Tasting Notes (May 29): Armageddon Reds

I kept waiting for the bad news. Stimmel’s was moving to Findlay. Wine was being outlawed in Ohio. The Rapture had begun. (For some that last one would no doubt be good news; for me, it would be very, very bad.) Why else would I be drinking my first Chateau Haut-Brion and my first Opus One—two of the most sought after cabernet-based wines in the world—on the same night, not to mention a 1988 Sauternes, one of the best Shirazes in the world, and the very highly regarded Toro wine Numanthia? It couldn’t simply be that I’m one lucky sunnovab—er, guy.

But nothing happened. I drank the wines. I watched a ballgame. I went to bed, got up, had my day. And now I’m sitting here at midnight writing this post (and finishing it the next evening, still untouched by the fates). Happily and not a little bit surprisingly, life went, and goes, on.

Not unchanged, though. You can’t experience a tasting like this one and be the same after it. And, contrary to what you might think, not all of the changes one experiences after tasting some of the world’s best wines in one sitting are positive—at least, not the ones I experienced. Specifically, I have a nagging sense that, even though the Earth didn’t open up and swallow me or (I suspect) any of the other tasters whole Thursday night, I, a lowly assistant professor of English, have some karmic comeuppance in store for daring to find fault—any fault—in this by-all-accounts-stellar lineup. I just can’t help it, though. A 2000 Opus One is going to sing like a chorus of angels when up against your run-of-the-mill Cali cab. But after a 1991 Ridge Monte Bello, it’s going to seem a little lean. It’s just the nature of things.

So despite—or, better yet, because of—my hubris at even thinking about passing judgment on some of the world’s finest wines, I throw myself on the mercy of the universe. After all, if there are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in my philosophy, maybe one of them can help me out here, because I’m clearly in over my head.

Now, the notes:

Chateau Haut-Brion 2004 (France; $269.99/bottle)
Still extremely young, this first-growth Bordeaux is dark red in color, with a nose of rich, ripe currant, earth, worn leather, and wet stone. Even though the wine is very tight and the tannins are young, the perfect, silky texture still manages to shine through with ease. Big flavors of black plum and leather should soften and become more nuanced over the next 5 – 20 years.

Ridge Monte Bello 1991 (California; $199.99/bottle)
The 1992 Monte Bello is in my top two or three wines ever, and this one—one year older—is easily in my top fifteen. Brick red with little to no brown showing on the edge, it has a rich nose of dark berries, chocolate, smoky spice, and pencil lead. The mouthfeel on this full-bodied Bordeaux-style blend is pure satin, with very fine tannins and a luxurious, long finish. On the palate, an enticing smoky note infuses flavors of blackberry, peppery spice, and a hint of dill.

Opus One 2000 (California; $151.99/bottle)
Brick red with browning edges and a prominent pencil shaving note on the nose, this perennial Napa Valley star is showing more age than you might expect for only being eight years old. It is medium-full bodied with bright acidity and flavors of black currant, plum, pencil shavings, and a hint of pepper. The long finish is graphite-filled. Very good, but not the powerhouse I expected.

Kosta Brown Russian River Pinot Noir 2006 (California; $69.99/bottle)
While pinot noirs have so far been easy for me to pick out in Stimmels’ blind tastings, I find them very difficult to describe in tasting notes. Because I drink far more full-bodied reds like cabernet and shiraz than I do lighter-bodied pinots, my descriptive vocabulary for those wines is correspondingly more developed. Anyway, long disclaimer short: while I wait until after I take my notes to read the “official” notes on the tasting card, I find myself wanting to just substitute them for mine, since, when I read them, I thought, “Yes, that’s exactly right.” Still, here are mine, for what they’re worth: on the full side of medium-bodied, with aromas and flavors of bright cherry, forest floor, earth, and violets, with something also vaguely coffee/toffee-like.

Numanthia 2005 (Spain; 69.99/bottle)
This red from the Toro region in Spain has an interesting nose, showing black plum, chocolate, vanilla, and a ghost of something reminiscent of farmer’s cheese. (It’s the cheese part that makes the nose so interesting; I’d call it an off note if it weren’t so faint and if it showed up on the palate, which it doesn’t). It has a rich but elegant palate of blackberry, chocolate, pine, and mint, with a flannel-like mouthfeel and bold but fine tannins. The finish is mint and licorice-laced. Very nice, but needs 3-5 years minimum in the bottle before it will really show what it’s made of.

D’Arenberg The Dead Arm 2004 (Australia; $79.99/bottle)
Deep opaque purple, this Aussie Shiraz has shows blueberry, black olive, pepper, and menthol on the nose. The superripe, full-bodied palate is spicy and rich, with a riot of dark berry fruit and lots of spicy pepper. The finish is very long and reminiscent of dried scrub and black olives (not unlike what the French call “garrigue”).

Chateau Rieussec 1988 (France; $129.99/bottle)
This very distinctive, personality-laden dessert wine from Sauternes has a deep, golden yellow color suggestive of nearly two decades of bottle age. The nose reveals honey, crème brulèe, smoke, and baked pineapples, while the flavors suggest sweet honeysuckle, canned pear juice, amaretto, and a light hint of smoke. The very long finish is surprisingly spicy and cigar-like. Good acid to keep things in balance.