TN: Northern Rhones at Racines NYC

Ramon organized a group for a Northern Rhone dinner at Racines last night. Old friends, a few New Yorkers I hadn’t met before, and even one Rhonehead down from Boston. Fun group, though as usual with a long table most of my interaction was with one side. Some back and forth about what was available a la carte, but I was happy with my duck crisp appetizer and cote de boeuf.

MV Krug Grande Cuvee Lot 164
I was curious to try after all the hype. I’m not the biggest Krug fan but this ‘08 base is touted as atypical. I thought the nose gorgeous and complex, and it seemed more lithe than most Krug. Very good. But I have 2 bottles and couldn’t help thinking I could have bought 2 bottles of Comtes instead and had money left over. B+
NV Benoit Lahaye “Violaine”
A bit stern and austere at first, but I liked a lot more on revisit. Green apple and citrus, bright, low dosage. B+

The reds

1983 Jaboulet “Thalabert” Crozes-Hermitage
This smelled good when double-decanted about 3 (tons of fine sediment), but I was a little worried at first pour, there seemed to be a slight stewed note. But it blows off leaving a nice wine. Good acid backbone, with a lot of those Thalabert meaty/mushroom notes. B+

1991 Ogier Cote-Rotie
Exotic nose , with spice and black olives. Mid-bodied, tannins mostly resolved, spicy red fruit. Elegant A-/B+

1999 Gallet Cote-Rotie
Not really a producer I’ve had experience with. A little more rustic, hint of barnyard, but nice solid core. Fun. B+/B

1996 Jamet Cote-Rotie
The two Jamets showed very similar, very classic profiles. Lots of bacon, olive, herb. The ‘96 was maybe a touch lighter and higher acid, but only by a hair B+.A-
1998 Jamet Cote-Rotie
A tiny bit fuller, hint of merde, can’t say I liked one better than other. B+/A-

1998 Clape Cornas
Firm, full, dark berries, muscular style. B+

1999 Noel Verset Cornas
Olives and meat, lots of structure, dynamite but could use time. A-/B+

2000 Noel Verset Cornas
Seamless, just in a perfect place, elegant and classic,. A-
1998 Allemand “Reynard” Cornas
Big,meaty, a bit tight. B+

This is as far as I got on notes last night. The final flight was 1994 Chave Hermitage, 1995 Chave Hermitage, and 1998 Chave Hermitage. All showed beautifully, with the 95 challenging the 00 Verset for my wine of the night. From memory ‘94 A-/B+, 95 A-, 98 B+.

Quite the night. Not a single wine that I wouldn’t have happily drunk any meal. Nice group, good time. The only downer was remembering what these used to cost.

Grade disclaimer: I’m a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn’t drink at a party where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

It’s good to read this note. This is one of the very first wines that caught my attention when I was just getting started. I remember I got three of these for $7 out of the bargain bin at the local supermarket. I went home and tried the first one and raced back for the rest but someone else who obviously knew what they were had cleaned out the rest. Still those bottles were very good even if long gone by now. I’m just a little surprised that they held up this well but guess I shouldn’t be.

Dale, thanks very much for writing these up. It was a fun tasting and the wines all showed beautifully! I generally agree with your notes, except that I found the 00 Verset to have a little too much VA for me. Also, the 98 Clape was very good, with a nose to die for. Probably my #2 wine behind the 95 Chave.

MAMMA

Dale is always a tough grader! Great night of seminal wines. Really not a dud in the lot and we get jaded by how relatively superlative things were. I simply loved the Cornas flight; it scratches that itch. Will trade my Chaves for older Allemand!

F

Awesome wines and great notes.

First, thanks to everyone for the great wines and the great night, and to Ramon for organizing.

I thought the 99 Verset and the 95 Chave were the wines of the night. The 95 Chave is at an amazing place and drinking fantastically, while the 99 Verset was the most interesting with a fascinating nose. A whiff of the Verset made me feel like I was at a bonfire, is the only way I can describe it. (I’m bad at tasting notes )

I’m glad we didn’t serve the Clape with the other Cornas; the Clape is great, but so different from the Versets and Allemand.

I didn’t love the Thalabert, but I think I was an outlier there; felt a bit green to me.


I also took what was left of a few bottles home (not much!) to see how they’d develop and had a glass of each tonight:

Time did not help the 1994 Chave - it gained a slightly jammy quality.
The Clape is still singing, wonderful on the nose, though still a bit short on the finish.
The 1998 Chave…wow. It’s still huge, but has now really opened up and is wonderfully integrated. The finish lasts for days, too. If you have any, either hold on to this one for a while or give it a lot of time after opening.

Dale, thanks for starting the notes.

The food was excellent last night, and I was very encouraged about the kitchen transition at Racines.

Wonderful white asparagus appetizer - styled as Flavors of spring / white asparagus / wood sorrel - but with lightly foamed cream and cream ice. Contrasts of texture, temperature, and flavor.

We all shared what I thought was a fantastic morel risotto with beautiful whole sautéed morels.

And the duck brest entree was among the best I can recall. Aged Duck - white asparagus / dates / oloroso - with a finely diced nut coating on the rectangular duck slices.

My takes on the wines.

Flight 1:

MV Krug Grande Cuvee Lot 164
I’m not a big Krug fan but I bit on a few bottles of 164. Biscuit, caraway, licorice. Rich nose but the acidity in the wine helps serve it up in a very dynamic fashion. The palate is more closed than the first time I had this - the citrus that seems fairly unique in certain Krug vintages came across as a little less put-together than the glass I had last December. Similar to Dale, I wonder whether I should have bought Comtes (2002 or Churchill 2004 or Vilmart CdC 2008) instead.

NV Benoit Lahaye “Violaine”

I admit to not having a love affair with this bottling. It is as Dale said plus a slight oxidative top note, and I keep trying to like this but it’s not for me. It does gain weight with air which helps but does not convince (me).

Flight 2:

1983 Jaboulet “Thalabert” Crozes-Hermitage
I thought this was clearly an outlier in terms of profile. Hint of maple syrup, earthy, mushroom, yes a touched stewed but also staring to slide toward maderization.

1991 Ogier Cote-Rotie
On this one i’m sure I am going to diverge. Exactly the nose I remember in 1991 Ogier. That very high toned white grapefruit musky spray. Incredibly distinctive and penetrating. The nose I used to love and now feel is a fake out. Then for me this wine offers very little but dried out wood on the palate. Flat. Short. Nothing I find interesting. I don’t know why but I’ve come to dislike Ogier and have gotten rid of mine. And this just confirmed it for me. Going back to it later against every other wine reconfirmed.

1999 Gallet Cote-Rotie
I bought a bit of Gallet in 1999 and 2001 but don’t always like the clear rusticity in his wines. Still I thought this was very successful. Less ambitious than the other wines but strong varietal fruit. Maybe a hint of merde in the nose. Drinking on a plateau and to me no hint of decline. I think the strong fruit in 1999 puts these near the top of Gallet’s CR that I’ve tried from the 1995 to 2001 stretch.

Flight 3:

1996 and 1998 Jamet Cote-Rotie
Definitely cut from the same cloth and a clear step up to me from the previous flight. Olive, pepper, smoke, underripe blackberry. The 1998 has a much more roasted character in comparison and lower acidity. The 1996 was both more dynamic and acid-driven, especially the wonderful mid-palate, but was also more precise and actually more intense and I thought more concentrated in its palate presence. I very much liked both wines but give the nod to 1996 as more my style. It kept getting better and gaining weight although in very tough company that followed.

Flight 4:

1998 Clape Cornas
To me a surprise. Elegant. Mr. Smooth. Long and tasty. I didn’t find it muscular like Dale did. Really strong fruit and integrated acidity created a really strong presence. Very delicious.

Flight 5:

1999 Noel Verset Cornas
This wine has it all. This was a young bottle of a legend. So much going on it’s hard to describe. I think this bottle could have used more time to open. Like drinking reduced olive tapenade and blackberries. Power and elegance. Beautifully integrated as usual. I love this wine. Really the only wine tonight with the size to compare to the three tremendous Chaves that followed.

2000 Noel Verset Cornas
I admit to having a hard time understanding this bottle. The combination of some barnyard and hint of VA (not usually a problem for me), plus my sense that there was a hint of maderization, was tripping me up. I wanted to love it and didn’t.

1998 Allemand “Reynard” Cornas
So much leaner, red fruity/raspberry, and acid-driven than the Versets that it was served aside, it was an amazingly interesting contrast. Highly delineated and juicy. I loved it.

Flight 6 - Chave, Chave, Chave -1994, 1995, 1998

I haven’t had these three fantastic wines together since our wonderful Chave vertical in 2002.

All clearly cut from the same cloth. The cloth that disappeared in my view with the 1998 or 1999 vintage when Gerard’s influence finally started to wain.

These taste like Chave Hermitage. That somehow subtle but crazy level of concentration. Bramble fruit. Saline. Precision.

The 1994 is definitely a touch more mature and a touch more rustic with just a hint of barnyard. It also has the clear brambly fruit and length.

The 1995 is absolute old school Syrah perfection. I’ve never had the 1978 so only the 1991 in my experience compares on all levels. Transparent and confident power. My WOTN if forced to choose.

1998 was more reserved and coiled but still needs time. It has the power of the 1995 but may not have its palate presence. Hard to tell. Both were outstanding.

1995 Chave is really coming on strong. I think the best is yet to come, though.

I have a bunch of those (clape, verset, chave, allemand reynard) in my cellar, thanks for the notes…sounds like a fantastic tasting.

-mark

TN: Northern Ones @ Racines NYC 5/14/2018

Good notes, Dale et. al. Upon reading the TNs above, the cool thing is that there appears to be a bit of diverse opinions on some of the wines and I recently noticed that this diversity is not uncommon when discussing these wines, and as evidenced in recent Northern Rhone threads in this forum.

Here’s my $0.02:

Easiest thing to get people to this offline as there were a couple of posts here on the region’s recent releases that incited local interests and so, 8 of us PM’d and went ahead with it. I enjoyed meeting up, the company that ensued and the conversations.

Racines has one of the city’s most eclectic wine list, but on this corkage-free Monday dinner, I think we one-upped them, at least on Northern Rhone wines. I enjoyed our shared Risotto with Morrels mid-course and but was not as impressed with my Cote du boeuf entree.

The bottles were the ones chosen by the group (ok, mostly by pedestrian-palate me) for this dinner, but the generosity by the attendees were amplified with the breadth/scope of the remaining wines that were also offered and left out. Those remaining Allemand, Chave, Jamet, Verset, and Juge will have to wait for their turn.


Whites:

Krug Grande Cuvee 164 Brut
Bread wood. High lemony acidity. Long finish. B+

Benoit Lahaye Violaine
Some confection. Elegant. Red fruit. Refreshing. B+


Reds:

1983 Jaboulet Thalabert Crozes-Hermitage
Sweet, forward blue fruit. Savory notes. A Crozes to remember. B+

1991 M & S Ogier Cote-Rotie
Rustic appealing syrah nose. Fresh. Balance. Long. A-

1999 Domaine Gallet Cote-Rotie
Funky wood nose. Lean. Cherries. Less intense. B

1996 Domaine Jamet Cote-Rotie
High acid. Cool climate red fruit. Rustic notes. A-

1998 Domaine Jamet Cote-Rotie
Blue black fruit. Ripe. Silky. Good length. A-

1998 Allemand Cornas Reynard
Expressive syrah bouquet. Quite young. Lean sour cherries. B

1998 Clape Cornas
Earthy wild nose. Very complimentary high acidity. Meat. B+

1999 N Verset Cornas
Rustic Cornas nose. One of the cleanest Verset I’ve tasted, with good wildness peering in. Traditional Cornas at its best. A (tied WOTN)

2000 N Verset Cornas
A bit more advanced than the 1999. More of the old-school Cornas bouquet. Strawberries. Broth. B+

1994 JL Chave Hermitage
Drinking well. Fruit at the forefront. Rounded. B+

1995 JL Chave Hermitage
Best bouquet among the Hermitage. Superbly intense. Power. Plump blue and red berries. Good length. A (tied WOTN)

1998 JL Chave Hermitage
Young with some harshness. Sweet red berries. Need more cellar time? B

First, thank you everyone for contributing to an amazing dinner. It was a great evening.

Krug 164 - lovely atypically Krug nose - green apple and after the rain. very long, piercingly acidic spine, not sure it is really integrated with the rest of the wine (yet?). A slightly sulphury note emerges with air. Krug lovers should take my notes with a grain of salt as I rarely find the wines worth the price.

Benoit Lahaye (2011) - nose tends more towards quince and citrus, a beautiful palate with burnt orange and delicate herbal notes. Fleshed out with air. Not as good as the 2009 or earlier vintages but I still love it.

1983 Jaboulet Crozes Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert - Lovely lavender nose. thinning out a bit on the palate but still quite good.

1991 Ogier Cote Rotie - wow nose, lovely wine.

1999 Gallet Cote Rotie - on any other night a fine, lovely, light limpid wine that I would bey very happy to drink. Unfortunately tonight it’s overshadowed for me.

1998 Jamet Cote Rotie
1996 Jamet Cote Rotie - both great, classic Jamet, surprisingly the 1996 shows even more olivey than the 1998.

1998 Clape - quite nice. As those who have followed me from the very start know I usually find Clape slightly underwhelming.

1999 Verset Cornas
2000 Verset Cornas
1998 Allemand Reynard - I can die happy now. All are hauntingly beautiful, the 2000 is the only one I’d describe as fully mature at this point.

1994 Chave Hermitage
1995 Chave Hermitage
1998 Chave Hermitage - Majestic wines.

If I was forced at gunpoint to pick a single favorite then it would probably be the 1999 Verset, the 1998 Allemand and the 1995 Chave. I suppose that means I’d get shot.

Food was excellent though unlike Ramon I found the Cote de boeuf to be the highlight of the meal showcasing rich beefy flavors and thought the morel risotto a touch too salty.

Shot? For liking those three excellent wines in that order? Seems reasonable to me.

Sounds like the risotto for 2, times 4, was inconsistent. The one Faryan and I shared wasn’t salty to my taste, and I am very sensitive to salt.