I do not have any notes on either one, but I did enjoy them both, especially the Moncuit.
1993 Château Mouton-Rothschild1999 Domaine d'Andezon Cotes du Rhone1996 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Ornellaia. I tasted this one soon after opening, and it was pretty shut down. I did not get back to it, but heard it was drinking mighty fine later in the evening, and even better the next day.
1999 Dunn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon1997 Sean Thackrey Orion Syrah 1990 Elio Grasso Barolo Vigna Casa Mate. I only had a very small pour of this wine, noting the floral notes and tar on the nose and palate. This is a very nice wine, I should have gone back for more to evaluate it further.
1999 Pape Johannou Vineyards Nemea Old VinesAs FreeTheGrapes put it, “the last thing I remember is hearing ‘dessert wines’ and the next thing I know it is morning:”
1985 Graham's Vintage Port1963 Dow Vintage Port1993 The Royal Tokaji Wine Co. Tokay Aszú 6 Puttonyos NyulászóOverall, this was a reasonably good event with some decent wines, and a worthy successor to the original Parsec Cup events. Resurrection Cup II is currently in the planning stages, and looks to be held on June 25th. If anyone will be coming to Colorado around that time frame and would like to attend, just let me know. We are also considering a small modification to the next Cup event: letting families attend, even though they will not be allowed into the competition.
Mike