A Cathiard and Coche dinner was the brainchild of one of the guys in our tasting group. An alignment of the planets saw us being able to share it with Jonathan from the US while he was in Sydney on a business trip. We also had Tony up from Canberra as well joining the dinner, both with very generous contributions of 1996 RSV and 2009 CC respectively.
After striking out at a number of restaurants we finally were able to secure the PDR at Sake Restaurant in Double Bay. First time for me at the restaurant and we left very impressed with the service and food, the staff were really excellent, we were initially ordering what we wanted with lots of indecision, and in the end I just told them we’d put ourselves in their hands and to just keep bringing out interesting dishes until we say stop. We had a really good mix of sashimi, dumplings, sushi, popcorn shrimp, steak, etc, etc. Every dish was really well done.
Huge thanks to all for their generosity, as mentioned before, as well as Len as always and Tim and Cam for the bookend wines that ensured we started and finished the night in good stead.
The final line-up was as follows,
2006 Taittinger Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne
1996 Coche-Dury Meursault
2011 Coche-Dury Meursault
2011 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières
2011 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières
2008 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Caillerets
2009 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
2013 Sylvain Cathiard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Reignots
1999 Sylvain Cathiard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts en Magnum
2001 Sylvain Cathiard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts (flawed)
2007 Sylvain Cathiard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts
1996 Sylvain Cathiard Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru
2012 Joh. Jos. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Auslese GK
Brief observations/notes, others will no doubt post more extensive (ie better ones)
The 06 Comte once again reinforced why I rate it higher than Dom, the power and finesse of this champagne is amazing.
For a 21 Year old Village level wine to be this good is astounding, it was truly a ‘holy shit this is good’ moment. The 2011 was great in its own right, which led to me asking why can’t anyone else get near Coche in terms of the end product, what magical thing is happening to their wines in the vineyards/winery/barrel…
The Perrières and Genevrières both blew our perceptions of great chardonnay out of the water, you think after the great Village wines you’ll surely be confronted with the law of diminishing returns – but they pick you up and throw you down like a rag-doll. The balance, purity, drive, acidity, length is beguiling, almost perfect wines. I was in the minority in that I put the Genevrières slightly ahead, there was just that extra complexity on the palate and finish that constantly evolved, it was like the Perrières was a one trick pony (but by God what a trick!).
The Caillerets was also superb, with the added complexity of another 3 years over the 11’s a bigger wine compared to the 11’s, not quite up to the other two but once again a fascinating insight in to the different vineyards and their terroir.
The mighty CC didn’t disappoint, the fruit power and depth was another level again, yet there was a steeliness and austerity to it that begged to be left alone for another 10 years. A privilege to try such a unicorn wine.
On to the reds…
The Reignots probably suffered a bit being so young, bright fruit, raspberry jam, tight acidity. Really light and racy.
The 07 Malconsorts was showing very well, touches of earth mingled with glorious dark fruits and spices. Waxy and silky on the palate, it just glides around your mouth. Brilliant stuff. The 99 was earthier again, darker fruits with more power, it probably didn’t have the balance and liveliness of the 07 but I was a big fan of it.
The 96 RSV was sublime, probably pipped only by a Leroy CdlR as my favourite Burg ever. It was everything I look for in a Red Burgundy, mouthfeel, nose, tannin structure. It was big everywhere but not overbearing, a perfect amount of power with restraint, velvet glove iron fist and all that. An amazing, amazing wine.
We finished off with the JJ Prum which is a lovely wine, great acid and balance even at this young point of its life. It has a depth to it which will see it blossom into a magnificent wine.
Once again thanks to all for their generosity, Mick for his tireless organising and the various people sourcing the wines and great banter and laughs on the night.
