Our dinner group held it`s 16th annual “Millennium” event in the most appropriate private dining room, the Cork Room of the restaurant, bouchon. The wine themed room has a ceiling decorated with thousands of wine corks [see picture]. Our table was perfectly set with the proper stemware and there were side tables for the wines and ice buckets.
This dinner culminates another year of enjoying stellar wines at various restaurants throughout town on an about every 2 weeks basis.
We each ordered our own selections off of a 3 course prix fixe menu [see attached] and were served righteously by a competent wait staff member who timed everything flawlessly and went way beyond the normal call of duty of dedicated and passionate service. As preferred, we do our own wine service.
If I did receive all of the wines that were passed around the table, we had a marathon event with 23 wines for 12 people. The wines in order served:
1996 SALON BRUT BLANC de BLANC- I`ve had a few of these in the past year or so and this bottle shined more brightly than all of its other counterparts which were pretty brilliant themselves; this was so complex with layers and layers of good stuffing unfolding; it had bright acidity, tasty spicy citrus flavors and was in beautiful balance; as full on as it was, there was a gentle elegance and sophistication that pervaded throughout; this has so much more time to give up its treasures although tonight was a great time to explore it; it eventually was my #2 WOTN.
1998 HENRIOT BRUT MILLESIME- this was big and rich with nice complexity in a full body with a lot of flavors jumping out including lemon, lime, grapefruit, apple and pear.
1990 POL ROGER BRUT- the dark amber color denoted some advanced age and upon first nose and taste, it was clear that it was oxidized and it was not really in the more usual pleasant nutty, sherry like way; this bottle had passed that stage.
2002 DOMAINE LEWIS CARILLON les COMBETTES CHASSAGNE MONTRACHET 1ER CRU- an abundance of minerality speaks up first followed by a steely flint like aromatic that carries on into the taste profile; it was very smooth and had a nice spiciness that came in after the mid palate.
2009 PIERRE-YVES COLIN MOREY les CHAMPS GAIN CHASSAGNE MONTRACHET 1ER CRU- I loved this wine; it was a complete package of joy filled with fine acidity, loaded with minerals and fresh apple and pear fruit notes and transported in a pleasing soft, almost oily texture all the way to the back end.
2009 DOMAINE MICHEL CAILLOT les PUCELLES PULIGNY MONTRACHET 1ER CRU- this had a very strange nose which I can best describe as nail polish remover which suggest ethyl acetate/ volatile acidity; it`s not yet vinegar, but for me, the VA detracted from any real enjoyment.
2004 PIERRE-YVES COLIN MOREY CORTON CHARLEMAGNE- this showed decently with a taste profile of mint and baking spiced citrus and apple flavors in a light to medium body and crisp acidity.
1992 DOMAINE DUJAC ECHEZEAUX GRAND CRU- Im already salivating when I see the bottle and then after the nose, im so disappointed, it was sadly corked.
1985 DOMAINE de la ROMANEE CONTI RICHEBOURG GRAND CRU- as unhappy as I was after the corked Dujac, I was so delighted with this wine, in fact, way beyond delight; it was the consummate experience in every way; seamless, round and perfectly balanced, it hit on all sensory levels from the nice spicy wild red cherry nose, to the forest floor and mushroom accents blending together and carrying on through a long finish; there are not enough superlatives to adequately describe this wine, but one came close when he stated “ it was the best red Burgundy he had ever had”; when it was all over, it was the hands down WOTN and the voting began with what was our #2 WOTN.
2001 CHATEAU SUDUIRAUT SAUTERNES- in a 750 ml; the 2 Sauternes came around primarily to pair with the foie gras 1st course option which most selected; it had a honeyed thick texture and taste embellishing the strong green apple and peach notes and a touch of saffron; this is showing its youthful exuberance and has some maturation to go through to pull it all together.
1999 RIEUSSEC SAUTERNES- in a 750 ml; dark amber color; this is delicious with honeyed peach and apricot flavors delivered in a thick texture with forever length.
2001 CONTERNO FANTINO SORI GENESTRA BAROLO- I do not know how this came to be passed around at this juncture, but it did not pair well with my 2nd course “Salade Lyonnaise”; I drank it nonetheless; at first it was very tannic and tight, but in time, it opened up and gave up some pleasures albeit in a big and bold way; it had lots of spicy vanilla laced red, blue and black fruit; the tannins softened a bit, but the wine finished quite dry; at least it provided me with a first time experience; it was the first Barolo I`ve ever had with a salad.
2005 CHATEAU HOSANNA POMEROL- made from 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc; it was showing so youthful in color, fruit forwardness and its lack of balance; it had a lot of gifts to share however from the welcoming blast from the nose on; the structure is such to support a long and lively life span; this would have benefited from many hours of decanting.
1999 ALBAN VINEYARDS SEYMOUR VINEYARD EDNA VALLEY SYRAH- this is pretty serious extracted wine; it has a lot of bacon flavor throughout with a touch of rose petal complimenting the blueberry fruit; I understand it paired quite well with the duck and lamb dishes.
NV POL ROGER BRUT- we took a break in the action with a palate cleanser and this hit the spot; it was so refreshing and crisp, offering slightly sweetened citrus notes.
2001 KARL LAWRENCE HERB LAMB VINEYARD RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA- this really shined with perfect balance, a soft and luscious mouthfeel and a delicious dark fruit profile accented with talc and spicy oak notes; it was elegant and charming and at the same time being delivered in a full body; an overall across the board delight.
2002 SHAFER HILLSIDE SELECT CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA- another fabulous Cabernet from this producer, this one being as good as it gets; the color was deep, dark and rich purple, the nose is so inviting and it delivers; the wine is vibrantly full on and yet with unusual finesse; it`s loaded with chocolate infused blueberry, black cherry and black currant fruit; it had a long finish and the only fault was there was some heat at the very end.
2002 DALLA VALLE MAYA CABERNET SAUVIGNON/ CABERNET FRANC BLEND NAPA- we`re on a roll with this following the 2 above; as with those 2 wines, this comes off as being very youthful; the color is a dark, deep and rich purple, the fruit profile is of very ripe black cherry, black berry, black currant with a touch of milk chocolate, talc, sandalwood and wood spice; this is very concentrated and has a very pleasing mouthfeel and a long finish; it needs time to come together and certainly has the structure and backbone to do so in a big way.
2012 CARTER CELLARS COLESIUM BLOCK CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA- a new producer to me and certainly a pup in the lineup of the 2 more youthful wines following, this shows real good out of the gate and promises to deliver good things down the road once all is integrated and evolved; it has some chocolate, oaky black cherry and blueberry with an almost creamy like texture; it`s vibrant and playful and dances all the way through to the back end with some power, grace and finesse.
2010 SCHRADER CELLARS RBS BECKSTOFFER TO-KALON VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA- this is majorly serious and a full on, full throttle big boy way prior to puberty; it epitomizes the iron fist in a velvet glove analogy and is really just a tease of the great expectations for this to mature into; there`s lots of spice and graphite to accentuate the ripe black fruit notes and soft tannins to allow for greater early on pleasure, but 20 years from now is the next time to go here.
2008 SCHRADER CELLARS Glll BECKSTOFFER GEORGES lll CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA- another major star among stars from this producer; its got everything going for it with great structure, lots of depth and complexity, loads of dark fruit, great mouthfeel and a long finish; as with the 10, it needs time and yet it is really a challenge to stay away from at this early stage.
2001 ALOIS KRACHER #9 SCHEUREBE TBA ZWISCHEN den SEEN- 7% alc.; the dark amber color is almost maple syrup like and the texture has even more of a resemblance; the flavors are of honeyed peach, apricot and papaya; it`s so rich, a little sip will do ya at a time and for a long time.
2010 TENUTA del ORNELLAIA ORNUS dell` ORNELLAIA- made from 100% Petit Manseng; this seemed a little on the green side; after a steely nose, the fruit was of honeyed mineral infused green apple; it had the expected thick and creamy texture like honey itself.
The marathon ended and we all completed it. In the category of how many wines can one maximally enjoy with dinner over a 3 hour period, the answer is just about what we had, 23.
Cheers,
Blake
