A rare Taittinger, 2 PYCMs, a nice Pouilly-Fume, a Brunello, Aglicanico and dessert wine

Following our big deal Millennium dinner a few days back, a small segment of our dinner group enjoyed another fine night, this time at Convivo, one of Santa Barbara’s best.

We started out the night with this rare and special bubbly:

NV TAITTINGER FOLIES de la MARQUETIERE BRUT- 55% Pinot Noir, 45% Chardonnay; natural cork ;12.5% abv; the first time through this offered different notes in the aromatics than it gave in the taste; following its light yellow color came aromas of toasty brioche laden citrus, but that all changed once tasted and now its giving up tropical fruit notes of pineapple, guava and kiwi devoid of the toasty character; all in all, it was very light and easy on the palate providing elegance and charm; after a few minutes in the glass, everything seemed to come together and now we have the whole package homogeneously expressed; at this point, some began to suggest a likeness to a mild and mellow Comtes de Champagne; while not quite up to that standard currently, it was impressive and I can see where it can reach a much higher plateau with a few years of age.

Somehow, I`ve missed this release from this house in the past and never saw it when visiting them, so here’s a little background:

Château de la Marquetterie, set in the heart of the Champagne wine-growing region, was, prior to the French Revolution, the one-time residence of writer Jacques Cazotte, author of French classic Le Diable Amoureux, and a site for village fairs where philosophers and intellectuals of the Enlightenment would gather. General Castelnau also used the stately home as his headquarters during the Battle of Champagne in 1915, while much earlier, in the 17th century, Brother Oudart, a Benedictine Monk, discovered some of the secrets of champagne fermentation.

The House’s very first “Champagne de Domaine”, Les Folies de la Marquetterie is a blend of Chardonnays (45%) and Pinot Noirs (55%), made exclusively from grapes grown at the Folies vineyard that overlooks Château de la Marquetterie, the birthplace of the Taittinger family champagne. A “green” harvest is carried out on the selected plots of vines to ensure the fruit offers optimum sweetness and aromatic maturity. After harvesting, only the juice from the first pressing is reserved. Each plot is vinified in small volumes and certain batches in oak casks. The bottles are aged for 5 years to bring this wine to complete harmony.

2017 PIERRE-YVES COLIN-MOREY LES COMBOTTES PERNAND-VERGELESSES- this is a lovely wine showing quite well early on with mild aromas of flint and minerals followed by a musty accent to the fresh citrus fruit on the palate; the musty component persisted, but not to a fault, it just stayed in the background.

2018 PIERRE-YVES COLIN-MOREY LES CAILLOUX RULLY- this wine seemed to take all of the best nuances of the 17` Les Combottes and double up with the welcomed exception of the musty, dusty notes; it was rich and full bodied, had more flint and mineral laced citrus fruit, more viscosity and more in balance; another amazing wine from P-Y.

2017 MARC DESCHAMPS LES CHAMPS de CRI POUILLY-FUME- this had a nice inviting nose of citrus and lemongrass which continued on all the way to the back end with an undercurrent of minerals joining in about mid palate; this had surprising power and richness as well as a very pleasant mouthfeel, it is fermentated in a mix of stainless steel and cement cuves and only natural yeasts are used and it undergoes extended lees contact.

2004 SAN FILIPPO LE LUCERE BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO- after it`s vibrant ruby red color came aromas of a bounty of cedar laced red and black cherry which once tasted was joined by clove and mushroom accented plum and blueberry; it was medium to full bodied with a nice semi heavy weight; this is a very fruit forward and tasty wine that begged to be sipped.

2006 MASTROBERIDINO RIDICI TAURSI AGLICANICO- this was a perfect follow up to the San Filippo as it was also very fruit forward, this one being a bit more serious with more depth and complexity; the fruit profile was abundantly filled up with plum, blueberry and blackberry with a hint of black cherry and black currant in the background; nice accents of spice, nutmeg and especially white pepper blend in to make this a real taste treat; it’s very approachable now, but has enough structure to go for many years before reaching its apex; the one who brought it encouraged us to seek out the “riserva” of this release and that seems to be a good rec I will pursue.

2002 BERINGER NIGHTENGALE- 375 ml; barrel fermented 65% Semillon and 35% Sauvignon Blanc; toasty apricot and caramel dominate the nose and taste of this creamy, thick dessert in a glass.

We had 2 other wines that were flawed, 96 Williams Selyem Hirsch Vineyard Pinot Noir and 01 Dal Forno Romano Valpolicella Superiore.

This was a small gathering of wine passionate buds all engaged as a whole table unit which gave way to great conversation and along with the food and wines, a grand evening.

Cheers,
Blake

Nice notes on that rare Champagne! Sounds like a fine dinner indeed.

2018 PYCM wines are amazing. Thanks for the clear notes.

$45 a bottles makes the pycm Rully a great value

I love this champagne and of course PYCMs…

Why is that Taitt so ‘rare’…you can get it at Bevmo?

I forgot to add that to the notes as I knew it to have a really good QPR- thanks.

Rare as in rarely seen and for me, never seen until I received a recent notice from one of the retail sources I use. I’ve been drinking champagne with a passion for over 30 years and never heard of it. I’ve had all of the other releases from this house and the Comtes in particular.

Another great night and set of notes, Blake, thanks for sharing. I am seeing note after note now on 2018 Burgundy whites that are “counter-culture” to the gloomy view the year first had. I will look to buy with more confidence, though of course PYCM almost always a winning play. Sorry to hear the W-S and the Dal Forno—in one of their great years–were off. The Nightingale can be a fun wine, can’t it?

Slainte,

Mike

So good to see you “regularly” back on Mike and thanks for your remarks.

Of all of the Burt made WS wines I’ve had since the late 1980s, I can count the number of flawed bottles= corked or cooked in all cases, I can count the number on one hand. The cooked ones obviously have to do with what happened after it left the winery and that was the case with the 95 Hirsch, a fabulous wine when right. Ive got 2 more and think I’ll pull the trigger on one soon just to make up for this last disappointment.

Proost,
Blake