Dinner w Stuart Yaniger: 99 Ogier "La Belle Helene", 99 Tunnel Cornas, Labaille Sancerre Monts Damne

Last night Stuart Yaniger was in town for one evening, arriving from Austin around 7 pm. With Stuart in town and Suzy Parker’s heirloom tomatoes ready for picking/consumption, that means one thing…an evening of great wine and food with Traci and Stuart whipping up amazing vegetarian fare that would make you forget the need for meat…

The dishes: Traci’s roasted poblano (from Suzy’s farm), corn, bell pepper pizza, heirloom tomato caprese salad (w Buffalo mozzarella), and finally Stuart’s heirloom tomato paella with 3 baked eggs (still runny).

The wines:

2007 Thomas-Labaille, Sancerre, Chavignol, “Les Monts Damnes”, White Loire Wine
Thinking back on this, this wine rocked and everyone who likes Sancerre and crisp, lemony, minerally whites should buy this. Around $25 per bottle. As stated it is laser sharp with crushed rock minerality, lemons. The focus and crispness on this wine cries out for food but there is a little richness to it as well. 93/100
Accompanied the pizza

NV Jean-Louis Denois, Brut, Pinot Noir, Rose
Accompanied the heirloom caprese. This wine was all Pinot and at $15 a terrific little bottle of bubbly. Crisp and moussy, with nice strawberry flavors and good acidity. May not have been the best match but it was a fun bottle of wine and we all sucked it down pretty quickly.

Now on the main show:

1999 Domaine du Tunnel, Cornas
Stuart direct imported this wine through Dee Vine wine and it wears a sticker that says, “Cuvee Prestige”. We decanted this and the Belle Helene for about 1 hour prior to drinking. I tasted this right after opening to make sure it was not corked and all I could say was wow, this may give the Belle Helene a run for it’s money. Iron, silky dark fruit, great concentration. After an hour it did start to close up though. This is in no way rustic. It is concentrated (but not over the top, not even close) dark fruit, iron/game, super intense with amazingly pure fruit. Great acidity and tannin, it really needs another 10 years. 95 pts last night but could be around 96-97/100 when all is said and done. Amazing!

1999 Domaine Michel Ogier, “La Belle Helene”, Cote Rotie
Stuart has known the Ogier’s for a while and he is the one that convinced them to make the Belle Helene and helped make and bottle the first vintage, 1995 (4 barrels). He also happens to have owned about 25 cases of it at one point. The 99 bottle is marked “reserved for Stuart Yaniger” in gold pen by Stephane Ogier. Enough of the history, the wine. This wine is just amazing as well and is quite ready to go but capable of lasting another 10-15 years easy. The nose was an intoxicating mix of savory and sweet baking spices, lavender, violets, and iron. On the palate, the texture was amazingly silky with more violets, pepper, blackberry fruit. It is seemless, concentrated but doesn’t overwhelm. A gorgeous, gorgeous wine…98/100

When then finished the food orgy with a blueberry/peach cobbler that Traci made as well…A terrific evening.

Thanks for the notes, Tony-- dinner looked great on FB. Now I’m doubly motivated to get my hands on a La Belle Helene.

Too bad Dr. Yaniger doesn’t hang here. Like Stuart I have a slug of each and thanks to him 100%. Had the Tunnel many, many times, and while I love it, I’d put the BH a few notches above. Lovely Cornas but with a bit of new world twist (aka quite unlike the Juge Cuvee C which are same vines). I’m drinking mine on the younger side. The '00 is quite good as well, Cuvee Prestige that is, which now is called Vin Noir or something silly.

'99 BH is and always has been a great wine. '95 is drinking perfectly when on.

Sounds like a great evening of food and wine. I would looove to get the paella recipe!

John - I mentioned it to him last night but he doesn’t seem very interested in posting anymore.

Paul - I’ll see what I can do to get the recipe. Traci helped in make that dish, so she may have a pretty good idea of how he did it. It was good.

Thanks Tony. I made a heirloom tomato pizza tonight with massive slices of tomato. I didn’t drink as finely though - some Breton Vouvray sec had to do!