After having the good fortune of attending a Littorai dinner at Republique (Los Angeles) back in July (and subsequently losing my notes), here’s a belated recap of the event.
The lineup:
'12 Heintz Chardonnay
'12 Thieriot Chardonnay
'12 Pivot
'12 Haven
'11 Hirsch
'11 Mays Canyon (Pinot
'09 One Acre
Rachel Dixon from Littorai was a great host throughout, and provided more than a few interesting facts.
Was surprised to hear that the “Mays Canyon” vineyard of Littorai and the Porter Bass vineyard of Ceritas and others are one and the same.
Littorai’s One Acre Vineyard source had to be replanted in the mid 2000’s and the first comeback vintage after replanting was in 2008.
Rachel also spent some time giving some background on Ted Lemon, the first known American to be given the opportunity to make any Burgundy wine of significance (white in this case) at Domaine Roulot. This Prince of Pinot article sums up this bit of background well for those interested: http://www.princeofpinot.com/winery/10/
Out of the wines tasted the '11 Mays Canyon Pinot had really nice acidic cut, with good freshness and purity to the fruit, reminding me most of Burgundy. Also showed nice fine grained tannins and a good medium plus finish as well. This seemed to be a pretty easy consensus between Rachel, Taylor (Republique’s sommelier), and myself. Given the opportunity to re-order I jumped at the chance.
Another standout, with a little more focus and weight to the fruit was the '12 Heintz Chardonnay. The fruit on this was delicious and ripe, and with a fair bit of tartness against its natural sweetness. Medium freshness and drive on the finish. Oak complements beautifully, supporting and staying out of the way. As I have a rule of buying CA Chard only in cool years (like '10 and '11) I was pleasantly surprised and happy to break my own rule by securing a few more.
The '11 Hirsch I found to be best of the rest. Paired against the '11 Mays, it no doubt leaned new world. In that context, it showed very well, and not close to the typical, alcoholic CA Pinot. However, this would disappoint if you’re looking for a Burgundy ringer. Clearly, Ted Lemon is not trying to make French wine out of CA soil, and this is a great example of that. What I liked most about this was that the tannins stood out a little extra on the finish, giving it some backbone and intrigue. After all was said and done, I regretted not taking the option to buy more of this one, but the initial thought was it didn’t have the acidity to age or improve significantly with time as it seemed about at peak.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how excellent the food and service was at Republique. Taylor Parsons, the sommelier putting on the dinner received us down stairs in the main dining room, generously pouring multiple bottles of each Chardonnay while we snacked on some great hors d’oeuvre’s. For the reds we went upstairs to a temperature controlled room, with a view of one of their cellars through clear glass. Taylor got wind that I was celebrating a birthday and was good enough to show me through the larger, back cellar and have me a few bonus pours throughout the evening that would have been worth the trip on their own. Just a great evening, and experience. Was great fun fraternizing with Rachel and Taylor especially as I was clearly the biggest wine geek in attendance.
