A Kansas Jayhawk national championship celebration dinner with 04` Taittinger CdC/ 93` Williams Selyem RRV Pinot Noir

And the celebration continues. We dined at our local favorite restaurant, The Stonehouse, to celebrate our beloved Kansas Jayhawks winning the national championship.

To ensure the proper table ambience, I added a paper weight Jayhawk that was a throwback from the 1923-28 era.

And as per our usual MO, we took a nice champagne and a Burt Williams made Pinot Noir and were treated to 2 stellar wines to perpetuate toasting to the champions throughout the evening:

2004 TAITTINGER COMTES de CHAMPAGNE BLANC de BLANC BRUT- its been a few years since I recall having this vintage and if it was I last made notes on, 7 years; so, when I went to pull a champagne, this spoke to me and said “open me”; following its medium yellow gold color came aromas of fresh and ripe citrus with a spicy accent; on the palate, the fruit profile included lemon, lime, kiwi, apple and pear and now there is a bit of minerals, licorice, fennel and brioche perceived in the nose; this bottle had an interesting taste pattern in that after each taste which was citrus dominated would come another profile that was different and seemed to build on the original one; that 2nd one had more lime and minerality plus an unexpected touch of fennel and licorice; this bottle had charm, elegance and sophistication and overall was a real treat; I recall the 04 outshining the 05 early on which I considered quite mellow and somewhat understated, but if a recent 05 I had is any indication as to where all are, it has clearly evolved to a richer and more complex state.

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1993 WILLIAMS SELYEM RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY PINOT NOIR- I’ve had many a great bottle of this wine and pulled the last one for this evening even breaking up a 5 bottle vertical to do so; I reviewed previous notes, the last being in November 2020 and very similar remarks; some of the fruit for this bottling came from all of the Rochioli vineyard other than West Block which was single designated; the fill was low neck and this is relevant in that Burt always filled his bottles to the cork; the color was a cinnamon red which perfectly describes the nose and taste as there is a nice streak of cinnamon and spice throughout; the aromas and taste also included red raspberry which dominates the fruit profile and is the last noticeable character as it finishes; this is simply marvelous new world Pinot at age 29 and we added a toast to Burt for all of his wondrous wines.

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As our celebration of the Jayhawks winds down, we will continue to be thankful for the wonderful ride they provided thought the season and add this to all of the others fabulous events and outcomes over the same period of time.

Cheers and a big Rock Chalk,
Blake
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Very nice. Won’t see anything to celebrate with MN sports anytime soon. Cheers!

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Congrats, Blake! Love the throwback Jayhawk adorning the table in the photos. What a great way to celebrate!

Ed

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Not a college hockey fan? Minn St. in the finals of the Frozen Four tonight.

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I am a gopher!

You had to bring that up. Another MN that does not take home a championship! [soap.gif]

Thanks Ed. The Jayhawk was a last mintage throw in as I was packing up the wines. It sat proudly on our table occupying ever changing positions throughout the evening to our jest.

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Blake:
:slow clap: from a mildly jealous K-State fan.
I’ll be honest, I was not cheering for KU, BUT it was a great college basketball game. Bill Self is a wizard.

Love the wines.

p.s. See you guys in Football. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Matt,

Thanks for your kind words albeit perhaps a stretch.

BTW, I`m a diehard Jayhawk and a Big Xll fan and root for all the teams when they play other than KU. My high school coaches were K-State All Americans and one of my family members is a grad as well as numerous friends. Hope the new coach works out.

Cheers

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Rock Chalk Jayhawk. A well-deserved win.

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Haloo,

JAYhawks : is that basketball? I follow NBA but college basketbal is more difficult to follow here in Belgium. Basketball to me is sport number 1 though and LA ROMANEE (Liger Belair) and MUSIGNY (Roumier) are my favourite wines…

SINCERELY JOHAN

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Yes, Johan, the Jayhawks are a college team from Kansas University and most of the NBA players come from college teams.

I spend a great amount of time in the Netherlands and often venture into Belgium. On one occasion a few years ago, I met a guy who played college basketball in the US and was playing for a pro team in Brussels. He told me about some of the teams in the country that had many former US college players, some of whom I knew by name because they were that good. You have some really good players to watch that are just a level or two below NBA standards.

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Dear Blake,

Thank you for quick and clear answer. I know Belgian player VRENS BLEYENBERG (a tall guard) will be joining a summer camp with the Phoenix Suns trying to get drafted by the NBA. I truly hope he’ll make it : a co-Belgian in the most spectacular sports league world wide…WOW

SINCERELY JOHAN

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