A couple of nice dinners - several good friends were in town for the weekend from the Portland, OR area… We had some great food over the weekend and semi nice weather for them until this morning :O(. One night was burgs vs. Oregon… The second night was burgs vs. Piedmonte. Here we go:
1995 Krug Champagne Brut: I loved this - my 3rd time tasting this one. Fine bubbles with flashes of tight citrus and brioche. Lovely with plenty of structure and character. Love it for different reason when compared to the '96. 96pts.
1990 Henri Giraud Champagne Fût de Chêne: Purchased these from a restaurant a few years ago - glad I did. As good as the '95 Krug was - this was a lot better. Seemed younger with floral effervescent bubble - chalky minerality - seemed so youthful. 97+pts.
1989 Louis Jadot Corton-Charlemagne: Wanted to get a few theme driven white burgs in there. Youthful color with wafts of smoke and creamy orchard fruit. Lovely balanced acidity with just a touch of well integrated oak. Really nice IMHO - 94pts, drink up.
1989 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne: Bummer - slightly corked but still had a bunch of underlying fruit and viscosity. Just off a bit - a shame.
1985 Hospices de Beaune Corton-Cuvée Charlotte Dumay: Murky tastes here - lots of earthy flavors and dark fruits. Just seemed off and didn’t give much pleasure - corked… Yes, maybe slightly!
1990 Frederic Esmonin Mazy-Chambertin: Wonderful wine here - a real bright and savory mouthful of wine. Spice, black cherry fruit, kirsch, swirling coaxed out some nice perfume. Lovely - 95+pts and drinks young.
1989 Adelsheim Pinot Noir Seven Springs Vineyard: From memory… What a nice surprise - this wine had plenty of fruit and nice secondary characteristics. Medium bodied beauty - soft and pure. Exceeded expectations - 92pts.
1989 Cameron Pinot Noir Abbey Ridge: From memory - this one seemed a bit tired and on a downward trajectory. 88pts.
1994 Thomas Pinot Noir Dundee Hills: This was a very nice pinot and my first Thomas. Perfumed spices - creamy cherry earth toned fruit - medium+ finish. Diane and I both agreed - the nose was wonderful and seemed very Vosne 1er’ish with really undertones of baking spices and earth. Anywho - I liked it - 94pts.
2001 Domaine Dujac Clos St. Denis: Oh Yeah - this is one of my favorite wines that Dujac makes. Powerful fruit and structure with a feminine floral and earth toned nose. Cool fruit that extends in the mouth for a long finish. 95+pts. Needs another 5+ years at least…
2001 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Musigny: At first - I thought this was a more meaty burgundy - maybe from Gevrey. Dark personality that really opened up to more creamy Chambolle cherry fruit, roses, and spice. Powerful and feminine at the same time - this has a long and glorious life ahead of it. This will drink good right now if you give it enough time to develop in the glass. 97+pts.
1998 Torii Mor Pinot Noir Quail Hill: Slight VA that blew off from what I remember. Dark personality that just didn’t click with me for some reason…
2004 Cristom Pinot Noir Sommers Reserve: Ruby color - nice cherry fruit - light medium finish. A nice drink - 89pts.
1980 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline: This one was a favorite of mine in 2011 - Jim had never had a LaLa before - so I went and grabbed one of these. Black olive, spiced blackberry, flashes of violets, tar, chewy smoked bacon - lovely wine IMHO. This also had a good 30min-1hr of further development in the glass. 97pts.
1961 Château Climens: I had some Philadelphia Market Day Canele cakes sent for desert - yum little cakes :O). This went very will with the dessert - light to medium color and loaded with custard cream, burnt honey, and flashes of creamy tropical fruits. Not bad - 94pts.
Next night:
N.V. Bruno Gobillard Champagne Vieilles Vignes Brut: Bright personality with creamy lime and soft bubbles on the nose. Round and long in the mouth - nice acidity. 90pts
N.V. Egly-Ouriet Champagne Brut Rosé Grand Cru: This was a really nice rose - just a touch of strawberry and plenty of chalky minerality. Bright personality with lots of small lively bubbles. I like this rose style - 93pts.
2006 Domaine Guy Roulot Meursault Les Luchets: I keep having these really good bottles of Roulot - at this rate I’m going to have to start looking harder to find more Roulot. Nothing overdone here - balanced with rich fruit and balanced acidity - touch of well placed oak. I love Meursault when made right :O). 93pts.
1999 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne: Touch of smoke and matchstick when first smelled - a slight shade darker than the Roulot. Balanced wine in the mouth with savory apple and balanced oak cream. Another wine that really pleased from start to finish. 93pts.
2004 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon: Uhhhh - this one was nice. Loved it more than others - there were lots of different favorites for the whites from those at the table. '04 white burgs in this style will be fantastic with more time - this is no exception. Balanced with brilliant savory cold orchard fruits - touch of smoke and fennel. Lovely. 94pts.
1990 Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts: This is a winner! There can be so many more dimensions that come from Leroy wines - you have to savor a bottle like this to believe me. Complex spice aromas - bright fruits - floral and spice. Medium+ finish. Lovely - 96pts.
1990 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques: I love this wine from Jadot - try and buy it every year… Balanced personality - cool dark fruits, silky personality, flashes of clove spice. 95pts.
1996 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Le Corton: This was nice enough - just didn’t fit in with the '90s. Very Corton’like - cool personality with still present tannins. Young - 91+pts.
1990 Gaja Barolo Sperss: This drank really young last night - still so youthful but can be enjoyed now… I got chocolate, cherry cream, leather, roses, and touches tobacco spice. Long in the mouth - nice. Man, I’d really like to try this one again in maybe 15 years. 95++pts.
1996 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sperss: This one seemed a wee bit more advanced and maybe stripped of something…? The wine was there - just didn’t have the pizazz and future that the '90 has. 91pts. I have to find some '97 Sperss to sample!
1990 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Santo Stefano: I could immediately tell this was my wine of the night - super nose of tar, roses, baking chocolate, layers of savory fruit with a long finish. The nose is really nice - the mouth-feel of this wine makes it great! 98pts.
1982 Château Margaux: Corked - Oh yeah, TCA sucks!
1971 Château Coutet: Dark golden caramel color. Classy wine that had lovely custard aromas and enough acidity to really make it work. Showed well as it sat in the glass - 92pts.
The End!!