MOSTLY NORTHERN RHONE DINNER WITH SIR CHARLES - Sole Ristorante Italianom, San Mateo (4/23/2018)
Our monthly peninsula dinner group was scheduled for last night. Just a group of simple guys, drinking simple wines with simple food. Then Charlie Fu decided to join us while on business in the Bay Area. Charlie brought in some special guests, and his usual contribution of amazing wines, challenging the rest of us to up our games to his level. I think we did a decent job. I missed tasting one or two wines.
NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 161eme - France, Champagne
2005 base; beautiful, crisp fruit, turns mineral, with hints of peach pit, lively with tons of energy and verve. Outstanding. (93 pts.)
2004 Michel & Stéphane Ogier Côte-Rôtie Cuvée la Belle Hélène - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
George slow-ox’d this for 3 weeks ahead of the dinner. Medium darker strawberry red, with a bit of bricking; medium body, decent medium bright red fruit, mild tannins, strong tartness really dominates the fruit, lingering prominently on the finish. Later in the evening the tartness had faded a bit, but was still prominent. We all tried to remember the oak treatment on this wine, as I couldn’t really detect strong signs of new oak. Various sources suggest it is either 50% or 100% new, which probably depends on the vintage. (89 pts.)
1981 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Bosconia - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Very nice, beautifully resolved medium body red fruit, but shows a nice youthful character as well - like the old guy on the court who can still school the young guys every now and then; great acidity, fully resolved structure, I’d guess this isn’t going to improve, but will hang on nicely for many years. (92 pts.)
1998 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Charlie’s blind wine. On the nose slight earth, leather, touches of animal/horse; the palate is dominated by stems: underbrush, nettles, some backward medium cherry fruit, moderate slightly coarse structure. From the strongly rustic scrub underbrush nature, I guessed 1998 Levet. I think I’ve only had this wine once before, so not sure if this is representative of the wine. A little bit coarse and rustic for my tastes. (91 pts.)
2016 Walter Scott Chardonnay X-Novo Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
A blind wine from Charlie. Smells like a nice, young white burg, with some noticeable SO2 on the nose. Very nice crisp stone fruit, great acidity. I guessed a quality 15 St. Aubin. A terrific Chardonnay. (92 pts.)
2010 Marie et Pierre Bénetière Côte-Rôtie Le Dolium - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Unicorn wine. Medium weight, gorgeous medium depth darker cherry, beautiful, elegant, some moderate fine structure on the finish, a more elegant and delicate Côte Rotie, drinking nicely despite its youth. (94 pts.)
2013 Ultramarine Blanc de Blancs Heintz Vineyard Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
This starts out promising, with bright, crisp fruit, but it fades quickly, missing some depth and length. I like the attempt, but there are too many excellent Champagnes at well below this price point. (88 pts.)
2015 Xavier Gerard Côte-Rôtie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Yet another Charlie blind wine. Great perfume on the nose, beautiful darker fruit, with a nice bright streak; turns tannic on the finish, showing its youth. 2015 wasn’t hard to guess, but this is my first time with this producer. (93 pts.)
2015 Bernard Levet Côte-Rôtie La Chavaroche - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
And another Charlie blind wine. I knew there would probably be a 15 Levet in here, but this isn’t showing the rustic, animal, scrub brush that would normally be the signature tip off. There is dark, juicy fruit lurking here, but it is so grippingly tannic from start to finish that it’s hard to judge. Very, very tannic. So much so that I wonder if this is one of those wines that will ever shed its structure and let the fruit shine through.
1998 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Saint Georges - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
Quite rustic and tannic, there is some decent fruit underneath all the structure, but it’s hard to find. I guess exactly what you would expect from a Gouges of this era, and particularly a Gouges Les Saint Georges. Will another decade free the fruit? (89 pts.)
2006 Domaine Bizot Vosne-Romanée Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée
Beautiful, elegant, medium cherry, fabulous spice, nice overall balance. Maybe not overly complex, but a lovely, lovely burg. (92 pts.)
1997 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie Côte Brune - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Another Charlie blind. Light spice and underbrush on the nose, then beautiful medium dark fruit, in the earthy cherry/raspberry spectrum, complex, elegant yet shows power, nicely resolved, would seem to be in a perfect drinking window. I first guessed this to be younger, then second guess got the 1997, but the elegance was tricky for me to place. (93 pts.)
2010 Thierry Allemand Cornas Reynard - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
I get a bit of bacon, and some violet perfume on the nose, but it’s rather tight overall; deep, dark blackberry/pomegranate fruit, great (strong) structure, a hugely deep wine, but extremely primary, even one-dimensional and a bit grapey right now, quite structured. Don’t even think about touching this for at least a decade. (94 pts.)
2015 Bernard Boisson-Vadot Meursault Les Grands Charrons - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
Fabulous medium rich fruit, nice acidity, with some good umami depth, lush, flavorful, warmth from the vintage, but great balance. Delish. (93 pts.)
2010 Marcel Juge Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Very pretty darker boysenberry/pomegranate fruit, fairly structure but quite drinkable now, more elegant and bright than the Allemand Reynard tasted along side. Needs time, but will be a beautifully elegant wine at its peak. (93 pts.)
2012 Marcassin Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Nice, nondescript, somewhat ripe and fleshy Chard, decent balance, a slight sweet note on the finish. Very drinkable, but no tension, no particular complexity, and totally uninteresting. (90 pts.)
2012 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Lovely medium depth red fruit, on the more elegant and feminine side of Cote Rotie, with touches of spice and dried herbs. There is beautiful fruit here, with a silk and suppleness of the warmer vintage. (92 pts.)
2007 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
Beautiful deep red fruit, vibrant, great acidity, good fine structure. Young but drinks wonderfully. Outstanding. (94 pts.)
2012 Sine Qua Non Grenache Rattrapante Eleven Confessions Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills
Distinctly ripe nose; very ripe, sweet, jammy, concentrated, smooth, polished, blackberry syrup. If you like this style, you’ll like this wine. I can only drink a couple of sips.
I guess we didn’t do that one blind, did we? Somehow I had written “blind” in my notes. I really should have been able to guess it, lol.
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