Comments on: 4th Birthday International Tasting Extravaganza

By: Paulo Enes

Paulo Enes — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:55:26 +0000

Have you tasted “Alvarinho” from Portugal?

By: Paulo Enes

Paulo Enes — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:53:11 +0000

In your list “Arinto” shows up twice ( in nº 25 and again in nº 100)!

By: Happy 4th Birthday Wine Century Club | De Long Wine Moment

Happy 4th Birthday Wine Century Club | De Long Wine Moment — Thu, 14 May 2009 22:01:20 +0000

[...] strong – celebrated its 4th birthday last Thursday. To mark the occasion, members worldwide tasted 159 different grape varieties. The list includes serious obsurities such as Himbertscha, Incrocio Manzoni and [...]

By: Bob Latham

Bob Latham — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:21:23 +0000

I’m also a little late, but it’s never too late for a rich and fruity wine. A local grocery store here in Virginia had real buffalo steaks on sale and I couldn’t resist having one in celebration with an Argentinean Malbec: 2007 Antis Malbec Reserve (92% Malbec, 8% Cabernet, 60-90 year old vines). What combination could be more “new world” (except, of course, wines from native “new world” grapes)? Paul, thanks for the suggestion, I too saved a copy of this list for new wines to explore. Thank you Steve for starting this club and elevating the importance of diversity in wine.

By: The Wine Century Club » Blog Archive » 154 Varieties in a Night

The Wine Century Club » Blog Archive » 154 Varieties in a Night — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:35:44 +0000

[...] 4th Birthday International Tasting Extravaganza May 13th, 2009 154 Varieties in a Nightby Steve De [...]

By: Paul Davis Kramer

Paul Davis Kramer — Wed, 13 May 2009 06:18:51 +0000

I had to paste the list into a spreadsheet, sort it, and read the interesting collection of grapes.
I get 153, with the two duplicate entries.
Unless you want to add in the Argentine white I had
later in the evening, Legado – Torrontes.
And a short pour of a dessert wine, made from Moscadello di Montalcino, (Muscat Blanc).

cheers to all from Fairfax, Virginia.
Well done!

By: Steve Somermeyer

Steve Somermeyer — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:42:42 +0000

I’m a couple of days late but the Speedway kept me occupied here in Indy. Hopefully to add to your Anniversary total, I tasted 2 of the wines I help make at Chateau Thomas here in Indiana: 2007 Teroldego (Lodi) and 2007 Vidal Ice Wine (Ontario). We’re one of the few American wineries (5 that I’m aware of) that make Teroldego.

Cheers and Happy Anniversary!

Steve Somermeyer

By: Jeff Grossman

Jeff Grossman — Mon, 11 May 2009 04:40:19 +0000

On the 4th Glorious Day, I attended a Verset Cornas vertical with a bunch of NYC wine geeks. We did have a few other bottles to start and to close, so we got in a few grapes:
chenin blanc
syrah
viognier
riesling

I think the viognier might raise the count!

We had Cornas wines from three makers (mostly Verset, of course) over nine vintages:
2000 – Verset
1999 – Verset
1998 – Verset, Clape, Allemand “Reynard”
1995 – Verset
1994 – Verset, Clape
1993 – Verset
1991 – Verset
1990 – Verset
1988 – Verset

We drank the wines from young to old.

The 2000 is too young to drink yet; it smelled of earth but it also still had very primary blueberry aromas and was a tad sour.

The ’99 drank well but the ’98 was better, showing that blend of red fruits, black olives, earth, and sticks that is so attractive in Cornas syrah. The Clape and Allemand ’98s were silkier, and less funky, but opinion was very divided.

The ’95 was the first “wow” wine, with real complexity on the palate, some real maturity, well-integrated acidity, and a taming of the funk. Still, the wine was criticized by some as leaving their mouths puckered with tannin.

The ’93 was better than the ’94, somewhat to our surprise, but both fared badly by coming onstage after the ’95.

The ’91 would have been a great thing if it hadn’t been corked. (I couldn’t detect it but several others called it. A bottle of 1997 Verset, brought for the event, was very obviously corked.)

The ’90 was a big disappointment to me. It was too roasted and swivel-hipped to be a great wine.

The ’88, however, ended the vertical on a high note: This was another “wow” wine, a happy blend of secondary and tertiary scents.

Happy Anniversary to Steve and all the Centurians!

By: Mark and Diane Freeland

Mark and Diane Freeland — Sun, 10 May 2009 01:46:08 +0000

Our sommelier at the Gramercy Tavern in Manhattan recommended a Romorantin varietal from the Loire Valley. It came from a sub-appellation of Cheverny in the Tourrane region. Romorantin has vibrant acidity and the fruit/minerality is extraordinary.

Mark and Diane Freeland
Baltimore, Maryland

By: Bernie Knollinger

Bernie Knollinger — Sat, 09 May 2009 17:38:42 +0000

We celebrated with a bottle of the Schlumberger Sparkling Welschriesling.