I've really fallen behind on recapping all of the Friday night tastings I've attended at Bin 75, so I'll finish off the year with one of the best nights we had this fall. This night featured quite an array of great wines, and even included some special treats from Chris at the end of the evening.
The night began with a 2005 Chante Cigale Chateaunef du Pape. Most everyone there knew it was a CdP, but figured a little older (I went 2001). It was good, but not spectacular. We followed with another wine from the same area and vintage, the 2005 La Roquete Chateauneuf du Pape. Again, most of us were on CdP, but this time the wine was quite closed, and I guessed it to be a 2006.
Next we moved up the Rhone Valley for the 2000 Guigal Chateau d'Ampuis Cote Rotie. It had a great nose but then on the palate threw everyone for a loop. I really had no idea, and no one else did either. We then followed this with another Syrah, but this time it was the 2005 Vina Montes Folly, a Syrah from Chile. I was leaning toward Aussie Shiraz, but in one of the great pickups, Keith nailed it as Chilean Syrah.
Our next two wines were both from Piemonte, starting with the 2003 Albino Rocca Vigneto Brich Ronchi Barbaresco. I was on Nebbiolo, but guessed 2001 Barolo. Our next wine was mine, the 1996 Bovio Arborina Barolo. A few folks were on it as an aged Barolo, but not everyone. Regardless, it was a fantastic wine, truly hitting its stride.
We next had the 2001 Castelgiocondo Brunello, which I nailed as a Brunello from that vintage. It was a very good wine, though I think it possibly included something other than just Sangiovese.
We followed that with the 1988 Cos d'Estournel, which had a lot of bell pepper on the nose, but was really ageing well most of us guessed it to be a mid-90's Bordeaux. We then had a 2003 Lagier Meredith Mt Veeder Syrah that had the unfortunate luck to follow the Bordeaux and thus stick out as a little too modern. After that, we returned to Bordeaux for the 2003 Lynch Bages. This wine showed the characteristics of the hot vintage, as it was a little sweet and acidic for me.
We finally concluded the regular portion of the tasting with the 2001 Feudi di San Gregorio Taurasi Riserva Piano di Monte Vergine. I initially leaned toward Southern Italy before changing my mind, but the huge tannins should have been a dead giveaway. Even with a lengthy decanting, this wine was still not quite ready to drink. It will be a great wine with several more years of age.
Finally, Chris had been in the bar with some friends and donated his remaining wine to the group, which was quite a treat. First up was the 1994 Vega Sicilia Unico, a fantastic wine though no one could ID it. I guessed it could be a top vintage northern Rhone, perhaps 1999 Cornas. Regardless, it was really quite nice if still a bit young. We followed that with the 1990 Leoville Las Cases, which was truly what a nice aged Bordeaux should be like. It was really hitting its stride with everything in great balance.
Overall, this was quite a night, and one of the best I've had at Bin 75. I look forward to many more of these in 2010, and will also recap a couple of other late 2009 tastings in the coming weeks.
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