What an amazing evening! Eleven of us joined, all on this subreddit, plus a couple of our partners joined. Each person brought a bottle they wanted to share with the group and we got a private room at Saison Cellar and Wine Bar in San Francisco.
Like any good wine Thursday, this started out calm and organized, but we were all having too much fun and it became a bit more informal.
Absolutely insane wine selection, as the photos should reveal!
Started at 6:30 on a Thursday and it ran until 12:30, way longer than we expected, but we were all having so much fun and Saison were such great hosts! Plus a few members generously brought out a few additional wines just to take this up a notch.
Thanks everyone for making this so special. Looking forward to the next one and putting on some theme nights.
Anyone interested in joining, please reach out to me. We obviously welcome new people, understanding that Saison does have headcount limits.
Will put detailed notes in the comments.
My wife also took this great video of the final lineup, enjoy!
by rnjbond
16 Comments
Looking forward to the notes and seeing which wine showed best! Wish I still lived in SF, tough to find groups like this in South Bay
Okay, who’s ready for some tasting notes?!
Just to level set, these are my tasting notes and just my personal opinion. I hand-wrote notes and I’ll say my notes get less legible as the evening went on lol, but I think this is a good reflection of my viewpoint. Two caveats I’ll give: 1) I tend to be rather conservative with my points and err on the side of under-rating versus overrating, so a 90+ point score is a fantastic score and 94 is elite, in my book (I’ve only had a handful of wines I’ve score 95+ in my life); 2) I’m just not a huge white wine fan, it’s my own personal taste, so my white wine scores may look low, but that’s just my taste. Perhaps I need a separate white wine scale? And, please, don’t want anyone to take offense at these, again, these are just my notes from how I felt in the moment!
**2018 Dhondt-Grellet Champagne Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Les Nogers**
On the nose, brioche, lemon zest, and white nectarine.
Nice crisp acidity on the palate.
Great way to kick off the night.
91 points.
**2008 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut**
This was really expressing its age nicely. Slight lemon and red apple notes, along with some sulphur (not quite minerality or ashiness).
Drank nicely with solid complexity.
91 points.
**2002 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs**
Expressing age nicely with less bubbles than the other champagnes.
Yellow peach, white peach, lemon-lime, peach pit notes.
Nice body and complexity.
91 points.
**2023 Domaine Larue Saint-Aubin Blanc**
A little sharp on the palate, some astringency reminiscent of tannins. Slight perfume on the nose with lemon notes. Solid acidity on the palate.
Maybe this needs a little more time, but for now, down the middle.
86 points.
**2020 Hubert Lamy Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Blanc**
In a good place now, but can definitely benefit from more time in the bottle.
Lemon, kiwi, peach, and nectarine notes, with a slightly perfumed nose.
Definitely will benefit from further aging.
88+ points.
**2016 Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Luchets**
Probably my favorite white wine from the meet-up.
Notes of grapefruit, lime, and rosemary.
Enjoyable and fresh on the palate with decent complexity.
89 points.
**2012 Domaine Dujac Chambolle-Musigny**
Complex nose with strawberry, cranberry, strawberry steams, and blueberry.
Nice acidity on the palate with solid complexity and a pretty long finish.
92 points.
**2009 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie**
Higher in acidity than I expected, but in a good way.
On the nose, olivey notes with olive tapenade and olive brine.
Slight spice on the palate and tannins for days, telling me this can age for a lot longer.
Picked up some slight floral notes as well.
Very enjoyable wine!
93 points.
**2017 Thierry Allemand Cornas Reynard**
Another great Rhone Syrah.
Picked up some blueberry, grapefruit skin, dark plum notes with young peppercorn.
Very powerful wine, but had enough air to be enjoyable.
Definitely want to enjoy this with some spicy food!
93 points.
**2018 VHR Cabernet Sauvignon Vine Hill Ranch**
This needs so much more time and air, but I know this will be brilliant with some time (or maybe six hours in a decanter).
As it stands now, this has tannins for days, but with vigorous swirling and some time in the glass, opened up and I got dark cherry, dark plum, and blueberry notes, with some slight white pepper.
Great wine and I’m sure next time I try it, this will score higher.
92+ points.
**2016 Accendo Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon**
Second time trying this in the span of two months and it was just as good as I remember, meaning it drinks well solo and pairs well with food.
I picked up blueberry, red cherry, dark plum, cinnamon, and clove notes.
This actually got three hours in the decanter before the night kicked off, then another two hours in the decanter, so five hours before I touched it and that was the right amount.
94 points.
**2019 Alpha Omega Era**
This got three hours of air in the decanter, then another three by the time I finished the last glass and it needed all of that.
First sip before decanting was way too tight to enjoy, but definitely showed the potential I expected out of this.
Even trying it again after three hours of decanting, it was still too tight, so I’m glad it got more time.
Once it finally opened up, blueberry, dark cherry, and dark plum notes, alongside some slight forest floor.
This is a brilliant wine and honored to share this with friends, old and new (as well as my wonderful wife).
I’m glad I have two more bottles left and I look forward to trying this again in a few years!
WOTN for me (even if I’m talking my own book here).
94+ points.
**2015 Château d’Yquem**
Generous bonus gift from Jersey, drank from a half bottle.
Exactly the profile I’ve come to expect from d’Yquem.
Toasted almond, orange marmalade, apricot jam, honey notes.
I know this will benefit from time, but already drinking well, if a bit young.
Great end to the night!
93 points (on a separate dessert wine scale).
Need the invite to the next one!
Was the Mayacamas a wine that got brought out to take it up a notch? That’s quite the wine and an epic line up. Thanks for the post.
How do I find out about these events?
Looks like I missed a good one. Looking forward to the next one. I have an 01 Jamet that I’ve been looking for a reason to open
The Larue indeed needs time. I opened a 2020 a couple weeks ago and it was just starting to work.
Fun stuff. The mayacamas vintage made me do a double take!
I live in the EBay and would love to join next time! Nice lineup
y u no mention ’85 sandeman?
Epic night indeed, what a blast! And super fun to read your notes as always!
Misread the Yquem notes as “drank half a bottle”
That was epic. I am sure yall had a blast!
This was by far the most unexpected night of fun I’ve ever had tasting wine. Great job curating the invite list @rnjbond!!
Damn, this is a good idea. Who’s down for a Kansas City meet up?
Didn’t know this was a thing. Would love to join the next one!