2nd Pittsburgh Wine Gathering

Don,
Thanks for the offer but I'd rather try one of your Sea Smoke Pinot Noir's. Preferably the 2005 Southing or 2005 Ten :-)

J2K, I thought you weren't a Pinot fan. I have one bottle of '06 Southing left...

I like it Pinot but I'm not a Burghound or Miles from Sideways. I'm still looking for that WOW!! bottle of Pinot. Always heard so much about Sea Smoke. I wouldn't mind trying your 06 Southing also ;-).

Yeah I bet! It's not a wam/pow fruit bomb kind of wine. I also realize that I've only had the '06 which probably wasn't the best year. But it wasn't until after I put the glass down that I starting thinking about how nice it was. Great balance.

Maybe we should have an upcoming gathering where everyone brings a pinot. I can bring a bottle of the Gundy Bundy, you can bring a bottle of Kosta Browne...

REQUEST FROM SAUSALIDO:

The restaurant's owner called & asked if we could start at 6:45 instead of 7:00. My group will oblige so anyone else who can adjust, see you then

Is there a time limit at Sausalido? We'll do our best to arrive early.
Perhaps a list of who is coming would be nice?

Don

I think they are open til 11 but I'll be gone by then! There are dozens of bars within 500 yards of the place if you're up for more action.

The roster is ecola (2) j2k (2) hawk & friend, mark, big red (2) & me (maybe 2) for a total of 12/13 depending on my wife's attendance.

See you then.

Wow, what a great bunch of wines. Thanks everyone! Joly Coulee de Serrant, Sea Smoke Southing, 10 year old Clos des Papes, a 20 year old St. Estephe, Elgelbrecht Els, Bodegas Caro, Planeta Chardonnay, Clare Luce, Martin & Weyrich Insieme, Hastae Quorum, Donkey & Goat Rose, plus one or two others that I can't remember? Excellent food as well. About the only disappointment was the lack of Valle Vista, I was SO looking forward to it! Maybe next time...

I'll save my last bottle of VV for next time...
We had a great time too. Looking forward to the next one!!

OK, here is the roster of wines from last Friday:

Bodegas Caro 2001
Chateau Lafon-Rochet St. Estephe 1989
Christine Andrew Petite Sirah 2004
Clare Luce Abbey Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape 1999
Domaine Lafond Roc-Epine Lirac 2007
Donkey & Goat Grenache Rose Isabella's Cuvee 2008
Elgelbrecht Els Proprietor's Blend 2006
Hastae Quorum Barbera d'Asti 2001
Martin & Weyrich Insieme Red 2005
Nicolas Joly Coulee de Serrant 2006
Planeta Chardonnay Sicilia 2006
Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing 2005

With 11 people working on 13 bottles, the wait staff likely enjoyed themselves after we left. Plus, some joker (who shall not be named) admitted to getting home and opening a bottle of Kistler Pinot Noir, and he didn't even invite the rest of us! And then he had the nerve to send me a picture of the empty bottle! (That should narrow down the culprit.) I say we go hunt him down...

Mark

So much wine, but so little time.....

Great night everyone! Terrific company and outstanding wines.

My "Wines of the Night" were the Sea Smoke and the Clos des Papes. I think both were among the best wines I tasted in 2009.

I also felt the Caro, Clare Luce, Elgelbrecht, Joly & Quorum were excellent. However, there were so many different styles that I must confess I don't remember them all.

How about the rest of you - any thoughts?

Agree with Hawk.

The Clos des Pape & the Luce were a nod ahead of the Sea Smoke for me just because I prefer the Cab & Syrah profiles to the Pinot, but I gotta say that wines like Sea Smoke are changing my thinking.

I was worried about judging the reaction to the cheap Insieme I brought for a litmus test when judged after all the good stuff, but the feedback was good (excepting Mark's sandpaper comment).

Any ideas for the next one? I've been finding that most of the Spanish wine I try is really nice but I don't know much about the terroir or regions or grapes. Anybody know their tempranillo from their Priorat out there?

The Clos des Pape was WOTN for me, went great with my twin filets. I also could have sipped the Sea Smoke all night, great finish. I thought the Nicolas Joly Coulee de Serrant 2006 was the most interesting wine of the night and I'm going to purchase a bottle. Of course I'm also biased for my 2001 Caro, but I love the strength of that wine ;-)

I'll post some information on the next Gathering / Round 3 in the next few days.

This was another terrific gathering. Just a nice opportunity to sample some high quality wines (yes, even the sandpaper wine was OK) in a short period of time and have some great conversation. This has allowed me to experience varietals & regions I am less familiar with, and my interest grows in that respect. I look forward to future gatherings.

From the evening, I particulalry enjoyed the St. Estephe 1989, Clos des Pape, Sea Smoke, and the Quorum. ...But I tell you what J2K, that Caro worked very well with my filet and I was not dissapointed!