Five of us enjoyed a fabulous dinner at bouchon, one of Santa Barbara`s most consistently fine restaurants for 23 years now. We brought some nice wines to share while enjoying the company:
2002 TAITTINGER COMTES de CHAMPAGNE BLANC de BLANCS- disgorged 1/16; of all of the stellar champagne vintages of the 2000s, 2002 has got to be at least the 2nd best and for this house, their 02 has to be as good as any including the deservedly highly hyped 08 and the my repeated fav, the 06; compared to many other bottles Iāve tasted in the past, the 02 has now come together beautifully and is giving up a bounty of treasures while maintaining impeccable balance; it`s super rich, creamy and full bodied possessing power and finesse; following its bright yellow gold color came aromas of toasty brioche and ginger joined by mature and honeyed citrus and stone fruit on the nose which more specifically translated into lemon, orange zest and yellow peach on the palate; itās just the complete package and thereās no doubt, this wine will continue to express beautifully for many years to come. Epic.
2002 BILLECART-SALMON CUVEE NICOLAS FRANCOIS BRUT- I took this as a treat for the one who brought the 02 Comtes knowing he had not had it; this was first released in 1964 as a tribute to the founder of this house; it is comprised of 60% Pinot Noir from the 1er and Grand Crus from the Montagne de Reims and the Grande VallƩe de la Marne and 40% Chardonnay from the CƓte des Blancs; as with the 02 Comtes, it was disgorged 1/16; the notes for this bottle are consistent with the another recent bottle in that it had a light yellow color, a nice, refreshing citrusy nose and an initial taste of freshly zested lemon which by mid palate was joined by ginger, clove and honey infused lemon and lime which then faded back into more pure lemon zest at the end; this is a lovely, nicely rich and full bodied bubbly that, IMHO, can stand up to most, if not all of the other Grande Marques in this vintage.
2011 PETER MICHAEL WINERY ESTATE LA CARRIERE KNIGHTS VALLEY SONOAMA COUNTY CHARDONNAY- pure golden yellow color; the nose had floral and tropical fruit with accents of coconut and vanilla which continued on to be joined by creme brƻlƩe and honeyed pear, baked apple, orange marmalade and a touch of minerality; it was full bodied with ample weight and layered depth; about mid palate, there was an unexpected minty pine note that continuously stood out from all of the other nuances; this estate vineyard is bowl shaped and has shallow rocky soils, thus the use of the French name, La Carriere, which means quarry; it has15.2% abv that is not that noticeable.
2017 VINCENT GIRARDIN LES CHAMPANS VOLNAY 1er Cru- the color was a light to medium semi opaque red; the nose and taste profile was very fruit forward with fresh red cherry/ berry and rose petals with a bit of spice; it had a light to medium body and weight and had an unsweetened kool-aid like red fruit finish; with a good chill, this could pass for a summer pleasing rose taking an extra step up.
2005 LOUIS JADOT PETITE CHAPELLE GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN 1er Cru- the nose had a petite amount of TCA especially noticeable after swirling; when not swirled, the primary evidence was now in the taste; it was tolerable, but as stated by the one who brought it and had opened another bottle the night before, this one had lost its power and a lot of itās fruit as well as the wet cardboard notes; I actually went back for a few more sips and if I avoided aerating it, it was passable; beyond that was evidence of it being at least a decent wine with underlying red and dark fruit and a bit of spice; with another wine in the bag just in case it was needed, I opened it.
1995 WILLIAMS SELYEM RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY PINOT NOIR- the fill was high neck and the color was a grainy cinnamon red which complimented the cinnamon accent to the spicy raspberry, strawberry and red cherry fruit in the nose and on the palate; amazingly, this wine expanded and improved in the glass and just went from really good to extra stellar; one commented, āred Burgundy, it is notā and then later on after repeated tastes remarked how very special it was; Iāve had numerous bottles of this vintage release and all have been equally stupendous and itās understandable considering the track record of these Burt Williams made Pinots and it helps that there is some incredibly good fruit in the make up including a majority from Allen and Rochioli vineyards; I checked my notes for the last bottle I had which was in July 2018 and shared with Burt before he passed and they were equally comparable; these great wines just keep going on and on.
Another exquisite night with great friends while dining at a superb restaurant and drinking good stuff. Life is good.
Cheers,
Blake