Frank Murray invited me to his ‘book club’ gathering, as it was finally once again in person, and it was glorious to be out with a collective of 7 wine lovers, all vaccinated, inside a restaurant (that had open air setup, nonetheless) and feel almost like things were as they used to be. Amazing night, and the food was spectacular - anyone in the area, I HIGHLY recommend going, and we will definitely return.
Frank was the host, and I was a guest of his, as the book club is 5 guys who do this each once a year, where the host provides all the wines, all blind, and tries to trick the attendees, or, in Frank’s case, both trick AND educate. His wines were very thought-provoking, and I had such a great time.
First flight: (each flight Frank would try to coax details out of us, our thoughts, trying to find varietals, or themes, and he’d never reveal anything too early. I’ll explain each of the flights in tasting notes first, then what the discussions were in order to see how the ‘reveal’ happened)
1: Sweet yellow apple on the nose, bright and lively mouthfeel, very fine bubbles, rich and creamy, finishes with Meyer lemon, beautiful.
2: Shy nose, an extremely ‘fizzy’ pour, gettign more of a yeast note on this compared to the others, ocean air salinity, perhaps a vintage wine, big and expressive mouthfeel, I guessed Pinot Meuniere, very confident in this, but I was the only one who thought so
3: Poured with another crazy amount of fizz, mineral and green apple nose, more green apple on the palate, palate was less lively than I’d expect from the pour, long finish, citrus-focused and definitely low or no dosage.
We discussed what we thought the wines were, what we guessed themes might be. I stuck with Pinot Meuniere and eventually guessed that they were ALL Pinot Meuniere as the theme, as another guessed Chardonnay on one and Frank shot it down. I had Pinot Meuniere on the brain because I had just told Frank that I was thankful for him introducing me to the wines of Cedric Moussé, which I have been loving on since I first had them, and I know he’s Pinot Meunier focused, if not exclusive. Shockingly…two of the wines were exactly that!
1: NV Mousse Fils Champagne Blanc de Meuniers Premier Cru Brut Zero Les Vignes de Mon Village
2: 2016 Nicolas Maillart Champagne Premier Cru Mont Martin
3: NV Mousse Fils Champagne Blance de Meuniers Premier Cru Bruz Zero Les Vignes de Mon Village
As you can see, 1 and 3 are the ‘same’ wine, but they aren’t - this is a perpetual wine by Mousse, and absolutely fascinating just how different the 3rd one was from the 1st, with only the addition of 2017 into the blend. We were absolutely shocked at how much brighter, more acidic, citrus-focused it was over the 1st. Each wine has 2014-2016 in it, and the addition of 2017 turned this perpetual blend into a vastly different wine. Awesome flight, each wine was spectacular.
2nd Flight:
4: Floral nose, very fine bubbles, great liveliness, green apple and key lime, has a ‘burst’ in the mid-palate that is really exciting, long finish. Guessed Pinot Noir-based
5: A still wine, but smells like Champagne, not a still wine aroma, so I’m immediately going with a Coteaux Champenois for that reason. I’m getting a HINT of TCA but, of course, nobody else agrees with me. Palate has sweet white flowers, I’m guessing perhaps Chenin Blanc.
Frank really made us think on this one. I was convinced, without any doubt, that 5 had to be a Coteaux Champenois, for that nose alone. However, it couldn’t be that if it was Chenin, so Chenin was quickly dismissed. I then started wondering if it was a non-skin-contact still Pinot Noir…and it was. Fascinating. Another taster guessed Pinot Blanc on the bubbles (#4) and that was correct. Never had a Pinot Blanc-based Champagne, that I know of, and it was another fantastic wine.
4: 2014 Piollot Champagne Colas Robin Brut Nature
5: 2016 Marie Courtin Coteaux Champenois Le Blanc de Tremble
We had a BONUS pour from the restaurant that blew us away as well - Steve Nordhoff, a co-owner of the restaurant, didn’t even know what his colleague was pouring us. On first opening/pouring, the nose had some orange blossoms, but I smelled what I usually describe as ‘malo’, though I don’t know exactly what it is. Most of us put it aside as Frank’s wines were far more interesting, and we had ‘work’ to do in order to figure out what they were. About 10 minutes later, this wine completely transformed, and it was so alluring. Very sweet white floral (like plumeria, orange blossoms), apricot, very sweet aroma but dry wine, super complex. I guessed Italian white, perhaps high end Falanghina…it was 2016 Gaja Rossj-Bass Langhe (Chardonnay) - amazing. Glad I had the chance to try it, as it’s unlikely I’ll ever even SEE it again!
3rd Flight:
My random guesswork was going VERY well until this point, at which time I crashed and burned in a humble heap.
‘White bag’ (6): Based on my lucky track record on some of the earlier wines (pure guesswork, mind you, not knowledgable whatsoever…just knowing a bit about Frank and how he tries to trick us), I had 100% confidence this wine was Halcon Alturas, as I recognized it by smell immediately.
‘Orange bag’ (7): Lighter bodied, perhaps grenache? Red strawberry, light finish, good acid
8: First impression was a Pisoni vineyard Pinot. Had some pepper to it, though, but that unique aroma and the red fruits kept me at Pisoni Pinot.
3 strikes and I was out. One of the wines WAS Halcon Alturas…but not the one I guessed so confidently! Furthermore, the wine I recognized IS a wine I"ve had multiple times in the past, and was nowhere near correct in the varietal, which was Cab Franc! Several were talking about the first wine (6) being cab based, and I struck it down each time. Oops.
6: 2014 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon La Crois Boissee (yes, I’ve had this wine multiple times (not this vintage, specifically) and enjoyed it very much, still have 18 bottles or so of it in my cellar, from riper vintages than 2014. Wrong about all of it, oops)
7: 2019 Model Farm Syrah La Cruz Vineyard
8: 2018 Halcon Vineyards Syrah Alturas (there she is! A wine I’ve long loved CONTINUES to evade me blind! Each time I have this wine, other than tonight, I guess St. Joseph, which is one of the reasons I keep buying it. I think anytime I drink any red wine blind, ever, I’ll just guess Halcon Alturas each time so at some point in my life, I’ll peg it blind!)
Awesome tasting, clearly with a lot of thought put in it. Hopefully Frank posts his notes here as well, as I just read them and they are extraordinary and detailed.
Thank you Frank and the gang, and Steve, I can see why you became an owner in this restaurant (Foretti’s) - it’s among the best Italian restaurants I’ve been to in many years.