At the last minute, I decided to go to this tasting down at the Signatures Restaurant in Washington DC. Hosted by Wide World of Wines, a pretty good shop in DC, it was a pretty classy affair. I felt underdressed in my slacks and polo shirt, but I wasn't there to impress anyone, so I went about my business tasting about 50 wines (less than half of the wines there).
The Spanish wines were all around great, and the Grand Puy Lacoste 2000 was showing beautifully - it was my co-WOTN along with the '99 Cims de Porrera. This was also my first foray into some serious NZ Pinot Noir and I was pleasantly happy.
Bubbly:
1995 Bollinger Rose
1995 Dom Perignon
1990 Bollinger R.D.
NV Billecart Salmon Rose
Quick Impressions: The Bolly RD was stunning, and the Rose was very elegant. The Billecart Rose showed nicely, and more compelling (and 1/2 the price) than the Bollinger.
Italian:
1997 Brunello di Montalcino Argiano
1997 Brunello di Montalcino Castel Giacondo Frescobaldi
1997 Brunello de Montalcino Pianne delle Vigne Antinori
1998 Barolo Bussia Soprana Aldo Conterno
1998 Barolo Le Vigne Sandrone
1999 Sito Moresco Angelo Gaja
Quick Impressions: The Brunellos were nothing really to write home about. I was looking forward to trying the Sandrone (the flyer said we were going try the Cannubi Boschis), and I was slightly disappointed to see the Le Vigne instead. However, it was a terrific Barolo - silky and super elegant. The Moresco was also very nice.
Spanish:
2000 Clos Mogador Priorat
2000 Neo Ribera del Duero
2000 Mauro Ribera del Duero Crianza
2000 Gran Elias Mora Toro
2001 Les Terrasses Priorat
- QPR of the tasting
1999 Ribera del Duero Palomero
1999 Reserva Ribera del Duero Pesquera
1999 Cims de Porrera Priorat
Quick Impressions: The best table of the night. Not a bad wine in the bunch, though I did not get a chance to taste a few Riojas there, the Priorats and the Riberas were very nice. The '01 Les Terrasses is the best I've had ('00, '99, '98) and a steal at $21. The Cims de Porrera was amazing this night - one of the wines I could not spit. Dark and compelling and remarkably sweet fruits. The Mogador was a great wine, but chalk full of tannins - give it a few years and you'll be happy.
New Zealand:
2000 Omaka Springs Marlborough Reserve
2000 Greenhough Hope Vineyard Pinot Noir
2000 La Strada Marlborough Pinot Noir Clayvin Vineyard
2000 Neudorf Pinot Noir Moutere
2000 Martinborough Vineyard Pinot Noir
2000 ATA Rangi Martinborough Pinot Noir
1999 Pegasus Bay Prima Donna
Quick Impressions: The first 3 Pinots tasted like Santa Barbera Pinot Noir. The Martinborough Vineyard Pinot was excellent, with ripe, lush fruits, and the Pegasus Bay was very earthy and complex. The ATA Rangi had a stewed cabbage element that I did not care for. Overall a nice flight of Pinots.
Australia:
1997 Clarendon Hills Piggott Range Syrah
1999 D’Arenberg Footbolt Shiraz
1999 D’Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz
2001 D’Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz
2001 Noon Eclipse
2001 Mitolo Savitar Shiraz
2002 D’Arenberg Laughing Magpie
Quick Impressions: My least favorite table of the night, partially b/c I don't drink a whole lot of Aussies to begin with. The Noon had a dried cherry flavor to it that was nice, and the '99 Dear Arm was drinking well this night. The '01 was tight and didn't give much this evening.
White Burgundy:
2000 Chassagne Montrachet La Maltroie Gambal
2000 Chassagne Montrachet Les Morgeot Gambal
2000 Beaune Clos des Mouches Drouhin
2000 Puligny Montrachet Clos de la Mouchere Jean Boillot
2000 Corton Charlemagne Vincent Girardin
2001 Puligny Montrachet Pucelles Girardin
2001 Puligny Montrachet La Garenne Sauzet - corked
Quick Impressions: The Gambal La Maltroie was drinking beautifully and a great Puligny for $40 this night. Too bad the Sauzet was corked. The Girardins seemed quite primary and did not show as much complexity as the other whites this evening.
Bordeaux:
2000 Chateau Grand–Puy-Lacoste
2000 Chateau Clos de Sarpe
2000 Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou - closed down
1999 Chateau Pichon Baron
1999 Chateau La Conseillante
1999 Chateau Leoville Las Cases - closed down
1998 Chateau Nenin
1998 Chateau L’Angelus
1996 Chateau Clinet
1996 Chateau L’Evangile
1998 Chateau Troplong Mondot
Quick Impressions: This table was probably the hardest to squeeze into this evening - with so many people swarming and clamoring for drinks. I started with the older vintages and made my way to the 2000s. The L'Evangile was elegant, as was the Clinet. The Troplong Mondot was very nice, as was the the L'Angelus. Unfortunately for the Ducru and Las Cases, they were very tight and not showing anything at all. the GPL was amazingly good this evening and was the best Bordeaux of the evening. The Clos de Sarpe was also really good, though packed with fine grained tannins - similar to the Clos Mogador at the Spanish table.
Rhone:
2001 Condrieu “La Doriane” Guigal
2001 Condrieu Guigal
2001 Chateauneuf du Pape Clos des Pape
2000 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Cailloux
1993 Ermitage Le Pavillon Chapoutier
Quick Impressions: I didn't have a chance to taste most of the Rhones, but these I did and they did not seem to show very well this evening. Also probably a casualty of palate fatigue on my part.
I didn't have a chance to taste some '00 Vintage Port and other stickies, but the whole tasting was worth the $99. I'm glad I have a six-pack of the GPL in my cellar, and am thinking about picking up a few others from this tasting. Overall, I had a very good time at the tasting, and make some friends from the Spanish wine table.