Sunday Wine Tasting June 4th

Our Sunday Wine Tasting Series kicked off last night with a blend of old and new, both in wines, and in wine cellar visitors. These are informal wine and cheese quaffs in which I pick some cellar gems, attempt to pair them with some neat cheeses, and lead a discussion on the relative merits of both the wines and the pairings. Lasting about an hour and a half, I always describe these as "Come enjoy my hospitality from 5:30 until 7:00, and then get the hell out of my house".

It's always fun to gather an eclectic crowd and last night was no exception. Three lovely ladies from a women's wine group who have become great fans of the cellar and good friends were the first to sign up. An old workplace chum who has moved on to another job joined in as well. And Barbara, who starred in the Spanish tasting notes from the Bin22 event, and the photo therefrom, brought the boyfriend of one of the other ladies from that evening. We were rounded out with my chemist friend Chris, who added a scientific side to the discussions. We started with a white, a small production Marsanne/Ugni Blanc/Grenache Gris blend from Australia. All combined, they produced a pleasantly acidic lightly fruited warm weather quaff not dissimilar from Sauvignon Blanc. More lemon than grapefruit, and some of us picked out the "bitter almond" on the nose that our downloaded tasting notes told us to look for. The cheeses (a soft Camembert, my favorite Petit Basque, and an Aged Gouda) mellowed the acid (always look for this to happen) but also clouded any complexity that the wine had. For the most part, it was seen as a stand-alone summer sipper, before moving on to more exciting offerings.

We moved to the old world next with a value priced 1998 Barolo from Lodali. Light color, edged in brick, reminiscent of Pinot Noir, with all the earthy notes that denote Barolo, this wine also showed it's acid and abundance of dark red fruits and blackberry. Slight toast and tobacco, it paired nicely with our cheeses and grapes, a characteristic generally expected form the old world style. This wine opened dramatically with three hours of decanting.

Next we were blessed by the magnanimous BW who allowed us to open one of her Peruvian wines, a 2002 Tannat-based Tacama. This wine had become flawed, but not so much that we could put our finger on it. Only after arguing it's relative merits and idiosyncrasies, did Bobbie come in and taste it and pronounce it shot. We opened another bottle from a different vintage, and got all the appropriate red fruits and color of the varietal that we expected. Not expensive, it is typical of the efforts from central South America. Worth a try for the education of palate, look for locally from Uruguay.

We finished the evening in Bordeaux, as those of you who know me might expect. Chateau Cantenac Brown 1998 is a Margaux based wine, blending the typical Cab/Merlot/ Cab Franc. Earthy and solid, the nose foretold of it's style. Deep aromas of the dark fruits and bell pepper. The taste was typical of the region: Dark fruit, wonderful earth moderate tannins that faded after decanting. The cheeses and this wine are made for each other, and the relative lower acid level in the wine allowed more of the flavor of the cheese to shine. Acid tends to blend with the fats in cheeses to mute each other out, sometimes necessary, but sometimes to the detriment of both.

We went back and tasted through the wines again and I always notice in that review that some earlier also-rans rise up and become favorites. Always keep a little bit of the wines tasted early on so that they may get the benefit of your softened palate later. The change is amazing. All in all, a successful effort and interesting discussion among new and old friends. And they were all "the hell out of my house" by 7!