TN: Copain, Papes, Ridge, Jaboulet, Chadwick

Lunch notes:

2002 Javillier Meursault Let Tillets Cuvee Speciale – medium yellow colour, good fruit in the nose with clean chardonnay character, citrus and floral nose, good length, crisp finish.

2002 Copain Pinot Noir Cerise Vd. (Anderson V.) – medium colour density, an immediately identifiable pinot nose, more French than new world, ample fruit and medium long finish. Very nice.


2000 Giorgio Primo Chianti Classico (La Massa) – earthy fruit nose OK concentration, very dry finish.

1981 Ch. Montrose – corked! Biggest disappointment for me as I love the house and appreciate the vintage while many seem to have forgotten it. Don’t know if it would have held up after all this time, but we’ll never know from this bottle. A shame.

1995 Ch. Kirwan – this Margaux was fairly dark, with a pleasant nuttiness to the nose that turned out to be it’s best feature, as the fruit was only adequate and it tapered off into a dry somewhat tannic finish. Off bottle? I am upgrading timing on my holdings of this for investigation soon to find out, as I had hopes for it.


1999 Clos des Papes CNduP – medium colour depth, a cherry and mocha nose, pleasant, and now a soft, friendly tasty wine that doesn’t need any further cellaring.

2004 Eddie Feraud CNduP – darker wine with the nose a bit tight, drinking well now, mouth in the mouth and well balanced.

1999 Ridge York Creek Petit Sirah – warmer wine, dark and with a nose of berry fruit, soft tannins in the mouth and a long soft sweet finish. Should have been served after the next wine.

1991 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle – last time I opened one of these, it was classic Asian spice, pepper and blackberry. This time the dominant impression was of vanilla. The spice was still there, but it seemed almost new world given the vanilla in the forefront. Medium colour, lots of acidity, and some smokiness, tasty and good length.

2001 Chadwick – this Errazuriz wine was lovely, with a slightly ripe slightly rubbery nose with some briar, a slightly off dry impression on mid palate, but finishing dead dry. Very good.

2008 Poplar Grove Syrah – no one saw this as a BC wine. Quite dark with a blue fruit nose, soft and very slightly off dry in the mouth pleasant and fairly extracted.

We finished with a blind Pineau des Charentes that I didn’t catch the name of and I had to go back to the office while everyone else went to find a couch somewhere to nap until dinner. Life is so unfair sometimes!

I’m making a concerted effort to age my Copain Pinots. I’m convinced that patience will be rewarded with these.

  • 2002 Domaine Patrick Javillier Meursault Les Tillets Cuvée Spéciale - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
    Tasted blind - light gold colour. Nice citrus nose with smoky and leesy notes and nicely integrated oak. In the mouth this had good acidity and medium length with a rich mouthfeel. As it sat in glass hints of tropical fruit started to poke through on the nose. A really wine that’s drinking very well now and one that could pass as a 1er cru. Excellent. (91 pts.)
  • 2002 Copain Pinot Noir Cerise Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
    Tasted blind - Medium red at the core, bricking near rim. Smells like new world pinot (or a really big/ripe old world pinot) with dark and ripe raspberries, spice and some oak coming. On the palate this showed more Burgundian-like with more subtly and less ripeness and richness. Not as big in the mouth as I would have thought based on the nose. Decent acidity. Oregon pinot? Nope. This seems to be fully mature and I don’t think there is much to gain with further aging. Very good. (89 pts.)
  • 2000 La Massa Chianti Classico Giorgio Primo - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico
    Tasted blind. Dark red, some bricking at the time. Earthy nose with dark red fruits. In the mouth there’s quite a bit acidity (which lead a few tasters to guess Italy) and some tannins are still present. Solid extraction here with dark fruits and a dry finish. I really liked this. This is at peak now and drinking quite well. Excellent. (90 pts.)
  • 1995 Château Kirwan - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
    Tasted blind - fairly deep red core, lighter at rim. Nose had me thinking either Rhone or Bordeaux with its developed notes of red fruits and nutty-funk. Fairly soft in the mouth with not a lot going on. Based on this bottle I’d say this is fully mature. The person who brought this said this wasn’t as good as previous bottles he had had so perhaps this was an off bottle. Judgment reserved.
  • 1981 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
    Corked. NR (flawed)
  • 1999 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    Tasted blind. Light to medium red. A Lighter and elegant nose that at first had some people guessing Pinot but with some time in the glass showed more of its Grenache profile with riper notes of cherry, spice and earth. On the palate the profile of the nose carries over with a fairly light and soft mouthfeel and resolved and mature flavours. Based on post-2001 vintages of Clos des Papes which I’ve often found to be over the top and quite modern in style, this is really nice and too bad more Chateauneufs weren’t made like this. Excellent. (92 pts.)
  • 2004 Eddie Feraud Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    Medium red and more youthful looking than the 99 Clos des Paper. This was an easy “CdP” guess, especially following the Clos des Papes, though this was richer and made in a more modern style. Nose offered bright juicy red fruits with a rich profile. Well balanced. Still quite primary but not sure this is going to get any better. Drink now and for a few more years. Very good. (88 pts.)
  • 1999 Ridge Petite Sirah York Creek - USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
    Tasted blind - dark red, darkest wine yet. New worldish nose with blue and black fruits and some vanilla coming through as well. Flavours of slightly roasted or dried fruits with spice and hints of green tobacco. The structure here is mostly resolved and this is drinking very well. Very good. (89 pts.)
  • 1991 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
    Tasted blind – light to medium red. This wine had me guessing everything other than Northern Rhone with its vanilla/coconut nose, spice and darker fruits. Some tasters were guessing Syrah, and many of us were thinking new world Syrah. After a while some poopy notes started to develop which started hinting towards this wine correct origin but overall this was a head scratcher. Structure is mainly resolved and there’s good acidity here with decent length. Once this wine was revealed I was quite shocked—I’ve had this wine twice before, and neither of those previous bottles showed anything like this one. Still enjoyable to taste and a nice wine that’s fully mature and ready to go. Very good. (88 pts.)
  • 2001 Errazuriz Viñedo Chadwick - Chile, Central Valley, Maipo Valley
    Tasted blind – dark red in colour. Nose here was slightly off-putting for me with this under ripe/green/leafy/stalky thing going on that was different then the greenish/bell pepper notes I often find in Cab Franc, and enjoy. There was some dark fruit notes underlying but it took a lot of digging to get at them. In the mouth it’s youthful with medium acidity and low to medium tannins with a nice dark fruit profile. Some people really liked this wine; others not so much…put me somewhere in the middle. Good. (84 pts.)
  • 2008 Poplar Grove Winery Syrah - Canada, British Columbia, Okanagan Valley
    Tasted blind – deep red in colour, almost purple. Another new worldish nose with a generous dollop of oak with concentrated notes of ripe and dark fruits. The profile here was almost towards the dried fruit realm, but not all the way there. Ripe and soft in the mouth with good length and vanilla and grapey flavours that are quite simplistic. Drink now. Good. (84 pts.)