DINNER CHEZ PELZ - (5/24/2009)
Had friends over for dinner last night. Grilled lamb and beef kabobs with all sorts of side vegetables and salad. To start, a nice NV Champagne from Lancelot Royer hit the spot. Nice and fresh, clean, with great cut, it managed well alongside some nice Italian Salami. With the main dishes, we tried the following three wines:
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2000 Domaine René Engel Grands-Echezeaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru
This came out of the bottle very weird. It had a distinct dill pickle and caper berry flavor to it. I thought that would subside with some time and air, and for the most part, it did. As a compliment, this was the only wine of which there was nothing left in the bottle at the end of the evening. Easy drinking. Has some soft tannins with air, and fruit is crushed red berries, and plum. Some smoke on the finish. Finish is a bit shorter than I would have expected. I’d drink this any day with dinner, but I suspect this is a poor QPR, at least the way it’s drinking right this moment. -
1999 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
OK. This could have been a mediocre bottle, but I’m not so sure. Purchased from a reputable retailer and stored perfectly for at least 5 or 6 years, this seemed like it’s definitely in decline. Surprisingly light color. Initially, before I decanted it, there was a very obvious burnt rubber element in the aroma. On the palate, this showed odd, too. None of the kirsch and garrigue flavors I associate with good CdP. Rather, it had red berries, plum, and green olive going. Fruit has faded substantially, and I don’t even get a lot of earthiness. Finish was the wine’s highlight. In a weird zone and I suspect that this needed to be drunk a year or two ago. I have one left and will drink that one asap. -
1999 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
This was by far my favorite wine of the night. As Beaucastel usually is, this was young, dark and brawny and the Mourvedre component was really kicking with an earthy truffle and dark berry firework. Texture was excellent, structure intact, good freshness, spice, herbs and length. This can undoubtedly age further, but it’s drinking absolutely amazing right now.
Well. We had a little bad luck with the Engel Grand Ech and the Clos des Papes not showing as well as they maybe could have, but company and conversation were lovely. Nevermind, the wines were still decent, so I am not complaining.
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