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

Photographs By:
Kim Adams and Alan Kerr

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George Heritier and Larry Meehan's Tasting Notes

 After Taste and Gallery

Live from Toledo - Part 1
By Mark Lipton

Once again, wine geeks from across the Eastern US (and beyond) gathered in lovely Rossford, OH at the behest of Larry Meehan for the Midwest Wine and Food Symposium. When I arrived at 8 pm, events were already in full swing, with Larry, Geo and Kim from Gang of Pour in attendance, along with Disorderists John Blackwood with Trinka, Mark Criden, Dave Nelson, Bob Graeter, Mike Lawton and, arriving after me, Steve Guattery and his wife Teri. On the sideboard awaiting me were no less than 35 bottles of wine and dinner was in full swing. What's a beleaguered winegeek to do? Drop my luggage under the nearest table, grab a glass and get tasting, of course!

My night started with the 2002 Luneau-Papin L D'Or Muscadet SeM SL, an old friend that was a tad too warm when I got to it. Still going strong, though, with a nice minerally citrus tang, but seeming a bit soft as warm as it was. Next to it was its sibling the '02 Luneau-Papin "Semper Excelsior" Muscadet, at once richer and more precise than the L D'Or with plenty of Muscadet character. Moving on to the wealth of Rieslings on the sideboard, I began with the beguiling '99 Hirtzberger Hochrain Riesling Smaragd, Find this wine  which hit me with a powerful petrolly nose, which was replicated on the palate overlaying precise green apple fruit. Next up was the 2001 JJ Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese, which presented itself with a nose of limes and flowers and just a hint of petrol. Off-dry in character, with plenty of acidity, it tasted young and vibrant. For a change of pace, I next tried the '75 Dr. Loosen Erdener Prälat Spätlese, Find this wine which looked golden yellow and smelled distinctly of botrytis, all apricot and bergamot. Nicely acidic, it still had plenty of peachy fruit alongside the obvious botrytis character.

From there, it was time to sample the plentiful array of hipster wines, so on to the '97 i Clivi Galea Corno di Rosazzo Colli Orientali del Friuli. Interesting nose of spices, consistent with the spicy flavors that accompanied the petillance and off-dry feel to this wine. It had that sense of viscosity that I often get with wines that see prolonged skin contact. The next wine, though, went one step further in that direction, having an orange color. This was the ballyhooed '05 Zidarich Vitovska, with a wacky nose of herbs, bitter orange and rocks, and fairly full in the mouth. I won't generalize, as this was my first Vitovska, but it didn't really excite me.

At the urging of Geo, I now move into the reds with a magnum of '99 Charles Joguet Chinon 'La Dioterie', delightfully funky with mild leafy character and rich, leathery fruit. This one's still got a long way to go, but is pretty tasty right now. Then on to the '99 Gros Frere et Soeur Vosne-Romanée, the token Burgundy of the night and another nod to '99 for this year's event. Obviously Pinot in the nose, with that smoky character to the red fruit, low-level Brett and a silky mouthfeel that belies the deep sense of fruit on the palate. Still quite primary, this wine still was immensely appealing but could be too bretty for some. I'd give it another 5 years before opening based on this tasting. From there, it was time for the '94 La Rioja Alta 904, which smelled mostly of pine needles and dill, overlaying a light, red fruity wine. Perhaps it was the company it was in this night, but I couldn't really appreciate this wine.

Looking wistfully at the empty bottle of '90 Giacomo Conterno Barolo, Find this wine I turned my attention to the array of Syrahs on display, just as with last year's event. Mike Lawton proclaims the hipster status of two bottles he brought, the '06 Gripa St. Joseph, Find this wine which -- despite being painfully young -- offered an appealing mix of pine resin and juicy berryish fruit in the nose. On the palate, it was moderately acidic and slightly tarry alongside the fresh, fruity flavors. Next to it, the '06 Otheguy St. Joseph smelled of smoke and licorice and was appreciably more tannic than the Gripa, albeit with fairly chalky tannins. Beneath the tannins lay a wealth of acids and fruit, proclaiming a bright future ahead for this wine. Alas, the '92 Chave Hermitage is gone, though the near-empty bottle smells appealingly of funky, animale fruit, so I content myself with the '04 Marc Sorrel Hermitage, which smells of pine needles and berries, and comes across on the palate as tart and juicy, with some meaty complexity. Onward in the Rhone, I next sampled the '89 Ch. des Tours Vacqueyras, which had an appealing nose of meaty cherries (or is that cherryish meat?), plenty of acidity and a lively core of fruit still showing. I espy several CdPs, such as the '98 La Nerthe, but take a detour through Italy instead as the hour is growing late.

First up is the '97 Albino Rocca Barbaresco Vigneto Brich Ronca, Find this wine a tarry beast of a wine with some Band-Aid present in the nose, but not enough to be off-putting. On the palate, it's got surprisingly good acidity for its year, and is still fairly primary with plenty of fruit. There was another '97 from Italy, a '97 S. Molettieri Taurasi Vigna Cinque Querce, which alas proved to be corked. To console myself, I turn to yet another hipster wine, '06 Herve Souhaut St. Joseph St. Epine, which smells mostly of grapefruit, but tastes appealingly juicy with bright, red fruit character. To wind things up, I turn to the rapidly disappearing bottle of '99 Ridge Geyserville, an old friend of a wine, but damn this bottle is tasting good! Meaty, tarry, deeply red-fruited, with even a mineral streak running through it, it's good enough to make me lament my too-early consumption of this wine. Who'da guessed that amidst all the riches present tonight that a Geezer would vie for WOTN? And what better way to finish off the night than with the '89 Huet Vouvray Le Haut Lieu Moëlleux? Find this wine  Waxy, bergamoty Chenin fruit, sweet without coming close to cloying. At this point, I decide that it's best to check into my room and so toddle off into wee hours of the morning with a carton of Graeter's Black Raspberry Chip as my companion.

And, just to think, Saturday is the main event! I slipped into a contented slumber with that comforting thought.

Toledo - Day 2

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 (right) . 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, Find this wine with an herbal nose of appley fruit and a light, slightly round mouthfeel. From there, I moved on to the '06 Dr. Frank Rkatsiteli, Find this wine 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.

Then on to the Rieslings, starting with a 1992 Ch. Lafayette-Reneau Dry Riesling, Find this wine 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, Find this wine 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 Find this wine 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, Find this wine 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', Find this wine  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, Find this wine 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, Find this wine  which smelled of cinnamon 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 Chinon 'La Croix Boissée' 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 display. 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 seemed corked to me, but Geo quite adamantly opposed that view, saying that though it was off in some way that 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 Grains par Grain Find this wine 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 Cuvée Le Paon, Find this wine 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, Find this wine 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 Find this wine(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, Find this wine which smelled of caramel and tasted of botrytis and caramel.

And so I trotted off to bed, 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

Also see:

George Heritier and Larry Meehan's Tasting Notes

 After Taste and Gallery

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