AJ McClellan
As always after the scheduled tasting the members went onto their cellars and brought out some fun wines to pass around the table.
1999 Rayas – Purple flowers and Barnyard with cinnamon, spice, and lavender on the nose. Compost and wet tar with tanned leather, stewed raspberries, cherries, sour berry, and Bramble on the palate. Complex on and long lasting with a touch of wood spice and funk on the back end.
1997 Georges Mugneret Chambolle Musigny Les Feusselottes 1er – Compost and forest floor with roasted cranberry and raspberries up front. Slight matchstick on the back with lots of roasted fruits, pine tree, and evergreen on the back sweet and sour sauce on the finish.
1991 Ridge Lytton Springs – Dry cranberry and wood spice with big liquorish on the back. Complex with cooking spice and nice finish with more wood spice.
1999 Flaccianello – Tar and leather with smoke, dusty cherry, and cooking spice. Liquorish and forest floor with old barnyard and old well worn wood, savory sage and old moldy wood, fall leaves and saddle leather with coco bean and cigar box. Cherry cobbler flambé topped with crumbled chocolates.
2005 Cyrus – Black Cherry and boysenberry with black berries and leather and tobacco. Crushed rock and haystack with cooking spice and big tobacco.
2002 Hartwell – Black cherries and chocolate with boysenberries and tar, leather, black liquorish, and root extract – root bear, coco extract with lots of wood.
Too bad that one of the members did not bring out a bottle of one of the older LUCIEN ALBRECHT wines as that would have been interesting to contrast against the current vintages that you tried and liked.
Only reds tasted afterward? No whites to show Marie how the grapes in Alsace fair in other climes and continents? Like a Clayborne and Churchill, CA. Riesling or Gewurztraminer or a Tasmanian 2008 chillingly dry and refreshing Devil’s Lair TAMAR RIDGE Riesling imported by Robert Whale?
What did Marie think of the wines tasted here : these reds? Any feedback on that?
Cheers, sounds like it was a grand tasting nonetheless. I would have loved to try the CHATEAU RAYAS myself as I still own a bottle or two of the 1978 vintage. Anthony Quinn
I would of loved to taste an older bottle of Lucien Albrecht, unfortunately we simply did not have one on hand, otherwise I’m sure we would of opened it up.
Marie loved all the wines that we tried especially the Rayas, which she said was her favorite. Although she left before we got to the Flaccianello, which was my favorite of the night.
It was indeed a good tasting, if you want to read about one of my favorite tastings here are some links – Monday at Graileys and Monday at Graileys Part II.