Tonight was the kick off event for- I think- the first ever Wineberserker Fest in Dallas, and what a night it was.
Huge thanks to our most generous host- K John Joseph- for providing and arranging a very fine BBQ and fried chicken dinner at Grailey’s. This was the first visit to Grailey’s ever for many of us, and after an evening there including a really great long chat with the owner- I feel more than a little foolish to be making my first visit ever after four years of living just a few miles away. First rate operation.
Thank you also to our fearless WB leadership team for coming down (and you too Charlie for being so kind to send a good bottle down even though you could not make it), and for all the fellow WBers who came. It was great to see a couple of familiar faces and also meet and share some great wines with new people in the area. Here is hoping for many great tastings to come.
The wines present were numerous and of very high quality. I only have 12 TNs to offer (covering maybe 1/3 of the total selections) because the company was even greater than the wine selection- and TN volume had to take a back seat to many great conversations and tales with fellow WBers. I tasted more than 12 wines, but am only presenting notes for which I was able to focus some serious attention on taking good notes over time (and even then, the notes are often short.)
All that said, here are my TNs to get things rolling- and everyone else who attended please do chime in with your own notes. Between us, we can hopefully to justice to a great lineup.
2000 Philipponnat Clos de Goisses
good gold color, light but persistent nose of baked bread and nuts, on the palate a firm wine with a more serious structure than many 2000s, ripe fruit well countered by a good long finish with nicely detailed acids, just starting to cream and develop a bit of mousse, citrus notes with time, about ready to go but I think this will cream out a bit more, a fine 2000 and far more to my liking than most wines of this riper Champagne vintage. ***+, now to 2035.
2003 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese #14, Auction - from magnum
double decanted and resealed 20 hours before serving, when first opened a good maturing yellow color just starting to gold, light nose and a bit of a disconnect between the undefined sweet palate and lengthy acidic finish, at lunchtime 5 hours before event finally starting to come together with peach and marzipan notes on the palate- but still a bit light in the middle, at dinner and for four hours thereafter it really came into its own, soaring nose, rose petal, petrol notes, sweet creamy grapefruit, on the palate quite viscous, sweet lime note, pure creamy fruit, a good bit of honey leading into the long and persistent finish, far more an Auslese than a Spatlese- courtesy of the vintage- but still with some ethereal lift to it, mandarin oranges with time, this has come out beautifully- if still heavily marked by a very strong vintage. ****, ready to drink and I would consume standard sized bottles within the next decade.
2013 Henri Boillot Meursault Les Charmes
light bright yellow color, toasty nose- oak influence strong here, buttery fruit as well- classic Meursault, on the palate quite generous already with a good breadth and depth of persistent fruit, rounded stones, a touch of honeysuckle, sweetish citrus fruits and as on the nose a pretty strong dose of oak, a bit flamboyant for this old school palate (as with PYCM) but there is no denying there is serious depth and quality here, even though Charmes is one of the earliest maturing 1ers from Meursault I would opt for cellaring this at least another 5 years to let the oak ameliorate and to allow for more secondary development. (***)+?, the more the oak recedes- the finer this will be. 2023-2038.
2009 Sine Qua Non On the Lam
Judging by the “old world”/“new world” paradigm- or more appropriately in this case I think, “Vineyard” vs “Man”- I should be one of those people who does not like Sine Qua Non. But the truth is I find them quite enjoyable. They are always fun and always something new. It has taken me time to see it, but I think it is a complete rejection of the notion of site and the full embrace of the magic that can be made in the winery. Naturally this puts a great burden on the winery- but happily the Krankls seem to know exactly what they are about, and I always enjoy the result.
young moderately deep yellow color, on the nose quite a lot of oak but also strong grass and melon notes, soft citrus tones, on the palate a great depth of melon and lemongrass fruit with white mineral edges, fine length, an assertive and unapologetically hedonistic wine, some heat on the finish, the classic rules do not really apply here- very much a love it or leave it kind of wine, this classic palate finds it great fun. ***+, seems ready to go to me, but time in hand. It might even develop further, but given my infrequent experiences with SQN and its singular style which makes it hard to find peer comparisons, specific predictions are difficult.
1996 Chateau Pichon-Baron
good youngish red-purple just starting to lighten at the rim, firm oak and pepper on the nose, a hard earth note, almost a pickle note as well- from the oak, on the palate still pretty tight, where some other Pauillacs like Lynch-Bages have been fairly forward this still seems shut down, dark berries, cassis, quite a bit of tannin still present- but overall the wine is well balanced, fine lengthy finish, at an awkward phase now but a good future in store I think, while Pichon-Baron has remained traditional in most ways- the oak is a bit heavy for my tastes and whether it fully integrates will have a big impact on my eventual impression, where the 2000 and 2005 tasted alongside are going to be powerhouses- this could hopefully come out more in the vein of the magnificent mid-weight 1990 which is dazzling today. (****)+?, I would wait at least another 5 years on this, 2025-2035+
2000 Chateau Pichon-Baron
dark purple-red color, muted nose but quite grand in scale, some oak and pepper on the nose- but not as strong a presence as with the 1996 tasted alongside, cassis, cloves, soft and giving earth, red raspberries, on the palate very much closed down, even so a massive depth of fruit in hiding, firm oak throughout, super-tight, great length, as with the 2000 Latour recently tasted this offers a pretty nice primary drinking experience, but there is a great deal to come- and it will take quite some time for all to be revealed. (*****), 2030-2050+
2005 Chateau Pichon-Baron, from magnum
double decanted twice- 5 and 3 hours prior to serving
dark purple-red color- almost as intense as the 2000 tasted alongside, a more jammy and open nose than the 2000- and with the strong oak in better proportion to the large scale fruit, on the palate this seems very approachable- and it is- but there is quite a long wait ahead and this remains a very undefined wine for me at present, tasting this alongside the 2000 reminds me of tastings long ago of 82s vs. 86s- the 2000 is like a 1986 in that it is more tannic but also shows more of its components where the 1982 is a bit more harmonious and just flat out shut down, that said I do think 2000 will come out far better than 1986 has, and this 2005 will assuredly be similarly great. (*****), 2030-2060+
2015 Rotem & Mounir Sauoma Chateauneuf du Pape blac Magis
good vibrant yellow/gold color, intense melon and grass nose, grey stones, genteel lemon, and all delivered with great generosity, on the palate full throttle with wild oranges, limes, edgy minerals, and a grand intense long finish. The note is short, but this was one of the stars of the night and I look forward to seeing how it progresses with a little age even though it would be impossible to not enjoy more of these in their vibrant youth. White Rhones are not an area of expertise for me, but even so I have to think this is quite special. ***()+?, spectacular now, curious to see if this will shut down and emerge again in 10+ years as an even greater wine.
2006 Chateau Magdelaine
a very brief note here since I have had this twice in the past few years and will be having it again next month at a formal and important vertical tasting of Magdelaine. This is still primary and surprisingly approachable for a young Magdelaine (the reason I have had it so many times already), but while the last bottle was starting to show some secondary development- this one in addition is starting to get a bit unruly (in a good way) just as the 1998 La Conseillante did when it started to shed its precocious cuddliness and become a far more serious wine than at first seemed possible, loads of wild bramble and the tannins more obvious than I remember, a wine that always had very good potential but now may come out even finer than I originally hoped, the vertical next month should tell the tale best. (**), 2030-2050+
2005 Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
deep red purple color, plum and cassis on the nose, oak spices, on the palate a very dark fruit profile, fine depth and surprisingly civilized and approachable to this taster whose past experiences with Dunn have been almost exclusively with the fine but reticent Howell Mountain (the 1982 is finally drinkable), a really lovely clay-like earth note developing with time, a bit of chocolate as well, rounded tannins, young yet but showing great promise, (), 2023-2040.
1997 Lokoya Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain
incredibly deep midnight red color, an elegant and broad- yet still undefined- nose of fruits from the red and purple sides of the spectrum, dark plums, a good bit of oak still, on the palate quite youthful and a bit hot on the tail end for me- but there is also a really fine depth of blueberry and cassis fruit, for me this wine is a lot like the Bond offerings- love the fruit but not so much the structure and wood, that said- this has less raw oak than the few Bonds I have tried, slight creaminess to the fruit, fine long balanced finish that brings it all together nicely, chocolate and cherry liqueur notes in time, it will be interesting to see what comes in time- this is far more primary and young than I would have imagined for even a 1997, at this point it seems secondary development is either a long way off or never destined to be, meantime it does make a very attractive drink if you like this heavier style (even with the heat on the end- I have to confess I did like this very much.) **()+?, if I have a case of this I would plan to enjoy a few now and save several for a decade or time, whether it develops further or not- it is showing nicely now and has time in hand.
2005 Sine Qua Non Syrah Atlantis Fe2O3~1a, b & c
deepish purple red color, high toned polish and red fruits on the nose, dark sweet berries, on the palate a rollercoaster ride of blueberries, chocolate, ripe cherries, liqueur and sugar-coated bramble, like nothing else on earth- take it or leave it, and for my part- as is usually the case with SQN- I really did enjoy this. ****, ready to go but could potentially develop a bit more, time in hand so no rush to drink in any event.