Red Wings and 
Red Rhônes ’02
Playoff Diary
Round 3 - Part 2
    

Game 5 – Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche, Monday, May 27, 2002, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI: All the pregame media talk in Detroit was about how Wings goalie Dominik Hasek had to steal a game for Detroit to win this series, but it wasn’t to be in this game. After trailing by one goal throughout most of the game thanks to Steven Reinprecht’s 1^st period wraparound goal that Hasek misplayed, captain Steve Yzerman tied the score in the 3^rd period. Brendan Shanahan had two chances to seal the game for Detroit, one late in the 3^rd period, and one in overtime, but both shots rang off of Patrick Roy’s best friends, the goal posts. The spleenless wonder Peter Forsberg scored to win the game for Colorado at 6:24 of overtime, putting the Wings on the brink of elimination, facing a must-win game on enemy ice.

1994 Paul Jaboulet Aine Crozes Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert, $19, 13% alc.: We’ve followed this old friend since the beginning, and pulled it out not only to see how it was coming along since we last tasted it, but also in the hope that it had some serious mojo going for the Wings. Alas, such was not the case; still, this ruby dark garnet, is taking on a nice rusty tinge to it as it matures. The flavors and aromas show enticing plum, prune, garrigue and hints of chocolate, cinnamon, coffee, leather, smoke, Brasso ®, sea air and a certain nuttiness as it opens. At first, the nose is much more expressive than the flavors in the mouth, but as it opens those really pick it up. Our friend Rod Leon joined us to watch the game, and he agreed on this point, saying, "Those big flavors keep coming." The smoke, garrigue and Brasso ® become more accentuated as it opens, and indeed dominate its character without overwhelming it. There’re still some tannins to resolve, along with good acidity and a reasonably long finish, so I see no reason that it won’t be drinking well on its 10^th birthday. It’s not a "great" wine, it’s just a very satisfying one.

1995 Alain Graillot Crozes Hermitage, $18, 12.5% alc.: Since we had company, we simply HAD to open something else, so we pulled the cork out of this, yet another old friend. It’s a deep dark garnet with the signature Graillot nose of garrigue, red currant, plum and bacon. "I really smell a lot of chocolate in this," Rod exclaimed. The flavors echo with some tannins still to resolve, good acidity and a long, ever-so-slightly astringent finish. It opens dramatically with air; my notes read, "big fruit, big garrigue, bacon, bacon and more bacon!" There’s at least 3 more years of improvement here, and I only wish that there were more bottles of this in the cellar from h3ll.

Game 6 – Colorado Avalanche vs. Detroit Red Wings, Wednesday, May 29, 2002, Pepsi Center, Denver, CO.: It was Patrick Roy’s turn to misplay the puck, and Brendan Shanahan shed his snakebit image to score the gamewinner when the Colorado goalie got a little too cocky after stopping a shot by Steve Yzerman in the 1^st period. Roy lifted his glove hand for all to see the save he had made; unfortunately for him and the Avalanche, he didn’t have control of the puck, sending it sliding it towards his own net for Shannie to tap it in. From then on, the Red Wings and their goalie Dominik Hasek played an almost perfect game, frustrating the Avs in their quest to clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals at home. Darren McCarty blasted an insurance goal past Roy in the 2^nd period, and that was all the scoring in the game, as Detroit returned home for the 7^th and deciding game with a 2-0 shutout.

1995 Eric et Joel Durand Saint-Joseph Les Coteaux, $21.99, 12.5% alc.: I picked these two wines up at Cloverleaf in Southfield a few hours before game time, looking for some fresh mojo for the boys, and I guess they worked. Kim found this inky garnet to be quite peppery, and I wouldn’t disagree with that assessment. It also shows a deep dark plum, black currant and garrigue nose that follows through in the rather dry flavors. A little leather and a hint of tobacco come out with air, and there’s an ever so slight vegetal note that isn’t really a detraction; rather, it adds to the Rhône-ness of it all. Not too tannic, it has good acidity, a nice dense texture and a fairly long finish. A solid Saint-Joseph this, and I don’t know that I’d wait too very much longer on it, as it seems to be pretty much there right now.

A Peter Weygandt Selection; Imported by Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA

1995 Eric et Joel Durand Cornas, $24.99, 13% alc.: Another inky dark garnet, this shows a big ripe plum bouquet accentuated by what seems to be a nice note of sweet toasty oak and a hint of sea air. The flavors echo loudly, with a smooth mouthfeel, a little less density than the Saint-Joseph, unobtrusive tannins, good acidity and a decent finish. A note of garrigue emerges as it opens in the glass. Not real complex, but lots of fruit here, more in the international style than the other, and I prefer the Saint-Joseph for just that reason.

A Peter Weygandt Selection; Imported by Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA

Game 7 – Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche, Friday, May 31, 2002, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI: And so, it came down to one final game to see who would advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. This was the scenario that most of the pundits had predicted, as well as the cause for much nailbiting in the partisan camps of both teams. It looked to be the best game yet in a series that had featured some of the most intense, high level hockey that I’ve witnessed in 26 years of following the sport.

Too bad the Avalanche never showed up.

OK, so they took the ice and played the game. But by the time that the Wings scored their 2^nd goal in the 4^th minute of play, you could see where things were going. And when Tomas Holmstrom scored Detroit’s 4th goal (and his 2^nd) in the 1^st 10 minutes of the 1^st period, he left Patrick Roy flopping on the ice like an octopus out of water. Avs coach Bob Hartley finally showed some mercy when he pulled Roy in the 2^nd period after giving up the 6^th Detroit goal. Injury was added to insult when a lone Colorado goal was ruled to have been kicked in by Chris Drury and disallowed. The final score was 7-0 in favor of the Red Wings, with Dominik Hasek getting a record 5^th playoff shutout in one year. It was somehow very anticlimactic after what the series had been up to that point, but I’m not complaining about the results.

1995 Marcel Juge Cornas Cuvee C, $24.99, 13% alc.: There’s a hint of rust to the dark garnet color of this old friend, and it exudes a beautiful nose of Brasso ®, smoke and bacon, with the pruney fruit relegated to secondary citizenship and a little sea air coming out with, what else, air. The flavors echo with less exuberance at first, but pick it up nicely as it continues to open. There are still some silky tannins here, with good acidity and a nice finish that lengthened noticeably from its stingy beginnings. It’s not dense or heavy, but rather has a nice balance to it, making for most pleasurable drinking. This may still not be at its peak, but it’s awfully hard to resist its obvious charms right now.

Imported by Kent Beverage Co., Wyoming, MI

1991 A. Clape Cornas, $33, 12.5% alc.: Not quite an inky garnet, with no brick or rust to speak of, this shows a less overt, more refined bouquet than the Juge, but then, Clape is the master. Lovely aromatics of smoke, plum, cola and a faint whiff of violets adorn the nose, following through on the palate with elegance, some silky tannins, good acidity and a long, slightly earthy finish. Smoke and cola continue to emerge with air, and Kim mentioned a note of chocolate. Not at all the big dense Syrah that I expected, this is an absolutely wonderful wine that’s still on the way up, and one of the classier northern Rhônes I’ve been fortunate enough to get my hands on.

Imported by Europvin USA, Emeryville, CA

And so the Detroit Red Wings earned the right to move on to meet the Carolina Hurricanes in the finals. This set up not only the test between the two teams, but also their owners, Mike Ilitch and Peter Karmanos, longtime business and hockey rivals in the Detroit area. It could be an interesting sideshow to the main event.

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By Bastardo

Part 2

1994 Paul Jaboulet Aine Crozes Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert

1995 Alain Graillot Crozes Hermitage

1995 Eric et Joel Durand Saint-Joseph Les Coteaux

1995 Eric et Joel Durand Cornas

1995 Marcel Juge Cornas Cuvee C

1991 A. Clape Cornas

Part 1

1999 Domaine de la Charbonnierre Vacqueyras

1999 Domaine du Pegau Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvée Réservée

1998 Domaine Bois de Boursan Châteauneuf du Pape

1994 Domaine Le Mas des Collines Regis de Taxis Gigondas

2000 Domaine de L’Oratoire St. Martin Cairanne Côtes du Rhône Villages Réserve des Seigneurs

2000 Domaine de L’Oratoire St. Martin Cairanne Côtes du Rhône Villages Cuvée Prestige