Jules Dressner is in town, so a group of us gathered to show him a little Southern hospitality. I wasn’t taking notes, but here is a list of the wines we enjoyed with a few thoughts on some of them:
2009 Marguet Rose and Bereche Reflet d’Antan Brut - Both were nice, but I find I prefer a little more meat on the bones of my Champagne.
2002 Bongran Cuvée E.J. Thevenet - It has aged nicely, with a little butterscotch oxidation and showing typical botrytis and a little RS. It could use a little more acidity, but was still very enjoyable, particularly with a torchon of foie gras.
1999 Peillot Altesse Cuvée Buster - Drinking better than I expected, some nuttiness from the age, but clean fruit and crisp minerality.
1989 Luneau-Papin L d’Or - Not the best bottle I’ve had as it wasn’t as full in the middle as it could be, but still amazingly youthful and pure, with the salinity and minerality I love and it filled in some with air. Stunning with a trout dish.
2012 De Moor Aligote Plantation 1902 - Very good, and it deserved more contemplation than I gave it. It really blossomed with the trout.
1998 Chamonard Morgon Clos de Lys - Gluggable joy.
2011 Clos Roche Blanche Gamay - An intense popcorn on the nose was a little off putting, though it faded a little with air, and it wasn’t as pronounced on the palate, where fresh crisp fruit took center stage. A little disappointing by CRB standards, but not unenjoyable.
1998 Clos Roche Blanche Côt - Typical pure, purple fruit belying its age but much brettier than any previous bottle I’ve had. I don’t mind brett, so I still enjoyed it, but I prefer clean bottles.
2002 Souhaut St.-Joseph Sainte Epine - Unbelievably good, with the smoked meat, pepper, and concentrated but not extracted brambly fruit that made me fall in love with the northern Rhone.
1990 Verset Cornas - Nice, but not earthshaking, as it was a little dull and muddled relative to what it could be. If it was a competition, the Souhaut would have wiped the floor with it.
1996 Clos Rougeard Les Poyeaux - Gorgeous but still very primary, though a little leather and earthiness pokes out. It is delicious now, but only a shadow of what it should become as it picks up more tertiary character.
2004 Radikon Jakot - I liked it, particularly with food, but find it hard to describe without having taken contemporaneous notes.
2005 Grivot Echezeaux - Quite open and compelling, sweet fruit but not cloying, with good tannic and acidic structure, it would be hard to keep my hands off if I owned it, but should become more interesting with age.
2000 La Stoppa Cuvée Buster and 2008 Esmonin G-C VV - I liked both, but didn’t give either the attention they deserved.
The 1990 Pinon Cuvée Botrytis was understated and showing much less sweetness than I expected, seeming to be more demi-sec than a dessert wine, though it was hard to tell how much of that is from acidity keeping the sugar in check. Subtle, demure, and incredibly nuanced, it deserves long contemplation and would be fascinating to study on its own over the course of an evening. That kind of contemplation was difficult as it was paired with a 1997 Pierre-Bise Coteaux du Layon Beaulieu L’Anclaie, with its overt luscious sweetness, though with plenty of acidity to keep it from being cloying. Drinking them together was like trying to hold a conversation next to a skilled burlesque dancer, as I kept trying to keep my mind on the dialogue but kept getting distracted.