TN: Mostly CDP dinner

MOSTLY CDP DINNER - The Capital Grille at Tysons corner, VA (6/29/2022)

Six of us got together to drink mostly CDPs. The food was solid as usual.

Cristal

  • 2012 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut - France, Champagne
    Medium expressive nose displaying concentrated ripe yellow fruit, baked apple, lemon curd, honey, cinnamon and mineral. Excellent concentration, layer upon layers of concentrated yellow fruit, generous fine mousse, rich and deeply toned, but also precise and focused, bright acidity, strong limestone mineral, and a long ripe yellow fruit driven finish with cinnamon at the end. This seems to be not as expressive as the previous bottle from September 2021. The level of concentration is remarkable. (96 pts.)

White Burgundy

  • 2014 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
    Beautiful light gold. Expressive nose displaying ripe yellow fruit, lemon curd, peach, a hint of pineapple, honey, vanilla/oak, a hint of butterscotch, sweet spices and limestone. Beautifully integrated palate, nicely layered yellow fruit, good harmony and balance, bright acidity, good mineral expression, and a long ripe yellow fruit driven finish with sweet spices and vanilla at the end. This has evolved faster than I anticipated, which is not a bad thing. This gives a very modern impression with noticeable oak. Really delicious for my palate. I need to revisit another bottle soon. (95 pts.)
  • 2016 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
    Medium expressive nose displaying slightly coiled yellow fruit, lemon curd, apple, flint, mint, cool mountain stream and limestone. Excellent concentration, slightly coiled cool yellow fruit, very precise, bright acidity, strong limestone mineral, and a medium to long coiled yellow fruit driven finish with a hint of flint at the end. This is a very focused and precise wine. The fruit is a bit tight, Perhaps decanting will help. (93 pts.)

Chave
It was still open and expressive.

  • 2019 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - France, RhĂ´ne, Northern RhĂ´ne, Hermitage
    Expressive nose displaying very ripe slightly dry yellow fruit, clementine, orange peel, peach, citrus oil, light caramel and mineral. Excellent concentration, finely layered exotic yellow fruit, sweet and opulent, medium acidity, strong mineral, and a long concentration ripe yellow fruit driven finish with orange marmalade at the end. I like to try them young before they shutdown. Although very ripe and exotic with high alcohol, this shows a very good balance. (96 pts.)

Beaucastel Roussanne VV
I preferred the 16.

  • 2015 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc CuvĂ©e Roussanne Vieilles Vignes - France, RhĂ´ne, Southern RhĂ´ne, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    Slightly subdued nose displaying very ripe concentrated dry yellow fruit, apricot, dry peach, mango, caramel, honey and sweet spices. Exceptional concentration, slightly coiled concentrated ripe yellow fruit, 10W40, rich, deeply toned, medium acidity and mineral. This is incredibly ripe, dense and rich. For my palate, a bit heavy and cloying. (92 pts.)
  • 2016 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc CuvĂ©e Roussanne Vieilles Vignes - France, RhĂ´ne, Southern RhĂ´ne, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    Expressive nose displaying ripe yellow fruit, peach, lychee, pineapple, mint, honey, sweet spices and limestone. Excellent concentration, nicely layered sweet yellow fruit, rich yet cool and nicely detailed, bright acidity, strong mineral, and long ripe yellow fruit driven finish with honey and sweet spices at the end. The fruit is more expressive and clearly defined compare to the 15. (94 pts.)

Rayas

  • 1994 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve - France, RhĂ´ne, Southern RhĂ´ne, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    Unfortunately corked! NR (flawed)
  • 2007 Domaine de Pignan Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, RhĂ´ne, Southern RhĂ´ne, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    Expressive nose displaying very ripe red fruit, cherry, dry cherry, fruitcake, licorice, strong tobacco, leather, rare steak, dark spices, tree bark and earth. Excellent concentration, packed concentrated slightly dry red fruit, dense and deeply toned, medium acidity, earthy mineral, and a medium to long ripe red fruit driven finish with licorice and tobacco at the end. This shows tobacco and dry cherry that I associate with Rayas. Just like the 07 Rayas, it is extremely ripe. (94 pts.)

CDP
The 01 Le Clos du Caillou showed extremely well.

  • 2000 Domaine du PĂ©gau Châteauneuf-du-Pape CuvĂ©e da Capo - France, RhĂ´ne, Southern RhĂ´ne, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    Expressive nose displaying perfectly ripe silky black fruit, blackberry liqueur, black berry, licorice, tobacco, leather, dark spices and earth. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of rich black fruit, silky and fluid, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, still noticeable tannins and a seamless long ripe black fruit driven finish with tobacco at the end. This can improve for another decade, gaining additional leather and tobacco. (96 pts.)
  • 2001 Le Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve le Clos du Caillou - France, RhĂ´ne, Southern RhĂ´ne, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    Youthful expressive nose displaying concentrated rich black fruit, blackberry liqueur, black cherry, licorice, tobacco, dark spices and earth. Excellent concentration, beautifully layered intense black fruit, silky and fluid, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, and a long generous black fruit driven finish with tobacco and licorice at the end. The best showing of this wine, intense yet harmonious and beautifully balanced. (98 pts.)

Clos Saint Jean
These were extremely ripe.

  • 2007 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Combe des Fous - France, RhĂ´ne, Southern RhĂ´ne, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    Medium expressive nose displaying very ripe slightly dry black fruit, blackberry liqueur, fruitcake, licorice, brown sugar, grilled meat, tree bark and earth. There is a bit of heat at the end. Excellent concentration, packed black fruit, rich, bright acidity, earthy mineral, and a long ripe black fruit driven finish with licorice and brown sugar at the end. It is a bit hot and monolithic, IMO. I am not sure if this will improve. YMMV. (92 pts.)
  • 2010 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Deus-Ex Machina - France, RhĂ´ne, Southern RhĂ´ne, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    Similar to the 07 La Combe des Fous. Expressive nose displaying very ripe black fruit, blackberry liqueur, black cherry, fruitcake, licorice, dark spices and earth. There is a hint of heat. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of black fruit, silky and fluid, medium acidity, earthy mineral, and a long very ripe black fruit driven finish with licorice at the end. I find it a bit monolithic. (93 pts.)

Kracher
May be overwhelming for some, simply hedonistic.

  • 1996 Alois Kracher Welschriesling TBA #9 Zwischen den Seen - Austria, Burgenland, Neusiedlersee
    Beautiful glowing amber. Hedonistic nose displaying opulent sweet tropical fruit, mango, dry manger, peach preserve, plum and honey. Exceptional concentration, layers upon layers of dense sweet yellow fruit, thick and rich but also fluid, bright acidity and a long dense yellow fruit driven finish with honey at the end. It reminds me SQN stickies a bit. Some may find it overwhelming but simply delicious for me! (97 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Brother Kevin

Sorry to hear about the corked 94 Rayas. I really like the wine.

Thanks for sharing! Love the 2001 vintage

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Why are you giving the 15 Beau VV, which you find cloying, and the two Clos St. Jeans, which you find hot and monolithic, such high ratings? If you had not attached the numbers,I would have assumed you had serious reservations about the wines. Maybe this is just another case where numbers get in the way, or, at least, my way?

Sorry about the 1994 Rayas … usually a fine mature wine.
Attention: Domaine de Pignan is a different producer …
this is PIGNAN (de Rayas) …

Nice! CdP sandwiched between some other great wines.

I use 80 to 100pt scale, more or less. [wink.gif]

OK, but you don’t seem to be using a wide range of it. If your scale were 90-100, the ratings on the Clos St. Jean would make more sense.

Tirecul la Gravière Madame is generally a great wine …

commercial post: I represent Pegau in most of the U.S.

Not surprised by this showing for 2000 da Capo, a little surprised that it’s still showing significant tannin. This is a beautiful vintage, but not the most concentrated, I’ve had both da Capo and Reservee within the past year or so, both are beautiful, both are fully mature.

2001 is a very great vintage in Chateauneuf.

And I’d really love to drink the '19 Chave Hermitage Blanc… tomorrow or in a few decades.

Dan Kravitz

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Note to self: I really need to move to DC.

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sounds like a great gathering kevin. too bad about the 04 rayas.

your note on the 07 pignan (or rayas or otherwise) has been the most positive note i’ve seen. i was generally disappointed with the 07 rayas the last couple of times i’ve had it.

same man same. maybe with a couple decades it’ll simmer down. My fear is it becomes syrupy and thick with age

07 Pignan was amazing on release. I haven’t had it since. I admit I’m a bit afraid of the 07s.

I thought the same thing. However, this is quite common…It’s an example of a “compressed” rating scale, where slightly hot, cloying, too ripe, and monolithic wines justify 90-92 points (on the theory that these wines must still be a lot better than the ton crappy wines available in the world), while 93-94 points is reserved for good-but-unexciting wines, and only 94+ wines are actually delicious.

This is why I joked later that Kevin has an effective 90-100 scale. There might be wines in the world that would rate less than 90, but he never hopes to encounter them. He probably should change his scale to my–non-numeric–one: 1)wines I would seek out, 2)wines I am happy to drink, 3)wines that are not for me but I am aware that others like the style, 4)everything else.

i fear you may be correct.


didn’t get to try one on release, but the sample i had was just like top rouge :frowning:

it amy be that the vintage fits the Pignan better than the Rayas.

The only good, almost perfect bottle, of the 07 Rayas was the first bottle I had upon release. Some of them have gone through the secondary fermentation, i.e. a lot of fizz and muted fruit.

Agree with Kevin and Ed , I also had a few poor bottles of Rayas 2007 ( and one excellent one recently… ).
Surprisingly , the domaine released more Rayas 2007 last year ! I don’t know if there is a difference with earlier releases …