This past week - NYC and CT...

WINE TALK
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My family and I just got back from a great trip to NYC and a few days up in CT - visiting friends and seeing the sights. I sent some bottles ahead for Leo’s and Felidia in NYC! Felidia hosted us for a great dinner - the food was fabulous and the company even better. We also had a fabulous dinner at the Crabtree Kettle House - hadn’t been there in 10+ years. Thank you to – Josh Leader, David Rosewater, Paul Jaouen (Nikki also!), Bill Lawrence, Leo Frokic, Suzanne Camhi, Ian Dorin, Jorge Henriquez, Robin Stark, Gary Zimberg, Chris Kravitz, Christine Huang (Marty also :p), our good friends Brian/Peggy Crotty in CT, and many others. Super fun trip and we’ll be back!

Short hand notes for the most part - I may have missed SEVERAL bottles in these notes but tasted them all [cheers.gif]!

1993 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Blanc De L’Orée (3L): Why not - right? 20+ years and drinking great - waxy petrol laced fruit, soft peach, floral. The minerality of a grand cru white burgundy and still very young in this format!

1999 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne (magnum): I’ve had the Rose - this is the first BdB I’ve sampled from '99. Lovely stuff worth owning - bright and balanced bubbles and minerality. Remember really liking this one and went back for several glasses.

1996 Domaine René Engel Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brulees: This one was all about the nose for me at least. Vosne ginger spice - dark cherry cake - lovely. A wee bit dry on the palate but still carried through like a champ. Medium+ showing for me!

1982 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Red Rock Terrace: Super nice showing - rich currant, cassis, leather. This one was nice from start to finish - yet another older’ish Diamond Creek that pleased!

2002 Gros Frère et Sœur Clos Vougeot Musigni: This one was very young and stacked from memory. Savory throughout - save for 10 years from now if you have any.

There were x11 more bottles this night - so others please fill in if you can [highfive.gif].

1981 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne: Just the right amount of oxidation on the nose of this one to please - the palate was vibrant and fresh with bubbles that quickly dissipated. A nice package all around for me!

2000 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon: This one changed and grew throughout the night - a super nice showing like most '00 D.Leflaive wines IMHO. Just a wee bit of the signature matchstick to begin that quick integrated - lovely rich fruit and medium+ finish.

1985 Louis Jadot Corton-Charlemagne Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot: Fresh and complex - rich with multiple layers that showed great for several hours. This one faded a bit toward the end since I saved some in a glass. A wine that was balanced throughout - a pleasure to taste!

2001 Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux: A wine with only a touch of oak showing - not like the '98. Fresh and different than the wines above but still set itself apart with lovely balance. Drinking fine now - serve a bit colder than normal if you have any!

1969 Pierre Ponnelle Charmes-Chambertin Les Mazoyeres: This one had a nose to die for right out of the gate - secondary aromas of black tea, creamy cherry, mushrooms, leather. The lightest of the bunch and in great shape - loved this!

1969 Pierre Ponnelle Bonnes Mares: Darker wine - black cherry, spice box, mushrooms, broad personality when first opened. This one really gained in complexity and subtle flavors in the glass - stunning!

1978 Pierre Ponnelle Corton-Clos du Roi: The most savory and acid driven of the bunch - still plenty of soft integrated tannins to add balanced depth in the mouth. Aged Corton rouge in very good condition - gave a lot that night!

1988 Louis Jadot Musigny: Sooooo pretty - soft and subtle and at the same time powerful - a nice Musigny that seemed to have plenty of upside and drinks GREAT now.

1985 Georges Noellat Grands-Echezeaux: Nice showing for this one - the complexity on the nose was nice. Earth tones throughout with a medium-/+ finish.

1983 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Saint Georges: What a pleasure - this certainly was a great wine from this vintage that still holds many years of upside drinking ahead of it. There was a nice discussion about Chevillon at the table - they certainly make good wines across the board year in and year out!! Buy!

1971 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva: This one was the best of the '71 for sure - richer and better balance here - a true pleasure!

1971 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Cascina Masante, Riserva: What a pleasure to taste this one!! This one was on fire at the beginning from memory - softer palate presence from memory which is why I liked the Giacomo better this night. Fabulous wine however!

1979 Gaja Barbaresco: Tar, earth, savory tannins - medium finish. This was stunningly good and ready to go!! Great provenance.

1988 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia: This was sooooo good - just need another 15+ years of bottle age to make it just right [cheers.gif]. A super showing - tar, heme, floral aromatics, tight personality on the palate.

1970 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Pora: This one has aged nicely - dark cherry, mushrooms, leaves, touch of smoke. Drinks great now and is the oldest Produttori I’ve sampled - nice!

2001 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur: Served at the perfect temperature. Touches of iodine, fresh apple tart, floral minerality, beeswax. Lovely drink of wine that had plenty of savory goodness that night!

1993 Domaine Robert Jayer-Gilles Echezeaux du Dessus: Wow - the oldest Jayer-Gilles I’ve sampled and from the great '93 vintage no less. Yum stuff - stacked with flashes of bright cherry, earthy red currant, savory dark tannins. Still young and stacked - I really like this domains Echezeaux.

1999 Domaine Georges Mugneret/Mugneret-Gibourg Echezeaux: Dark personality at first - needed some air to get going. Young showing for sure with the signature balanced personality that the sisters seems to always impart onto their wines. This one was full of earthy aromas and flavors that almost certainly bodes well for it’s future.

2000 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune: This was a stunner - rich and savory petrol, apple, floral spice, rich yet balanced. I bought this for Brian 6 years ago so we had to crack this one :slight_smile:.

1990 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Echezeaux: Brian let me pick - so I grabbed this one! Ready to go - wonderful provenance. Leather spice, pipe tobacco, spiced earth - creamy tannins. Great showing!

I’ll try and get some pictures posted soon! CHEERS

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Great to see both you and Kelly! The rest of the week was tough after starting out with so many great wines on Monday!

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Monday night was fabulous Paul champagne.gif! Everything turned out great including the company [cheers.gif].

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Leo.jpg
Leo in action with Ian!.jpg
Kettle House.jpg

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Great dish at Felidia with the white wines - YUMMY! Scallop and soft shell crab…
Felidia dish.jpg

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I have a big Man-Crush on Favre . . . and I’m not talking football players!

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Looks like you had a great week!! Great wines…would have loved to try some of those Piedmonte as well as the great burgs. Great pic of the two ‘cuddlers’. btw Jon, you’ve had the 99 Tatt at least 2-3 times at my place [snort.gif] And agree, a very nice wine!!

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Glad you had a great time. I love Felidia, Fortunato is a great chef.

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The more Tatt the better [cheers.gif]!

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Sounds awesome Favre. I knew you’d do it right. Great wines and times it seems.

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That was such a great time, you should come to NY more often. I loved those two 1969 Ponnelles with Bonnes Mares being one of the best wines I had so far this year.

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Can’t wait till next time Leo!

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Who is John Favre and why does he drink so much?

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Because he can. I think he has enough wine in the cellar to drink a bottle a day for the next 40 years. [wow.gif]

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Stored in the smallest square footage possible as well.

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Gotta love stackable boxes neener!

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Super fun for sure!
Great to meet you, and so thankful I could be included.

How did I forget about the soft shell crab??? That was unreal. Softshell crab and popcorn does work, and I have 8 others that will say the same for those thinking it’s strange :wink:

The Ponelle Bonnes Mares was ethereal. I have lamented that the 69 Charmes was great on its own, but sadly, the power and brilliance of the Bonnes Mares won out for me. I don’t like voting for my own, but the 83 Chevillon was a great surprise. Time and time again it shows that if LSG doesn’t get elevated to Grand Cru status, it’s not Chevillon’s fault. As great as the 71 Barolos were (and they were firing on all cylinders, loved them both), the Produttori really blew me away as it held on every step of the way. Just pure magic.
The whites and Comtes 81 were great across the board for me. Maybe it was the fact that I was still sweating, but all 4 really did well for me.

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Great meeting you also Ian! Loved that Chevillon [cheers.gif].