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Rothko
Palm Beach
Wine Thief
Posts:2870
 | | 04/28/2005 1:49 PM |
| Last night we had an offline at Café Maxx in Pompano Beach. Attending were Gary44, Board-O, EDJ, DY1978, yours truly, and associated spouses and guests.
First, the restaurant: It was superb. Café Maxx put us in a private wine room in the back, at a large table loaded with multiple wine glasses at each setting. The menu was diverse, the food was outstanding. I had a duck and mozzarella ravioli as an appetizer which was decadent; for the main course I had a pepper-crusted filet mignon which was HUGE. The caramel apple tart for dessert was also quite decadent.
A huge thanks to Gary44 for setting up the event.
Now, onto the wines… I didn’t take detailed notes, so these are impressions only, in order of tasting:
White Wines
2002 Martinelli Martinelli Road Chardonnay – a very nice chardonnay, buttery and smooth without being overloaded with oak.
2004 Kim Crawford Sav. Blanc – a nice aroma of grapefruit and citrus followed by a dearth of flavor. Only some grassy notes on the tongue. My second bottle of this, and I am still underwhelmed.
California Cabernets
1998 Whitehall Lane Reserve Cabernet – a very mellow wine; if I had been blindfolded I never would have suspected this was a cabernet. Lacking in tannins and structure. It was a nice quaffable wine, but nothing special
1997 Mt. Veeder Cabernet – this wine is in its main stride. It would have benefited from more airtime before drinking, but it was still drinking nicely. If anyone has any of these (besides me), it is time to start drinking them up
1991 Chateau Montelena Estate Cab – Enjoyable, but not great
1984 Spottswoode Cabernet – disappointing. The wine had a medicinal or green flavor to it, although the second bottle wasn’t as bad. Still, for a 20 year old wine, I was saddened that it wasn’t more memorable
1999 Artesa Cabernet – A very simple, nice wine. Nothing to write home about, but it is a very safe, pleasant wine
1994 Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet – the best of the cabernets that I tried. Luscious and smooth, with lots of fruit.
Sweet (aka Dessert) Wines
2002(?) Phelps Eisrebe – a very enjoyable dessert wine. Not too acidic. It paled (literally and figuratively) though compared to the Rieussec
2001 Rieussec – Wine Of The Night. This wine is going to be a blockbuster in about 10-20 years. Flavorful aromas, rich and honeyed flavor, and a long, long, long finish. It was almost a crime to drink this wine so young. Almost.
Again, a big thanks to Gary44 for setting up a fantastic dinner, and looking forward to another soon. | | | |
| ChangeMe
Barrel Filler
Posts:1371
| | 04/28/2005 7:36 PM |
| | Wish we had been able to make it. | | | |
| ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:11169
| | 05/03/2005 12:13 AM |
| We missed you and your wife, Jc. It was another great evening with some excellent wines. Here are my very brief notes:
2004 Kim Crawford SB- nose of grapefruit and a sweaty locker room (really), crsip with a nice acidic bite. 89
2003 Martinelli Martinelli Road Chardonnay- big and oaky, nose of pears, rich, 93
1998 Whitehall Lane Reserve Cab- First bottle soft, beginning to tire, 86 Second bottle baked fruit nose, moderate tannins, 89
1997 Mount Veeder Cab- subdued nose, soft, ready, 89
1991 Chateau Montelena- huge nose of cedar and tobacco, rich but tannic and too young, needs several years, 91-93
1985 Spottswoode Cab- First bottle nose of flowers and shellac, tasted a little sharp and acidic, but fairly well balanced, not a rich wine, but fine with the food, 86. Second bottle showed signs of early madeirization.
1999 Artesa Cab- excellent and young 91
1994 Mondavi Cab Reserve- the wine was cold due to it being left in the car and the cold was necessary to protect it from the heat. When I tasted it, it was still chilled and hard to evaluate.
2002 Phelps Eisrebe- lush sweetness with great balancing acidity and wonderful wild grape flavor. 95 I love this wine.
2001 Chateau Rieussec- This is a huge wine, far too young to evaluate well, still rough, yet layers of rich honey and exotic flavors were wonderful, already excellent and should improve tremendously, 95-98 | | | |
| ChangeMe
Barrel Filler
Posts:1371
| | 05/03/2005 12:44 PM |
| | Thanks for the notes Board-O. Looks like the evening ended with a bang. | | | |
| Rothko
Palm Beach
Wine Thief
Posts:2870
| | 05/03/2005 1:36 PM |
| OK, so I got some of my years wrong on the wines, but I'll stand by my notes.
Yes, the night ended quite well. | | | |
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