Tasting Notes and Commentary By:
George Heritier, Larry Meehan and Mark Lipton

Photographs By:
Kim Adams and Alan Kerr

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Mark Lipton's Tasting Notes

After Taste and Gallery

I sat on a sofa just off the lobby and remarked to first time attendee Putnam Weekley about the wonderful joke we had played on sensibilities everywhere. We have people traveling sometimes thousands of miles to Northwest Ohio to make merry for forty hours or so in the lobby of a business travelers hotel, which our group has bloodlessly conquered for a weekend in February, now ten years running. We rearrange furniture, cook and serve delicious meals, talk loudly, and frequently sip from a cornucopia of fascinating wines. None of it makes sense – that we should be allowed to mostly do as we please in a corporate environ, that people keep coming back, and how this year seemed easier, more relaxed, and better than ever.

Most who attend have been coming for many years (five or more), but the group has also changed over the course of ten gatherings. In particular, many missed Moe (Chris Gross, a founding father) this year, and everyone hopes but never quite believes Bill Paumen will rejoin us one of these times. Still, we have been fortunate to add new and interesting people as others have moved on or are unable to attend. We have not just maintained, but truly evolved over the years.

This evolution certainly shows up in the wines with which we adorn the tables. Where once a staple of any such gathering, there was not a California Cabernet in sight all weekend (where have you gone Mark Horvatich?)…perhaps needless to say, there was not much Chardonnay either. Though the Jura and Loire account for a great deal of space, our group has moved toward Rhone Syrah as a staple…Rieslings seem to be held in high regard, as are the reds of Piedmont. We’ve come a long way since the fabled night of Flowers Pinots. We drink fabulous wines, but it is not the bottles that fuel the group’s enthusiasm, rather I would say the long term success of “Toledo” is that we do not place that much emphasis on it. We have managed to eliminate so much of the bravado of wine tasting events of yore. We all find wines we love, as well as bottles we flat out dislike, but it makes little difference in the big picture. There is joy in being together with good people and kindred spirits which has easily surpassed being too worked up about the wine.

Some of my favorite people come to Toledo every February. I am not sure it makes any sense as to how and why it works out as it does, but I am grateful it continues to be so.  - Larry Meehan

Friday

1984 J.L. Chave Hermitage Blanc: Rich golden color, with a slightly oily texture; earthy butterscotch and toffee flavors and aromas, with the emphasis on earthy. Remarkably fresh, full bodied with good acids, and just a delight to drink.  Find this wine

Champagne Chartogne-Taillet Brut NV Cuvee Saint-Anne, 12% alc., $41, disgorged 07/2005: Much as we remember it from a few months ago, but perhaps even more in the smoky matchstick spectrum, with a rich, yeasty core of yellow apple fruit, medium full to full body and excellent cut. Very nice. Find this wine

2002 Luneau-Papin Muscadet Sèvre & Maine Sur Lie Le L d’Or, $14.45 – 17, 12% alc.: This has come along nicely since we last tasted it in September of 2005. Medium straw color, and like having a mouthful of river rocks, which in this case is a good thing! A little oily in the mouth, with chalky, earthy under-ripe apple flavors and aromas, medium full body and good cut. This is what Muscadet is all about, and it has years of life left in it. {I have swooned for this bottling a number of times – by comparison this one is the most reluctant that I can recall. The wine seemed tight and constrained in both fragrance and depth of palate. It was long on rocks, but just a little short on personality. It happens to all of us from time to time, especially in a crowd. }  Find this wine

2002 Luneau-Papin Muscadet Sèvre & Maine Sur Lie "Semper Excelsior Clos des Noëlles," 12% alc., $22.95: An apt and interesting follow-up to the previous wine; medium straw color with a tinge of lime and almost perfumed for Muscadet, with river rocks, star fruit and something mildly floral on the nose. Flavors echo, with an added hint of lime and a dose of chalk; Cousin Larry added an impression of white pepper. Medium full bodied, with good cut and a long finish. As good as it is now, there’s no hurry to open another, because it has a fine future ahead of it.  {As opposed to its brother “L d’Or”, this one was bright and lively – good content under all that witty banter. The white pepper was an odd and intriguing element…otherwise it was a status quo superb bottle offering remarkable textures and depth. }  Find this wine


1989 Leonard Kreusch Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett: Medium straw color, with petrol, mineral and ripe red and green apple flavors and aromas; soft and silky, with just enough acidity to keep it moving along. More attractive on the nose than in the mouth, where it turns a bit one dimensional, but still, interesting and enjoyable. { In many ways I found this monochromatic with its tart apple and rock streak running from end to end, but that is hardly a bad thing. It was quite delicious and satisfying as its acidic wash rolled over that ash covered goat cheese I had on my cracker. }  Find this wine

1991 Champagne Philipponnat Clos des Goisses: This may well have our first taste of this highly regarded Champagne; if we’ve had it before, we weren’t taking notes, but we certainly did enjoy Brad Baker’s account of visiting the domaine in 2007. This one doesn’t show a lot of activity in the flute, but it certainly is frothy and zippy in the mouth, with rich, almost ripe apple flavors accented with notes of earth, smoke and yeast. Good stuff, but perhaps slightly off, due to the lack of bubbly bead.  Find this wine

1999 Charles Joguet Chinon Cuvée du Clos de la Dioterie Vieilles Vignes, 1.5 L, 11 - 14% alc.: With all the other great things being poured on this evening, this may have been my wine of the night; it certainly stands out in my memory as much as any of the others. Dark garnet color, with earthy, smoky, leathery plum and mahogany on the nose, followed by plenty more of the same on the palate. Medium full bodied, with very good structure and length. It’s in a very nice place right now, but these have a fine track record for extended aging, so we’ll hold on to our other two magnums for at least a few years. {I liked this pleasantly leaf and leather adorned, slightly backward Chinon, but I’m prone to such things. Foods of a slightly fatty sort were its friend. }  Find this wine

1992 J.L. Chave Hermitage, 13% alc.: We’ve enjoyed this on many occasions, thanks to the hospitality of Cousin Larry, but alas, this was his last bottle, and it performed well. Showing some rust to its garnet hue, it offers earthy leather and mahogany characteristics, being mostly secondary at this point. Still well structured, drinking nicely and in no danger of fading any time soon.  {Delicate, deft, and pleasing in its demeanor until the last drop.}  Find this wine

2006 Stephane Otheguy St. Joseph: Inky color, with earthy, fairly ripe black plum and berry character shaded with more than a hint o’ bacon; the earthiness offsets the ripeness somewhat. Full bodied, with big structure and a fine future ahead of it. {It is young and unpolished, but I look forward to bumping into it again some day.}  Find this wine

1989 Chateau des Tours Vacqueyras: Slightly rusty color, with dusty beetroot, black fruit, leather and smoke anchored with a solid earthy core. A big wine, still with huge structure and quite possibly still not at its peak. Larry describes it as “fierce.” {Fierce sums it up nicely for me – not so much a beverage as  an adventure across harsh terrain.}  Find this wine

1990 Borgogno Barolo Riserva: Slightly cloudy dark color, with an earthy, sticksy nose that follows through on the palate and fleshes out to show rich, intense black currant, blackberry and dried cherry. Full bodied, well structured and still on the way up. {I did not care for this one. The tannins struck me as bitter and the funky musk was not to my liking. Que sera, sera…}  Find this wine

1999 Gros Freres et Soeur Vosne Romanee: Throwing a smoky, earthy black cherry and Asian spice perfume that carries over on to the smooth, well mannered palate; medium body +, still well structured and seemingly not yet at its peak, this more than holds its own among the bigger Rhones and Italians tasted on this occasion.  Find this wine

2005 Cuvée du Vatican Châteauneuf-du-Pape: Throws a dusty nose and delivers flavors and aromas of wood smoke, black plum, blackberry, earth and underbrush. Full bodied, well structured and still on the way up.  Find this wine

1999 Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf du Pape: Earth, iron, black plum and blackberry flavors and aromas; fairly smooth, yet still well structured. In a nice place right now, but should hold or improve for several years.  Find this wine

1997 Antinori Tignanello, 13.5% alc.: Deep, dark color, and not giving much on the nose; refined and claret-like on the palate, offering earthy black currant, blackberry, subtle underbrush and a little old wood. Nice enough, but nothing special in this lineup. Perhaps it needs to be considered under different circumstances. {I know some consider it a cop out to call something a “food wine”, but it is what it is. It was rather uninteresting on its own, but it became complete and satisfying with just a bit of Cabot bandage wrapped Cheddar}  Find this wine

2004 M. Sorrel Hermitage: Dare I say it? Almost Burgundian in character, reminiscent of smoke, sweet leather, black plum, a hint o’ mahogany and what Mark Lipton describes as pine needles. Full bodied and solidly structured for many years of development, but already nice now with air.   Find this wine

2002 Qupé Santa Maria Valley Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyard Hillside Estate, $45, 13.5% alc.: Last tasted in the fall of 2006, and it’s still not even close to peaking. Looks like a glass of ink, and is just as deep, dark and mysterious in the mouth, with tarry black plum and blackberry flavors. All about promise right now, but what promise it is!   Find this wine

1999 Ridge Geyserville Sonoma County, 68% Zinfandel, 16% Carignane, 16% Petite Sirah, $30, 14.8% alc.: Draper perfume shows some subtle American oak and earth over deep, dark blackberry and black raspberry in both flavor and aroma. It was the deepest, darkest Geezer in a long time when it was released, and nothing has changed in that regard. It’s great, but needs at least another 5 years in the cellar. Happily, the oak it showed back in ’05 has toned down greatly.  {Happy? You bet I am. I went long on this ’99 Geyserville way back when, because I thought it had the right stuff to develop into the well aged Geezers I so love. This bottle was so much better than the hot, oak sopped models I’ve tried in the past few years. This was quite nice, but still a few years away for my preferences.}   Find this wine

2007 Dashe Potter Valley Zinfandel L'Enfant Terrible McFadden Farms: Sea air and raspberry on the nose, with raspberry and some subtle earth on the palate; the comparison to Beaujolais on Dashe’s website is an apt one, and refreshingly so. One taster described it as “pink grapefruit on steroids.” Not your typical Zin, this will coast for a few years on its acids rather than its tannins. 
Find this wine

2000 Puffeney Poulsard – strawberries and herbs seem to shrink against the falling rocks and cresting waves of acid. It struck me as more interesting than good.  Find this wine

2003 Puffeney Arbois Vieilles Vignes – This is superb stuff – bright, enticing, and far reaching with is fruit and spice, but grounded in a way that makes me almost proud to drink it, rather than expressing run of the mill excitement. 
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2007 Overnoy Pupillin – It was wet, juicy and primary, but enjoyable all the same. Find this wine

2006 Herve Souhaut St. Joseph St. Epine – I fully embraced this hipster red with all its low SO2 goodness. Indeed it was fresh, always juicy with dark fruit, and where its grim smirk of tannins was off putting to some, I reveled in it. I did have a sudden urge to watch something…anything on the Independent Film Channel.  Find this wine

2001 JJ Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese – Effusive, long and broad -- the flint and flower fusion in the bouquet is enticing, as well as the well charged citrus and mineral flavor profile. Who knows how long it will take for all that sulfur to fade away, but it is gorgeous and appealing right now.  Find this wine

1997 i Clivi Galea Corno di Rosazzo Colli Orientali del Friuli – Lightly oxidized and well spiced across is broad, foggy semi-fruited plains. It is an odd wine, but likeably so.  Find this wine

2005 Zidarich Vitovska – I was quite interested to try this orange wine, and briefly considered running out to purchase a black turtle neck so as to soak up all its hipster goodness…realizing the futility of this gesture I just sipped from the glass. I have to get over this tolerance I have for the odd and far flung, as I was not at all shocked by this Campari tinged libation. I rather liked its expansive bitter orange and herbal tea presence, and proceeded with generally poor results to get passersby to try it. I believe Mike Lawton and I were still sipping on this the next day, though Roland Riesen may have applied a bit of it to a small cut on his hand before bandaging.  Find this wine

Saturday

Champagne Allouchery Perceval Brut Reserve Premier Cru NV, 1.5 L: Ample mousse and fine active bead; intense, concentrated and rich, with zippy acidity, mineral, smoke, yeast and under-ripe apple. There was some debate as to whether this or the following selection is more compelling.  Find this wine

Champagne J. M. Gobillard et Fils Brut Rosé NV, 1/3 Pinot Noir, 1/3 Pinot Meunier, 1/3 Chardonnay; Dosage: 8 g/l. Aged for 3 years in cellar, 12% alc., $41.80: We go back to this one again and again because it’s just so good. Peach pink color, with ample mousse and fine active bead; mineral, earth, strawberry and cherry character, being under-ripe yet rich at the same time. Very well received by the group.  Find this wine

2005 Bernard Baudry Chinon Blanc La Croix Boisée: Earthy, with a lot of mineral, but also a pretty perfumed quality that Alan Kerr aka Canadina Zinfan describes as “buttercup.” Nice apple and melon fruit on a medium bodied frame with good acids. Smooth and delicious.   Find this wine

(There was also a Baudry Chinon Rouge on the table, but sadly, I somehow missed tasting it, which is a shame, because he is one of THE dudes in the appellation.)  {I cannot recall the last time I had a Baudry Blanc in my glass, but if this bottle is any sort of indicator, then I’ve been missing a great deal. It is round, yet intense….constantly unfolding in a way that I know I missed a great deal in moving on after just 5 or 10 minutes.}  Find this wine

Putnam Weekley brought the following two wines, saying that they had come out of the same case and that he was interested in finding out if the were different wines or simply mislabeled. As it turns out, they were definitely different wines.

2004 Domaine de la Sansonnière Anjou Les Fouchardes (Mark Angeli): Earthy mineral, dry melon and apple; rich, but not too ripe, with good cut. Nice dry Chenin Blanc. { I found this bottle to have an oxidative quality, and not nearly the stone and acid profile of the La Lune. They did not at all seem to me to be the same wine with different labels affixed}  Find this wine

2004 Domaine de la Sansonnière Anjou La Lune (Mark Angeli): Mr. Kerr immediately commented that this shows “a bit more honey and some guava” than the previous wine, and he was spot on. It also has a subtle earthy, funky undertone that adds to the appeal. Smooth and rich, with good cut.  {A rich, bright and quite appealing wine that showed impressive depth as it lingered in my glass. There are some “green” tinges, but it plays as “fresh”}  Find this wine

Champagne Pierre Peters Brut Blanc de Blancs NV: Smoky, toasty matchstick nose, and an earthy, chalky character in the mouth, with racy acidity; not quite as intense as the other two Champagnes tasted on this evening, but still nice on its own account. {The argument can be made that this is not as deep or yeasty as other Champagnes on the table, but I found this to be a true palate refresher and generally invigorating drink – such fun!}  Find this wine

1993 J.L. Chave Hermitage Blanc: A subtle floral note over mineral, lanolin and melon flavors and aromas; somewhat neutral, but the wine is certainly still alive and kicking. Putnam wonders if it isn’t in a dumb stage right now. Full bodied, with good cut.  Find this wine

2005 Domaine Phillipe Tessier Cour-Cheverny:Alan noted a bit of banana to go along with the mineral and apple character of this wine; medium to medium full bodied, with good cut. Rich, but not too ripe.  Find this wine

2006 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly Fumé Buisson Renard: I’ve always loved Dagueneau’s Sauvignons, and it was with some sadness that we toasted to his memory with this beautiful wine. It elicits impressions of “spicy green lettuce, arugula and gooseberry” from Kerr, and of course, there’s a bit of boxwood and a lot of mineral. Medium full bodied, with excellent cut and intensity, this was not only the white of the night, it may have been my wine of the night. {At the outset, the wine was dominated by sulfur and stone, but when I revisited it hours later it emerged from that shroud as a delightful blend of pulpy white grapefruit and sweet pineapple, gently outlined in chalk. The palate length and breadth was quite remarkable, but it was the intensity of the mineral/gooseberry composite in the finish, along with the grip of the acids that brought it all together. Superb, albeit young Pouilly Fume}  Find this wine
 

1990 Charles Joguet Chinon Clos du Chene Vert: Earthy underbrush and herbaceousness dominate the leathery beetroot flavors and aromas in a good way; medium full to full bodied, and still well structured for many years in the cellar. We’ve never met a Joguet Chinon we didn’t like.  {1990 Joguet Chinon 'La Chene Vert' – This one was even too green and vegetal for even me}
Find this wine

1996 Vietti Barolo Roche: Sticksy black currant and sour cherry are shaded with what Alan calls “Dutch licorice and star anise;” big structure here and a solid core of deep, dark fruit, but rather more austere than I expected. Find this wine

1999 Jamet Cote Rotie: Big and brawny, with bacon, leather, earth, black plum, beetroot and a little coffee; still young and still on the way up, but already delicious.  {This is a big, powerful wine, but I remain a member of that snippy chorus that finds a hole in the midsection}  Find this wine

1964 Marchesi di Barolo: Still showing really good color, and offering star anise, treacle and balsamic flavors, according to Kerr; add some old wood and dirt and you have a wine that’s past its prime, but interesting, though not exactly enjoyable for this taster.  {Old, but interesting}  Find this wine

1996 Ogier Cote Rotie: Not as expressive as the Jamet, but nice on its own account, with bacon, leather, black plum, blackberry and garrigue flavors and aromas; in a very nice place right now for current enjoyment, but more time in the cellar won’t do it any harm.  {It was pretty shy and unyielding at the outset, mostly hiding behind its tannin. Revisiting this a few hours later, the transformation was worth the wait – becoming a testament to the virtues of bacon and the beauty of supple textures}  Find this wine

1999 Eric Texier Hermitage: Earthy black plum and blackberry shaded with subtle underbrush; nice enough, but falls short of the Cote Roties on all counts.  {I like the Cote Roties, too…but I’ve also had better, more expansive bottles of this Hermitage, that on this night I found completely dominated by tannins}  Find this wine

1998 Allemand Cornas Reynard: Bacon, bacon, BACON!!! OK, there’s a dense core of black fruit there too. Full bodied and still well structured for many years of drinking pleasure.  {This still seems fresh to me….brawny and structured, but always fresh. Sure there is bacon, granite, and bits of animal fur here and there, but far beyond any descriptors, this is a truly complete wine}  Find this wine

1998 Domaine Tempier Bandol La Tourtine: Classic Tempier that’s in a very good drinking window right now, but with plenty of years left it. Kim described “huge mint,” and of course there’s the requisite earth, leather black currant and beetroot character, all on a full bodied, well structured frame. Find this wine

1999 Allemand Cornas Chaillot: Again, more bacon, though perhaps not as much as in the ’98; big body and structure with a big dense black fruit core shaded with earth and leather. The best days are ahead for this beauty.  {I was surprised by some initial effervescence soon after the cork was pulled, but it was short lived. It was less brawny than the Reynard, and perhaps slightly higher in tone, but showing many similarities otherwise. Gulpable for the greedy!}  Find this wine

1998 Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Laurence: Still a young wine, but classic Pegau, giving iron, earth and what Kerr describes as “cooked, but not stewed” deep, dark black fruit. Give this one another 10 years in the cellar.  {It was impressive for its balance and harmony. I know this gets extra time in barrel, but “oak” was never an issue for me}  Find this wine

2000 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf du Pape “La Crau”, 14% alc., $48.99: Classic Vieux Télégraphe that’s drinking even better now than it was in July of ’07, but still not yet at its peak. Subtle cocoa over black fruit and leather.  Find this wine

1997 Edmunds St. John Syrah Fenaughty: Almost gives the impression of being corked at first, but it’s not, though there were those who disagreed with me on that account. It’s more like old balsa over leathery plum and blackberry; very Rhone-ish – surprise! {It was corked}   Find this wine

2001 Edmunds St. John Syrah Wylie-Fenaughty: Another Rhone clone from Steve Edwards that will fool people in blind tastings. Sea air over leather, earth and black fruit on the nose, losing only the sea air on the palate. Drinking very well at present, with plenty of life left in it.  Find this wine

2002 Sean Thackrey Marin County Pinot Noir Devil’s Gulch Ranch Andromeda, 15.1% alc.: We hadn’t tasted this since September of ’05, and at that time, thought it needed a few years in the cellar. It has indeed benefited from its rest, but it’s not exactly typical for Pinot Noir, and really more Rhone-ish, being more in the earthy dark plum spectrum than black cherry. Alan remarked, “It’s good, but it’s not Pinot Noir. How can that be Pinot Noir?!”   Find this wine

1999 Gilles Robin Crozes Hermitage Cuvée Alberic Bouvet : Drinking really well right now, with a bacon, garrigue and black fruit personality.  {Our pal Florida Jim made this wine famous when he gobbled up vast quantities at “$9 delivered”. Even at $10 more it is a very appealing wine and a good deal from Crozes!}  Find this wine

1999 Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape: In a very harmonious state right now, and so typically Pegau, with earth, iron, black fruit and leather, and still on the way up.  Find this wine

2007 Dönnhoff Estate Riesling QbA – Quite nice with its syrupy apple and pear set against requisite rocks and just enough acid. It is not special in any way, but quite delicious.  Find this wine

2001 Robert Weil Riesling Spätlese – I seemed to like this more than others with its tightly wound, sweet/tart split personality, but it was refreshing and engaging.   Find this wine

1995 Cappellano 'Otin Fiori' Barolo --- Gorgeous, satisfying wine that was an easy choice as my “dinner wine” (mmmmm, lamb!), along with the 1998 Allemand Reynard. I managed another pour by distracting Blackwood with the idea of a Predators hockey game on the TV.  Find this wine

2006 Domaine Coudert Brouilly – This has emerged as one of my favorite Beaujolais from the vintage. It has the whole package, but will benefit from more time.  Find this wine

1985 Chave Hermitage – Alas, it has faded.  Find this wine

1988 Chave Hermitage– but not the ’88!!! This was in a lovely place, showcasing the feminine side of Chave Hermitage. It was complex and enticing in both nose and mouth…supple textures bring it all home.  Find this wine

NV Yann Alexandre Rose “Cuvee Rubis” – Juicy, broad and fresh – I could drink this one all night. It is soft in its welcome but then quite intense throughout.  Find this wine
 

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