I was getting antsy. Bastille Day was approaching and I had no plans to celebrate. Without warning, the day is saved! Via the intertubes, Joe Dougherty comes riding in on a white horse with a note saying he was preparing to boil hot dogs to celebrate France’s great day and that the meat incubus, Josh Raynolds, was coming , but wasn’t allowed to bring anything as it’s a well known fact that he only makes “Merican” food and would I like to come over? Can you say party?
Luckily, Joe jests. He once again laid out a great spread of tasty morsels and roast lamb and Raynolds came through with some delicious homemade rillettes and a provencial style potato salad of potatoes, artichokes, black olives and anchovies to go with Joe’s roasted lamb and the great feast was washed down with a bevy of French wines. Vive la France!
Cheers,
Brad
2000 Henry Marionnet- Provignage, Cepage Romorantin, Vigne Pré-Phylloxérique, Vin de Pays du Jardin
Yes, that’s right. Romorantin from pre-phylloxera vines. The back label says they were planted in 1850. Unfortunately, this bottle was not as it should be and showed clear indications of premox as exhibited by the blue/green tip of the cork, which is starting to become an indicator, as well as the advanced color and flavor profile. It’s too nutty and lifeless and that’s not a good thing, or as it should be. NR.
2006 Henry Marionnet- Provignage, Cepage Romorantin, Vigne Pré-Phylloxérique, Vin de Pays du Jardin
As luck would have it, Coad also brought a bottle of Marionnet (geeks tend to think alike) and the newer version showed brilliantly. It’s piercing, delineated, lengthy on the palate with laser-like focus. Oyster shell minerality dominates with quince, green apple, green almonds and a touch of herb. Just a wonderfully vivid wine. A-.
1980 Huet- Vouvray Vin de Glace, Le Haut-Lieu
Talk about vivid, here’s a rare and oddballish wine. As Dougherty explained, 1980 was a pretty difficult year in the Loire. Real ripening problems, so Huet left the grapes on the vine as long as he could to try and get the sugars up. December comes along and there’s a freeze. Well, nothing left to du put press them and voila! A sec ice wine, which happens to be the only wine they made in 1980. It’s a deep yellow color with a lively nose of quince and mineral. You can smell the acidity though and then on the palate, slice! Where did my tongue go? Who put razor wire in my glass? This rare treat is a vicious wine, yet in a strangely pleasing s & m sort of way. It most definitely is a bit unbalanced in the ph department, yet there’s still a lot of pleasure here. It’s blisteringly dry, yet there’s beautiful flavors of quince, green apple, mineral and maybe a faint hint of wild strawberry here. In some ways it reminds me of the '96 Cazin- Cour-Cheverny Sec, though without the intense raspberry profile that wine shows. Sasha suggests it needs chicken in a cream sauce to help tame it. I suggest clothespins on one’s nipples to help take away the pain. Raynolds likes it as much as I do and we both agree that this wine may be a little much for padawans. B+.
1998 J.F. Coche-Dury- Meursault “Les Rougeots.”
Corked. Is it my imagination, or does it seem like an inordinate amount of Coche are corked? Not that I mind so much. They’re never mine and we’re only talking about Chardonnay here…NR.
1992 Louis Carillon et Fils- Puligny-Montrachet “Les Champs Canet”
What a wild wine. It shows a ton of personality, something I find lacking in most Chardonnay that I try. There’s an intense flinty/gunpowder aroma, with apples and maybe a hint of meatiness and crushed sea shells. Those flavors carry through on the palate where there’s almost a bone marrow flavor running through it. There’s a real briny and mineral character to the wine and then a sweet lemon custard note makes an appearance. Seems almost tannic, yet there’s an elegance to it, especially on the finish. This is some pretty compelling stuff. A-.
1995 L’Aiguelière- Coteuax du Languedoc, “Côte Dorée”
This is the 100% Syrah bottling. I’ve always loved this wine and you just don’t find it anymore due to its cost. The quality has never been in doubt, though. Both '94 and '95 were pretty magical years at the estate and this wine really delivered. Quite a bit of brett to start, but not the baby poo type. More of a general funkiness, but not in an unpleasant way. I’m not adverse to a good dose of brett, though. Underneath there’s just pure and beautiful violet aromas. To me this is the tell tale signature of this wine. It’s just so wonderfully floral. Plenty of black fruit and black peper, but oh! Those violets! Still showing quite youthfully. The black fruit is still sweet, the tannins are rustic, chunky and nicely proportioned. With air the fruit took on a bit of a raspberry note which took me by surprise. I guess I’ve never really left it in the glass long enough in the past where it’s had time to move into the red end of the fruit spectrum. Drinking beautifully now, but no hurry here. A.
1989 Prieuré de St. Jean de Bébian- Coteaux du Languedoc
Quite a different beast from the L’Aiguellière. This bottle is clearly showing its age. Desiccated red fruit dominates on the nose and palate and there’s a strong mint/eucalyptus note that’s not really working for me. Quite earthy and leathery with brown spices. Fairly light on the palate and a bit drying. Lamb helped it, but it’s time to drink these up. B.
1985 Pradeaux- Bandol
Surprisingly clean nose here for an old Bandol. Mostly sweet black fruit, spice and worn wood, but the wine picks up a beautiful tobacco note and shows a briny quality. Raynolds mentions the property is right by the sea and really does impact the wine. It’s more tertiary on the palate than the nose would lead you to believe it is and there’s a nice seaweed/iodine character to it. Softened, though still nicely rustic. Just great with the lamb. A-/B+.
1952 Huet- Vouvray Demi-Sec, Le Mont
It had been nine years since I had this wine for the first and last time. Though not from a heralded year, it was a standout for me at the first Huet-a-thon back in 2000. That bottle had been hand-carried back from the domaine by Jeff Connell and I’d been on the lookout for it ever since. This past fall I finally saw some for sale and I jumped on them. The wine was double decanted at 7:45 pm and three hours later, with much anticipation, it was served with the cheese course. It was like bumping into a woman you had a brief, but intense fling with years ago, and seeing how you’ve both matured. This lady has matured nicely. The wine is as vivacious as ever. Just brilliant structure here, even more so than an excellent bottle of '57 Dem-Sec tried recently. Where there was once quince, there’s now more of an apricot note. Nine years ago there was an intense sweet marzipan character, but now it’s more toasted nuts and orange citrus. Of course the mineral remains. It’s always there. The earl grey tea profile also lets its presence known. This bottle is also drier than I recall the other one being, but the balance is right on and the wine carries itself very well across the palate. Nice to see you again, old friend. A/A-.
2007 Wind Gap- Pinot Gris, Russian River Valley (bottle # 1039)
A bit off theme here and perhaps we should’ve stayed on theme? This wine had just about everyone else at the table in a tizzy. Indeed, Raynolds seems to recall giving this wine a good score, but I was left scratching my head and pondering the sanity of my friends, but, truth be told, I do that on a regular basis. This is a bizarre little wine. A bit too dirty and mean for me, actually. I find the nose bizarre. It’s cidery, smells dirty and like it’s still fermenting, though there’s no sign of secondary fermentation on the palate. It’s tannic, extremely dry, tastes wild and unclean with grapefruit pith. At $40 a bottle, hey, more power to ya. C.
1997 Bott-Geyl- Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardives, Furstentum
Here we have a nice and simple bottle of lychee syrup with a touch of ginger. Low acid, sweet and as complex as the proverbial country cousin, but it’s good natured and fun. B+.
Some more pics for your viewing pleasure:
