Howard Johnson's Home
January 15, 2009
We all survived the "Arctic Blast" over the holidays and found our way to Howard's house for this year's first tasting. Only Steve DeShaw was unable to attend due to a "commitment" in Las Vegas. In his place, Howard invited his brother-in-law, Rick.
Howard opened two nice bottles of white wine to start the tasting, a 2004 Jean Marc Brocard Grand Cru Chablis and a 2007 William Fevre Chablis. The William Fevre was true to form without a hint of oak, while the Grand Cru had, at some point, been exposed to some oak. Both were well-balanced had good mouth feel, but for the price point, the pedestrian chardonnay was a sure winner and a recent recommendation by Matt Kramer.
Howard then treated the group to his version of the Foo Fighters "Everlong" at the expert level on Guitar Hero World Tour. He nailed it and will forever be known simply as Guitar Hero, or GH for short. GH also mentioned he had also mastered the drum set, as well. We all wondered, out loud, how he was able to spend enough time to be able to get through any of the songs at the expert level when GH reminded us that he "works from home." Plans are in the works for a World Tour Band function.
After the brief solo by GH, we were ready to partake in the red, liquid bounty that had been decanting for about an hour or so. There was great similarity in the first flight, but we all struggled to identify the varietal or blend. Guesses went from Italian Brunello's to Spanish Tempranillo's to Bordeaux. Many of us poured the remains from the first flight and compared the "blend" with the second flight. Most agreed before the reveal that they were different varietals. The second flight was definitely younger and more tannic. We all agreed that if Steve DeShaw were present he would have said "Since I'm not familiar with this wine, I'll say they're Italian."
As it turned out, GH pulled out a vertical of Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate from 1993 to the 2000 vintage. The 1998, many thought, was corked. In the first flight, each wine averaged an 88 point rating. The second flight rated slightly higher, with the exception of the 1998. As a whole, members rated the Montelena anywhere between 84 and 95 points. All of the wine received high marks from Wine Spectator and Robert Parker, especially the '97 and '99 vintages. After the reveal, many returned to their favorite vintages. Some had hoped that the '98 would turn around, but the defects became more prounounced as time went on.
GH then opened up a beautiful Sauternes from Barsac, a 2001 Ch. Coutet. With this, he brought out some freshly made Baklava. Many enjoyed more than one. GH then "challenged" Greg Bunnell to a song from Tool. Greg played lead guitar at the medium level and GH played the bass, first at expert and then at the hard level. It was clear that GH had spent considerable time "working" from his home office.