Broke my dry January with three special wines last night at Republique in Los Angeles. If there is a common theme among these wines – other than outstanding pedigree – it’s that they defied vintage preconceptions, at least to me.
P2 Dom Perignon Champagne Rose 1996
A lovely start, marking my first sip of wine this year. Surprisingly bright and effervescent. Real lift and raspberry perfume on the nose. Lots of strawberry fruit on the palate for a nearly 30-year-old Champagne. Real chew and density on the palate with chalky persistence. This was pop and pour and might have benefited from a quick decant. Last glass was the best.
Jean-Claude Ramonet Batard Montrachet 2018
Very pure and floral on the nose. Lightest white-gold color. Classic wet stone, lemon and mint on palate. Still a bit tight after a 2-hour decant. Loved the texture – very sinewy and long. Excellent Ramonet breeding and class here. Shocked at how un-“Batard” like it was (filigreed and restrained). It’s not sunny/blowsy like some 2018s are. I’d be shocked if even most expert tasters would pick this out as 2018 or Batard.
Emmanuel Rouget Vosne Romanee 1er Beaumonts 1999
Man, this smelled great in the glass. Soil notes and a bit of spice. Beautiful dark ruby color. Many 99s are still blocky to me but this was really open and giving. Tannins and oak influence have melted away/integrated, with a core of reddish fruit front and center. Nice bottle sweetness. Smooth without being glossy. Rouget flies a bit under the radar here, but the style with age is right in my wheelhouse.
Side note: Chef Walter Manzke dropped by our table to kibbitz and share some of these wines with us. He showed us a few sides of venison from Texas that he’s hanging and prepping for Paulee events later this month in L.A. He’s going to make a venison Wellington. How good does that sound with quality Burgundy?
Thanks for the notes. Shocked to hear about the Ramonet as his house style is usually fatty, especially the Batard which is always the rounder of the GCs and especially in a hot year. The '16 we had last fall was quite rotund.
Were your expectations low for the P2 because of the age of the bottle? 96 was an outstanding vintage generally, and my recollection was that this was true for the DP portfolio specifically.
Thanks for the great notes. Venison Wellington sounds beyond awesome. Hmm, Pommard? Here’s a wild idea — I am sure not all will agree: a d’Angerville Volnay Fremiets — the Fremiets vineyard in my experience is very unVolnay-like, you can smell the iron in the soil. If not, maybe the boldest Echezeaux you can find?
Neal and Todd … yes you are both right. I should’ve been more precise in my language. I generally actively dislike Champagne aged for two decades … low fizz, more caramel hints, Brit palate stuff … I know others really dig that but I like my Champagne young and bracing … I also don’t have a ton of experience with these P2 late disgorgement bottles … so my main point is that I’m totally impressed at how these recent disgorgements of wines that have been cellared for decades are so fresh and vivacious … Normally, I’m not jazzed about drinking bubbles from another millennium but this got my attention.
I was going to opine that a robust Gevrey, like Fourrier Clos St. Jacques would be nice with venison, then I looked at the [Paulee wines for chef Manzke’s dinner] (2024 - Los Angeles - Feb 27 - Mar 2 — La Paulée):(scroll down a bit)
like the Oenotheque program prior, the delayed disgorgements have a profound effect on the wines’ ageing curves; almost like suspended animation. The bear no resemblance to the original releases. IMO, they can be, and often are, profound examples of champagne. To me, the Rose Dom Perignon is typically thrilling and even original 96s are still young and vibrant. It’s interesting you mentioned a decant, they’re served in burgundy stems by DP when they’re presented as they really need air and the nose presents closer to a Grand Cru Red Burg. Stoked you enjoyed it!
