Nine of us enjoyed a fabulous dinner party on the evening of Christmas day at a dear friend’s home. The core of our Monday night blind wine dinner group {and our spouses/ SOs} were in attendance; so, we opted to blind taste all of the wines and made time for everyone to share their impressions and preferences.
In total, we had 3 champagnes, 2 white Burgundy and 3 Bordeaux. I learned from the photos there were 2 more wines, but did not drink them. Here’s my notes on the ones I did drink in the order of how they were poured:
2011 TAITTINGER COMTES de CHAMPAGNE BLANC de BLANC- blind; one sip and for me, it was 2006 Comtes, the youthful, super fresh, amazing, elegant version that characterized all of the bottles I drank soon after release; and, the likeness did not stop there as it even had a light yellow color and frothy, creamy mousse as well as mild ginger accented citrus fruit featuring lemon and lime and bright acidity; in time, some yellow apple joined in and once revealed, I could recall all of the above in a previous bottle of 2011 tasted in August and my comparison to the early stages of the 2006; the 2011 vintage has received mixed reviews on WineBeserker, but I’ve now had 3 really good ones blind; there were 8 more who held thumbs up on this night.
1999 FALLET-DART BRUT- blind; the color was yellow toward gold and the nose first offered ginger, pepper, licorice, anise and spice accented peach and yellow apple; the pepper, licorice and anise reminded me of a trait I find in Piper Heidsieck Rare, but it kept moving further away from that profile with more citrus fruit notes devoid of those notes; in time, it became richer and more full bodied, yet maintaining a lovely state of elegance; two stated it bordered on being oxidative for them, but my parts per million perception did not pick that up; I was surprised to discover it was 1999 as it showed much younger IMHO; 66% Chardonnay, 34% Pinot Noir.
KRUG GRANDE CUVEE 162 eme- my bring poured blind to the others; it was showing beautifully all the way through as it just reeked of royalty and class with loads of flavors and in perfect balance; lemon, lime and yellow apple were embellished with a touch of brioche and ginger while being delivered in a soft and creamy mousse; it finished on an upbeat leaving an impression of grandeur; this cuvee is based on 2006 representing 60% of the total; the remainder comes from 11 different vintages starting with 1990; it is comprised of 44% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay and 21% Pinot Meunier.
Next up, 2 white Burgundy also served blind:
2017 PIERRE-YVES COLIN-MOREY EN REMILLY SAINT AUBIN 1er Cru- blind; this was absolutely fabulous featuring mineral and spice laced yellow apple, lemon, lime and orange peel throughout; it was big and rich and yet possessed elegance and charm; its oily mouthfeel added to its allure and softened the bright acidity; the finish showcased all of its attributes with everything coming together and then holding on forever; once revealed, I was a bit surprised that this did not have a lot of flint and matchstick that I so often find in En Remilly.
2014 ETIENNE SAUZET PULIGNY-MONTRACHET- blind; had I not known it was a white Burgundy, I would have guessed it to be new world and more specifically, a Marcassin or Aubert from Sonoma knowing the one who brought it and the stylistic likeness; this had toasty hazelnut, yellow apple, pear, lemon curd and mango with additional mild accents of minerals and flint; it was lovely, graceful and nicely balanced while being delivered to the back end in a soft and smooth textured medium; the noticeable oak influence was tending toward integration; this village wine is consistently made from fruit sourced from the same 12 parcels from north to the south of the appellation.
We finished with 3 Left Bank Bordeaux, in this case, all coming from Pauillac, my favorite commune in the region. Again, they were served blind:
2000 CHATEAU PONTET-CANET PAUILLAC- blind; the color was a vibrant red purple and the nose offered strong hints of Cabernet Sauvignon with green bell pepper, cedar, cigar box and eucalyptus accented black currant; there was a barnyard character in the background that never did dissipate nor did a bit of heat that was most apparent at the end; this had been decanted 2 hours, but it took another hour in the glass and a lot of swirling before it opened up and really revealed its treasures; this wine was aged in 60% new oak and yet I found it to be nicely balanced as the oak has beautifully integrated.
1995 CHATEAU PICHON- LONGUEVILLE BARON PAUILLAC- blind; I loved this from the start and was hoping it was my bring; following its dark red purple color came aromas of earth, coffee, tobacco and herbal accented black currant with a touch of green bell pepper all of which continued on to be joined by milk chocolate covered black cherry; it was the milk chocolate taste and the super soft and smooth texture that embellished the wine to the max and I’m thinking this is more Right Bank with a preponderance of Merlot even though I knew different; it had so much finesse and charm and yet was well structured, had layered complexity and subtle underlying power.
1985 CHATEAU LYNCH-BAGES PAUILLAC- blind; my bring, decanted 2 hours and I did not recognize it as I expected it to be so much more than what this bottle was offering; in retrospect, it was a shell of all previous bottles I’ve had, the last one being over 5 years ago; 1985 LB was my fav of all of the 80s vintages, but this bottle had some funk in the nose, seemed tired and somewhat wasted with a light weight dried fruit profile in lieu of the wondrous ripe black cherry I’ve experienced in the past; after some time, it did improve, but just a bit and not enough to meet my expectations. I’m assuming this was a bad bottle and not representative of the remaining ones in my cellar.
Our host put out an outstanding dinner which included a fine caviar spread and numerous appetizers to compliment the champagne’s prior to the classy sit down dining room experience.
I loved how the wives and other guests participated in the blind tasting and shared their impressions and preferences. Of course, the 4 of us were in our sweet spot usually saved for our Monday night fiasco.
We were all grateful for a wonderful Christmas gathering of friends, especially for the one who created and orchestrated this event.
Cheers,
Blake
