2+2 wine dinner we had awhile ago, i want to do another one

[mike l.]

but with less people maybe? or more could be fine too? regular tasting dinners in san diego or oc would be fine too... who likes wine?

this dinner had guests: JA sucker, death donkey andy fox joe tall gabe brad l provacateur josh w many others but i forget because im really tired right now. i set it all up found all the wine online, etc. it was like 400 a person, it was a little too much wine to be honest. it was at campanile in la upstairs in their private dining room like a month ago. here are my tasting notes

group of poker friends had dinner and tasted these wines i had selected and brought along. most wines were decanted a few hours in advance of dinner.



1st course whites with lobster and corn chowder

2001 Sine Qua Non Albino huge thick mouthfeel which was a little off putting for a white, nose didnt give much except standard roussanne aromas. musty maybe a little faded, a little mushroom and soil which was surprising, coconut oil. good but a little strange. 89
1997 Pahlmeyer Chardonnay Sonoma Coast burnt almond on nose, hazlenuts and ripe apple flavors, lovely wine 92

seared breast of duck on a crouton with summer truffle

this dish was particularly amazing as were the pinots...

2000 Sine Qua Non Pinot Noir A Cappella unreal amazing mouthfeel lush long long finish, the flavor is an elegant bowful of cherries very extracted and sweet and sour but not fake. wotn for me. 96
2001 Kistler Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast anisette peppermint nose, wine is hot in a good way with killer finish 93
2003 Longoria Pinot Noir Fe Ciega a little mud and stone surprised me otherwise traditional pinot that was outclassed by the other pinots of the night. 90

saffron rositto and foie gras

1997 Barossa Valley Estate Shiraz E & E Black Pepper candy cane nose, complex, giant grip, big! 94
2001 Sine Qua Non Midnight Oil slight bit of honey on the nose (??) good grip and thick of course but too hot. very extracted but boring in a way and not complex. not bad by any means but definitely disappointing. 90

tenderloin of wild boar crisp sweetbreads and leek fondue

2002 Blankiet Estate Merlot Paradise Hills Vineyard pomegranate on the nose. lovely but not of the caliber of the other wines or the price. 90
2001 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red graceful smooth clean tastes like it's been aged longer. a really smooth soft red with lasting finish 93
1997 Harlan Estate The Maiden beautiful very well balanced 91+
1985 Heitz Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard red wine vinegar on the nose, standard oak and cab flavors but very smooth and clean and balanced with good finish. 92

cheese course, three cheeses

palette is near destroyed at this point...

2004 Sine Qua Non Into the Dark Grenache sweet and overextracted as advertised. getting a little bored with this style. the lil e by sqn was more complex and satisfying. 90
2001 Martinelli Zinfandel Jackass Vineyard fairly standard zin, lost in the mix after so many wines 89

dessert

1983 Baumann Oppenheimer Sackträger Riesling Auslese old soil and apple sweet and subtle, pretty amazing 95
1997 Franz Karl Schmitt Niersteiner Pettenthal Riesling Auslese dry apple very pale color, smooth finish not cloyingly sweet very good 92+

too many wines for us noobs, palettes were thrashed by the end.

[Dominic]

wow, that's awesome...maybe one in Vegas? I'd love to do this.

[KDawg]

how the hell did you guys get your hands on those SQNs. Did you get them at the resturaunt or does one of you have a sick allocation with them on the mailers

[mike l.]

i bought them online. yeah TT and me were going to plan a vegas wine tasting party.

[KDawg]

that's something that I would love to be in on if I could afford it.

Do you use cellar tracker at all for recording notes or keeping tabs on your collection(I'm just assuming that you have a collection)?

[mike l.]

i have a small uninteresting collection of cheap wines. im a wine noob basically. i do put my tasting notes on cellartracker. same username as here.

where are you located?

[Rick Nebiolo]

When are you going to own up to the fact (in public on the forum; if I missed this my apologizes in advance) that mid level boxed wine and two buck chuck faired well in blind tasting at parties that weren't quite so expensive and the cooking/food was just as good?

~ Rick

[KDawg]

[ QUOTE ]
i have a small uninteresting collection of cheap wines. im a wine noob basically. i do put my tasting notes on cellartracker. same username as here.

where are you located?

[/ QUOTE ]


I also use the same name as here. I have a decent collection. If you look at my bottles, pretty much anything that is more then 1 is my long term stuff

I live in chicago right now


[ QUOTE ]
When are you going to own up to the fact (in public on the forum; if I missed this my apologizes in advance) that mid level boxed wine and two buck chuck faired well in blind tasting at parties that weren't quite so expensive and the cooking/food was just as good?

~ Rick

[/ QUOTE ]

only the two buck chuck chard has done decent, and I have yet to read anything of boxed franzia doing well in a double blind tasting. I've had all of the two buck chuck products at one point or another, and they are awful. They don't compare to some of the great values that you are getting from spain or NZ. With two buck chuck, you get what you pay for, but if you are willing to spend ~$20, you can find a ton of good stuff between the 10 and 20 range

[OrigamiSensei]

Rick, I kid you not - I wish your assertion that 2 Buck Chuck and the like taste just as good as more expensive stuff were true since it would save me a lot of money. This includes my experiences at blind tastings, where labels such as Yellow Tail, Barefoot and the like did not fare well against more expensive competition. I have never had a taste of 2BC that was more than marginally drinkable, and believe me I went in with an open mind. That's not to say that the expensive wines always perform like they should, but when better wines are hitting on all cylinders there's no way the cheap stuff can compare with rare exceptions.

That being said it would not be wise to completely dismiss inexpensive labels. I adore Muscadet from the Loire, often found for $7-12, Chateau St. Michelle made a Riesling in 2004 for $4.99 that was very tasty and drinkable, there are Cote du Rhones for under $12, Costco has had some Baumard Savennieres for under $15, Buller Rare Muscat for $10-15 in the half bottle, the list goes on. Nonetheless I personally find the wine performance sweet spot for me is in the $25-$75 per bottle range. That's where I can most often find world class performance without having to pay world class prices.

[mike l.]

the boxed wine did horribly rick everyone hated it. the two buck chuck shiraz did very well. we will be having an all under $10 party some time at my house later this year or next. i have some $1 bottles im saving just for you.