Each year we look forward to our annual employee wine dinner. Some excellent catered food, friends & coworkers and of course, lots of stunning wine. 2011 was no exception.

The Clay Pit, located in Murfreesboro, catered the dinner. If you’re not familiar with them, you must check it out — primo Indian cuisine!

But naturally, the wine paved the way for our excellent evening.

We kicked things off with a selection of bubblies. After all, what’s a party without Champagne?

- Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve NV
– Pol Roger Brut Reserve NV
- Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top Premier Cru NV
- Jean-Paul Deville Brut Carte d’Or NV
- Simonnet-Febvre Cremant Brut and Brut Rose NV

From there, we moved on to the whites:

- Meyer-Fonne Pinot Gris 2006
- Kirchmayr Solist Konig Altwein Riesling 1992
- St. Urbans-hof Laurentiuslay Riesling 2005
- St. Urbans-hof Kabinett Ockfener-Bockstein Riesling 2008
- Chasseur Russian River Valley Lorenzo Chardonnay 2005

Then came our impressive lineup of reds:

- Orin Swift Abstract 2009
– Hess Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 1995
– Mt. Veeder Reserve Cabernet 1997
- Cornerstone Cabernet 1999
- Oriel Gigondas Jocunda 2005
- Glaetzer Amon Ra Shiraz 2005
- Mitolo GAM Shiraz 2005
- Seghesio Rockpile Zinfandel 2008
- Bodega Catena Zapata 2005
- E&E Black Pepper Shiraz 2003
- Torres Mas la Plana Cabernet 2001
- Marques de Riscal Rioja Gran Reserva 2001
- Hedges Red Mountain Reserve 2007
- Marchesi di Barolo Barolo 2004
- Brovia Barolo 2005
- Vallobera Crianza 2004

And lastly, for dessert:

- Jorge Ordonez Malaga Late Harvest Moscatel 2006

High gravity beer even made an appearance in the form of a Corsendonk Pale Ale three liter from — wait for it — 1998. Despite the age, it was still pretty darn good!

Sadly, the E&E Black Pepper and the Vallobera Crianza were corked, but we’ll take two bad bottles out of 27 any day.

Of the sparklers, the Heidsick Monopole (91 pts, WS) stole the show, as it so often does. Made by world-renowned Champagne producer Pommery, it’s well-balanced and delicate with wonderful floral aromas, and its creamy texture coats the palate with pear and apple and just the slightest touch of yeast.

Two rieslings — the Kirchmayr and St. Urbans-hof Laurentiuslay — blew us all away. The former still had so much power and petrol notes for a 19-year-old wine while the latter’s richness left you wanting more.

It’s hard to pick any one bottle of red and call it the best, but the ’95 Hess Cab (92 pts, #44 in WS Top 100 of 1999) has stood up impressively well after 16 years of age. It was still very layered with a ton of fruit, and it could have easily aged a few more years. The Amon Ra (98 pts, RP) — seriously intense! Tooth-staining purple in color, it was loaded with gobs of black fruit notes to go with the vanilla from 14 months in new oak. Then the Seghesio Zin, despite being the most pedestrian of the group, really paired perfectly with the Indian cuisine.

It definitely was an experience we’ll all remember as we look forward to next year’s dinner. And don’t worry — there were more than 20 of us who consumed these over the course of five hours!

Posted in: Wine News
Tags: champagne, Glaetzer, Heidsieck Monopole, Hess, high gravity beer, Midtown Wine and Spirits, Seghesio, white wine, wine