Our dinner group enjoyed a fine evening at a local sushi restaurant, Oku with a wine theme of champagne, Grand Cru white and red Burgundy.
We began with:
2009 PHILIPPONNAT CLOS des GOISSES EXTRA BRUT- 61% Pinot Noir, 39% Chardonnay; dosed at 4.5 gpl in March 2018; fabulous bubbly here with lots going on and continually evolving over an hour of repeated small pours; its super rich with a full body and some weight, has crisp acidity as well as being loaded with fresh and ripe citrus notes, especially lemon; the oily mouthfeel adds to the sensory pleasures as do accents of bread dough and oak spice; this is a powerful wine and yet there is enough finesse to balance it out; really good now with promises to mature to something extra stellar.
1999 PAUL BARA COMTESSE MARIE de FRANCE BOUZY GRAND CRU- this Blanc de Noir is comprised of Pinot Noir fruit sourced from some of the best available in the BOUZY region; the nose had unexpected straw, hay, grassy notes with herbal accents that were replaced by mature yellow apple, pear, red cherry and stone fruit on the palate; a streak of minerality prevailed throughout; all in all, it was a very interesting champagne offering a different taste profile that eventually came together and pleased enough.
2007 TAITTINGER COMTES de CHAMPAGNE BLANC de BLANC- Ive had quite a few bottlers of this release and loved them all, but none better than this one; it was 2008esque with an amazing amount of depth and complexity, power and richness; I looked more than once to be sure it was not the 08; it had very enjoyable seriously honeyed citrus notes with a touch of slightly toasted brioche and spice being delivered in a creamy mousse; but it was the massive mouthfeel that highlighted this wondrous bubbly.
2006 DOM RUINART BLANC de BLANC BRUT- disgorged 12/ 2016 with 4.5 gpl dosage; comprised of Chardonnay Grands Crus: 63% from the CĆ“te des Blancs (predominantly Chouilly, Le Mesnil and Avize) and 37% from the northern slope of the Montagne de Reims (predominantly Sillery and Puisieulx); this was at least my 8th bottle of this treasure and thankfully it held true to form with consistent notes from those before it; there is a sense of royalty in the nose with inviting aromas of spicy citrus in the form of lemon and lime which continued on to be joined by ginger infused grapefruit, orange zest and white peach; it is super rich and full bodied and has a semi heavy mousse, amazing balance and bright acidity; as Iāve noted previously, itās all I ever desire in a champagne and exudes class along with its charming elegance.
2012 LOUIS ROEDERER BRUT ROSE- this wine had been bottle aged for 4 years then allowed to rest for a further 6 months after disgorging at a 9 gpl dosage; 63% Pinot Noir, 37% Chardonnay; I purchased a good deal of this and the Brut and have loved them both since first tasted; this had similar charm and appeal as those before it with lovely rose petal and fresh flowers aromas along with a hint of red cherry that became much more distinct once tasted; it was deliciously fruity giving ginger and white pepper accents to the strawberry, red cherry and white peach notes.
Next up, 4 whites from Burgundy:
2018 LOUIS MICHEL GRENOUILLES CHABLIS GRAND CRU- this delicious, reduced wine had honeyed apple and pear fruit with a hit of lemon and lime; however, its hallmark for me was it super SMOOTH mouthfeel which kept pleasing with each sip; thereās a bit of minerality and chalk in the background; loved it.
2019 LOUIS MICHEL LES CLOS CHABLIS GRAND CRU- also reduced as was the 18` Grenouilles, this too was really pleasing giving up a much bigger fruit profile featuring lemon zest and a texture like lemon oil; I got a hint of fennel and a touch of minerals as well; its full bodied and so good at this early stage.
2014 PIERRE-YVES COLIN MOREY CORTON CHARLEMAGNE GRAND CRU- such a classy wine here with so much going on and changing in the glass over time; it had mineral driven citrus fruit from the nose on while being delivered in a creamy, oily texture and in perfect balance; later on, apple and pear join the fun and itās a complete winner.
2015 DOMAINE MICHEL NIELLON CHEVALIER-MONTRACHET GRAND CRU- nice aromas of mint and fennel compliment the fresh citrus fruit that prevails throughout and are joined by a streak of minerals that comes in late; it is medium to full bodied, has a pleasant mouthfeel and exudes in class and royalty.
Next up, 7 red Burgundy:
2014 DOMAINE de CHEZEAUX {PONSOT} GRIOTTE-CHAMBERTIN GRAND CRU- the nose was redolent of VA and with many more bottles lined up, I tossed it and move on; btw, this is exactly the same wine as the 14` Ponsot but labeled separately and sold for much less.
1998 DOMAINE PONSOT CLOS de la ROCHE CUVEE VIEILLES VIGNES GRAND CRU- 2 flawed wines in a row, this one had the 4-ethylphenol Brettanomyces barnyard/ band-aid going on from the first nose to the tail.
2003 GERARD RAPHET CHARMES-CHAMBERTIN GRAND CRU- finally, we get a good bottle and this one more than made up for the 2 stinkers before it; it had lovely red fruit in the form of strawberry and red cherry along with a touch of spice and a hint of earth; it was medium bodied, had a nice mouthfeel and finished on an upbeat with everything coming together; a treat.
2002 FAIVELEY LATRICIERES-CHAMBERTIN GRAND CRU- another fine bottle and now we are on a roll as this gave generous amounts of red and dark fruit which on the palate translated into mineral infused red and black cherry and blueberry; it had a medium body, a soft and smooth texture and held a steady course throughout while maintaining nice balance.
2013 LUCIEN LE MOINE CHARMES-CHAMBERTIN GRAND CRU- as was a last recent bottle, this was a wowzer; decanted 2 hours prior, it exuded class, power and finesse while delivering luscious red and dark fruit from the nose through the tail; the taste profile included red raspberry and black cherry/ berry finishing with a hit of sandalwood/ talc and cinnamon/ spice; it had a super smooth texture and lots of weight as well as being full bodied and having serious depth and complexity, enough to raise an eyebrow along with a glass.
2014 DOMAINE de LAMBRAYS CLOS de LAMBRAYS GRAND CRU- being one of my fav producers and having the 2015 recently, I was super excited to see this come around and it did not disappoint as it was stupendous and my fav of all of the GC red Burgs on the night; it was a Burt Williams Williams Selyem Allen Vineyard Pinot from 1995 cloaked as a red Burgundy; it had the requisite grainy cinnamon color and the cinnamon and spice laden red raspberry notes in spades; it was medium in weight and body, had a really velvety mouthfeel and crescendoed into an amazing, seal the deal like, statement finish.
2009 TORLOCHOT CLOS de VOUGEOT GRAND CRU- this had earthy, wood spiced red cherry/ berry notes throughout; it seemed to expand and gain new nuances with time and would have been a strong candidate for having being decanted; it was full bodied, had layers of depth, but was not totally committed to showing off all of its treasures; it just needs time to evolve and come together.
Someone tossed in a winner:
2014 CHATEAU d`YQUEM YGRET Y BORDEAUX BLANC- 75% Sauvignon Blanc, 25% Semillon with 7 GPL RS; this was quite the rave; it had honeyed citrus and kiwi fruit with lemongrass and vanilla accents; its texture was creamy, almost thick and it gracefully coated the palate with a lovely film of lemon oil; this is a real treat every time I have it and a standout wine against all others.
We finished with a wondrous dessert wine in a lifetime supply 750 ml bottle:
1976 JOHANNES KARST & SOHNE DURKHEIMER SPIELBERG AUSLESE RIESLING PFALZ- following its dark amber color, came an onslaught of honeyed apricot that prevailed all the way through; its syrupy texture almost required using a dropper to dispense it.
Another great and over the top night with the gang. The champagne flight just knocked it out of the park and after some fine whites, most of the red Burgundy showed they were also to be cherished.
BTW, I had so much fun, I failed to take photos on all of the bottles and head to borrow some from online sources that are of different quality.
Cheers,
Blake
Lots of wines there Iād like to try. Group of ballas for sure!![[scratch.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/4/42a16863a8714da3c1604419e3eb9206bb87aa50.gif "scratch"){kind=small}
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