May Magnum Madness= dinner with 10 mags incl Ruinart, PYCM, Ente, Fontodi, Shafer et al

MAY MAGNUM MADNESS

Our dinner group held its semi-annual magnum event recently as we dined at one of our past local favs, Jane. Thirteen of us were seated in the upstairs front dining area which was set up for us to use exclusively.

Usually, there are some 750s brought to compliment the bigger bottles, but on this night, we had all magnums and some pretty good ones at that.

NV RUINART BRUT magnum- the contents of the bottle was as impressive as the bottle shape and size; it gave generous amounts of crisp and refreshing citrus fruit with lemon and lime most evident along with a streak of spice; later on, a hit of toasty brioche came in; it just kept expanding over time as did the accolades from everyone; a great start.

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2005 HOSPICES de BEAUNE MEURSAULT-GENEVRIERES PIERRE-YVES COLIN MOREY 1er Cru, magnum- this nailed it from the nose through the tail; the aromas of fresh flowers and tropical fruit gave such an invitation to explore further and I obliged and was delighted to discover ripe citrus notes, a full body and viscous mouthfeel; it was complex with layers of depth and just kept up the pace in a perfectly seamless fashion; its bright acidity assures it shall continue to please for years down the line; at the end of the evening, it was voted WOTN.

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2015 WEINGUT BRUNDLMAYER “ZOBINGER HEILIGENSTEIN ALTE REBEN” KAMPTAL RESERVE RIESLING magnum- bottle size, shape and length is a hallmark of the Rieslings and this Austrian beauty impressed with its contents as well; very easy on the nose, mild mineral and petrol aromas wafted out of the glass followed by ripe mandarine and tangerine fruit on the palate; it was delivered in pleasant oily texture and exuded elegance throughout, in fact, elegance may be the primary hallmark here for this extremely food friendly wine.

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2016 PALACIO de FEFINANES ALBARINO RIAS BAIXAS magnum- the nose surprised with nice tropical fruit notes, but then the expected stone fruit, especially white peach, showed up and all continued on in the taste profile being joined by some fresh slightly honeyed lemon zest, lime and green apple; it was fully loaded with acidity and had wonderful feel and length.

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2013 BERNOIT ENTE les FOLATIERES en la RICHARDE PULIGNY-MONTRACHET 1er cru, 1 of 60 magnums made- the nose and taste had steely minerality with hints of citrus with lemon peel most evident; with a medium body, it was clean and crisp and pleasing throughout.

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2012 PIERRE-YVES COLIN-MOREY les CHENEVOTTES CHASSAGNE-MONTRACHET 1er cru, magnum- another fantastic white Burg from this fabulous producer; it was spicy, rich and full-bodied loaded with ripe citrus fruit delivered in a creamy texture all the way to the back end where it just sustained all of its gifts; as with most other bottles, we kept returning to see where they evoked to and every wine seemed to improve immensely and that’s from a good start.

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1999 FONTODI VIGNA del SORBO RISERVA CHIANTI CLASSICO magnum- 90% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon; the first hit of the nose led to a wide spread table, ugh!; Brett laden AND volatile acidity packaged together; I’m wondering how good this could have been with a good bottle.

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2001 SHAFER HILLSIDE SELECT CABERNET SAUVIGNON STAGS LEAP DISTRICT magnum- the color was a seriously deep, dark vibrant purple; the nose had equally serious notes as well with wood spiced black cherry most prominent; the taste profile was redolent of cedar laced black currant and black cherry; this wine had soft tannins, was full bodied, very complex with layers unfolding over time and held on for a grand finish; amidst all of its power, it had an element of finesse. It got some call for WOTN.

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2008 GIANFRANCO BOVIO VIGNA ARBORINA LA MORRA BAROLO magnum- this seemed to be atypical for a Barolo, as it had a burgundy color, super sweet and ripe blueberry, blackberry and black cherry fruit profile with strong hints of oak and good acidity; it was so sweet, I thought of looking for an RS content on the label; I`d never get this as a Barolo in a blind tasting.

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About while winding this evening down, one asked if he should open his mag of champagne and it got unanimous consent {we have some dedicated wine geeks}:

2006 LAUNOIS SPECIAL CLUB BLANC de BLANC BRUT le MESNIL-SUR-OGER magnum- from 100% Grand Cru Chardonnay; showing nicely, this gave mineral and white chalk infused citrus, pear and green apple notes served up in a creamy mousse mindful of cream soda; its rich and lush and came in at a very fitting time to cap off a grand evening.

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But wait, there’s one more which was to be expected as our Prince of Sweets was present:

2011 MORLET FAMILY VINEYARDS BILLET DOIX LATE HARVEST WHITE BLEND ALEXANDER VALLEY- 375 ml; 70% Semillon, 29% Sauvignon Blanc, 1% Muscat; the bottle seemed like a dwarf in comparison to the large formats that preceded it; mild sweet apricot dominates the nose, but on the palate, its more intense with honeyed apricot and peach most prevalent; its thick and creamy and leaves all of its treasures on the palate with a heavy coat that requires a putty scraper to remove.

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This was a very special evening with lots of wine for everyone and we obliged by draining many of the worthy bottles while enjoying fine food and great fellowship.

Cheers,
Blake

Sounds serious.

Important, even

Blake, I love your notes.

It’s weird not having to turn my phone sideways to read the labels!

amazing note for the nv ruinart, and agree about the bottle shape
sounds like a nice wine to sit with all night

Great notes.

Good bottles of ‘99 Vigna del Sorbo are fantastic. Amazing. No Brett or (to my recollection) detectable VA. Sorry you opened a relative dud.

NOT serious, just great fun. Thanks for the great notes.

Wonderful notes Blake. Sounds like a very good time. Important to me to read notes like this!

great notes as always Blake!

my impressions:

bubbles . . .
NV Ruinart Brut: wonderfully lively combo of limey citrus notes and fragrant yeasty biscuits; bright acidity and life-force; incredibly long finish

whites . . .
2015 Weingut Brundlmayer Heiligenstein 1r Alte Reben Riesling Kamtal Reserve: love this producer and this bottle did not let me down; tropical guava and passion fruit; wonderful tactile mouthfeel; kept returning to this beauty over the course of the evening
2016 Bodega Palacio de Fefinanes Albarino: very floral and Viognier-like; just not in a style that I prefer; didn’t spend much time with it
2005 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Hospices de Beaune Meursault-Genevrieres Cuvee Philippe le Bon, Premier Cru: contender for wine of the year so far; opulent, lush, vibrant with bright citrus notes; extremely youthful, without a hint of pre-mox; coats the palate for seemingly minutes; simply stunning; mine and the group’s WOTN (10 out of 12 votes)
2013 Benoit Ente Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatieres En la Richarde, Premier Cru: silky smooth and plush with impeccably balanced sweet rich concentrated fruit; if you’re the gambling kind, I would hold these for few years as the transformation after an hour in the glass was truly remarkable
2012 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Chassagne Montrachet Les Chenevottes, Premier Cru: laser sharp bright acidity; much more expressive the Les Folatieres at this time; the finish is like glue, can’t shake it from your palate

reds . . .
2001 Shafer Hillside Select, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District: spectacular showing; have had this many times over the years, but never from a Magnum; a true ‘wow’ wine; amazing complexity and nuance despite an incredible depth of still primary waxy purple fruit, all of it perfectly in check; love the molten black licorice finish; returned to this many times; no danger of this falling off any time soon; simply sensational
2008 Bovio Barolo Arborina: bright flamboyant red fruit and red licorice; plenty of acid and tannins to counter the candied red fruit; hold
1999 Fontodi Vigna del Sorbo: cloudy, musky, and Bretty; a tremendous let down; one of my favorite bottlings in the world, total bummer to have an such an off bottle

dessert . . .
2006 Launois Pere & Fils Brut Champagne Grand Cru ‘Special Club’: soft, elegant, and beautiful; fresh baked ginger bread cookies immediately come to mind

Cool event. Pretty sure the Ente En La Richarde is essentially Chevalier Montrachet it has a 6 foot piece of dirt between it and Chevalier.

Anton, I struggled more than once to get the Launois upright and could never pull it off??? It was edited and upright in MY PHOTOS.

Actually, there was some dregs left over that I took home and 2 days later, my wife and I finished it off with enough for a glass each. The surprising thing was, it was maybe a touch better. This is an absolutely wonderful bubbly for a NV Brut or otherwise.

BTW, this bottle was 5 years old from the purchase date.

Hey Don. Its equally important for me to have experiences that merit notes like this.

Fab notes Henry. Always appreciate your input and insights. We definitely share something special that’s been happening every 2 weeks over many years with this group.

Yep. Just like the one from Madame Leroy at D’Auvenay which is intoxicating. Doesn’t have the length of the best Chevaliers but it is close. Special portion of Folitieres.

That 99 Vigna del Sorbo is a terrific wine, Blake. Sorry your bottle was damaged. And lots of Ruinart love here too. I have read some disturbing things about the state of the 2002 BdB.

completely agree Neal; I have had sound bottles of the '99 and it is a fabulous wine

Do you think this was ‘12 base? I have found that whether I like the base Ruinart NV varies widely from year to year.

Bought some these before it was widely known and they were under $100, but I find it much more acid driven than Chevy, missing the weight Chevy carries, although it’s a weightless weight in Chevy.

Not sure any white in the world matches D’auvenay and Mme. Leroy. I remember a restaurant telling me they wouldn’t carry wines over 14% alcohol and I dug up an article where Mme. Leroy talked about her Chevalier hitting 16% natural alcohol and asked him if he’d want her wine on his list, but I digress.

Jayson, if I interpreted the code on the cork properly, it was 02` based. No disgorgement date was shown.