Six of us enjoyed a fine dinner at the Santa Barbara Club and shared some fine wines poured blind:
2008 BILLECART-SALMON CUVEE ELIZABETH SALMON- my bring and therefore not blind for me; it was consistent with previous notes of splendor; 55% Pinot Noir from from Aÿ, Verzy, Verzenay and Mareuil, 45% Chardonnay from Chouilly, Avize and Cramant with 9% still wine from Mareuil; disgorged at 7 gpl; this release was initiated in 1988 to honor Elisabeth Salmon, co-founder of the house and is only made in exceptional vintages from the best fruit; its vibrant red salmon color issued a sign of something serious forthcoming and it was confirmed once nosed and tasted; this was the epitome of the marriage of fresh citrus and red raspberry and strawberry fruit enhanced by toast, spice and chalky accents; it was rich and creamy and yet had lots of finesse and charm; it received raves from around the table from many different discerning palates.
2008 LAURENT PERRIER BRUT- blind: - my first taste was so good and so mindful of many previous bottles of this bubbly; I spoke up kind of early to share it; previously notes are still applicable here: I’ve tasted this fabulous champagne quite a few times so it was good that it was served blind as it continued to receive a lot of accolades without any bias; I’ve mentioned in previous notes, some other champagne geeks on WineBerserkers encouraged me a few years ago to try it as it was showing beautifully early on while most other 08`s were struggling to balance out and regroup before reaching their expected superb place in this stellar vintage; consistent with many previous notes, this exuded elegance par excellence; of all of the lovely notes it sang, I kept coming back to its profound elegance; yes, it had really nice bright acidity with lemon zest, lime, apple and pear fruit, a tactile pleasing creamy mousse and a palate cleansing finish, but the operative word here is ELEGANCE. It is comprised of 50% Chardonnay, 50% Pinot Noir and was disgorged with 8 gpl dosage.
2014 CHAMPAGNE R. POUILLON & FILS les VALNONS EXTRA BRUT GRAND CRU AY- blind; 100% Chardonnay, disgorged winter 2020; the name of this cuvée is short for “les Valnons Froid Cul” which is a famous and seemingly cold hill in Aÿ known more for rich and opulent Pinot Noir; the friends who brought it stated this was an atypical bottle showing pre-oxidative notes and certainly not an example of what they had experienced in previous bottles; there was no question about pre-ox as it had musty, dusty, earthy notes to the muted fruit profile. Bottle variation; we moved on.
2020 PIERRE-YVES COLIN-MOREY HOMMAGE a MARGUERITE SAINT AUBIN 1er Cru- sort of blind; the white wax capsule which is hard to remove was telltale enough that we knew the producer going in, but which vintage and place did this come from? And this bring comes from one, who along with a few others in our Wednesday dinner group, have shared numerous bottles of PYCM going back to the early 2000s; as with most of the wines, the nose had that signature oak, flint, steely and mineral laced citrus fruit that on the palate became lemon zest along with some nice green apple and pear with just a touch of sweetness; the oily, feel good texture added a tactile sensory experience that sealed the deal.
2021 BLANC DE MORGEX ET DE LA SALLE VALLEE D’AOSTE- blind; this comes from low yielding vineyards averaging 60 years of age, in a mountainous region in the NW corner of Italy near France and Switzerland near Mont Blanc; as such, it is one of the highest vineyards in Europe at 3900 ft. and has its own DOC and grape varietal, Prie Blanc; I called it Sauvignon Blanc as it had some hay, honeysuckle, grassy and herbal notes that I often associate with SB; there also was a mild streak of minerals and flint and nice acidity; once revealed, the bottle shape was a distinct high neck, fatty with a colorful artistic label.
2005 AU BON CLIMAT ISABELLE CALIFORNIA PINOT NOIR- my bring, therefore not blind for me; I’ve shared many a bottle of this vintage with the one who made it as it was one of Jim’s favorite vintages and showed well out of the gate; it gets “California” on the label because some of the fruit was sourced from a small vineyard outside of Santa Barbara County whereas most if not all of this curve usually comes from the best barrels from the best vineyards within SB County; our bottle was a bit understated, at least during this evening, as we re-tasted it 2 days later; it did have a nice streak of spice and a touch or pepper to support the jujube like fruit profile plus a touch of red and black cherry. Two nights later, it was much more expressive and more typical with more fruit and spice and a longer finish.
As an aside, Isabelle is Jim’s daughter who was conceived in 1994 and unlike most winemakers, Jim initiated the tribute then as opposed to the year of birth, in this case, 1995. Also, I believe this blend has some fruit from Talley and Russian River Valley as well as local Bien Nacido and Sanford & Benedict.
It was a fun night with good friends and I count my blessings for all those before it and for all those forthcoming.
Cheers,
Blake