While I had high hopes for this eagerly anticipated gathering with three great friends, I didn’t expect to give out my first-ever 100-point score, let alone encountering two bottles I deemed perfect. The Rhone Flight
1990 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Centenaire- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
My first perfect score (little did I know that I would give a second 100-point score later this same evening!). I cannot imagine any way to improve on what this beauty delivered. It sang from the moment opened, and did not seem to need the decant it got. Irresistible aromas of flowers, kirsch, mint, fennel, lavender and other Provencal spices. On the palate, muted strawberry, fig, plum and spice notes blended perfectly with a smoky earthiness and depth of flavor that I found irresistible. Can a wine be both weighty and weightless at the same time? (100 pts.)
1989 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle- France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Another amazing, fresh and gorgeous bottle from a case I have been working through for a few years now. Dark cherry flavor profile, alongside smoke, game, bacon, herbs and mineral notes. Fine acidity. Excellent weight and complexity. (96 pts.)
Two 1964 Bordeaux
1964 Château Montrose- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
A stunning performance, far exceeding expectations. Candied red fruit accented by a bit of orange oil. Very precise, almost seamless. The palate is medium-bodied, somewhat feminine (by which I tend to mean somewhat floral and nuanced rather than dense and powerful), but still intense in flavor and texture, with lovely balance. Some chemical notes (iodine?) on the finish did distract a bit. (95 pts.)
1964 Château Ausone- France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Sheer class. Only my second 100-point score (with the first being given earlier this same evening!), as I cannot imagine any way to improve on this extraordinary performance. Benefited from a 2-hour decant. No sediment. Fresh, energetic, complex and powerful. I would have been fully satisfied just to smell this wine. Hypnotic nose of red and black fruit, balsam and black olives. A weighty wine on the palate, with a stunning and complex array of additional flavors that complement the pure, clean fruit: wood smoke, forest floor, chalk, sweet orange peel, even some tea, along with mineral notes. Long, concentrated finish, with amazing grip. (100 pts.)
A Beautiful 1963 Port
1963 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage- Portugal, Douro, Porto
My first Quinta do Noval, a birthyear indulgence that showed beautifully. Fresh and vibrant, with dried red fruit, a touch tart, along with mild spice some tea notes. I don’t see the drinking window closing anytime soon. A touch too acidic on the finish. I have two bottles of the Nacional from 1963, but this “normale” did not disappoint. (93 pts.)
I feel very confident in my scoring, no regrets, and hope I find more well-merited 100 pointers in time, should I be so lucky.
Lovely, Jonathan. You tempt me—and that’s hard to do with any CdP/Grenache-based wine. I, too, have only given out a single 100 point score so far in my career—that to the 2001 D’Yquem a few years ago. Like you, I do hope to find more perfect wines out there.
Nice! That’s fun to have found your first 100 point wine. I don’t think I have encountered mine yet. I enjoyed reading your notes. Would love to taste this to experience the weighty & simultaneous weightlessness!
I’ve had the 1990 Les Cailloux Centenaire several times side by side with most of the other top 1989 and 1990 Chateauneufs (including Rayas, all of the Bonneau cuvées, Beaucastel regular and Hommages, Marcoux VV, etc.), and I think it was among the top 3 every single time. While it has never hit the 100 point mark for me, it’s a truly exceptional wine and no surprise that it would reach that level for someone else.
When recorking the wine isn’t decanted, but merely topped up with a (routinely) much more recent vintage, and is given a brand new cork. The amount of sediment (normally considerable in any 1964 of quality) should thus remain the same before and after recorking.
Lack of sediment seems suspicious. I’ve only had ‘64 Ausone once, and while it was fantastic, I didn’t open the bottle so I don’t know whether it threw sediment.
While I also find a lack of sediment unusual, I’ve had some older bottles in recent years in which the sediment had adhered solidly enough to the base of the bottles that they showed little sediment until I rinsed the bottles out and the sediment came out in chunks. In most cases it seems like it took a vigorous shake to dislodge the sediment.
The most striking example was a 1968 BV Burgundy which shocked me as it seemed to have thrown almost no sediment when I decanted it. The bottle had no punt and I discovered when rinsing the bottle out before decanting the wine back into it that the sediment had apparently formed a solid disk about 1/4” thick adhered to the botttle’s base. That sediment layer also helped to explain the surprisingly high fill.
Awesome, my friend. Did others share your enthusiasm for the same wines? And did you come to the ‘perfect’ conclusion pretty quickly or after watching the wines evolve over the evening?
Interesting query, thanks. It did take me a little while to acknowledge the greatness of the CdP, maybe twenty minutes before its perfection became undeniable. The Ausone was instant and remained an unshakable view all evening. This was a shared consensus among we four in each case.