TN's: Cristal, Montrachet, Pomerol et al

Been a while since I’ve posted any notes, so I figured I’d change that today.

’85 Cristal - Still pale yellow in color. Effervescence was a bit muted but the Champagne was still very vibrant. Excellent fruit with hints of mature flavors on the finish. Staggering minus

’85 Cristal Rose - Skunky nose. Palate better but my glass was unfinished and the bottle was still a third full at the end of the evening. Fair

The above with a healthy selection of the planet’s greatest crudo.

’05 Ramonet Montrachet Mag - The person who brought this was a bit disappointed by it, but everyone else was very impressed by it. Classic mint nose, a wealth of yellow fruit with mouth coating texture. Since it was a mag, I was able to enjoy additional pours later during the dinner. Staggering

’01 Lafon Montrachet - Slightly advanced with a simplistic palate. Obviously not a great example and further disappoints due to being alongside the Ramonet. Good

Monty’s with seared langoustines.

’70 Petrus - I’m always on high alert when being served older Petrus from great years. Deeply colored with just a touch of bricking. Plenty of dark fruit aromas. Dense on the palate but with an elegant soft finish. Staggering minus

’71 Petrus - Similar in color to the '70. Also very aromatic with a mix of dark and lighter fruit. More complexity with some coffee and chocolate flavors. Very lush texture. Probably my wine of the night. Staggering plus.

’75 Trotanoy - Slightly more bricking at the edges in comparison to the previous two wines. Plenty of fruit with a good dose of milk chocolate intertwined. Was right there with the previous two wines and surely the “value” of the night. Staggering

’70 Trotanoy - a bit monolithic compared to the three previous wines. Solid but nothing exciting. Very good plus

’66 Lafleur - Corked. Prompted a discussion about the frequency in which bottles that have been faked were purposely TCA infected so they wouldn’t be scrutinized. Not saying this was the case here, but who knows.

Paired with stracci with braised rabbit and fava beans. Gramigna with nettle pesto for me.

’91 Leroy Beaux Monts - Phenomenal Leroy intense aroma of dense ripe cherry. For me, it was initially the class of the flight but after some time it lost some of its luster. Excellent plus

’91 DRC Richebourg - To the chagrin of the gentleman on my right, I placed this last among the three red burgs. Was a bit skunky on the nose when first poured, but most of it blew off after some air. The palate also gained as the evening progressed and all three in this flight seemed to reach a level playing field. Excellent

’91 J. Gros Richebourg - Was the steadiest of the three and slightly surprised that it wasn’t the laggard of the flight. Classic Red Burgundy and my favorite pairing to the risotto. Excellent plus

The red burgs were served with porcini risotto.

’88 Guigal La Mouline - when I first smelled this I said that if it had been served blind, I would have thought it was a Mouline and not a Landonne. I guess I should listen more carefully. I love the aromas of Viognier in La Mouline and this was great on the palate as well. At a great level of maturity with plenty of prime time years ahead of it. Staggering

’83 Guigal La Landonne - For me it’s always tough to drink a La Landonne along side a La Mouline. They just don’t have the same level of intoxicating aromas. Surely a fine wine and example but I’ll take the previous wine every time. During this flight we discussed how Guigal wines have barely appreciated at auction over the past decade and are now a “bargain” compared to many other wines especially Burgundies. Excellent plus.

For the Guigals, Grilled Colorado lamb loin for the Barbarians, and porcini crusted black cod for me.

’71 G. Mascarello Barolo - Ordered off the list at the end of the night because the six of us clearly needed some more wine. Solid but not very inspiring. Had some more Ramonet instead of finishing my pour. Excellent minus

Last night was another phenomenal evening at Marea. Kitchen, service along with Francesco’s wine service is the reason why dinners like these are a no-brainer to use Marea as the venue.
Thanks to all for their generous wine contributions.

I need to be your friend.

TCA fakes, what a disturbing concept.

“et al”

R@y,
It’s a shame you didn’t have any “Killer” wines!

Is J Gros the same as Jean Gros, for which the son Michel was winemaker by that time? If so, I’m pleasantly surprised/shocked that the Gros Richebourg kept up with the big boys. (If not, nevermind. )
Regards,
Peter

The bar must be set pretty high for "killer"wines.

One and the same.

Actually I’ve noticed and wondered the same before. Maybe there is something to it.

There is no question that it is more than a concept. The only question is the extent.

Also, La Mouline outshines La Turque or La Landonne.

Some great wines, thanks for the notes Ray - and good to see you posting on some again!

Do you think the '85 Cristal Rose was an off bottle or just no good?

Nice set of wines Ray!!!

I’d be staggering after all that wine, that’s for sure.

Great writeup.

While not an all-time great Cristal Rose, I’ve had much better examples of the '85.

Thanks for writing up the notes, Ray. Good to see you and a fun evening.

I had the petruses the other way round and I was more disappointed with the white burgs. Otherwise generally in agreement.

cheers

Love Petrus from that era. Some amazing wines, and the 67 to this day is still in my top 5 wines of all time.

Thought of you at dinner last night when I served a 21 Dr. Barolet Clos de la Roche double blind. It was a huge hit.

Staggering plus.

Please share more notes of your stellar wine experiences Ray. They`re always appreciated, stimulating and often envied.

Having had a few of these, it`s fun to compare notes and mindful of the good times snd friends they were shared with.