Very Special Dinner tonight- TN 1999 Guigal d'Ampuis

99 d’Ampuis or 1989 Angelus? Also 2003 Harlan a possibility, or 94 Mouton. Food will be short ribs.

How are you preparing those ribs?

By saying, “Honey, can you make me short ribs tonight?”
I think they are in a vegetable based gravy of celery, carrots and the like. It is pretty savory.

I’d go with the d’Ampuis. It has nice acidity to go with your broth and cut through the meat, some herbal characteristics to pair with your veggies and to go with the savory theme, it’s meaty enough to go with your ribs, the bacon fat notes will play nice with the overall dish and it has some elegance to keep it from overpowering.

I’d do the '89 L’Angelus, which is always stunning, aside from the odd corked bottle and to my tastes, a Merlot/Cab based wine works better with beef. Save the d’Ampuis for lamb. I’d sell the '94 Moutoun, btw. Not an impressive bottle at all, but one you can get some coin for.

Ampuis. Save the Angelus for roasted or grilled beast.

+1
I agree with Eric.

Which one has the highest nookie factor?

The Harlan followed by Mouton. I’d still do the Guigal.

Probably the Harlan, but the Guigal has the most votes so I am going with that (that probably has a higher nookie factor than the Angelus, too).

Just remember, it’s a spoofy style of Cote-Rotie. I’ve always found the oak too prominent, but, ymmv.

Ampuis

Oh my, Brad. I just looked up the value of that on-line. Wow. It has been years since I last had it. It is not a great wine, but it is a good wine. I’d be happy to trade it, no doubt. I could exchange it for one of the 100 point 2009 Bordeaux that I got shut out of, have them throw in a second QPR bottle, and they’d still come out way ahead money wise on the deal. But I seriously doubt anyone would go for that, so I suspect I am stuck with it. Does anyone buy the first growths at the prices they command nowadays?

But from my wife’s perspective, she’ll be happy that the wine smells less of poop than the diaper I just emptied into the toilet. Although I don’t need to make her happy- it is my day today, after all.

So far the wine does taste nice, but I can detect that oak with little difficulty, and it is a bit spoofy. Still, I suspect it will go nice with the short ribs.

1999 Guigal d’Ampuis- well the wine had a ton of blackberry fruit in it, and some noticable oak as well. It was a very extracted type wine, and I agree with Brad that it is a bit spoofy in it style. It is a decent wine, but not my style. It is hard for me to rate this or give it points, but those who like the style will think it is around 94 points.

The '89 L’Angelus would’ve been a 95-97 in a style you like.

Well, it is still in my celar, and will be opened soon, I can promise you that.

Bob, based on the Ampuis bottlings I’ve had, your TN captures the wine well. My one quibble is with Brad’s phrase “a bit spoofy” which was carried over in your note. I find the Ampuis bottlings to be a bit spoofy like Lady Gaga’s outfits are a bit eccentric, or a hurricane is a bit of a blow. Accurate, but only when the expression is viewed with its traditional gloss of British understatement. It seems to be the worst of all of Guigal’s worlds, lacking the expressiveness of the single vineyards and honest value of the Brune et Blonde.

Mike-

I think your example is a poor one as, in my mind, there is nothing particularly spoofy about Lady Gaga. She is her own, unique personality and her clothing reflects her personality. Spoofy to me, would be Pamela Anderson, enhanced, “fake,” trying to be be something she isn’t.

As you know, with wine, it generally means non-traditional, which, depending on the region, usually means a wine that’s seen more oak, has riper fruit, lower acidity and in general feels pumped up in comparison to what the region has traditionally produced. I think that definition fits the d’Ampuis bottling perfectly.

I’m no Lady Gaga expert nor P. Anderson either, but I’m +1 on Brad’s second paragraph. OTOH, the 1989 Chateau l’Angelus deserves a better menu to show off the wine, and as Bob points out, he still has it for another time soon. So all’s well that end well, IMO.

Regarding Guigal Cote Rotie, these wines are very polarizing. I still get raves from friends about a dinner I hosted nearly 5 years ago, and served all three Guigal 1988 LaLa’s. All 3 bottles cellared by me since release, and all were pristine. But after this dinner, I immediately sold off all my LaLa’s because I just don’t like the style.