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Dinner in Vancouver with the Seaquams Last Post 02-10-2005 02:59 PM by Seaquam. 20 Replies. | Sort: |
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ChangeMe  
Barrel Filler
Posts: 1074
 | | 01-15-2005 10:13 PM |
| We had a most incredible dinner prepared by Seaquam at his crib in Vancouver with the Pinot Envy's. Juicy beef steaks, yummy crab cakes, delicious salad, a creamy ginger spiced soup and a lovely apple galatte to finish off a great evening of wine and storytelling. Here were the wines: 1989 J. LaSalle Blanc de Blanc Champagne: Light gold in color with hints of green apples, honeysuckle and tiny distinct bubbles. This wine was fresh with no signs of fading. 95 pts. My WOTN (and I'm not a champagne buff) 1996 Pol Roget Rose: Initial aromas of pinot funk and sulphur. Great pinot fruit with strawberries and sour cherries on the palate. 90 pts. 2004 Cloudy Bay Sauv. Blanc: Loads of complex tropical fruit smells lept from the bottle, papaya, grapefruit and a faint trace of kiwi on the nose. This one had a good deal of acidity and one to stand up to food 90 pts. '95 Zind Humbrecht Pinot Gris Villes Vigne: Golden in color with melon and some sulphur on the nose. Just enough sweetness on the midpalate. At first, the wine had a touch of heat at the end of the finish with some acid on the midpalate. We didn't do this one justice as we quaffed it without giving it air. With 20 minutes of aeration, creamy textures became apparent and the wine put on some weight with the sweetness of lychee and apricot showing. 92 pts. '88 Ch. Lafite: This wine was opened for about 2.5 hours by the time we drank it. Heavy notes of saddle leather, tobacco, coffee, stink, minerals, and bandaids with some greeness and anise on the nose. On the palate, this wine coated our tongues with a good deal of complexity. Deep midpalate and a long long silky finish (although apparently not as long as some Bordeaux's analyzed on VC because I could not taste it on the drive home!  ) Another contender for WOTN 95 pts. This wine could go for another 3 years easily. Thank you Seaq for sharing this! '98 Fox Creek JSM Shiraz Cab Franc: gobs and gobs of dark fruit and some spice on the palate. This wine was lush, highly extracted, and fruit forward. A complete change up from the Lafite, but nonetheless a great addition to dinner. 92 pts. Thanks again Seaq! 2001 J. J. Prum Wehlener Sonnennuhr Auslese Gold Kap: excessive acidity upon opening, almost carbonated. This wine could age forever. This white is a good candidate for decanting for awhile. Lots of minerals and stones on he nose with green apple and pineapple. Terrific! I would not hesitate putting this one down for at least 5-7 years before trying again. 93 pts. | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts: 11169
| | 01-16-2005 04:56 AM |
| | Sounds like a great evening, LR, though we disagree on the '88 Lafite. Enjioyed the notes. | | | |
| ChangeMe
Grape Sorter
Posts: 307
| | 01-17-2005 12:04 AM |
| lafon,
just curious on the 88 lafite. i have never had it but i was wondering how you arrived at 95 pts. your tn reads like a low to mid 80's pt wine. 
"'88 Ch. Lafite: This wine was opened for about 2.5 hours by the time we drank it. Heavy notes of saddle leather, tobacco, coffee, stink, minerals, and bandaids with some greeness and anise on the nose. On the palate, this wine coated our tongues with a good deal of complexity. Deep midpalate and a long long silky finish (although apparently not as long as some Bordeaux's analyzed on VC because I could not taste it on the drive home! ) Another contender for WOTN 95 pts. This wine could go for another 3 years easily. Thank you Seaq for sharing this!"
i can't imagine grenn bandaids tasting good  | | | |
| ChangeMe
Grape Sorter
Posts: 210
| | 01-17-2005 02:32 AM |
| anthonyiezzi-
Having been present at this dinner I can speak to the quality of this bottle. While I am not the most dilligent or erudite note taker/taster, I can articulate flaws and/or desirable qualities with some degree of intellect. This wine had secondary characteristics of a fully mature Bordeaux. This was Seaqs last bottle of the '88 and I think it was a smart move to consume and while I can't see this being anything more in the next 3 years, I certainly can't see it losing ground either. And three years may be generous, if this was in my cellar, it would be consumed in the next 18 months. I did not get a sense of "band aid" on the palate but I picked up a bit of light mintiness or vegetal aromas on the nose. Any aromatic stinkiness disappeared within the first 10 minutes in a large Bordeaux stem. The palate was full on tobacco and abundant leather, but not off putting as I do not typically seek out wine for this characteristic. Enough fruit on the mid-palate to carry it through and btw, this all worked quite well w/ the beef tenderloin and the chanterelle(sp?) mushroom sauce.
While I would give this a solid 91-92pts on the scale of wine-ageing-Bordeaux-drinking scale, when you factor in the lovely atmosphere and the wonderful friends, it is impossible not to wax a bit enthusiastically. Maybe not my WOTN, definitely the wine of the moment. | | | |
| ChangeMe
Barrel Filler
Posts: 1074
| | 01-17-2005 05:24 PM |
| Quote:
Sounds like a great evening, LR, though we disagree on the '88 Lafite. Enjioyed the notes.
Anthony and BoardO-
Thank you for reading my notes. Looking forward to one day sharing a glass with you and discussing Bordeaux's.
Perhaps it was simply the nfluence of the divine company, but the wine was showing exceptionally well that night.
Lafon | | | |
| Seaquam
Barrel Filler
Posts: 1141
| | 01-17-2005 06:30 PM |
| Well, I don't know about the "divine company", though Pintowas being a bit spiritual in forecasting the weather, but the Lafite did show very well that night. I've posted on this wine a couple of times in the past, and this showing was consistent with the two most recent. What Lafon described as an element of greenness I would describe as tobacco. It wasn't a 95 point wine to me, but a step under that, 92-3, still outstanding.
The Lassalle Champagne was also my WOTN: loaded with honey and green apples, great nose, deceptively youthful. That was app. 95-6 pts. in my view. (The other Champagne was '96 Charles Heidseick Brut Rosé, not Pol Roger which was my mistake as I didn't read the label but at a quick glance mistook it for PR and talked about it using the wrong name; it was dark in the room)
And almost always happens, as good as the wines were, they took a distant back seat to the company. I don't think there were 2 consecutive seconds of silence all night. | | | |
| Rothko
Palm Beach
Wine Connoisseur
Posts: 5711
| | 01-17-2005 06:36 PM |
| Lafon, I am deeply disappointed by your notes. When you describe:
"Heavy notes of saddle leather, tobacco, coffee, stink, minerals, and bandaids with some greeness and anise on the nose"
I expect you to identify the particular "stink".
Seriously, sounds like a great dinner. | | | |
| Seaquam
Barrel Filler
Posts: 1141
| | 01-17-2005 07:22 PM |
| Actually, Rothko, she's giving you the sanitized version of her notes.
While she was smelling the Bordeaux, she began to recite "kakapoopoo" over and over again like it was her mantra. Having heard her do this many times in the past, the rest of us just ignored her, though it is a bit disturbing on those occasions when it occurs in a crowded restaurant. | | | |
| ChangeMe
Grape Sorter
Posts: 307
| | 01-18-2005 03:54 AM |
| i have always said that the company adds to the point values of the wines. great explanation  | | | |
| Seaquam
Barrel Filler
Posts: 1141
| | 01-18-2005 03:02 PM |
| Quote:
i have always said that the company adds to the point values of the wines. great explanation
That isn't what Lafon wrote, anthony. Lafon is suggesting that the karma, if you will, of our little group is the reason whythe wine was showing exceptionally well that night. PE and I liked it a little bit less, but we're in the ballpark with Lafon's assessment.
How many points would you give it, anthony? | | | |
| ChangeMe
Barrel Filler
Posts: 1074
| | 01-19-2005 04:57 AM |
| Quote:
Lafon, I am deeply disappointed by your notes. When you describe:
"Heavy notes of saddle leather, tobacco, coffee, stink, minerals, and bandaids with some greeness and anise on the nose"
I expect you to identify the particular "stink".
Seriously, sounds like a great dinner.
Rothko:
If I may break down stink for you. There is "stinky" and then, there is "stanky." The wine achieved the status of the former, and not that latter. The latter is not indicative of a great wine. The former is, for lack of a better descriptor, "good stink."
To further examine the stink, Seaq and I, with deliberate and deep breaths buried our noses more than half way into our respective bowls of our respective glasses and attempted to zone in on the precise "stink" you so astutely mentioned above.
What followed was simply an articulation of what initially came to each taster's mind. Seaquam's recitation was at first inaudible, but as he inhaled deeper, and became more certain, if not somewhat giddy in his determination, it became clear that he was saying, over and over again, "poopydoodoopoopydoodoo."
As you can see, great minds think alike. If you need further explanation, I, as well as Seaq, shall be only too happy to accommodate you.
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| Ken Bueckert
Grape Destemmer
Posts: 93
| | 01-19-2005 06:48 AM |
| Stink!?...Stank!?
Dye-Yam girl!
  | | | |
| ChangeMe
Grape Sorter
Posts: 307
| | 01-19-2005 11:59 PM |
| Quote:
Quote:
i have always said that the company adds to the point values of the wines. great explanation
That isn't what Lafon wrote, anthony. Lafon is suggesting that the karma, if you will, of our little group is the reason whythe wine was showing exceptionally well that night. PE and I liked it a little bit less, but we're in the ballpark with Lafon's assessment.
How many points would you give it, anthony?
guess i misread her. i am still trying to figure out how band-aids taste good. maybe i will run to my 1st aid kit and give one a good chomping. who knows maybe i am the one missing out  i can't remember ever reading a tn where parker, laube, etc... used the term band aid. then again like i said maybe i am the one who is just a little behind the current culinary delights of the world. have fun tasting your medical supplies  | | | |
| ChangeMe
Grape Sorter
Posts: 398
| | 01-20-2005 03:29 AM |
| ai
does melted asphalt taste good? how about new saddle leather?
i don't know either but parker sure seems to think so when it comes to the rhone.
get over yourself man. tasting is subjective and what may be cigar box and mint to you may be band aids to another. | | | |
| Ken Bueckert
Grape Destemmer
Posts: 93
| | 01-20-2005 07:03 AM |
| Quote:
i can't remember ever reading a tn where parker, laube, etc... used the term band aid.
anthonyiezzi
Stephen Tanzer wrote:
2000 Tablas Creek Vineyard Esprit de Beaucastel Paso Robles:
Good medium-deep red. Currant, mineral and animal aromas, along with a whiff of bandaid that dissipated with aeration. Firm, minerally and structured, with notes of currant, tree bark and black licorice. Saline, focused and gripping wine with strong acidity and firm tannic spine.
web page
Apparently you don't read Tanzer.
Though not widely used, the term 'Bandaid' is being used by wine enthusiasts...go to most/any wine board, search the word 'Bandaid' and you will find it being used by some.
There is no law that says one must use Parker's Wine Terms only...but, by all means, do go ahead and "Give one a Good Chomping", there's nothing like expanding one's horizon (and wine terms).
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| Seaquam
Barrel Filler
Posts: 1141
| | 01-20-2005 03:06 PM |
| It's all just part of the sensory world of wine, anthony. I associate bandaid/bandage more with smell than taste. If you sniff a newly-opened package of vinyl bandages, you'll get the smell (no need to eat one, anthony). To me, it's similar to what some people describe as a vinyl/plastic smell, but just slightly medicinal. I don't notice it very often, but when I do it seems to be most commonly in N. Rhone Syrah or occasionally Aussie Shiraz.
If you do a search on this website, I think you'll find bandaid used as a descriptor occasionally. I didn't remember using it much, but it turns out thatI did use it here.
One of the problems for all of us is that we can only describe sensory impressions in terms of our own experience, so sometimes when a person uses a term with which we're unfamiliar, it's a bit difficult for it to be meaningful. Still, it's just another factor in the learning process of wine. | | | |
| ChangeMe
Grape Fermenter
Posts: 567
| | 01-20-2005 03:58 PM |
| Quote:
guess i misread her. i am still trying to figure out how band-aids taste good. maybe i will run to my 1st aid kit and give one a good chomping.
Why would you want to do that?
She didn't say the wine tasted like bandaids.
'Heavy notes of saddle leather, tobacco, coffee, stink, minerals, and bandaids with some greeness and anise on the nose"
I watched an interview with the star of Sideways a few weeks ago. In it he was mocking the wine community for describing wine aromas with terms like 'barnyard' and 'tar'. He then went on a riff about poopy diapers. It was silly but illustrated that the actor was playing a part, he doesn't grock wine.
Most of us understand that these descriptors doesn't necessarily mean the wine tastes awful.
MHO, I would try the wine before jumping to any conclusions. You might be surprised or you may not be.
Each to his/her own.
I appreciate the effort people take to compose and post TNs. It is a valuable service.
I know some might feel intimidated as they don't want to be held up to public ridicule.
We all come to wine with different experiences, I hope we can respect this and refrain from mocking TNs. | | | |
| ChangeMe
Barrel Filler
Posts: 1475
| | 01-20-2005 04:40 PM |
| | Heck, "cat pee" is a classic TN descriptor for Sauv Blanc. If anyone reads that and is tempted to go taste some cat pee.... | | | |
| Drew
Sammamish, WA
Wine Bottler
Posts: 3233
| | 02-04-2005 06:28 PM |
| | It WAS an intriguing TN for a 95 pt wine. Even at 92, the rating convinces me I should drink, the TN suggests holding my nose while I do so :-) I firmly agree with the commentary that the company and occasion makes the wine memorable. Sounds like it was a fantastic evening! | | | |
| ChangeMe
Barrel Sampler
Posts: 2098
| | 02-10-2005 04:18 AM |
| | Just think, folks, if Lafon had said "vinyl" or "latex" you would have been down a whole different tangent! | | | |
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