there might be several other people on silklist (like me) who go/have long gone to these tastings (held twice a week, mondays and thursdays, in people's houses in los altos and palo alto, respectively).
i would be happy to introduce others visiting the bay area as my guests (but due to limited space, please only ask if you are truly interested, as flakiness such as a last minute cancellation will likely deny another taster a place at the table.) as charles hinted in his suggestions about tasting, we have settled on a few ground rules: you need 8-10 glasses. typical pour sizes are 30-40ml (times 8 or 9 wines -- sometimes there is a pre-wine or a post-wine.) (if you are visiting from a distant place glasses can be temporarily provided, by arrangement with me or your host.) you need to rank the wines 1 through 8 in order of preference. no table talk until people have ranked to not bias the ranking. don't wear any perfume or have another strong scent. (people have sensitive noses so cigarette smokers for example are evident.) a typical tasting costs $30-$35. (it's a non-profit thing, the wines are often much more expensive or simply unobtainable in 2013, such as '83 chassagne montrachet). Begin forwarded message: > From: Charles Haynes <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [silk] Fwd: Wine tasting is bullshit. Here's why. > Date: May 10, 2013 7:46:07 AM PDT > To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> > Reply-To: [email protected] > > One last reply to myself. I've included below the most recent invitation of > the tasting group I used to regularly attend when I lived in the Bay Area. > It's a private group run by a computer geek who started doing this for fun > probably 40 years ago, and still runs them. If I were still in the Bay Area > I'd probably be going to this one (I'm a sucker for white burgundies) and > the Spanish Reds. > > -- Charles > > Chassagne-Montrachet is located in Burgundy, at the southern tip of the >> Cotes du Beaune, which itself is the southern half of the Cote D'Or. The >> latter is a long, broken range of hills overlooking the Saone River to the >> east, and most of the best vineyards are on the gentle eastern slopes of >> this range, facing towards the morning sun, and protected by the hills from >> the storms coming in from the west. >> Although the name Chassagne-Montrachet appears on well over a hundred >> labels each vintage, the whole region is only 1.5 kilometers long and a >> kilometer wide. The vineyards surround the town of the same name on three >> sides. The town itself is really little more than a quiet village with >> many old stone houses and petit chateaux. > > >> The modern history of Chassagne essentially began in the fifteenth >> century, when the village was burned to the ground by Louis the XI because >> the local landowner, the Prince of Orange, sided against him and with >> Margaret of Burgundy. The town was rebuild by local monks, who also >> replanted the vineyards around the town. Until the 1980s, the area was >> more known for its red wines than its whites, with three quarters of the >> vineyards planted to Pinot Noir. This changed dramatically when Pinots >> from the area fell out of favor, and the popularity of the Chardonnays from >> Chassagne began to skyrocket. Now most of the wine which comes out of the >> area is white, and what little red is made is rarely seen in this country. >> Roughly 85 different vineyards are crammed into the 1.5 square kilometer >> region. About half of the vineyards are premier crus; these are largely on >> the hillsides to the northwest of the town. Just across the road running >> along the northeastern edge of Chassagne are the two vineyards of >> Batard-Montrachet and Le Montrachet, the two most famous and highly >> regarded Chardonnay vineyards in the world. >> Most White Burgundy followers would argue that we are still in the the >> Premox Era, which began around 1995 and continues to the present vintages, >> and during which time many white burgs have had a tendency to oxidize or >> age too quickly, sometimes within just a few years of the vintage. During >> these couple decades, collectors of Chassagnes, Pulignys, Meursaults and >> Chablis have had to carefully monitor the progress of these wines, trying >> them every year or sometimes every few months lest they suddenly drop off >> the premox cliff. Although there are still multiple theories of what >> causes premature oxidation without agreement on the true cause and how to >> fix it, the situation in recent years has gotten gradually better, and some >> may say we are through the worst of it. > > >> Back before this Premox Era, collectors would routinely lay away Premier >> and Grand Cru white burgs in unopened cases for at least the first decade >> after release before touching the first bottle, and then sample the bottles >> on a leisurely pace for the next 10+ years. Collectors differ on when >> these wines reach their peak; some of this difference comes down to >> preference on what one likes in old burgundies. If they follow just the >> right path, an old Chassagne or Meursault can turn into a beautifully >> complex mix of lemons, butter, toast, green peas and minerals -- as >> compelling an old wine as can be achieved with any varietal. > > >> How far could one push old white burgs before the Premox Era started? >> Tonight, we'll try a collection of 27-35 year old Chassagne-Montrachets, >> almost all Premier Crus, in two flights to explore an answer to this >> question. In Flight 1, we'll have five 1983 Chassagnes on their 30th >> birthday. In the second flight, we'll have a range of Chassagne vintages >> extending back to a 1978 Remoissenet (as far as I can tell, the color still >> looks great on this bottle), and including a mini vertical of Gagnard >> Delagrange Chassagnes. We'll be having many of these at reasonable prices >> ($30-40), well below what the prices of current vintage Chassagnes. > > >> FLIGHT 1 >> 2003 Domaine Ramonet, Chassagne-Montrachet (12%) >> 2003 B Bachelet, "Morgeot 1er Cru", Chassagne-Montrachet (12.5%) >> 2003 Coron, "Les Morgeots 1er Cru", Chassagne-Montrachet (13%) >> 2003 Paul Pilot, "Les Caillerets", Chassagne-Montrachet (12.5%) >> 2003 Georges Deleger, "Chevenottes", Chassagne-Montrachet (12.5%) >> >> FLIGHT 2 >> 1978 Remoissenet, Chassagne-Montrachet (32%) >> 1982 Delagrange-Bachelet (Blaine-Gagnard) "1er Cru La Boudriotte", >> Chassagne-Montrachet (13%) >> 1983 Gagnard-Delagrange, "1er Cru Morgeot", Chassagne-Montrachet (12.5%) >> 1985 Gagnard-Delagrange, "1er Cru Morgeot", Chassagne-Montrachet (12%) >> 1985 Gagnard-Delagrange, "1er Cru La Boudriotte", Chassagne-Montrachet >> (12%) >> 1986 Dancer-Lochardet "La Romanee", Chassagne Montrachet (12.5%) > > >> Thursday, May 9, 2013, 7:30PM, at [redacted] Palo Alto. Drop me a note if >> you are planning to come. > > >> [Redacted] > > >> UPCOMING TASTINGS: >> Monday (May 13): 2002 Syrah Retrospective, Part 11 >> Thursday (May 16): 2011 Siduri Pinots with Adam >> Monday (May 20): 1993-2001 Rosenblum Samsel Vineyard-Maggie's Reserve >> Zinfandels >> Thursday (May 23): 1988 Cabernets and Bordeaux, Part 3 >> TUESDAY (May 28): Spanish reds
