TN: 1988 Veuve "Rare", 1990 Krug, 2006 Bachelet GC, 1990 l'Evangile

On Saturday, Andy and I trekked up to Yountville for the day. Evening included appetizers at Bistro Jeanty, dinner at Bouchon, drinks at Bottega and more…here’s some of the wines:

1988 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut Vintage Rare (France, Champagne)
This was popped and poured at Trevor’s pad in Yountville. Very nice Champagne. Very lively and young seeming with terrific acidity, lemon, hazelnut and brioche with just a hint of oxidation, which to me added to the complexity. I think this can be had for around $90-100 and it is well worth it. 92-93/100

1990 Krug Champagne Brut
I have to admit this wasn’t my favorite bottle of 90 Krug. It almost seemed a touch simple compared to the Veuve and if I can have 3 bottles of the Veuve to one of the Krug…I’ll take the 3 Veuve. That being said it almost showed red fruited to me when popped, like red apple skin. Very moussy and toasty through the midpalate with a shortish finish that did start to fill out with a little air. Don’t get me wrong, it is a very good Champagne. I just expected more.

2006 Domaine Denis Bachelet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Corbeaux Vieilles Vignes
This was terrific albeit very young, tight, acidic and tannic. The nose is very pretty with spicy dark fruit and flowers. The palate is tight but very clean and very focused with terrific material underneath the structure. I’d put this away for at least 10 years. Luckily we found some more at $60 per. Well worth that price. 91/100 now but potentially, 3-4 points better in the future.
1990 Château L’Evangile (France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol)
This was very, very nice and very sexy. Rich lush dark fruit, cocoa, and hints of earth, minerals and leather. The palate weight and texture are plush and seemless but still good acidity to keep it lively. I loved this wine and it went very well with the roast chicken and red rice at Bouchon…95-96/100

Sounds like a better than average Saturday night.

[thumbs-up.gif]

90 L’Evangile does NOT suck, and wasn’t very expensive when sold on futures back in medieval times…

Bruce

so that’s pre-WKRP In Cincinnati?

Great notes Tony, Phil Franks and I had a bottle of the 90 L’Evangile about a month ago along with the 82. Our 90 was good but not as good as yours.

We balanced the evening by having a couple of Pabst Blue Ribbons at Panchas in Yountville.

The 90 was very good.

Thanks for the notes TOny. It was a fun evening and glad I could spend some time with TV, Trevor, and Sam…until she disappeared [berserker.gif]

I agree that for the price, the Veuve was a better QPR than the Krug, and probably slightly better IMO. Trevor thought the l’Evangile was possible slightly heat damaged, but I didn’t detect any issues with it all and Tony didn’t either. It was drinking very well and still has good aging potential. Glad I could find some more Bachelet, and after the 20% off sale, $60/bottle is a killer deal for this Burg. Wish i had room to take more home than I did.

Tony,
Thanks for the notes on these; I haven’t had the Corbeaux but I was really impressed by the '06 Bachelet Gevrey. Great stuff.

Cheers,
-Robert

I thought you guys were going to call me when you moved on from V!!! Anyways, I was really really tired and fell asleep :frowning: I am really glad I got to see you even if it was just for some champagne and a stolen fig.

Btw…$60 is not a very good sale price, I bought mine for $45 :wink:

Sam,

$45 is a great price for the Domaine Denis Bachelet 2006 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Corbeaux Vieilles Vignes (WHWC is selling it for $75), I paid that much for the 2006 Gevrey Chambertin VV.

Sam - you were missed but the legend of the stolen fig will live on…

what fig [whistle.gif]

Sam,

It was great to see you again, keep your brother out of trouble and let me know the next time you come down this way.

Oops! Thanks Kent. I thought Andy had brought the Gevrey Chambertin VV. I am kind of ADD, ignore me.

Andy I will definitely let you know when I am back down in LA

Love the 88 Cliquot Rare!

I don’t hate the 06 Bachelets and it could be that they’re young, but I havent liked the 2 GCs I’ve had anywhere near as much as the 06 Fourrier GC fwiw. Not they they’re in competition with each other, of course.

Tony:

When were you at Bouchon? I stopped in for cocktails later in the evening… couldn’t muster up the strength to do Pancha’s.

Sorry I missed you! [gen_fro.gif]

We rolled out of Bouchon around 10 pm. Headed over to Bottega for cocktails until about 11:00pm or a little later. Then hit Panchas. We didn’t stay long there.

When are you going to be down this way? Oliveto just got down graded to 2 stars but we have some new hots spots

Been going to Chez Panisse upstairs cafe… Jill and my new favorite spot.

You and Traci need to get up to the winery this year for harvest… 2009 is a BIG year for us, with some killer Eastside and Westside road pinot coming in for DeBiase, and we could use the help. We pay in denominations of Racer 5.

Let me know when you are hitting the cafe.

Let me know also when fruit is coming in. We’ll be up there.