Black and White Champagne Tasting

1/12/13-Gary Rose and Laura Laskowski hosted their annual Champagne blind tasting.  The edibles provided by the hosts and participants provided a feast fit for a King (or Queen).  The desserts included a really dark chocolate cake with black food coloring.... Anyone who ate it had black tongues, teeth & lips.

Here is the Champagne results with 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place votes:
1. De Margerie Brut                              5 2 2 1
2. Louis Roederer Brut                          3 2 0 5
3. Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut                   3 2 1 3
4. Bollinger Brut                                    1 2 0 5
5. Pommery Brut                                   1 0 3 1
6. Franck Bonville "Avize" Brut           0 5 0 1
7. Robert Moncuit Brut                          0 1 2 0
8. Kirkland Brut                                     0 1 2 0

 

 

1978 Santa Cruz Mountain Duriff

1/9/13-Carl and Kathy hosted the Wednesday Knitters and provided a dinner of Sheppard Pie and Knitters salad.  The brown bag wine of the night was a very healthy and fruity 1978 Durif.  The grape is known as Petite Sirah in North and South America.  In the rest of the World it is generally known as Durif, named after its discoverer, Dr. Francois Durif.  The high tannins and acidity present in Petite Sirah make it an excellent candidate for ageing.

Ch. Domaine du Caillou Quartz Rhone wines

1/1/13-The Hennige’s celebrated the Stanford win at the Rose Bowl with the Faust and Curtis couples, and indulged in a small vertical of Ch. Domaine du Caillou Quartz Rhone wines.  The Stanford win over Wisconsin was celebrated with a 2008 Ridge cabernet bottled for the Stanford alumni.  The 2000 and 2004 wines were essentially tied for first place and all participants had the 2001 in third place (Parkers favorite of the three).  The 2000 exhibited red currants and coffee, and was smoother and softer than the younger 2004, which had intense berry fruit.  All wines had a very long finish.