Part 3: A gathering of 4 on the rooftop with 12`Pol Roger BdB,03`Qupe Chard,17`Morey-Coffinet Romanee,64`Florina Barolo

Having had two very successful outings on or rooftop with our first attempts to socialize intelligently with friends, we replicated the event with another couple a few days after the last one.

We maintained some of the COVID-19 suggestions providing a safe, clean and distanced environment while enjoying some fine wine and appetizers on our rooftop where we can easily create such, choosing to do so in the early evening hours while being able to breathe fresh air while taking in mountain, city and partial ocean views and the magic of a pre and post sunset aura. We were again blessed with a stellar, blue bird kind of day with temps in the mid 70s and recent sundowner winds subsiding resulting in an audible gasp of relief from our umbrellas.

The wines were intended to be selected based upon what I thought our guests would prefer. I’m better informed for the next time. We drank:

2010 POL ROGER BLANC de BLANC- this was the 2nd bottle I`ve had in the past 2 months and the notes were consistent with this very easy and elegant, mild mannered bubbly that has fresh and crisp citrus fruit with lemon and lime most evident plus honeysuckle and lemongrass notes blended in; it was medium bodied with a light, frothy mousse; this is made from Grands Crus of the Côte des Blancs: Oiry, Chouilly, Cramant, Avize and Oger and aged 7 years prior to release.

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2017 QUPE CHARDONNAY RESERVE BIEN NACIDO VINEYARD BLOCK 11 SANTA MARIA VALLEY- owner/ winemaker and good friend, Bob Lindquist, is known for being one of the leaders in Rhone varietals in CA and an original member of the Randall Graham created Rhone Rangers; what many locals and a few others realize is that Bob also has made one of the best QPR Chardonnays year after year, so with that in mind, I pulled this bottle thinking this would be a treat for our guests and see how it has aged; well, the aging was immediately noticed with its rich, golden color which suggested some oxidation issues to me, but the nose and tastes were devoid of those nutty, Sherry like advanced notes and redolent of super creamy, rich Golden Delicious apple, butterscotch, peach and caramel notes; the texture may have been its hallmark, if the full body and luscious mature taste profile wasn’t; IMHO this was showing at its absolute apex of maturity and for those who like evolved wines that are still approachable, this was the bomb. I loved it.

A side note: This vineyard block was one of the best at Bien Nacido according to Bob, but sadly the vines were virused and had to be torn out after the 2015 vintage.

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2017 DOMAINE MOREY-COFFINET LA ROMANEE CHASSAGNE-MONTRACHET 1er Cru- 13% abv; unfiltered; we had another fabulous winewhic i have been to expect from this producer; even at its relatively youthful age, it gave generous amounts of pleasure from the nose through the tail; mineral, flint and citrus notes prevail in the aromatics and continue on with lemon zest, lime and green apple most prominent; it had just the perfect mouthfeel and length and held a steady course throughout while maintaining nice balance.

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1964 FRANCO FIORNA LANGHE BAROLO- the bottle glass was a protective tinted dark amber and the capsule and label was in good shape as well as the fill being at mid neck, so when I pulled the cork and it came out in one piece and in decent shape, I’m thinking this will be viable and a treat; well, it wasn’t so viable, but for me, it was a treat once I got past the funky musty, dusty aromas; in fact, I decanted it just prior to serving and discovered it was really good once I got beyond the nose {I looked around for a clothespin}; yes, there was some definitive aging notes on the palate, but it had really nice and not too sweet dried blackcurrant and black plum fruit that held up and onward to the back end with a satisfying finish.

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Once again, we had a lovely evening with good people. In my mind, enjoying life and sharing it with others is a health enhancing choice and we will be better off as a result, especially at this time when positiver thoughts and feelings are paramount to an efficiently functioning immune system. Next couple up.

Cheers,
Blake

Sounds like a fun get together (especially as I seem to recall having seen a pic of the view from your rooftop). Nice about the Qupe and also the Morey-Coffinet, as I believe I own some of the 2014.

Enjoy!

Thanks Joshua. You reminded me to include some pics of the rooftop, so here`s a few:
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and a few more:
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The 17 Morey Coffinet wines are excellent. I tasted through a lineup that included the CM Romanee, CM Caillerets, PM Pucelles, Meursault Perrieres, Corton Charlie, and Batard. The Caillerets was beautiful right out of the gate. The Romanee and Pucelles needed some coaxing but reached the same level after about an hour in glass. Perrieres was super lean and mineral, and the Batard had an intoxicating nose and persistent finish. The Corton was the only one i thought was a bit awkward. Could just be youth but given how well everything else showed i wasnt sure. Seemed like the reduction or oak or both were a bit out of balance. But in general, i thought these were great.

Rooftop looks beautiful.

Hi Jesse, you tasted some gems as I have had all but the CC and the Batard and everyone has shown well with promises for a long, pleasurable journey. I love that they are good out of the gate and I’ve found that decanting them for at least 30 minutes helps to even them out.