Notes from a wine tasting in DC area

[wondersofwine]

I crossed the line (or Internet sites) and attended a WLDG offline in Potomac, MD June 19th. I posted on it on WLDG but had technical problems so posted in two parts and left out at least one wine. The theme was to be out-of-the-ordinary wines or QPR wines we wanted to share with others.
At a combination housewarming/winetasting/dinner a small group of seven people had the following:

Sparkling wine:
a special bottling of Glenora Wine Cellars Brut (Finger Lakes, NY)(guess who brought that one)

White wines;
1989 Muscadet Sevre & Maine Sur Lie from Pierre Luneau (word was that Muscadet improves with some age; don't believe it--at least from this sampling--I prefer the dry tangy fruit and sea salt of the younger Muscadet

1989 Vina Gravonia Viura (Rioja, Spain) The Viura grape is also known as Macabeo. This medium gold wine fared better than the 1989 Muscadet and was both interesting and drinkable.

2002 Anthony Road Vignoles (Finger Lakes, NY)
(Yours truly brought this one also.) It was quite well received and food friendly with the appetizers. 13% alcohol 2% residual sugar Under $9.00 at the winery.

Red wines:

The host offered an out-of-the-ordinary flight of a Romanian red, an Israeli red and
an Argentinian red, or a horizontal flight of 1994 Muga Rioja wines and we persuaded him to pop the cork on the Spanish wines.

1994 Muga Reserva Rioja (about $12) Quite aromatic. Good first impression on the palate. An unusual finish that was a little off-putting for some of us (not the host). One person said bitter medicine but I would not agree with that. The finish ameliorated a bit after time in the glass.

1994 Muga Reserva Seleccion Especial (about $22) More muted nose but better on the palate. Viscous and more depth. I liked this best of the flight of three and so did most of the tasters. The host liked the first one best.

1994 Torre Muga Rioja (about $40?) New style Spanish wine. More wood influence. I thought it was not a bad wine and would be drinkable with steak but I prefered the second wine which was less expensive anyway.

2000 Chateau Behere, Pauillac, Bordeaux Cru Artisan($30 originally, now selling for $35-40) I brought this wine. The wine is produced by Anne-Marie and Jean-Gabriel Camou. Monsieur Camou used to just farm grapes and sell them but he bought four small vineyard parcels and now makes his own wine. It has been well received in Great Britain but is not well known in the U.S.A.
The first time I tried it (in 2003) I was impressed with its classic Bordeaux bouquet (cedar and cassis). This evening it was not decanted for long (it had traveled with me from NC)and I did not get the cedar scents--just some cassis and dark fruits. Still it was enjoyable and I have another bottle to try in a year or two.

Our main dish at dinner was salmon prepared by plank grilling and it was scrumptious! We had a vegetable side dish and fruit tortes
for dessert.

Dessert wine:
1995 Moscato di Patelloria, Italy
15.5% alcohol
I didn't do well on notes by that time but it was appropriate with the fruit pastry.

Great evening and the hosts have a very nice house with a gorgeous backyard and quiet neighborhood.

[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 07-01-2004).]

[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 07-01-2004).]

[newsguy]

looks like it was a very nice evening, WOW. have seen you mention D.C. area before in earlier posts. do you live there now or just travel there often? i was born and raised there, although didn't get into wine until after i moved. have friends/family still there, including some in potomac. what is the WLDG you mentioned?

[This message has been edited by newsguy (edited 07-08-2004).]

[wondersofwine]

I travel to DC three to five times a year either for professional meetings or to visit a dear friend who lives in College Park, Maryland (I lived in Maryland for three years in the 70's after returning from a civilian tour in Germany). WLDG is Wine Lovers' Discussion Group headed by Robin Garr. You can visit the website at wineloverspage.com. Just promise that you won't stop reading and posting on this website as well.

[newsguy]

i'll check out that forum, but this one will always be my on-line wine home.

looks like i'll likely be in maryland either the week of august 9 or 16. no chance you'd be up there again so soon, is there?

[wondersofwine]

Unlikely. I'm having surgery on my right foot next week and probably won't be traveling until sometime in the fall. Wanted to attended a WLDG event in Ann Arbor, Michigan in late August but may not be able to attend.

Newsguy, I don't think you ever answered my question about whether you and your wife attended the Nantucket Wine Festival one year and stayed in Pineapple Inn. I shared a taxi with a couple from Clearwater, Florida but that may just be coincidental.

[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 07-09-2004).]

[newsguy]

WOW:

best of luck with the foot.

maybe at some point soon we'll be in maryland at the same time and can share a bottle or three. or i'm sure we'll all drink our fill (and then some) at the washington retreat next august.

and, no, i was not at that wine festival, so that couldn't have been me in the cab. as for my wife, i don't think that would have been her either. [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]