Last night was my first experience at Petrossian, meeting George Derbalian and friends for an intimate dinner. The restaurant is calm and sophisticated with jazz softly playing in the background. The food which obviously included some Petrossian caviar was mostly well matched to the wines that George brought.
1995 Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millenaires - This must be the recently disgorged version. I had this several years ago and was oxidized, possibly from bad storage or shipping. This bottle was medium gold with lots of mousse; creamy and powerful with toasty notes and a long finish. Excellent and one of the top Champagnes I have had recently.
2011 Ramonet Batard Montachet - poured side by side with the 2010 PYCM Batard Montrachet, this was immediately more open, a bit darker than the '10, showing a bit of mint with power.
2010 PYCM Batard Montrachet - Closed after opening taking a half an hour or so to show its cool lime custard notes and elegance with power. Fuller in the mouth than the Ramonet with more spine to it.
2010 PYCM Chevalier Montrachet - Finesse, elegance, honeysuckle, white flowers, persistence, length all in this full bodied beautiful wine. A great Chevalier with a great future, but a pleasure to taste now.
1999 Rousseau Gevrey Chambertin Clos St Jacques - Deep dark color as is still the norm on most '99’s. An abundance of aromas of dark fruits, earth, well integrated oak, with juicy and dense mouthfeel in addition to a wonderful aftertaste. This wine will only continue to improve and impress for several years. Why didn’t I buy this before it became out of my reach??
1999 Hudelot Noellat Richebourg - maybe even a bit darker than the Rousseau but a bit muddled in its flavors and aromas. I had the 2000 version of this a few days ago and it was tasting much better than this particular bottle. Even with this showing, I’m convinced that the '99 vintage will eventually become a great wine.
Thanks to George for a delightful evening.