After lengthy negotiations on the time of our own mini running of the Judgment of Paris (Arlington) pitting Bordeaux vs. California we finally got it together. So, what did we learn. Well, 2004 Haut Brion doesn't stand up so well to Ridge Monte Bello at such a young age. While the Haut Brion was better the second day, it still hadn't developed the depth in the wine I was looking for. The one thing that the tasting did produce was lots of purple teeth!
The line-up was as follows:
1. Freemark Abbey 2004
2. Haut Brion 2004
3. Ridge Monte Bello 2003
4. Chateau Montrose 2004
5. Stag's Leap SLV 2003
6. Grand Vin de Leoville 2004
The dinner started with champagne with an appetizer of fig, marscapone, and prosciutto just to get everyone warmed up. We first went through all the wines before dinner. Robin was asked to be wine guy and promptly was dismissed for pouring too much in the glasses. He was noted for his technique-obviously lots of practice at church.
Dinner consisted of beef tenderloin with a shallot, bacon and port wine sauce. This was accompanied by sauteed peppers, roasted potatoes, and harlot verts. Dessert was a deconstructed blueberry cheesecake with homemade orange shortbread.
Well, lets get to the meat of the evening. The goal of the evening is see if anyone could tell the difference between a French vs. California wine. Barbara, a noted Bordeaux lover, admitted that she got every wine wrong. Good for her! It is apparent from the collected notes that no one was playing along. Although one taster noted an aroma of cabbage in the Haut Brion. Most were not had no information of value. I couldn't tell if they loved or hated it. One thing was clear that the Monte Bello was good. Go out and buy a case!
