Last night was the monthly gathering of SOBER (Several Oenophiles
Becoming Extremely Rambunctious); Tim Rankin hosted and put on a very
nice tasting. An assortment of Italian cheeses (Taleggio, Parmigiano
Reggiano, Gorgonzola Dolce, Tomme Tarfuffo, etc.) were on the table,
early on some mushroom quesdillas were passed, then after red flight #2
was served we had stracotto (braised beef) and mushroom risotto (both
very tasty).

The opening wine was the 1975 Deutz (from magnum). I'm not in general
the biggest fan of aged Champagne, often thinking "this is nice, but I
think I would have liked better younger." This is the kind of bubbly
that shows me the error of such generalizations. At 31 this is fresh
and lively, with solid apple fruit accented with citrus zest, a
pleasant yeasty note, elegant but with substance. Revisited later the
yeast was more pronounced, and some aromas of almonds and a little
chalk. Lovely Champagne. A-

Flight #1 (all reds were blind)

Wine #1 : Ripe cherry fruit, good acidity but a little flat on finish.
Enjoyable but not profound. B. It's the 1961 Borgogno Barolo Riserva
This is a library release that was recently obtained, and there was
discussion that travel shock might be in play.

Wine #2 : corked. Hard to get past. Others felt good material
underneath the TCA. Too bad, it's the 1971 Contratto Barolo Riserva

Wine #3 : Easily my favorite of flight. A little high-toned, bright
with red fruit touched with flowers. Spicy, fun, slurpable. A- . The
1982 Francesco Rinaldi "Cannubi" Barolo

Group had easily come to consensus they were Italian, and I think most
had guessed Nebbiolo (I thought so for #3, but wasn't so sure re #1).

Flight #2

#4 Nose is ripe bordering on overripe. Ripe red fruit on palate, but
with an acidic zing on the finish. Not my favorite, but pretty young
tasting. B/B+
It's the 1990 Pieve Santa Restituta "Rennina" Brunello di Montalcino

#5 Big exotic nose, more mature feeling than it's flightmates. Round
and ripe on the palate, but with good acidity and length, nice wine. B+

1990 Poggio Antico Brunello di Montalcino

#6 Nose here is also exotic, with sandalwood and coffee. Ripe and big,
some vanilla but not overwhelming. Gets smooth and chocolately with a
little air. Really quite nice, and rather ready. A-/B+. It's the 1997
Pertimali/Livio Sassetti Brunello di Montalcino.

I had opined that these wines were much younger than first flight, all
mid to late 90s, with #5 as most mature. #4 being a '90 Brunello
surprised me. The '97 showed much better than other '97 Brunelli I've
tried recently (Antinori Pian delle Vigne, etc).

Flight #3
Wine #7: Big, brawny, virile. There's some oak, but fairly integrated.
Ripe
dark berry and raspberry fruit, some earth, a hint of mint. Pretty
impressive, if not my total favorite style. B+/B

1991 Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz

Wine #8- Ripe and kirschy nose. Palate is more blackberries and black
plums. Also big, but seems less balanced than #7. B-/B 1992 Penfolds
Grange.

I guessed Australia without a lot of certainty, the HOG was impressive,
but a wine to have post-dinner (as we did) or with rare meat, not what
I would want as regular table fare. I was a bit disappointed to find
the #8 was Grange, I had liked my couple other tastes (different
vintages).

Fun night, good people.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.