Dinner with a champagne, white Burg and a few Bordeaux

WINE TALK
#1

Our bi-weekly dinner group convened at a new venue for us, Ca` Dario Cucina Italiana, which opened in January in neighbouring Goleta and is an extension of the Santa Barbara primary location.

Since we have done many Italian wine themes lately, this time we chose 2005 an older Bordeaux plus the usual champagne and white Burgundy standard request. We had a small group that enjoyed great Italian cuisine, fellowship and the following wines:

NV JOSE DHONDT BRUT ROSE de SAIGNEE- made from Pinot Noir by maceration sourced from the Sézannais which is south of where this Récoltant Manipulant winery is located in Chardonnay centric Oger; dosage= 6g/; Ive been a fan of this rose since Eric Asimov introduced the label in 2008 and our bottle shined as those before it have; following the dark pink/red colour, comes aromas of red roses, red cherry/ berry and spice, but the taste profile is much different with sour cherry, red raspberry, clove and mint being more pronounced; its full bodied, extremely rich and seems to gain momentum past mid palate building up to a climatic finish.

2015 PIERRE-YVES COLIN MOREY LA COMME SANTENAY- 1er Cru; I`ve had quite a few bottles of this wine and all have been extremely good; our bottle was no exception; flint and minerals are first noticed on the nose followed by lemon lime and more minerality on the palate; it has such a good mouthfeel which serves to enhance the welcomed long finish.

1985 GRUAUD-LAROSE SAINT JULIEN- the last bottle I had of this had a touch of Brettanomyces, but this bottle had only a touch of everything else as the Brett factor dominated heavy at the beginning and heavy at the end with little mid space; this was the 4-eythlphenol type giving barnyard notes; one of our table mates re-stated an oft heard comment about wines from Cordier being inundated with Brett from 79-96 which is certainly true of a few I’ve had with the exception of the 90` G-L which I bought a case of and have had little if any issues. I have not found anything to substantiate this claim, but my experience seems to confirm many of the vintages in this time span have been heavily laden with Brett.

2000 CHATEAU LA GAFFELIERE SAINT-EMILION- this is a bit tight initially even after an at the table decant; in time it shined ever so brightly; at first, the nose had earth, mild Bretty notes along with some black currant, but after 15 minutes or so and a lot of aeration, I got more blue and black fruit in the nose which transmuted into plum, black currant and blueberry on the palate; there was still a hint of earth and barnyard, but not to the detriment of the total experience.

2001 VIEUX CHATEAU CERTAN POMEROL- 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc; fresh, ripe, enticing black cherry prevailed from the nose through the tail in this rich and full bodied, multi layered beauty; as good as it tasted, the hallmark may have been its silky smooth texture; blackberry and plum also came in to join the array of flavours; I believe this bottle was drained.

2005 CHATEAU MONBOUSQUET SAINT-EMILION- the Right Bank won out with another winner here; it had a youthful, vibrant dark purple colour emblematic of the high energy this wine displayed; wondrous blackberry fruit wafts out of the glass suggesting a fruit forwardness, but this wine has so much more going for it tending toward balance; black currant, liquorice and plum also add to the taste profile which is delivered in a soft, velvety texture and sustained during a long finish; I think we came close to drinking this bottle as well.

Sometimes, a small group can be really fun as it leads more to an entire table conversation which we certainly enjoyed on this evening.

Cheers,
Blake
fullsizeoutput_1b75.jpeg
fullsizeoutput_1b76.jpeg
fullsizeoutput_1b78.jpeg
fullsizeoutput_1b79.jpeg
fullsizeoutput_1b7a.jpeg
fullsizeoutput_1b7b.jpeg

#2

Thanks for the notes, Blake. Damn—your description of 2001 VCC is tempting me to pull a bottle from the cellar. Sounds like it’s starting to be interesting on what I still consider to be on the young side.

#3

[quote=“Blake Brown”]
1985 GRUAUD-LAROSE SAINT JULIEN- the last bottle I had of this had a touch of Brettanomyces, but this bottle had only a touch of everything else as the Brett factor dominated heavy at the beginning and heavy at the end with little mid space; this was the 4-eythlphenol type giving barnyard notes; one of our table mates re-stated an oft heard comment about wines from Cordier being inundated with Brett from 79-96 which is certainly true of a few I’ve had with the exception of the 90` G-L which I bought a case of and have had little if any issues. I have not found anything to substantiate this claim, but my experience seems to confirm many of the vintages in this time span have been heavily laden with Brett.

Thanks for the notes, but I disagree regarding Gruaud Larose/Cordier wines from 1982-1990 – for my palate it’s the best decade Gruaud has ever had – '82, '83, '85, '86, '88, '89 and 90 are all terrific.

#4

Do it. I agree with Blake that the texture of this wine is just velvety smooth and wonderful, and the merlot driven fruit profile blends nicely with other notes. It is just a lovely wine with a good amount going on and is pure velvet in the glass.

#5

Nice dinner! And sorry about the 85 GL. FWIW, I’ve had it 2-3 times in the past ten years and I remember loving it each time. Maybe I’m just a brettophile?

#6

I hear you loud and clear Gary and believe me, I was so looking forward to the 85`.

I had the 82 and the 83 last year and the Brett component was definitely there, but not to the extent of the 85 on this night. I had the 90 last fall and it was in a great place without any flaws. I have a few more 90 and one more 85 so I’m probably going to pull the cork on each just to check them out.

I don’t believe you would not have called this bottle terrific.

#7

Actually Kelly, I’m not totality against a hint of Brett. I’ve had so many Beaucastel that were over the top Bretty and loved them until I reached point of not. I guess it gets down to the oft stated comment, “Drink what you like and like what you drink”.