Our Monday Night Blind Wine Dinner Group had all 5 of its local members in attendance for our last outing.
The pre-assigned wine brings were for one to bring a sparkling wine, 2 to bring a white wine and 2 to bring a red wine; however, it turned out one also brought another sparkling wine and stemware for each of us.
Here’s some notes:
NV TAITTINGER PRELUDE GRANDS CRUS- blind; the yellow color had a little darker hue in it; the nose offered inviting aromas of honey dew melon fading out in favor of a hit of lime; on the palate, it gave additional notes of honeyed and buttered white peach and pear with an unexpected accent of coconut; after 20+ minutes, both the aromas and taste profile changed to express mineral laced citrus fruit; it was big and rich with soft acidity and quite delightful; this is comprised of 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Noir, all sourced from Grand Cru vineyards, aged over 5 years before disgorgement when it was dosed at 9 gpl.
I captioned this as being NV, but the house’s website states it is all from the same vintage without mentioning the vintage. Since this was a recent purchase by the one who brought it, I am surmising it is quite young as in 2018 or thereabouts.
We all liked it and had various opinions as to whether it was a BdB or a blend which seemed apparent to me and I guessed it to be about 8 years old.
2012 DRAPPIER GRANDE SENDREE BRUT- blind; this had a light yellow color and aromas and tastes that included fresh citrus fruit with spicy lemon and lime most prevalent; while moving through the wine with each taste, I found it to be lovely and delightful being delivered throughout in beautiful balance; I initially thought this to be a BdB, but after time, it seemed to gain layered depth and as such, emulating more of a blend profile and added some nice stone fruit in the way of white peach and nectarine; although it did not have the power and depth, i thought it to be likened to the 2008 Laurent-Perrier Brut that we have loved so much on many previous occasions.
2017 LUCIEN LE MOINE CORTON-CHARLEMAGNE GRAND CRU- blind; this had a golden yellow color and offered aromas of yellow peach, nectarine and yellow apple that was delivered in a luscious creamy texture; on the palate, it was clear the oak was already nicely integrated softening the acidity and adding richness and layered depth; this was clearly a fine white Burg and I guessed it to be 2017 or 2018 from either Saint Aubin or Corton Charlemagne, with an oak likeness in PYCMs, but possibly from Leflaive.
2020 VINCENT GIRARDIN LES PERRIERES MEURSAULT 1er Cru- blind; this had a gold yellow color and offered enticing aromas of oak influenced yellow apple with a hit of lemon at the end which was replicated on the palate; it was so savory and the soft, smooth mouthfeel added to its sensory treats; it was seamless, balanced and just lovely throughout; my words are not expressing how fabulous this was; it was clearly a top notch white Burgundy and I gave it permission to be a Grand Cru from Batard or even Montrachet.
2006 LUIGI NERVI GATTINARA- Blind, my bring and recognized: this is comprised of 100% Nebbiolo from the Northwest region of Piedmont; it is made from a blend from 3 different crus: Molsino Valferana and Casazza; I’ve enjoyed this release as far back as the mid 90’s and just saw my last notes on another 2006 posted on CT in 2018 with surprising similarity; it`s been a consistent winner showing well when young and having the potential to age as well as being a great QPR; our bottle had a medium red purple color; it gave sage, cedar, mushroom and leather accented dried dark fruit with blackberry most evident in the nose and on the palate; underlying tannins provide structure for long term aging which this is doing nicely. It was a tough call for the troops to get the varietal, region and vintage.
2000 CHATEAU PAVIE SAINT EMILION- blind; this amazing wine had a serious, dark, inky red purple color and equally intense aromatics that included loads of dark fruit with the perfect expression of blackberry most prominent; once tasted, I got additional notes of coffee, cedar, spice and milk chocolate with more fresh and ripe blackberry; it had layered depth and complexity, was full bodied and finished longer than long; as big and stately as this was, it had lots of finesse and charm to balance it out; after an hour or so, it was clear to me that this wine goes into my top 5 wines of 2026. I/we struggled to get the varietal/blend, region, vintage and producer. This is a blend of 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon (made from low yields of 28-30 hectoliters per hectare) six separate times in 2003. Gerald Peres claimed this to be their best ever Pavie.
Our last wine capped off another wonderful evening and we will celebrate a member’s birthday next week with wines/ styles known to be preferred by him.
Cheers,
Blake
