Swill that was freaking perfect!

welcome, swill. if that post had anything to do with wine, it would get my vote for "post of the week" . of course, it seems that the potw program has been suspended.

swill, you are my kind of guy. i love fuzzy sweaters that are heaped up from swollen glands , welcome to boards

by the way, what do you guys think about aging on the 95 dalla valle? last one i had seemed like it had many years to go.

Swill...the description was too much. You most definitely have a way with words!

Well guys, I did get home ok, if late. (They offloaded the train and took it out of service, I had to wait 20 minutes for another to Glenmont)

Great dinner. I too had the ribeye, and it was almost too big to finish. Started wtih the calamari, which was cooked perfectly, you know how easy it is to overcook it. The passonfruit sorbet for dessert was divine. I love passonfruit and this was great and perfect for an end to a great meal. We have to give Johanna a big thank you, she was great. I thought it very classy that we got a new glass with each wine. By my figuring, we used 63 glasses (7 people, 9 bottles) and it was nice that she made sure that the person who brought the wine got to taste it to make sure it was ok. I certainly hope she enjoyed the wines as much as we did. Of course it would have been nice if she could have comped a corkage fee or two, but that may not be her call.

It was great to welcome travelrep (Richard) and swill (Michael) to the group, hope they become regulars, and it is nice to have someone else my age in the group travelrep, I have a hard time keeping up with all those youngsters.

My ankle is very sore, but I can walk on it, teach me to watch where in the hell I'm walking. But the pants will have to go to the cleaners to get the mud off the knee.

As to the wines:

Renteria 1999 Carneros Chardonnay
I loved this wine. Being around you guys has driven me away from the ABC crowd. Got lots of floral and fruit aromas, what an elegant wine. Very pure, I have to get on their list. Easily 92 points. Thank you swill for bringing it. You certainly know how to cement your welcome to the Cru.

William Seylem 2000 Hirsch Vyd. Pinot Noir
A nose of cherrys and spice. Lots of ripe fruit, well balanced and a pleasure to drink. Want to thank travelrep for bringing it. Easy 91 pts.

Chappellet 1976 Cabernet Sauvignon
Easily the oldest Cab I've ever had (at least in years from bottling count) Excellent. I got olives, leather, and sizzling steak. It only got better and better as the night wore on. Fred, you lucky dog, what a great wine. 93 pts.

BV 1980 George de Latour Cabernet Sauvignon
This was definitely my WOTN. I agree with Fred, nose of honey and caramel. Just enough earthyness (peat?, briar?) to make it very interesting. Smooth tannins and a wonderful long finish. Wonderful balance. 95pts. Corkage, if you have anymore, bring this one again.

Beringer 1996 3rd Century Cabernt Franc
I brought this, so I won't rate it. It was easily the lightest wine of the evening among the Cabs. But I'd love to have it with a cassoulet or even a duck confit. Glad I have more at home.

1998 Quilceda Creek aka the Mystery Wine
Dark purple in color, I was thrown off by the nose. It just didn't scream Cab to me. It reminded me of the 86 Ridge in that respect, but it was much better on the palate. Cherrys and berrys and new oak with mild tannins. I liked it, but it didn't stand out as powerfully as some of the other wines. If I was tasting it alone, it would have probably impressed more, but I had it next to the GDL which blew me away, so it is probably the comparison that made me rate it lower. But still worth 89 pts. I was very suprised since there has been such a buzz about this wine.

Dalla Valle 1995 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
Just like everyone else, this was one of the two wines I was waiting to try (the other was the GDL) and I was not disappointed. I was a little suprised at the floral nose, but not because I didn't like it, just didn't expect it. Gobs of dark fruits but restrained in an elegant way. And what a long, long finish. I could have made this my WOTN but I gave the edge (barely to the GDL) 94 pts. JohnnyB, you da man. I want your cellar.

Karl Lawrence 1997 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
My backup wine, and if it hadn't been for the fact that everyone had been asking me to bring the Berringer Cab Franc, would have been my first bottle. I wish we had opened it earlier and let it breath for a while. Unfortunately this is my last bottle of the 97. I wish I had more that I could let sit for a couple of more years, but oh well, you can't have everything.

Cooper-Garrod 1997 George's Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon
By the time we got to this wine, I was beginning to wonder if I would make it home. Lots of cherry fruits, but very elegant. Not as powerful as the KL, but very good. Again, I wish we could have let it open more, as I would have loved to see it evolve. Liked it a lot. 92 pts.

Can't wait til the next one. But I don't think I'll tell the wife about swill's comment. And the blond, what blond, why are they always sitting behind me where I can't see.

DW...it was good to meet you as well last night and I'm happy to help you make the average age of the group a little older than it previously was.

Look forward to next month's soiree...

Sounds like a fantastic evening and a great lineup guys. Ditto about the WS Pinot. I love that stuff.

Administrative welcomes to the "two new guys" :-)

Rev:

Glad you like the WS Pinot. It's one of my faves as well. Glad I brought it and thanks for the welcome. I'm happy to be one of the new guys!

finally another who appreciates beautiful women that he doesn't know....bravo Swill. I don't know if it was the fuzzy angora type off the shoulder top or the fact that I was riding up in the back like some midriff t-shirt.

Corkage, If Swill comes to the next offline I vote for Bistrot Du Coin and that freakish way it is always crowded with hot chicks.

Dinwiddie....I vaguely remember you taking a header in the street and me laughing os hard I almost fell over myself....I think Swill actually helped you up. I was wasted..sorry about that.

Thoroughly excellent evening. Fred, you gotta get brother Fred out next time.

Any pictures of the Angora?

my thoghts exactly david

Great minds think alike... and I like the way you're (both) thinking!!!

JohnnyB, If I had not been the one who took the header, I probably would have been laughing too. No worry, I did not take offense.

If we do have another dinner, Bistro du Coin was ok food wise, great honey wise, but crappy glass wise. Besides, I thought we were going to make TJ chose Palenas for our January Cru gathering.

Bistrot was just a joke..but the women there sure aren't.

And yes, I believe TJ was nominated to organize Palena in January.

Not only does JohnnyB bring great wines to off-lines, he also somehow manages to pick the best vantage point at the table. I imagine some of us will be fighting to sit next to him at the next OL.

You guys will have to fight it out, I'll just have to remember to stretch and look behind me once in a while.

OK TJ,

Time to start planning the January bash.

Man. I need to figure that out. I am so swamped that I might not be able to start planning until I take off for the holidays (I'll be off from Dec 24 to the new year (almost completely). I will start to hit it then.

Din...Didn't someone mention an Italian theme for January Or was Palena mentioned for the next off line??

travelrep

Since TJ didn't make it to the Caucus Room dinner, we decided to let him arrange the next dinner. (it's his turn anyway) He had said earlier that he wanted to try to arrange for a dinner at Palena so we might end up there. We have lots of back and forth when we make these arrangements (shameless way to inflate the post count) so it may be somewhere else.

I'm looking forward to the dinner we have that will have an Italian wine theme, but the nice thing about having a cellar, you don't have to do it next month, you can always wait to open that bottle.

We'll see how it goes and where we end up.

BTW, Happy Chanukah, I hope you and your family have a wonderful holidays. We are going to be attending my niece's Bat Mitzvah for the first day of the holiday.