Well what can I say..... a wonderful evening all around. The food, wine, and people were all a pure joy and it really shows how 12 people can get together and truly have some fun.

First off I want to share with everyone the true cooking ability of Mr. Rhb537. To put the food in context it is game 7 of the World Series bottom of the ninth and the team at bat is losing one nothing. Man on first and the current batter hits a home run. The beef tenderloin and sea bass with a chipotle sauce were what good food should taste like.

Now on to the wines:

Started of with NV Laurent Perrier Cuvee Rose Brut and 2002 Bellenda Brut San Fermo Prosecco. Both were a perfect start and each one showed the different characteristics of their respective countries. The Prosecco is a major QPR and I will seek out more.

The Pinots: (in no particular order) BTW I did not take detailed notes.

1. 2002 Bonaccorsi Santa Maria Valley PN: One of my top 3 pinots of the night. The best part about this wine was the nose and the fresh cherry midpalate. I scored this 92-93pts.

2. 2001 Flowers Andreen-Gale Cuvee PN: WOW. A 95pt nose with a low 90's texture and body.

3. 1997 Williams Selyem Sonoma County PN: The opinions of this wine were widely varied. I thought it was quite good, but had lost some of its fruit. Others thought it was very flat. I rated this 87pts.

4. 1997 Ponzi Reserve Willamette Valley PN: I know that the '97 vintage in Oregon was not the greatest, but I enjoyed this wine. Others did not. It is one of the better '97 Oregon PN I have had.

5. 1997 Au Bon Climat "Isabelle" PN: The most full bodied PN of the night. If you like heavy weighted PN this is for you. Lots of fruit and acidity and a very good but different style of PN I like very much. Low 90'spts.

6. 1995 Remoissenet Clos Vougeot Grand Cru Burgundy. I have been thoroughly looking forward to trying my first bottle of this. I was not disappointed. This was decanted and for about 2-2.5 hours and tried every 20 minutes or so. The last glass was by far the best. I am a firm believer that elegance and red Burgundy go hand in hand and this was exactly that. The wild cherries and strawberry flavors were beautifully intermixed to produce a ballerina style of wine. This wine shut down for about 30 minutes during the decanting process and I was very glad that it came back to life. I would rate this wine on its merits and potential 94pts. I will certainly seek out more.

The Syrah's:

1. 1999 Clos Mimi Shell Creek Syrah: A true labor of love in getting the wax of the bottle. This is a different style of syrah, but very enjoyable. I liked the peppery overtones with the fruit. I believe that this will age well for a few more years. 90pts.

2. 1999 Planeta Syrah Di Sicilia: Planeta is one of my favorite Italian producers and this wine continued that for me. This went very well with the beef tenderloin. 91-92 pts.

3. 1999 Alban Vineyards "Reva" Alban Estate Syrah Edna Valley: One of my top 3 syrahs of the evening. Full bodied and lots of spice. This was decanted and this really helped the fruit open up nicely. This will age well for another 4-5 years. 92-93pts.

4. 2000 Qupe Syrah Santa Maria Valley Bien Nacido Hillside Estate: IMHO this wine is not ready yet. I would open in another 1-2 years. I am convinced that Qupe single vineyard wines benefit from some age in bottle. I am curious what others think about this.

5. 1999 Neyers Napa Valley Hudson Vineyard: Originally I wrote down the wrong info on this wine. This wine had a lot of volatile acidity. It was an off bottle.

6. 2000 Copain Eaglepoint Ranch Mendocino County Syrah: My first wine made by Copain and something tells me that all of their wines are handcrafted gems. Who ever brought this, Thank You. If the 2000 is this good, what is the '01 going to be like? If you have never had this buy it. 93+ pts.

7. 2001 Justin Paso Robles Syrah: Run to the store. The QPR of the night. I cannot wait to try the reserve version of this. Simply put one of the best mid $20's syrah made in the US. Low 90's pts.

8. 1998 Chateau De La Gardine CDP: Really glad Kybo brought this. An excellent departure from the American Syrah's and always a treat to drink this. 91pts.

(not sure of the grapes in this one)
9. 2000 Havens Cuvee d'Hospice Napa Valley red wine: I only took a small sip of this and enjoyed it. I would like to get some more info on it.

I wrote down the following but I am not sure what it was: "Le Bon Climat Gold Coast Vineyard"

Dessert Wines:

1997 Voss Botrytis Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley: A very smoky sweet wine. My guess is that it is slightly beyond its prime. It was a different experience that I actually liked.

1995 Dolce: I have never had a 9yr old Dolce and it has developed some unusual sweet and earthy componenets. Their is a fair amount of spice in this. I enjoyed this, because it was like no other Dolce I have had.

2002 Joseph Phelps Eisrebe: By far the dessert wine of the night. This is American dessert wine making at the very top. A perfect balance of fruit and acid and definitely the best Eisrebe to date. Even better than the '97. I am going to buy several more bottles of this. 94+ pts.

IW

Great stuff, IW. I emailed rhb with my regrets that I was unable to attend -- sounds like a great time. I look forward to the next Cincy offline.

Nice write-up, IW. Sounds like you had a blast. That Justin Syrah, you said mid $20s? Hmmmm.

No, must control myself! I have enough Syrah/Shiraz. Must control. Must. mu.... aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Here are Kybo's TN's. Always good to have someone else's opinions.

IW: Thanks for getting all of the wines marked down; only correction I'd make is the Clos Mimi was actually the '99 version - a bottle I brought back from the original NYC offliner 2 yrs. ago this June (wow, time flies! ). My thoughts on the wines:

Sparkler Flight
Laurent-Perrier NV Brut Rose: I've always liked this champagne - light, biscuity, strawberryish nose & palate, extremely fresh. 91 pts.

'02 Bellenda Brut San Fermo Prosecco: As I indicated at the party, I like this prosecco version better than the NV Nino Franco, and I like that a lot, too. This one had some suprising fruitiness and character. 91-92 pts.

Pinot Flight
’97 Ponzi Reserve PN: Tight nose, forest, raspberry, plum, toast & earth, more fruit forward than most of the others; 89-90 pts. IMHO more Burgundian than the rest (except for the Burgundy, of course!)

’01 Flowers Andreen-Gale Vineyard PN: Camp Meeting Ridge fruit, w/lots of sweet, toasty oak, herbal, black cherries, cola 91-92 pts. Best nose of the night by far.

’02 Bornnacosi Santa Maria Valley PN: Beautiful mid-depth ruby color, excellent clarity. Soft, oaky, sweet cherries, on the nose and palate; low acidity. Very well put together, though I don't think it'll age a long time - 91-92 pts. My PN of the night.

’97 Williams Selyem Sonoma County PN – Modest nose w/medium body; lots of cherry and earthiness, w/well rounded, soft tannins. A bit softer than I'd expected, though very nice. 89-90 pts.

’97 Au Bon Climat Isabelle Vineyard– Most well-rounded of the group, red fruits, dusty earth, herbal, 90 pts.

’95 Clos Vougeout Remoissenet – Very tight at first, opened after 2+ hrs. in the decanter, warm oak, chocolate, cherry, earth, mushrooms, silky tannins. Young, 89-90 pts. w/room to grow.

Syrah Flight
’98 Chateau de la Gardine CdP: Notes and flavors of roast meat, florals, deep red plum, blackberry and earth. Long finish, really drinking well. 92-93 pts.

’99 Clos Mimi Shell Creek Vineyard Syrah: Spicy, dark color, tight nose, toasty oak, spicy berries, peppery notes w/smooth, firm tannins. Delicious - 91-92 pts.

’99 Planeta Syrah: Wish I'd had more of this, and hadn't had so much of the other stuff.

’00 Qupe Bien Nacido Reserve Syrah: Missed this one too; I am weak.

’01 Justin Paso Robles Syrah: Bright ruby coloration w/excellent clarity; sweet ripe red fruit, earthy, mushroomy notes. 90 pts., probably could use another year of two to come into its own.

’99 Neyers Syrah (Hudson Vineyard?) DOA – IMHO, this wine was undrinkable due to volatile acidity - I contributed mine to the greater Cincinnati rural water cooperative. IW, are you sure you have your notes straight on this one?

'00 Copain Eaglepoint Ranch Syrah: I remember this wine being dark garnet/ruby in color, w/a spicy nose and great berry flavors. Only had a sip as the bottle was nearing its end; I too would like to get another crack at this one. DNR.

'99 Alban Vineyards 'Reva' Estate Syrah: This was my Syrah of the evening. Great deep ruby color, smoky, spicy, big fruit though not a fruit bomb. Great structure, tannins to age, and great acidity for balance. 92-93 pts. easy.

'00 Havens Cuvee d'Hospice Hapa Valley Red: Again, here's one that I didn't get too much of (it's tough when water gets in the way of your wine drinking ). DNR.

Sticky Flight
’97 Voss Boytritised Sauvignon Blanc: Deep golden w/a slight amber hue. Woodsy, toasty, sweet pear and tart apple compote. Creamy smooth w/a nice level of acidity. 91 pts.

’02 JP Eisrebe: Holy cow! Very light in color. Velvety sweet, though not cloying, raisin, apple, peach, spice, long, creamy, smooth. 95-96 pts.

’95 Dolce: Buttery, baked tart apples & brown sugar. Not cloying, though nice sweetness balances w/great acidity. Long smoky, raisiny tart-sweet finish. 94 pts.