|
|
June 21, 2007 Paul Bonar's House A less than full group convened at Paul's house on a cool and somewhat windy evening. Absent were Steve, Neal and Loren. Paul had graciously agreed to switch months with Steve who had planned a trip to go fishing in Alaska - we're all expecting some treats at Steve's tasting next month. The group was presented with two whites, a Bergstrom Chardonnay and a Wetzel Estate "Single Cluster" Chardonnay, both from the 2000 vintage. Paul, as is customary, demonstrated his skills on the Traeger with some barbequed ribs. The ribs went well with the whites, which were tasting at or near their peak. The group decided to move inside for the tasting and the first four pours were made. Paul had opened and decanted the reds about three hours before presentation to those in attendance. The reds were accompanied by a fine selection of cheese, crackers and bread. Most agreed that it was difficult to pin down the varietal or blend for the first flight though we could tell that there was some age to the wine. Many thought that there was some "funkiness" to a couple of the wines from either being overpressed or possibly corked. The second flight overall showed better than the first flight. But, as with the first flight, there was no real consensus about the offering. Paul had advised that there was a "ringer" in the tasting, but no one could really identify which glass was the culprit. The flight of eight reds turned out to be from the wonderful 1997 California Cabernet Sauvignon vintage - the ringer was from the same year, but from Maipo Valley, Chile. Everyone agreed that if Neal had been there, he would have been able to identify it. The St. Clement scored the highest in the first flight. The Freemark Abbey turned out to be the lowest scored wine of the night and one membercommented that all of his bottles from this producer had been corked. The top scoring wine of the night went to the BV George de Latour. The ringer seemed atypical according to those familiar with the Don Melchor Reserve from Concha y Toro. The overall scoring for the tasting (even with an 80 for the BV and an 81 for the Concha y Toro) was a commendable 87. Although Paul offered a Port or Sautrenes to go with the fresh fruit, all agreed that we had plenty of wine to compliment the local bounty. Click here for the individual scoring: June 2007 |
|