Our Wednesday Dinner Group, sometimes AKA Too Many Fine Wines Dinner Group, enjoyed a fabulous evening at one of our member’s amazing home which overlooks the local mountains and a segment of the ocean during the hours of sunset.
My AKA is appropriate for this evening as we had way too many fine wines,16, many of which were truly outstanding and a few more that should have been.
While feasting on an array of tasty appetizers, cheese quesadillas, salad, scallop potatoes, foie gras, sea food and meat dishes, we also tuned into the New York Knicks NBA Finals game against the San Antonio Spurs as our host and a few others are big Knicks fans. This was the game in which they trailed by 29 points on their home floor and recovered just enough to win it by a point before moving on to win the championship.
Twelve of us brought an assortment of wines and we poured them ready and non blind.
Here’s some notes:
2011 TAITTINGER COMTES de CHAMPAGNE BLANC de BLANC- I pulled this knowing full well that this was not a great vintage and my last experience with this release found it to be pretty wimpy and understated; I was hoping for a better showing and pleasantly surprised to find it was so much better; following its light yellow color came aromas of fresh lemon and lime with a coat of honey and an accent of toasty brioche, all of which continued on all the way to the back end; it had a feel good frothy mousse, bright acidity and expressed class and elegance; I was so surprised, I didn’t trust the first pass through and went back with trepidation for the 2nd only to find it was even better. I proceeded to drink a little more.
NV LE MESNIL BLANC de BLANC GRAND CRU in magnum- I did not find any details on the labels, but this was singing beautifully with lemon, lime, pear and green apple most notable in the nose and an addition of brioche, grapefruit, hazelnut and minerals on the palate; it was delivered in a frothy, cotton candy like mousse which enhanced the whole experience; this is one of the most consistent champagnes I know of as it seems to always please with elegance and grace while providing a wonderful taste profile and tactile bliss while carrying a very respectable price tag.
NV VEUVE FOURNY et FILS CUVEE du CLOS NOTRE DAME 1er Cru- this was very good sporting nice honeyed nectarine, peach and yellow apple fruit with a bit of brioche, chalk and minerals in the background; it had a nice soft texture, fine acidity and enough richness to fill in the blanks; our bottle was disgorged 5/24.
2017 PIERRE-YVES COLIN-MOREY CORTON CHARLEMAGNE GRAND CRU- this was one of the best wines of the night; the nose was replete with chalk, mineral and honey laced apple with some straw, hay, lemon grass and honeysuckle accents joined by a touch of toasty brioche on the palate; it was the complete package tantalizing all of our sensory receptors with wonderful flavors, a soft, smooth and weighted texture and a climatic finish with everything coming together.
note: I’m reusing champagne glasses, saving some for the reds
2013 CHATEAU d’YQUEM “Y” BORDEAUX BLANC- 75% Sauvignon Blanc and 25 % Sémillon; this lovely dry wine was ready and able to deliver exceptional aromas, flavors and mouthfeel with honeyed and spiced orange marmalade, pear and apple with some upfront grassy hay aromas, all of which continued on to the back end while being delivered in a viscus, tactile pleasing texture; I am always happy to drink a Y.
2010 PAVILLON BLANC du CHATEAU MARGAUX- 100% Sauvignon Blanc aged for 8 months with approximately 20% in new French oak barrels; part of this aging also takes place in 350-litre barrels; this was a lovely, amazing, elegant wine with a hallmark of being super smooth and creamy, more so than most other wines I’ve ever had; the aroma and taste profile had generous amounts of honeyed lemon, lime, green apple and grapefruit with a streak of minerals and a dusting of chalk.
2023 COMPANEROS LAFOND VINEYARD CHARDONNAY- this was a wowzer Chardonnay that just shined throughout with nicely integrated oak complimenting the citrus and apple fruit with a vanilla and mineral accent; it was smooth and luscious and in perfect balance; little did we know at the time we were drinking it, that one of the 3 original partners in this magnificent local home winemaking endeavor had passed just a few days prior. The unlabeled bottle was contributed by our host whose father was also one of the original partners.
The next 2 wines were served with a generous serving of foie gras:
1988 CHATEAU RIEUSSEC SAUTERNES in 375 ml format- the color is described best as being dark root beer and the nose was replete with brown sugar, honey and molasses coated sweet red cherries with some maraschino in there too; it was thick and creamy and so deliciously intense; it could have been served in a small dropper with maybe a 5-6 drops max per person.
1988 CHATEAU FILHOT SAUTERNES- following its pure gold color came inviting aromas of mature apricot and honey that introduced the apricot nectar on the palate that was also joined by some savory lemon, orange and pineapple enhanced with honey, ginger and caramel; it was super rich and very delicious.
1985 DOMAINE ROMANEE CONTI RICHEBOURG GRAND CRU- the color looked viable, but the nose was full of musty, dusty, earthy notes that in time were more easily identified as VA with some nail polish remover aromas taking over; I passed on exploring it any more in favor of cleaning out my glass for the onslaught of wines still to come.
1975 CHATEAU GRUARD LAROSE SAINT-JULIEN- 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot; when I was looking up the composition of this wine, I read that it ages very well and that may be true, but this bottle had seen better days; the color was a faded red purple and the nose was first suggestive of an aged wine with earthy, bretty aromas that increased on the palate; after a VA inundated !985 DRC Richebourg, I’m thinking we are on a reverse trend here, but the next wine got us back on track.
1990 CHATEAU GRUARD LAROSE SAINT-JULIEN- decanted 3 hours; 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot; the color was a somewhat youthful dark red purple; the nose offered leather, earth and cedar accented black currant which also made up a good part of the taste profile; it was big, rich and full bodied with layered complexity and finished on an uptick; 2 days later, I finished off the remnants and found it was even better and representative of what good, aged Bordeaux has to offer when it is fully mature.
1995 CHATEAU HAUT-BRION PESSAC-LEOGNAN- although it sported a youthful, vibrant red purple color, the nose and taste were more of a wine that had passed it apogee; I got earth, saddle leather and dried fruit notes with black currant most prominent and a super astringent finish that emphasized the aged, dried fruit; I obviously was expecting a whole lot more from this wine and have to think it was a bottle variation.
2000 CHATEAU PONTET CANET PAUILLAC- 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc brought up in 50% new oak barrels, 35% in concrete amphorae, and 15% in one-wine oak barrels; with accents of cedar and eucalyptus, the nice and ripe black currant fruit with a touch of black cherry stood out throughout; it was full bodied with nice depth and length and IMHO, along with the 1990 Gruard-Larose, one of the better red wines on this night.
2005 CHATEAU PALMER MARGAUX- here’s another winner that showed up to pick up a few others that did not; it was youthful and yet serious with a dark red purple color and a huge, inviting nose and taste profile that included milk chocolate and toasty oak accented black currant, plum and blackberry fruit; it was full bodied with lots of depth and complexity and in beautiful balance; this is comprised of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot.
2010 CHATEAU LASCOMBES MARGAUX- 55% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot; I was happy to see this come around as I have a few remaining bottles from a case of the 2000 that I have enjoyed especially in the last few years; this was a good reminder of what I had experienced with mildly toasted and truffled ripe black currant, fig, plum and blackberry fruit and a velvety texture that gracefully carried all of the goodness to the back end where it hung on for a grand finish.
There may have been another bottle or three, but my palate was getting fried and my left hand was tiring of note making and I sat back and took in the whole evening with lots of gratitude for our amazing home venue, the aid and kitchen prowess of a wonderful long time housekeeper who has graced us many times previously with her smile, skills and passion to serve righteously.
Then I moved on to the fellowship and camaraderie of all of the attendees and became even more grateful.
As I’ve often stated after one of these soirees, I could only do this once a week.
Cheers,
Blake