Our Wednesday Night Wine Dinner Group AKA Too Many Fine Wines Dinner Group were hosted in the private home of one of our members who employed a top quality local chef to do the in home dinner.
THE MENU: A cheese board, and then, a caviar w/ waffle blinis starter, torchon of foie gras on brioche w/ salad, seared scallops w/ lobster risotto, duck with cherry gastrique, Boeuf Bourguignon, Epoisses & a Delice blue cheese course, and to finish, poached pear on spiced Port reduction w/ chocolate ganache.
Our wine theme was for us guests to bring champagne and white and red Burgundy while the host provided a Sauterne and Vintage Port plus his own contribution to the overall theme.
It was a grand evening and 10 of us ate and drank exceptionally well and of course, we had too many wines, 15 in all with 2 champagnes, a Sauterne, 3 white Burgundy, 8 red Burgundy and the Port.
My palate caved in after the first 9-10 wines and my notes are more abbreviated after that.
We started off with 2 wonderful champagnes that paired perfectly with the elaborate cheese board and caviar of which we had some beluga and osetra with all of the accoutrements:
2006 TAITTINGER COMTES de CHAMPAGNE BLANC de BLANC- I pulled this bottle thinking it would be showing well as many others have been demonstrating of late and it fulfilled all of my expectations by first gracing the glass with the Maillard reaction compounds that result in the toasty brioche notes I so dearly love; spicy and honeyed coated yellow apple, lemon and orange zest made up a good portion of the aromatics as well as the taste profile; it was delivered in a creamy textured medium that had some weight and thus enhancing the tactile sensation; it was rich and full bodied and finished on an upbeat; I revisited my initial pour about 30 minutes later and it was even more magnificent; one of the very best bottles I’ve had of this release and I’ve had many.
2012 BOLLINGER GRANDE ANNEE BRUT- I was happy to see this bottle as I had just blind tasted one 3 weeks ago that had some TCA unlike this one; this is an assembly of 21 crus, mostly in Aÿ and Verzenay for the 65% Pinot Noir and in Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oiry for the 35% Chardonnay; fermentation takes place entirely in oak barrels and the wine is aged and sealed with a natural cork for over twice as long as required by the appellation regulations; it was disgorged 7/19 and dosed at 8 gpl.
Our bottle had a medium yellow color and the nose first offered subtle mineral laced yellow apple, ripe pear and tropical fruit; on the palate, I also got some vanilla, toast and spicy lemon meringue, but noticed this is not the typical GA that is usually big and bold and somewhat oxidative with nutty accents; in fact, in a blind tasting, I would never had called this bubbly as it was really expressing more of the feminine aspect and devoid of the expected power and complexity and had almost no notable oak influence.
Moving on, we enjoyed a fine Sauternes to pair with the foie gras:
2003 CHATEQAU D’YQUEM SAUTERNES- in a 750 ml; beautifully paired with foie gras, this stunning sweetie was all about honeyed apricot nectar and orange marmalade delivered in a thick, viscous textured medium all the way to the back end where it just hung on for a forever back palate coating.
The next course was seared scallops w/ lobster risotto and we enjoyed 3 white Burgundy with it:
2010 VINCENT GIRARDIN CORTON-CHARLAMAGNE GRAND CRU- following its serious gold yellow color came mild aromas of mineral and honey coated yellow apple joined on the palate by additional accents of butter and spice along with some grapefruit and pineapple fruit which arrived late; it was mellow, delicious and easy on the palate, but lacking the power I usually associate with CCs as this wine was the antithesis with its finesse and elegance.
2014 PIERRE-YVES COLIN-MOREY EN REMILLY SAINT-AUBIN 1er Cru- this was an outstanding wine and my fav of the flight of the 3 white Burgs; its light yellow color deceived only for a moment until I stuck my nose into the glass and got an abundance of wondrous aromas that included flint, minerals and toasty citrus with lemon most prevalent; it had body, depth and length and satisfied all of the sensory requirements with amazing mouthfeel.
2020 DOMAINE DUREUIL-JANTHIAL RULLY BLANC- this village wine held its own with the higher rated crus before it as it gave pleasing aromas of white flowers, minerals and honey accented white peach, pear and green apple which continued on all the way through; it improved with time and ended up nicely balanced, creamy soft and enticingly savory.
The first of 2 flights of 4 red Burgundy {none decanted as far as I know} were served and ideally paired with duck with cherry gastrique and Boeuf Bourguignon:
2002 BOUCHARD PERE & FILS ECHEZEAUX GRAND CRU- initially, this had some funk in the nose and taste, but after a lot of swirling and time, it provided an increasingly enjoyable experience; there was a meaty component that never subsided, but dried, spicy red and black raspberry notes prevailed and along with its soft texture and crescendoing climatic finish, it became my 2nd fav of the flight.
2010 BOUCHARD PERE & FILS ECHEZEAUX GRAND CRU- this was what I was hoping the 2002 would provide with its spicy, dried, wild red and black raspberry notes from the nose through the tail; it was super soft and easy on the palate, had some depth and length and overall, shined brightly with promises to evolve into something even more relevant.
2014 MONGEARD-MUGNERET ECHEZEAUX GRAND CRU- this was a wowzer; I expected my socks would get blown off by the first 2, but they were still on until my first sip of this gem and one of my favs on the night; it was fully loaded with fresh and ripe red fruit with red cherry most prominent and quality help from the strawberry, red raspberry and red plum enhanced by vanilla, cinnamon, oak and tobacco accents; it had a silky mouthfeel with a bit of weight and a lingering finish that kept all of the spices and vanilla on the palate until the very end.
2005 BOUCHARD PERE & FILS LE CORTON GRAND CRU- this was very good and very fruit forward with dried red cherry the most dominant of all of the fruit profile that also included black raspberry and blackberry; it was soft and easy on the palate, medium bodied and finished with all of the fruit blending together.
The 2nd of 2 flights of 4 red Burgundy:
2001 DOMAINE ROBERT CHEVILLON LES VAUCRAINS NUITS- SAINT-GEORGES 1er Cru- this pleasant wine had an inviting nose of ripe cranberry cherry fruit that was joined by jujube {cherry} once tasted along with vanillin oak, milk chocolate and baking spices; it had a super soft mouthfeel and finished with all coming together nicely.
2001 DOMAINE GROS FRERE et SOEUR CLOS VOUGEOT “MUSINI” GRAND CRU- sporting nice acidity, this lovely wine was replete with sweet black cherry/ berry fruit with sandalwood and talc accents; it had some depth and a little complexity and better balance.
2011 DOMAINE OLIVIER JOUAN VIEILLES VIGNES CHARMES-CHAMBERTIN GRAND CRU- tasty wine here with spicy, vanilla laced dark fruit with blackberry most evident; it had youthful spunk and energy, was elegant, charming and suggestive of having a revisit down the line to experience its maturation treasures.
2018 NICOLAS ROSSIGNOL VOLNAY- this was a rich and powerful Volnay that gave generously with an abundance of mineral accented black cherry and black raspberry flavors from the nose through the tail; it was rich and full bodied and delightfully long.
Our last course was poached pear on spiced Port reduction w/ chocolate ganache and we had the perfect Port to compliment it:
1963 FONSECA VINTAGE PORT- 750 ml; honey and maple flavored black cherry along with accents of walnut and hazelnut dominated the aromas and taste profile of this splendid mature Port as those notes overwhelmed the underlying high alcohol content that did not dissipate after time.
It was a great night of excellent food and wine to compliment the wonderful fellowship and wine exploration shared amongst all of the attendees.
Cheers,
Blake