Jon Favre turned an 32 so we had to celebrate. Same as last time Jon came into town with Roger, Los Angeles experienced one of its biggest rain storms.
He came to LA with Roger Nellans in tow (missed you brad xoxo). Edson G did the 8 hours drive in from cow town and we gathered some of the local troops for an excellent dinner at the best restaurant in Los Angeles, N/Naka (I will fight you if you think it’s Providence). Service and food was A+ per usual, they put up with our rowdy crowd. Pacing was perfect and the food was the best I can remember. We were absolutely stuffed.
Standouts food wise were the Hokkaido Hairy Crab head soup, abalone truffle pasta and the “cold” plate with the most interesting smoked apple that tasted of bacon, smoke and pickling juice, went AMAZING with the aged white burg.
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Our informal theme for the night was Perrieres and Montrachet with some rhone and a red burg tossed in. The WOTNs for me were the 96 Roulot Perrieres and the 91 Leroy Clos Vougeot.
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1986 Krug Champagne Clos du Mesnil - France, Champagne
showed significantly oxidized when the wine was first opened, low bubbles and high in apple juice. We set it aside and kinda forgot about the wine. About 3 hours in we tried it again and it had simply exploded in the glass. Zesty ripe orchard fruit on the palate and bracing acidity. It filled out well in the bottle.
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1993 Etienne Sauzet Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
excellent richness on the palate, far more youthful than I would have guessed. The only issue I had was I couldn’t coax anything out of the nose except for a hint of oak. -
1988 Pierre Morey Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
Heft and weight on the palate that only comes with near 30 years of age. Incredibly deep rich flavors with loads of fruit to go. Bottle is as fantastic is the one opened a year ago. Shines montrachet through and through.
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1996 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
This wine is about as perfect as a 21 year old white burgundy can be. Pure and full of energy. The clean abundant fruit flows right down the palate and the chilling acidity creates this tension that keeps the wine knitted and complete. Everything is perfectly in place. Wine is an all timer -
2002 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Not oxidized but a little advanced. A bit flabby and lacking in acidity. There was that sweet ripe roulot perrieres fruit but it was a dumbed down version. Consistently disappointing perrieres from Roulot. Never thought i’d say that! -
2010 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
A bit reduced on the nose, but the ripeness of the fruit shines through still. The palate is what stands out. It’s electric zippy fruit with a clean cut of smooth cool acid. Youthful but delicious.
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2013 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Brutish exotic wine. Smack you in the face type of palate with over ripe tropical fruit matched with that bumpy tactile sensation you only get with a big dollop of oak. This wine is absolutely monstrous. It needs significant time to knit together as the exotic flavors of the wine almost became too rich and too much toward the end of the night but it did have this wonderful savory fruit note that held on for awhile on the finish. It does have the stuffing to be a hell of a wine down the road -
2013 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
This was on the otherside of the flavor spectrum of the 13 roulot MP we had next to it. While the Roulot was big, ripe and exotic, the Coche was pure and clean. Wonderful minerality on the wine with all that classic Coche MP orchard fruit and white flowers. Elegance with weight as that energy and lift continues long onto the finish.
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2002 Henri Boillot Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
PREMOXED -
2001 Henri Boillot Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
Nice weight and depth on the wine, showing more secondary flavors of earth and spice but with a good clean flavor of golden fruit
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2000 Marquis de Laguiche (Joseph Drouhin) Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
well balanced if not a bit too round, wish it had more acidity on the wine, the impact of the vintage. -
2004 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
Amazing wine. The talent of PY can not be disputed. While I haven’t had the DRC montrachet I’ve had most of the Montrachets in this vintage and this wine is head and shoulders above most everything. It’s so massive and structured, but it was this acid that cuts through and creates this energy that soars through the palate. It’s full of flavor but still primary and youthful. There’s a ton there but nothing is overboard. It’s gonna age forever
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1991 Domaine Leroy Clos Vougeot - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
The value of a bottle stored in a cold temp controlled cellar since release is you sometimes get these 25+ year old wines that are so beautiful and youthful. The concentration and weight shows from all that typical leroy powerhouse fruit but everything is still lively and fresh with just some of the developing 2ndary characteristics. The spice and earth are in control and it’s not a full blown leroy sous bois nose. Delicious. Thanks counselor! -
1982 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Fresh meat carcass mixed in a pile of earth and crushed berries, imagine that smell, it’s pretty damn interesting and complex, an almost extreme level of sous bois but not in a bad way. The palate wasn’t as wild as the nose, it was resolved, silky and smooth. -
1989 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
That smoky spice and old leather. Like smelling a leather bound book in an old home. Palate had sweet earthy fruit and starting to pick up savoriness. -
1989 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Nose was a little muted for me but the palate had a great dense meaty fruit on it, a little heavy and clunky but filling.