My 2013 La Paulee experience - MASTER thread....

WINE TALK
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I’ll post this LONG rambling summary first and try and get to my notes here in a bit…. Please add your notes onto this thread if you want from any of the dinners/events of the weekend [cheers.gif]. I’ll try and add pictures as I go - please, others also if you have a fun pic to share!

The people over this past weekend make my life richer 100+++ fold (yes, a 100+ rating is applicable in this case – haaaaa)! This is what I must say first before I get into the details of the fine weekend that I was able to share with some close friends, old friends, and new ones. I must say that 99% of all of the folks that I met up with are top notch - ½ glass full type of people. These are the people that make my family’s world go round and I’m proud to call them all friends! I’m including some shout-outs below, my general impressions, and of course notes way down at the bottom of this long post [wow.gif]. I really did try and take as many notes as possible during events/lunch/dinner and added some after the fact so I could show the wines that I shared and got to share in with proper respect!

I’ve been accosted (hehehehehe) over the years by friends (jokingly…) by being an uberplanner which is something that I’ve learned to be a must over the years. With wine weekends like this past Paulee – if you don’t plan and make it happen – it will not meet your/my expectations which would be a bad thing…. I read the recent post about being disappointed with the Gala Diner experience from Andrew Messenger and I really wish I could have made that better. I also do not count the big dinners/weekends like this as my favorite way to enjoy wine but it is a part of my wine experience that I wouldn’t trade for the world. In fact, I brought MANY bottles of wine for the weekend to share and so did my friends that I traveled with. I estimate that I was able to share my wine with maybe a 100+ people over the weekend – nothing required in return from me. In the end, the quality of people that I was sharing with got me much much much more in return! This is the spirit of the La Paulee weekend that can not be matched anywhere else…

I think of Andrew Messenger’s experience at the Gala Dinner and I just want to make it better!!! I’m not as cuddlier (?) as the Croatian Cuddler but I’d do my best Leo – hehehehehe. Andrew: you brought fabulous wine to the Gala and shared. Questions – How do you think you added to the experience of the others around you that maybe didn’t have as nice of stuff as you? How did you add to the experience of all the others that you may have shared your wine with? I can probably say that you made several people’s night by sharing – this is the spirit of that evening to me. It’s not that anyone should feel like they didn’t get any of the DRC jero pours or any of the other crazy wines that night…. A ½ glass full attitude and all else will follow including the making of good friendships!

**My friends that I traveled with really made the weekend for me – especially my good friend Jason Berry whom lives outside San Diego! Thanks my man. Todd T. – thanks for joining in also. My friend Roger Nellans also made my weekend – thanks for everything Dr. Musigny!

I must shout out loud to the following people and also apologize if I’ve missed anyone. I got to sit next to Suzanne Camhi this past Wednesday night at Calliope for a wonderful dinner with 10 others – she organized this dinner with help from the others. Highly recommended place to eat as the food was fabulous and the company even better. I also got to sit next to Paul Jaouen and David Sugarman – Josh Leader (had a chance to bump into Josh several times over the weekend) was also across the table. Leo Frokic was also there – I love the Croatian Cuddler and had the chance to have two great meals with him! Craig Ganzer also made it for dinner that night – got to meet Craig at a previous La Paulee weekend. It was great to see you again Craig and thanks for the shares!! Suzanne, Josh, Craig, and David – this will not be the last time we share wine together and the quality of your character shines through. Thanks for sharing your time. In fact, our dinner party ran into the fabulous singer John Legend sitting right next to us – we shared several nice wines with him and he seemed to be appreciative! You know you’re in a good food/wine group when Rick Bayless is also sitting at the very next table at the same time and he gets more “wows” from the dinner group [wow.gif]…. Hehehehehe – what a fun dinner and a great way to kick off the weekend! You can see my good friend Roger Nellans notes from this night here - East meets West - Night one of La Paulee - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers.

In fact, I’m going to be visiting NYC in early July and Leo has offered to host my family at his house for dinner one of the nights were there! This will happen with some planning Leo – we’ll talk soon. Paul Jaouen is actually going to be staying here in Tucson this coming long weekend so he’s headed over for dinner this Friday night here at my home. Where else can you experience such high quality people and instantly become a part of their life experiences??? PAULEE WEEKEND! P.S. – Paul, the weather will be perfect Friday – you get to pick what we drink [cheers.gif]……

This past Thursday I had the chance to attend the Collectors Lunch at 11Mad to taste through MANY vintages of Jadot’s Chevalier Demoiselles and a few other nice reds from Jadot. This was a once in a life-time tasting for me with Jacques Lardiere and Frederic Barnier in attendance along with 49 other lucky souls. Apparently I ran my hands through Jacques hair several times over the weekend – I apparently wanted to make sure that lovely head of hair was real – haaaaa. He didn’t mind and I can report that it’s real… Frederic Barnier is the future of Jadot and I know the wines are in good hands! I sat at a great table with several friends new and old – Suzanne and Carl Klapper (not the Italian Carl) along with Jean-Louis Forcina and his wife Grace whom live in Napa. I’ve already contacted Jean-Louis about a quick trip to San Francisco I want to make this coming early summer – sharing wine with them again is a must! FYI – Dustin Wilson or Cedric Nicaise at 11Mad are great wine people there – ask for them if you ever dine there. I also met a super guy at this lunch and ran into him several times over the weekend – Yoshi Takemura! Wish I lived and/or traveled to Tokyo more often – fun guy.

Thursday night I had a chance to a pre-opening dinner at Carbone on Thompson St. Early’ish dinner with 15+ or so collector friends – some very nice wines were had that night. The food was fabulous and I’d love to eat there again… Ask for Kenneth Eberle there if you go for dinner – a very nice guy!! Thanks Wilf and Eddie Milstein for setting up this dinner. After the dinner several other wine folk showed up to share wine including several wine makers. Jacques Lardiere was there – D. Lafon also – C. Roumier – David Duband (love his wines….) – Jean-Dominique Vacheron (I need to find more of his Sancerres) – Jeremy/Diana Seysses – Charles Von Canneyt of H-N +++. What a night!

I started my day on Friday at the morning Verticals tasting and immediately ran into my friend Don Cornutt whom had signed up for both sessions [drinkers.gif]. Don – it was great to see you again and share in conversation and wine over the weekend. Another A++++ person that makes my world a better place – thanks Don! I also got to meet Steve Coyle for the first time – thanks for saying hello Steve and I hope to share wine with you again. The verticals tasting is my top rated event of the weekend – allowing someone to taste a single wine (quite often a Domaines flagship wine) over multiple vintages. I can’t explain the way that this adds to the understanding of a vineyard and to a Domaines “style” – top notch!

Friday for lunch - Richard and Joanne Trimpi got a nice table for lunch at Union Square Café – Yum!! Richard and Joanne are friends that I met several years ago in person after knowing Richard from the boards for years prior. This is a couple you’ll want to know if you ever have the chance to meet them – I’m proud to call them both friends and this lunch will not the last time we share wine and talk about life. The food was great at Union Square and we had some super nice wines! Richard – please let me know if you both can make that weekend in April when Jim/Kate are visiting from Oregon.

Friday night dinner was set for Marea – super dinner with some new and old friends with food/wine to match the company. I just love Marea – the service (both food/wine) were off the charts good…. Ray Tuppatsch, Peter Joseph, Leo, and Carl Klapper were in attendance. The wine and company were fabulous!

Saturday was held for the Grand Tasting. There were great bites of food available which can almost serve as lunch for the day. I ran into Howard Cooper and his wife during the tasting – it was great to see you again Howard!! Next time we need to find a way to share a meal together. Also ran into Marc Lazar and all of the Domaine Wine Storage (and appreciation…) crew there including C. Klinger grouphug. Fun time guys at the Grand and Gala dinner! The Grand tasting was a fabulous way to get to taste several of the top Domaines wines from 2010 – from top to bottom. I didn’t get to spend the whole time tasting and left a bit early but what I did get to sample was great. This tasting confirmed what I tasted during a trip to Burgundy in late 2011 – tasting many 2010s from barrel before bottling. The 2010 burgundy vintage is fabulous IMHO! I’m “only” 39 years old - so buying recent vintages of Burgundy is what I do as I plan on earning my cellar in 10+ years time.

Saturday night was reserved for the Gala Dinner. I sat with my travel friends and also sat at a table that provided many nice samples over the evening. I spent just about ½ of the dinner walking around and talking – sharing pours – making new friends – meeting new friends. The Gala Dinner is an event that you must make into your own experience and this is what I did with help from friends! It was great to share with Gil and Pierre Rovani also – thanks guys. Thanks to Craig Ganzer for sharing – top notch guy!! I now know that I ran into Kelly Walker over this evening after seeing a picture of him in a previous post. I just wish I got the chance to introduce myself to him and share something. Sorry Kelly, next time I hope to share wine with you.

More people that made my La Paulee experience A+: Bethany, Amanda, and especially Shelly with La Paulee – it was great to see you again Shelly, Bobby Stucky with Frasca, Ned Bendict with GrandCru, Ann Feely and Jack Daniels, Peter Wasserman, John Ragan (great to run into you Saturday night!), Stephen Burickson with BV Vins, the great wine guy Eric Railsback – check out his new place at http://www.caveausb.com (coming soon!), Ruben Sanz Ramiro of PM and Vanner, Juliette Pope of Gramercy Tavern (thanks for the nice pour), Sylvain Cypel of Le Monde (a couple of quotes later….), Diana/Jeremy Seysses (great to meet you!), the totally cool Mark Bright from Saison in SanFran, and the cool wine guy Yoshi Takemura from Tokyo!!!

FUN, FUN, FUN! Onto the notes – in the basic order of consumption/taste with general impressions sprinkled in from the events and wines. I’ll start off with the notes from dinner at Calliope first (my next post…) then add more as I have time.

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Jon, you have more energy than I…but you are a wee bit younger too [snort.gif] I have notes on all the wines we tasted, but will pass the baton to you my man and I will comment on a few. I am so bummed that my flu was getting worse as the weekend progressed…Fortunately, I was able to taste and smell, but probably not firing on all cylinders. So many friendships are developed at this event…and we all have one thing in common… love of burgundy grouphug

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Wednesday night dinner at Calliope:
2000 Pierre Péters Champagne Cuvée Spéciale Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Les Chetillons: I have written down that this was quite a “popping up” in personality… I guess I mean that it really lept from the glass in a good way. Bursting bubbles with plenty of fresh stuff going on - tight minerality and acidity that rushes over the palate. I believe in Chetillons! 95pts.

1996 Krug Champagne Brut: I was just a bit disappointed with this bottle - I sware I’ve had much better bottles of this before. IMHO - I think the '96 Salon is better (how much?) but only time will tell. Brioche with butter cream and citrus rind. Not bad but just didn’t pop in the mouth… 93pts.

1986 Jadot Montrachet: This was all things good in white burgundy for me and really added weight and personality in the glass as I kept a wee bit through the night. I wrote down “touches of citrus marshmallow” first - honeysuckle and apple cream. This had a mineral spine true to form - added more soft mango and grilled pineapple as it sat in the glass. Nice!!! 97pts.

1988 Louis Latour Montrachet: A step below the Jadot for sure but not all that bad with natural touches of oxidation which didn’t detract at all. Opened with lemon cream with 1-2 less aromatic dimensions than the Jadot. Still - creme brulee with touches of honey - wanted more acidity to balance. 92-93pts.

1969 Faiveley Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale: Meaty is what I have written down first. Mushrooms, sois bois, perfumed earthy nose. Dried red berries with an acid driven medium+ palate pressence. Savory! 94pts and a pleasure to taste.

1991 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Echezeaux: Classy juice - love me some '91 red burgs! DRC perfume - elegant sois bois and mushrooms, lacy fruit and yet still conveyed power. Medium+ finish - great showing IMHO. 95pts.

1991 Hubert Lignier Clos de la Roche: This was the wine that got Paul into Burgundy - I can see why. I’ve always wanted to try an older CdlR from H.Lignier - this was the time. Rustic personality that really seems to show all that’s good with cellaring this kind of burgundy. Darker fruit profile with earth elements - Classy wine++++ that could really grab onto anyone who could taste. 96pts and thanks Paul!

2001 Lucie & Auguste Lignier Clos de la Roche: We got into a few '01 reds at this point - this had touches of youthful wood that I believe will be balanced out with time. This really did seem to be the youngest of all the wines that night - flashes of creamy red berries - nice minerality. Hold - 92+pts.

*added - 2001 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Clos de la Roche: This was more opened on the nose for sure when compared ot the L&A Lignier CdlR. Bright berrry fruit framed with touches of spiced oak - touches of caramel is what I have written down…? A tad better than the Ligner - 93pts.

2001 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin: Silky and soft lacy nose with a powerful palate presence. Velvet glove wine that really jumps out at you with spice and powerful red fruit perfume. Long on the palate and a treat to taste right now. 97pts.

1985 Georges Noellat Grands-Echezeaux: Fun to try for sure - just didn’t have much going on for whatever reason. Would love to hear the others thoughts?

1996 Domaine Francois Lamarche La Grande Rue: Corked - Darn.

1997 Louis Jadot Charmes-Chambertin: Not a bad showing for this one - really elegant IMHO and gave plenty to me. 1997 Jadot reds are pretty darn good as a group! 91-92pts.

2001 Domaine Maume Mazis-Chambertin: Spritz on the nose and palate. Shame - just off to begin with and didn’t improve.

2000 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Clos Vougeot: Dark spices with flashes of pretty red berry fruit. Really nice '00 red burg - I’m a firm believer of the Meo-Cam CV - nice wine. 94pts.

2000 Joseph Drouhin Musigny: Touch of stems here - perfumed herbs. Livened up in the glass - creamy cherry and perfumed minerality. Class in a glass! 96pts and still tasted very young to me.

More notes to come - great dinner guys!

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Jon,

Great seeing you again as well - and nice to have a few minutes to chat. It goes without saying, thanks also for sharing some of your treasures!

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You forgot the 01 Rousseau CDLR that was quite nice.

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Yes I did - will post when I get back to the computer in a few :slight_smile:. Get better Dr. Musigny!! More notes to come…

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Did you title your own thread “MASTER thread” ?

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I love your enthusiasm! I think it makes trips that much better when you get to see old and new friends. See you on Friday!

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Sure - so others can post their notes as we go… Should it be changed?

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I just figured your “my 2013 la paulee experience” meant you were gonna put one thread where you put down each day’s events with each note for yourself.

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Jon,
Your enthusiasm is boundless!! I’m sorry I missed it & sorry I missed all the folks you named who I’ve already met. You also included names of a bunch of people I really want to get to meet someday.

Let’s get Roger to sit his ass down at the computer & get some notes up. And you still have a bunch to go as well Jon. [cheers.gif]

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If you drink Dos Equis, absolutely not!

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Hey, I already did the first night. East meets West - Night one of La Paulee - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers
neener
Missed you Todd!

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I need to find time tomorrow for more notes - will do… At the tastings and even at the dinners - would love for peeps out there to fill in the blanks for me! C.Fu - you gonna make it to SanFran in June? Hope you can!

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You better make it next year TW - or - I’ll have to visit you up there in Boiseland [cheers.gif]!

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Kenney (as our friend Pierre R. would say [cheers.gif]…) - I only drink Tres Equis, it’s my house beer. Drink well my friend! neener

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And, Master Favre, where the hell were you? I would have liked to have met you! Wish I would have known so that we could have chewed the fat for a bit.

Give me a head’s up when you’re traveling through–next.

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Great to see everybody at least for quick moment. Lots of fun for me. Thanks Jon for starting this thread. Great to see you.

We had several dinners and the Gala.

Dinner at NoMad with ATL guys

2004 Pierre Peters Champagne Les Chatillons - Crystalline. Focused. Very young and refreshing. This one needs a few years to flesh out but this is very good stuff.
2002 Bollinger Champagne Grand Annee - More brioche here and a huge generous palate. A great foil to the precise Blanc de Blancs. A hedonistic champagne.
2004 Leflaive Puligny Clavillon - This was one of those bottles. A nose that had the “raid” effect. The palate is beautiful. If it wasn’t for the nose this would have rocked.
1959 Leroy Echezeaux- A transcendental nose. A core of very intense fruit. Wrapped in a complex mixture of black truffle and some spice. The palate is huge and finishes forever. Special stuff.
1990 Meo Camuzet Vosne Romanee Brulees - A slightly darker nose. Intense. Youthful in many ways. The palate is huge and again this one finishes forever. Sexy in many ways.
1982 Pichon Lalande - This is so fantastic. Highly complex on the nose and in the mouth. Earthy. Feminine yet infinitely intense. The longest finish of any of the interlopers (we had two more).


Dinner with my ATL guys, Paul and Bill at Corton

NV Delamotte - This is a really nice non vintage champagne. Crystalline. It doesn’t have the focus or complexity of the Pierre Peters Chatillons above but nice.
1992 JN Gagnard Batard Montrachet - This is singing from the get go. Golden color and perfectly mature at this point. Big vintage. Long finish. I really liked it.
1986 JN Gagnard Batard Montrachet - This one is killing! It also has a golden color but with about 20 minutes of air this thing tightened up in to a real beauty. Power and complexity here. Long finish. Love 86 whites.
2000 Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet - I can’t really describe everything that is going on here. This is a precise wine that is in a beautiful teenage place. The symmetry of this wine is absolutely stunning. A special treat. Thanks Bill.

2004 Leflaive Bienvenue Batard Montrachet - This one is showing a little herbal nose and mild sulfur. On the palate it is gorgeous. Needs some time.
2000 JF Mugnier Musigny - Kaleidescopic nose. A special texture and palate. Powerful yet floral and feminine in many ways. Very special stuff.
2002 JF Mugnier Chambolle Les Fuees- Gorgeous nose. The palate here has that slight “Bonne Mares” type firmness compared with the Musigny. Very beautiful and interesting compared with the otherworldly Musigny

1990 Pousse d’Or Volnay Clos de la Bousse d’Or - Absolutely stunning nose once the funk wore off. The palate shows so much complexity. Coffee and black truffle notes. Floral. Lots of interesting things.
1988 Pousse d’Or Volnay Clos de la Bousse d’Or - Much more linear here. Red fruited and cooler character versus the wild 1990. Reserved.


La Paulee Gala (Wines we brought only)

2004 Leflaive Puligny Clavillon - This is a much better bottle but suffered due to the amount of sulfur at this point. Will be great if not premoxed.
1993 Ampeau Meursault Perrieres - This has a golden color. Amazing nose and such a nice surprise. A quality Perrieres and a real treat.
1993 Bruno Clavelier Chambolle Combe d’Orveaux - Gorgeous nose. This showed some of that 1993 structure still. We decanted it. So young and wonderful to me.
2002 Chezeaux Griottes Chambertin - A nice nose and generous palate. This is a great drinking 2002 with tons of complexity to be added.
1983 Rene Engel Clos Vougeot - Heavenly nose and a texture that only a Jayer disciple could muster. Great complexity and finish. In a perfect place and close to my wine of the night.
1996 Comte de Armand Pommard Clos des Epeneaux - A beautiful wine with lots of succulent fruit and so much power in reserve. Red type fruit. Delicious.
2000 Leroy Corton Renards - Beautiful dark fruited nose with lots of spice. The palate is intense and bursts with flavor. The finish is fabulous. Madame Leroy can make some good wine.
1996 Meo Camuzet Clos Vougeot out of magnum - Young and gorgeous. The texture of the Meo wines is special. Lots of spice here and a long finish.
2000 Drouhin Musigny - Beautiful nose. Somewhat primary compared to the JF Mugnier above. Silky texture and absolutely stunningly beautiful fruit on the palate. Long finish. A treat.
1993 Jean Gros Richebourg - This is so nice. Soy spice on the nose and palate. This is precise yet quite powerful. Darker fruit. I loved this.

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Jon, overall, what a wonderful post. You really have the correct spirit of getting together with people. I would love to share a meal and some bottles with you. It was great to see you and it was too bad it was during the Grand Tasting, there were so many wines to try and so little time.

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your energy and enthusiasm ratcheted the dinner last Wednesday up 3 notches.
Great to taste the 2 Montrachets from your squirreled away glasses long after we had moved on to other wines.