TN: Studs or Duds tasting

1997 Baumard "Trie Speciale" Savennieres Huge Chenin, great acidity holding up a big body. Concentrated peach and apricot fruit, notes of lanolin, wool, and flowers. A-

On to the blind wines:

Flight One: Wine 1 - Definite browning as poured. Really funky, a nose of dead leaves, tar, and old cherries. Several are ready to toss immediately, but to me (and one neighbor) there's some improvement on the nose after a few minutes of air. Thin on the palate, though, with some tannins sticking out. Guess is older Nebbiolo. At end of flight it's unveiled, it's the 1989 Einaudi Barolo. I suggest giving it some time, but there's no improvement. B for the after-10-minutes nose, C overall.

Wine 2 - soft easy and blah, I'm thinking off-vintage Chianti. Boring. I'm shocked it's the 1997 Antinori "Pian delle Vigne" Brunello. I brought this, this was a big bruiser (though not very Brunello-typical) on release. This tastes more like Sangiovese than what I remembered, but is far thinner. C+

Flight Two Wine 3 - Sweet red fruit, soft acidity, soft tannins, not much on finish. My guess is mid-90s CalCab, I'm off my 2 states and a decade: 1987 Chateau St. Michelle "Cold Creek" Cabernet Sauvignon (Washington). C+-B-

Wine 4 - Rather exotic herby nose, very ripe dark fruit, oaky, edge of sweetness and a little smoke on the finish. someone suggest OZ Shiraz and that seems like a reasonable guess. Not my style, but with that disclaimer I vote thumbs up as it's most interesting so far. It's the 2003 Marquis-Phillips Cabernet Sauvignon. B

Someone from another table brings over the 2002 Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel. Nice zinberry nose, powerful yet not over the top. B+-A-

Flight Three Wine 5 - Round and ripe with cbuttis and black plum. Clearly New World, ok. 2001 Beaulieu Vineyards "Tapestry" (Napa). B

Another table sends over the 2001 Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. I get the end pour, showing quite nicely, some muscle but a sense of refinement. A-

Wine 6 - More ripe California dark fruit, earthier nose, with a touch of herbs. Bigger and with better acidity than wine #5. It's the 2001 Beaulieu Vineyards "George de la Tour" Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa). B+

Wine 7 - More dark Cali fruit, but a bit muted. And to me there's a hint of wet cardboard dancing around the edge of the glbutt. Some tannins though they're ripe and supple, but I can't get past the feeling this is lightly corked. Others at table disagree. Turns out it's another bottle of the 2001 Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa). Now, I'll draw no conclusions as to Laube and Montelena. I've now tasted 4 bottles of '01 Monty, only the last seemed slightly corked. Of course, no one else at table thought it corked,and in any case even if I was right it could be the fr$gging cork! But this was a C+ for me if I had to rate (normally I don't put a grade on wines I think are corked).

Flight Four Wine 8 - Very ripe blackberry fruit, some smoke and mineral. This comes across as hot. Too big for me, but obviously well-made. Modern Rhone or Cali Rhone Ranger is consensus at table. 2002 Saxum Broken Stones B

Wine 9 - This one is ripe but not overripe, weighty without being over the top. I don't recognize that we've already had a small taste of the 2002 Ridge Lytton Springs , but score simarly, A-

Other bottles from other tables were circulating, including:

1990 Mouton-Rothschild- I'm not a huge Mouton fan outside the '82, but this is lovely. Ripe but no 1990 roasted notes, some acidity and resolved tannins, notes of leather and graphite. A-

1997 Verset Cornas (Magnum)- Fruit seems thin, there's more olives than fruit on the palate, clipped finish, damaged? C+

1998 Roger Sabon "Cuvee Prestige" Chateauneuf-du-Pape- this is a '98 CdP? Tastes more like a Guigal CdR from a so-so vintage. B-

1996 Pape-Clement- I've liked this before, but not much tonight. Mature nose, acid seems out of balance on palate. Still, there is some Graves-ness there with a bit of cigarbox and leadpencil as well as earth. Rough stage? B-B-

I found it very tough to vote Stud or Dud. So many wines were good but not great. I tried to set aside my palate preferences as much as possible .

The group results were:

Table A Wine Ratings Vote VERDICT 1988 Mouton 89 RP 100 WS 0-9 Dud 1989 Margaux 89 RP 99 WS 0-9 Dud 1990 Mouton 88 RP 95 WS 7-2 Stud 1996 Pape Clement 94 RP 8? WS 2-7 Dud 1997 Verset Cornas (Magnum) NR 93 WS 2-7 Dud 1998 Roger Sabon CdP Cuvee Prestige 95 RP 87 WS 3-6 Dud 2001 J. Phelps Backus Vin Cab. 93 RP 79 WS 8-1 Stud 2001 Montelena 95 RP 68 plus 1 WS 6-3 Stud 2002 Ridge Lytton Springs 93 RP 83 WS 5-4 Stud

Table B Wine Ratings Vote VERDICT 2001 Montelena 95 RP 68 plus 1 WS 4-3 Stud 2002 Ridge Lytton Springs 93 RP 83 WS 2-5 Dud 2002 Bethal Heights Flat Block P.N Res. 91 RP 83 WS 4-3 Stud 2002 Saxum Bone Rock Syrah 96 RP 75 WS 3-4 Dud 1998 Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz 98 RP 89 WS 5-2 Stud 2001 Kay's Shiraz Hillside 93-95 RP 79 WS 1-6 Dud 1991 Quinta do Noval Nacional 85 RP ? 4-3 Stud

Table C Wine Ratings Vote VERDICT 1989 Einaudi Barolo 95 RP 71 WS 3-6 Dud 1997 Antinori Pian delle Vigne Brunello 90 RP 97 WS 0-9 Dud 1987 Ch. St. Michelle Cold Creek Cab 95 RP 83 WS 0-9 Dud 2001 BV Tapestry 87 RP 72 WS 9-0 Stud 2001 BV George de Latour Cab. 88 RP 68 plus 1 WS 5-4 Stud 2001 Montelena 95 RP 68 plus 1 WS No Decision 2002 Saxum Broken Stones 95 RP 75 WS 9-0 Stud 2002 Ridge Lytton Springs 93 RP 83 WS 9-0 Stud

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency