Pops turned 86. Still spry and likes to party. Likes his classic French wines and Scotch Whisky, so we must oblige.
Started with the 1982 Chateau Branaire (Duluc-Ducru), St Julien and paired with the charcuterie. A classic perfumed St Julien nose with earth and dried fruit aromatics. Quite lively on the palate with vibrant acids, spicy red and dried fruits. Black cherries in the mix. Has an iron-inflected note that melds so well with the fruit and earth. A hint of a sherry note, that while it depicts that this wine is on the back slope of apogee, it added a really intriguing closing note to the wine that I really enjoyed. A lovely old wine. My third bottle in the last 2 years, all showed beautifully. (93 pts.)
As my family apparently drinks like fish, I immediately had to pop the next bottle, a 1996 Chateau Leoville Barton, St Julien. One of those wines when you drink it you think to yourself, this is absolute archetype Bordeaux. I’ve had this wine three times this year alone, and every time I drink it I say that and also say this is the best Leoville Barton in the last 30 years. Showed much more powerfully with a greater range of darker fruits than the more elegant Branaire. This wine is also so totally in the zone, starting to show those tertiary characteristics that us Bordeaux aficionados adore. Leather, iron, barn plank, sois bois. Cassis and darker fruits. Big palate presence, still quite structured, definitely suggesting this wine has decades to run while it is right firmly in it’s drinking window. Ideally we would have given this wine an hour or more to decant, the dinner just got away from me too quickly. That said, this wine showed beautifully. (94 pts.)
My surprise of the night for Pops, as I do not think he has had it before, was the 2010 Allemand Cornas Chaillot. Now this one I properly prepared. I double decanted it at home for 2 1/2 hours before I put it back in bottle to return to the restaurant. I have to admit it was very difficult not to drink it when I first popped it. Such an Allemand signature on the nose, nay, not just the nose the perfume filled the entire room. A big range of pungent olive tapenade, black peppercorns, leather, smoke, earth and spicy savory dark fruits. I kept swirling the wine in the decanter, sticking my nose into it and coming back like every 15 minutes. My willpower was one for the ages, as if you know anything about me, I have absolutely zero willpower. @ToddFrench can attest. This wine shined gorgeously at dinner. Our palates were properly primed, we were all in the happy spot mood, food aromatics everywhere, and then this wine swooped in and stole the show. The aromatics, as I note, are soaring, but then also picking up some florals and some charcuterie notes. The palate is a wild ride. Lots of structure, vibrant acids with back end chewy chalky but sweet tannins. The palate cascades with dark fruits, spices, some Indian exotics, and seared meat. This is an exceptional wine and I have no doubt that it will flesh out and become even better. This is probably the best Chaillot that I have had. Cannot even imagine how great the Reynard is/will be. This continues to reaffirm my belief how great this vintage is among the classic Northern Rhone producers, such as Jamet, Clape, Gonon and Juge. I have them all, even the Gonon VV, but I would still strongly recommend you sit on these for another 5+ years. Some may show best in 10. (96+ pts.)
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With his typical joie de vivre, Pops orders a glass of Sauternes, bread pudding, and then an 18 year Glenlevit. I joined him with the Scotch.
Quite a night for the old man! Wore me out!
