|
|
Greg Bunnell's Office February 21, 2008 A day after we all enjoyed a lunar eclipse, we met at Greg's office for February's tasting. Only Steve DeShaw (recovering from shoulder surgery), Howard Johnson (in Mexico) and Loren Bunnell (recovering from heart surgery) were unable to attend. In their place, Greg invited his law partner and alternate, Peter Preston, and Rhett Murfitt, his longtime friend and semi-frequent guest.  The Fremont Bridge during the lunar eclipse. Photo by Steve Nehl, The Oregonian We all settled in after checking in at the guards desk to enjoy two white wines, both from the Northern Rhone valley. The wines, a 2001 Chapoutier St. Joseph "Les Granits" Blanc and a 2002 Chave Hermitage Blanc, were tasted with smoked oysters, a double creme brie, and a three cheese Semolina. Neither wine showed a great deal of fruit. Each provided aromas of minerals and licorice. As the night went on some returned to the white Rhone's and found that they probably needed more time in the glass as they continued to evolve and improve.  The theme for the tasting was Merlot in magnums from Silverado Vineyards from Napa and a vertical of Leonetti from Columbia Valley. The first flight included the first pour of the magnum of the 1999 Silverado, the first pour of the magnum of the 2000 Silverado, a 2000 Leonetti, and a 2001 Leonetti. The group rated the 2001 Leonetti tops for this flight with a 91 rating followed by the 1999 Silverado at 90 points. The 2000 Silverado was the least favorite of the first flight. There was no real consensus about the varietal for the first flight - some thought they were Gigandas or other Rhone-style wines while others opined they were either Old World or California Cabernet's. A few went to Old World Merlot with a couple of members going to Right Bank Bordeuax's from Pomerol. The second flight included the second pour of both the 1999 and 2000 Silverado along with Leonetti's 2002 and 2003 bottlings. Sadly, the 2003 Leonetti was corked and was not rated for the tasting. Those brave enough to try the wine did get some fruit and chocolate notes. When contacted, a representative from Leonetti suggested Greg contact the merchant to discuss storage issues. As we all know, corked wine has nothing to do with storage - it's related solely to the cork used by the winery. Leonetti took the unfamiliar stance that it was "not their problem." The wine of the second flight, and the evening, turned out to be the 2002 Leonetti - the group rated this at 93 points, which was right in line with the expert rating from Wine Specator. The second tasting of the Silverado's was somewhat surprising. The 1999 was went from a 90 to a 91 point rating while the 2000 went from an 87 to a 91 point rating. Most thought the second flight wines were California Cabernet's. Overall, the tasting garnered a 90 point average rating. We ended the evening with a wonderful dessert wine, a 1997 Rene Renou Cuvee Anne, to go with a Raspberry Poppy Seed cake. For a summary of the wine, food and professional ratings, click here: Summary |
|