Tasting aged wines with Jean K. Reilly MW and The Young Somms of Orlando

There is a collegial, ambitious, smart group of young sommeliers currently plying their trade at restaurants, wine bars, wine shops, and distributorships in the greater Orlando area. Since her arrival in the area, Jean K. Reilly MW has served as both mentor and glue to this group, encouraging their efforts and providing opportunities for skills/knowledge improvement. Her choice of Orlando as home has been a boon to these aspirants.

It was within this context that Jean partnered with me to expose these Somms to a focused tasting of aged wines from the world's leading regions. The tasting was held at Primo at the JW Marriott and was fully subscribed (15 attendees).

After a presentation on red-wine aging (the subject of my most recent blog post), we turned to the actual tasting. Jean's design called for the six wines to be tasted twice: first, to assess them on their merit and, second, to return deliberately disordered wines to their initial order based solely on sensory perception. The picture below shows the wines arrayed by order of the initial tasting. The wines were tasted left to right.

The wines were opened about 1.5 hours before the tasting. They were ordered from lightest body to weightest. The tasting notes that follow are an amalgam of attendee observations.

Bouvier-Girodet Gevrey-Chambertin 'Vielles Vignes' 2004
According to BBR, a cold snap in June delayed flowering and the remainder of the summer was colder and wetter than normal resulting in high incidences of oidium and mildew. The weather dried out in August and was fine in September, with quality fruit for those who selected rigorously.

The Bouvier-Girodet showed lifted sour cherry, moss, cedar, leather, mushroom, vanilla, and smoke. Elegant in the mouth. Crisp with a lengthy finish.

La Rioja Alta Rioja 904 Gran Reserva 2001
The weather during the growing season was optimal for grapevine development resulting in the vintage being awarded a Excellent rating by the D.O.Ca Rioja Control Board. The wine is a blend of Tempranillo (90%) and Graciano.

Vanilla, coconut, earth, wet clay, dill, and raspberry on the nose. Freshness with some salinity on the palate. Ripe fruit. Tannins still apparent. Lengthy, drying finish.

Aldo Conterno Barolo Bricco Bussia 'Colonello' 1978
Growing conditions similar to those experienced in Côte de Nuit in 2004 with cool, wet weather during the summer followed by a wonderful September.

Oxidative notes to begin, followed by mushroom, rust, tar, and Granny's attic. Beautiful wine on the palate. Still some astringency (but does not get in the way) along with tart cherry and leather. Long. Many years of pleasant drinking still ahead.

Chateau L'Evangile Pomerol 1990
Very mild winter followed by a cool spring and hot summer. Light rain in early September. Exceptionally high-quality Merlot.

This wine was a blend of 80% Merlot - 20% Cabernet Franc, aged for 18 months in oak barrels. Dried flowers with a plum undercurrent. Dried herbs, spice, and a savoriness. Mature tannins. Long, creamy finish. This wine did nothing to detract from my love of, and fascination with, this label.

Chateau Leoville-Las Cases St-Julien 2003
This was the famous heat wave vintage. The grapes were fermented in a mix of wood, concrete and stainless steel vats and then aged in partially new oak barrels for 18 months. The blend for this vintage was Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Merlot (17%), and Cabernet Franc (13%).

This wine is well-developed on the nose. Blue fruit, caramel, cedar, vanilla, and some savoriness. Red and black fruit on the palate. This wine is aging very well with another 5 to 10 years before reaching its peak.

Seavey Cabernet Sauvignon 1994
100% Cabernet Sauvignon fruit planted on the hills above St. Helena. Aged in 50% new French oak barrels.

Rich aroma profile. Chocolate, cherries, and some age-related Granny's attic notes. Round on the palate. Lowest acid of the wines that we have tasted so far but still very pleasant.

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Mission accomplished. The Young Guns engaged fully in both of the tasting exercises and, at the conclusion of the event, effusively thanked us for the opportunity. The light continues to shine on Orlando.

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