Festivities on Saturday began around 5 pm, with the uncorking of another
few dozen bottles and the arrival of a dozen or so participants. In
addition to the previous night's crew, Putnam Weekley and Alan Kerr
arrived to add to the merriment and (in Putnam's case) to add some
pictorial documentation of the event. Once again, I launch into action
with the lighter wines first. A magnum of NV Allouchery-Perseval Brut
Reserve beckons with a light appley-toasty nose, a very lithe and crisp
bubbly. From there, my attention was turned to the array of Finger
Lakes wines laid out by Steve Guattery with a little help from Mark
Criden. First up was the '03 Dr. Frank Rkatsiteli, with an herbal nose
of appley fruit and a light, slightly round mouthfeel. From there, I
moved on to the '06 Dr. Frank Rkatsiteli, which by comparison is
mineral-tinged and floral in the nose with a light, petillant feel to
it. Another bubbly then makes an appearance, a NV Gobillard Brut Rosé,
showing some dusty, strawberryish fruit and a tart, toasty impression on
the palate.

Now on to the Rieslings, starting with a 1992 Ch. Lafayette-Reneau Dry
Riesling, with a nose dominated by petrol, and a palate impression
pretty much dominated by petrol and acid and fairly shy on fruit. I
found it interesting to try, even at this advanced age. From there it
was on to the '05 Tierce Dry Riesling, which had a much lighter dose of
petrol on the nose, and was light in body and shy on fruit, mostly
showing acid and petrol. The '05 Shaw Riesling seemed to me that it
might have been slightly corked and had limited Riesling character. For
comparison, I had opened an '07 Dönnhoff Estate Riesling, which after
the FL Rieslings seemed quite floral and mineral with a slightly creamy,
off-dry palate feel and no shortage of fruit. After that, the '01
Robert Weil Riesling Spätlese (was there a vineyard designation on this?
If so, I didn't get it) seemed closed and simple, showing little but
sweetness on the palate. Now making an appearance is the '07 Dr. Frank
Dry Riesling, with a sulfurous nose with some mineral character, and
stony white stone fruit on the palate.

There were more whites present than just Riesling, though, so next up
was a '93 Chave Hermitage blanc, smelling of butter and roasted nuts,
seemingly simple and a bit flat on the palate. For a change of pace,
the next wine was the '04 Bellivère Coteau du Loir Vieilles Vignes
Eparses, showing some characteristic Chenin fruit in the nose, quince
and beeswax, tart and light on the palate, moderately fruity. To round
out the white wine experience, I next turned to two Marc Angeli wines,
the '04 La Lune and the '04 Fouchardes, both of which were dark yellow
and showed little to me beyond a strong oxidative note. Perhaps I'm too
sensitive to oxidative smells to get beyond them. But, wait! I almost
overlooked the '06 Txomin Etxaniz Getaria, which unfortunately smelled
mostly of sulfur but had the characteristic petillance and light body
that I expected, marred for me, however, by the sulfur.

Having finally worked my way through the whites (and cued by Larry
Meehan's relocation of them to a separate table) I next moved on the
bountiful array of reds on display. First up was the shocking 2006
Domaine Coudert Brouilly (totally different label albeit with a horse on
it and no mention of Clos de Roilette), which was perfumed with bright
fruit, juicily acidic and altogether tasty. Back to the Arbois with a
2006 Houillon Pupillin, which smelled of cinammon and tasted of baking
spices and strawberries, a fun wine and altogether different from the
'07 of the previous night. A brief excursion into the Loire was next,
starting with the '90 Joguet Chinon 'La Chene Vert', with a meaty,
herbal nose and lots of red fruit on the palate, cherries and more meat.
Then on to the '00 Baudry Bourgueil 'La Croix Boisée' which sadly was
corked. To salve my disappointment, I moved on to the Piedmontese
wines, starting with a '64 Marchese di Barolo Barolo, smelling of stewed
fruit and tomatoes, tasting almost Port-like, with acids and oxidative
flavors following. This wine might very well have been fresher earlier
in the evening, but again the lack of Joe Perry to call me over to try
something may have cost me here. No such problems, though, with the
'95 Cappellano 'Otin Fiori' Barolo, which had a lovely nose of tar and
tobacco, medium body on the palate, lots of plummy fruit and a tarry
finish, a fine testament to the late Baldo's winemaking skills. Then on
to the '96 Vietti Barolo Rocche, which smelled a tad medicinal amidst
the red fruit, was moderately acidic and fairly primary. Not a bad wine
by any stretch, but a bit outclassed by the Cappellano.

From the Piedmont to the Rhone Valley, I next turned my attention to the
enticing selection of Syrahs laid out before me. Starting with the few
drops remaining of the '88 Chave Hermitage, I glimpsed the hints of
gamey red berries that were evident in the nose. Why is it that the
Chaves go first at these events? OK, that is a rhetorical question...
Fortunately, there is no shortage of the '99 Jamet Cote-Rotie, which
smells herbal with Band-Aid notes but tastes of red berry fruit amid
smoked meat and flowers. Yummy package. But then there's the '98
Allemand Cornas Reynard, with a nose of sweet red fruit and a floral
hint and a suave mix of acidity and lush red fruit on the palate with no
hint of the sauvage. An elegant Cornas, if such a thing can be
fathomed. Then, to add to the picture there was the '99 Allemand Cornas
Chaillot, which had a spicy note to the nose alongside the plentiful
berry fruit, and filled the mouth with flavors of fruit and spice with
refreshing acidity. A great pair of wines from M. Allemand, but quite
different from one another. Next up was the near-legendary '99
Gilles-Robin Crozes-Hermitage Cuvée Alberic Bouvet, the subject of many
a FL Jim post, showing a classic nose of smoked meat and berry fruit,
with more of the same on the palate in a nicely acidic package. And at
last, a non-empty bottle of '85 Chave Hermitage on diplay. And well
worth the wait it is, hitting me with a nose of minerals, gamey meat and
red fruit, reprised on the palate with fine acidity and fully resolved
tannins. Amid all these lovely Syrahs, this wine still stands out for
its classic beauty and vitality. But we're not done with Rhonish Syrahs
yet, oh, no. Now it's on to the '96 Ogier Côte-Rôtie, with a meaty nose
overlaying sweet red fruit and a sappy, piney note too. On the palate,
it's about acids and minerals with more of that sweet red fruit. Nice,
but a bit outclassed by its neighbors. And continuing on with the
leitmotif (no themes here) of '99, we have the '99 Texier Hermitage,
smelling of bright red fruit with a bit of heat, crisp, bright fruit on
the palate with some earthy notes. And in a lineup of N Rhone Syrahs
like this, where would we be without the ESJ? The first bottle, a '97
Edmunds St. John Syrah Fenaughty Vineyard seeme corked to me, but Geo
quite adamantly opposed that view, saying that though it was off in some
it wasn't cork taint. To me, the musty cardboard scents said otherwise,
though. Meanwhile, the '01 Edmunds St. John Syrah 'Wylie-Fenaughty'
that I had brought was showing quite well, herbal berry fruit in the
nose and richly fruity on the palate with herbal influences showing
there, too. Lovely wine, drinking very nicely now, but also quite
clearly not N Rhone Syrah. The sense of fruit in this wine spoke of CA
to me, but let's see where this wine goes in another 4-5 years.

Having at last concluded the tour of the N Rhone, we now move Southward,
stopping first in Provence. The 1998 Dom. Tempier Bandol 'La Tourtine'
was a real treat, with a nose of grilled meat and an herbal overlay, but
with a palate impression of sweet fruit, meat and a tincture of Brett.
A fine expression of Mourvedre. From there, it was up the Rhone to the
more familiar haunts of CdP. First stop was the '00 Dom. du Vieux
Télégraphe, with a nose of red and black berries (marionberries,
perhaps?), fine tannins and a palate impression that I likened to
Mourvedre, probably indicative of brambly, dark fruit. Next up was the
'98 Dom. de Pégaü Cuvée Laurence, with a typical nose of gamey cherry
and a very fruity, mid-weight palate impression. In comparison to my
recollection of the '98 Cuvée Réservée, this was a lighter but
comparably fruity wine, less wood tannic than the few other Laurences
I've had. Finally, the '99 Dom. de Pégaü Cuvée Réservée, another of my
contributions, had a nose of raspberry and a hint of Brett, smooth,
medium bodied and fruity with an herbal side to it.

At this point, both I and the evening were winding down so it was time
to take stock of the sweet wines that had been opened. As soon as I
alight at the table, I have a glass of the '97 Godineau Bonnezaux
pressed into my hands. From a meter away, I get the unmistakable
botrytis mix of apricot and bergamot that dominates its nose, and find
an intense apricot taste on the palate as well. Intensely sweet, it has
enough acid not to feel cloying but still hits you like a sledgehammer.
Next on the agenda was a '97 Dom. des Baumard Coteau du Layon, which
struck me with an oxidized nose and caramel-like flavors on the palate.
I wasn't getting much Chenin fruit in this and, after talking for a
minute or two with Mike Lawton, I began to smell canned asparagus.
From there it was on to the little bottle of 2005 Stéphane Tissot Audace
Passerillé rouge, a dessert Poulsard from the Arbois, and what an odd
duck it is: herbal, raisiny nose and concentrated, intense fruit on the
palate with a sense of... Balsamic vinegar? Another fascinating
Garagiste purchase from Tim Thomas. Next up was the '86 Dom. du Mas
Blanc Banyuls (was there a vineyard designation on this?), which smelled
to me of stewed fruit and tasted Port-like and hot. Alas, the bottle of
'96 Huet Clos du Bourg Moëlleux 1er Trie that I'd brought for this
moment proved to be badly corked, so I finished off the event with a
taste of the '95 Chapoutier Vin de Paille, which smelled of caramel and
tasted of botrytis and caramel.

And so I trotted off to bed, only to be called back by Mark Criden to
take claim of my Dressner wines that Kim had thoughtfully lugged down
from Michigan, leaving the hard-core remnants to finish off what they
could and leave the rest for Kim's vinegar crocks. A fine end to a
great weekend of food, wine and friends, all in the chilly confines of
Rossford, OH. See you next year in Toledo!

Mark Lipton


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