Gang of Pour - School's Out

High Time in High Point

Intro

Portland, Oregon:
Double J's Old Hill Ranch Roundup

Cristom Vineyards

Ann Arbor, Michigan
MoCool 2001

Ogier Tasting

Cleveland, Ohio
Larry & Mary Meehan

North Carolina:
Greg Ellis, High Point

Jim Cowan, Banner Elk

Detroit, Michigan:
Back at Gang Central

Epilogue

List of Wines

We’d been threatening to pay a visit to our online wine breddrens in North Carolina for some time, and we finally decided we’d never have a better opportunity than right after MoCool, so we literally saddled up and rode right out of the Polo Fields Country Club, headed south, with a stop for a sleepover in Cleveland at Meehan Manor. Bree had spent time with Greg Ellis aka Vin Pays Doc (above right) and Florida Jim Cowan (below) during a Bacchus Tour a few years back, but Kim and I had not had the pleasure, despite collaborating with them on the Red Rhônes and Red Necks feature. (Greg has also been our longtime proofreader, providing us with much appreciated feedback regarding many a Gang story.)

And so it was that after our layover in Cleveland we pulled into High Point shortly after 5 PM on Monday, August 27^th.Greg greeted, along with wife Tami, daughter Hazel (who dubbed me "Moses"), sons Carl, Chip and John and Florida Jim, who had already arrived himself. We freshened up in the guesthouse, and returned to find that Dave Stroud, Michael Ross (below), Adrian Huntington and Brown Councill had arrived, to be followed by Steve and Barbara South, Rashell Wright, and Peggy Adams. There was freshly roasted beef tenderloin, fresh bread, cheese, olives and other good stuff to eat, and so we dug right in. And this crowd has been in to Rhônes lately, so guess what the wine theme was? I did my best to record snapshots of what we drank. Here’s the rundown:

1996 M. Chapoutier Ermitage "de l’Orvee", 13.5% alc.: Medium straw, with a reticent nose of pears and wet stones, but flavors echo loudly with nice concentration, good acidity and a long finish. Hey Mikey, he likes it!

1999 Kelham MacLean Napa Sauvignon Blanc, 13.5% alc.: Medium straw; the pear/butterscotch nose isn’t as weird as it sounds for a Sauvignon. Big flavors echo with good acidity and a good finish; pretty tasty, if not exactly a style I prefer.

1985 Paul Jaboulet Aine Côte-Rôtie "Les Jumelles, 13% alc.: The first wine ever tasted as the Gang of Pour, this rusty garnet shows fine mature flavors and aromas of prune/licorice/varnish that open up and shine around hour two. Not quite as impressive as the last taste, but then, that was two years ago.

1989 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle, 13% alc.: Dark garnet, not much rust; plum/prune/earth/cedar flavors and aromas, with plenty of tannins and good acidity. Needs time yet, but there’s lots here to work with.

1990 J-L Chave Hermitage, 13% alc.: Dark garnet, not much rust; plum/prune/coffee/cedar/hint o’ game bouquet that follows through on the palate and gains a note of bacon. Very nice already, but the tannins will take this a long way down the road. Lovely.

1995 Jamet Côte-Rôtie, 12.5% alc.: This dark garnet was opened the day before, and showed plum/prune/earth/tar flavors and aromas, gaining a note of violets on the palate. Not too tannic to enjoy now, but give it at least five to eight more years; very nice.

1991 Paul Jaboulet Aine Crozes-Hermitage Domain du Thalabert, 13% alc.: This slightly rusty dark garnet was the last one in the cellar from hell, and it more than held its own against the big guns. Plum/prune/hints of barnyard/violets/chocolate on the nose, this gains a hint of coffee in the flavors. Not too tannic, but will probably hold for at least another five years, no sweat. The last time we had this, about two years ago, it reeked of the barnyard, and even I had a bit of a hard time with it. Happily, such was not the case this time; very nice and very well received.

1991 Ridge Geyserville, 50% Zinfandel, 30% Carignane, 20% Petite Sirah, 14.3% alc.: Dave Stroud (left) brought this along, and it wasn’t entirely out of place with a bunch of Rhônes, but for me, it stole the show. Dark garnet, with just a hint of brick, and all kinds of stuff going on with the nose; Draper perfume/barnyard/road tar/plum/dark berry bouquet, and flavors that echo in a huge way with an emphasis on the blackberry/black raspberry. Still tannic, with good acidity and a long, long finish, this can use more time. Probably not a fair comparison, but this was my wine of the night, even among the kind of Rhônes that I love so well.

1996 Jamet Côte-Rôtie, 12.5% alc.: Dark garnet; all nice plum/bacon/coffee on the nose, with flavors that echo, but seem a little thin at this point. Maybe it’ll put on some weight with time?

1998 Ogier Côte-Rôtie, 12% alc.: Déjà vu? Dark garnet, with big perfumed plum shaded with garrigue flavors and aromas that are young and primary but oh so pleasing. I want more of this stuff!!!

1997 Clusel-Roch Côte-Rôtie "Le Grandes Places, 12% alc.: Dark garnet; lots of garrigue over plum/ blackberry; flavors echo, though perhaps not as expressively as one might wish. At least three to five years of tannins to work off.

Bottles of Ridge Pagani and Raffanelli Zins were also opened, but by that time, I was off the clock, so no notes were taken, though both were tasty and well received.

This is an absolutely wonderful bunch of people, who not only made us feel right at home, but are a ton of fun to be with. Greg and Tami took great care of us, and showed us what Southern hospitality is all about. Young Carl and I bonded big time the next morning when Greg took us over to the Bill Davis Racing Shop. And I do believe we brought Ward Burton’s #22 car good luck, as he won the following weekend’s race at Darlington. I only wish that it wasn’t a 12-hour drive between High Point and Day-twah, so that we could all get together on a more regular basis.

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