It was a pleasure to see you and a few others right before the end. My friends and will definitely come back to other Paulée events, but might be every 2 years.
V
Notes in progress:
Champagne:
1992 Vilmart Coeur de Cuvee
Remarkably fresh, with only a bit of sherried notes.
1990 Krug
Lovely, with some oxidative butterscotch notes but overall very fresh, much better than the pair we had in Charleston in 2024.
2021 Tellier Massales
Beautiful fruits and acidity, lovely champagne.
2015 Bereche Ambonnay
First time with this cuvee, this was beautiful.
2004 Groffier Amoureuses
Blind, no green notes, quite a bit of spice and apparent whole cluster, although some may be from oak, lovely wine. I had about 12 vintages of this through the weekend but this was no slouch.
2007 Bruno Clair Clos de Beze
A bit blocky and four square, didn’t have the lifted joy of the 14+ versions.
2008 Lachaux Suchots
Blind, definitely got some of the spice but was difficult to place as 08 or Suchots. Clearly a high quality wine.
2009 Arlaud Charmes-Chambertin
Stunning wine, really drinking well. Cyprien poured this wine from 3L at the gala. Need to pursue this producer.
2017 Mugnier Musigny
Generous bring from @Alex_Valdes . This was lifted and beautiful on the nose with some ripe cherry fruit, but a bit hollow on the mid palate. Finish was elegant and long.
2017 Mugnier Bonnes Mares
This was firing on all cylinders, with quite a bit more mid palate power than the Musigny without quite the same lift or elegance, but quite a bit more open and generous.
2017 Berthaut-Gerbet Suchots
My blind, pretty red fruits and a bit of spice, without a ton of weight or depth, nice acidity on the palate and long finish. I think these wines are drinking quite well now.
2017 Guillon Gevrey 1er Les Perrieres
I like this vineyard, and it had some stony iron and minerality along with some red fruits. The palate had crisp acidity and more pretty fruits, but the finish was a bit clipped.
2017 Goodfellow Berserker Cuvee
Fun blind, with quite a few guesses ranging from Bonnes mares to chambolle and everything in between. The bottle age made this tricky, and there were pretty cranberry fruits and quite a bit of structure. I liked this a lot.
2017 Faiveley Cazetiers
Fun side by side with the Rousseau. This lacked the extra gear the Rousseau had in terms of density but had some pretty fruits and lovely aromatics.
2017 Fourrier Charmes-Chambertin
Very pretty, with Fourrier typically. Red cherry fruits and some lovely mid palate elegance. Really a fan of this wine, which although is classified as negotiant is completely farmed the same as domaine fruit per Jean Marie.
2017 Hubert Lignier Charmes-Chambertin
Darker and more serious than the Fourrier, with a bit more structure. This wasn’t very open when I tasted it very early on in the evening.
2017 Olivier Bernstein Charmes-Chambertin
Lots of new oak and extraction. A bit more modern style. This may be good with some bottle age but felt a bit ponderous, especially compared to the Rousseau.
2017 Dujac Clos St. Denis
This was pretty, with less whole cluster influence than the 09 and 10 from last year. The palate was refined and elegant. Was initially reticient and would benefit from time.
2017 Dujac Charmes-Chambertin
Also a bit reticient aromatically but very impressive on the palate. Long finish, this was a bit more restrained than some of the other Charmes, but drinking quite well. Not quite the extra gear the Rousseau had.
2017 Rousseau Cazetiers
This was wide open after about 45 minutes of air, and had joyful sappy red fruits and some earth on the nose, with elegant red fruits and acidity on the palate with lifted midpalate drive. The finish was long and pleasurable.
2017 Rousseau Clos de la Roche
This was my favorite of the Rousseau today, and was a bit darker fruited than the Cazetiers, but with quite a bit more punch and depth. The palate was rich and elegant, with supple red and dark currants, and the finish was longer and deeper.
2017 Rousseau Charmes-Chambertin
This was the most reticient of the Rousseau trio, although after about 2 hours open it was singing. More red fruited than the CDLR, and with more depth than the Cazetiers, but not as much lift. This had a bit of extra length on the finish, an extra gear compared to some of the other Charmes. This was tremendous; I might wait a couple years on future bottles. though.
2017 Coquard Loison Fleurot Echezeaux
2017 Coquard Loison Fleurot Clos de la Roche
2017 Drouhin Amoureuses
2017 Lachaux NSG Poisets
2017 Coudray-Bizot Cazetiers
2017 Drouhin-Laroze Chapelle-Chambertin
2017 Hudlot Noellat Clos Vougeot
2017 Anne Gros Clos Vougeot Grand Maupertui
2017 Henri Richard Mazoyeres-Chambertin
2017 Liger Belair Nuits Saint Georges (magnum)
Only offered to private clients. This was like the Rousseau GC, just crushable, elegant, joyful, fruit forward, super plush and CLB in style, without a ton of complexity but just a joy to drink.
2022 Rousseau Gevrey Chambertin
This was joyful and elegant, and didn’t have the prominent new oak I’m used to from young Gevrey AC. It was all crunchy red fruits and sunshine. Lovely beautiful crushable wine.
2017 Bize Vergelesses
Didn’t get to this one.
2017 JC Bachelet Saint-Aubin Champlots
Lovely flint and smoke on the nose, with super precise midpalate acidity and elegance. Long finish.
2005 Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spätlese
This was quite good for a riesling.
1988 Yquem
Probably the 5th time I’ve had this in the last year, and this bottle was a bit fresher than the others. Some crushed overripe pineapple and creme brulee, with lovely midpalate hit and long finish.
2005 Yquem
This was drinking great in a young way. I loved the apricot notes. Super long finish.
1932 Vaghi Armagnac
Simply fantastic and a great way to end the night. Caramel and creme anglaise, with a finish for days.
10 Likes
This was beautiful for an 08 @Juliec
2 Likes