TN: Rhone Dinner (w/ pics)

WINE TALK
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RHONE DINNER - The Bristol - Chicago, IL (8/12/2014)

Very fun evening with Jim, Philipe, and Mark. The crew at The Bristol took great care of us and the food was very good. I definitely drank way too much.

  • 2013 Jemrose Viognier Egret Pond - USA, California, Sonoma County, Bennett Valley
    Tons of upfront tropical fruit…peaches, mangos, grapefruit, and lanolin. The palate was really nice, and we all remarked at the interesting salinity that hit on the finish. I really liked this, and went back for 2 or 3 (or maybe 4) more pours across the night. Jemore’s Viognier is always a treat, and this vintage is yum city. (90 pts.)


  • 1998 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    I closed my eyes, and thought to myself, “wow, this is what Chateauneuf-de-Pape smell like?” I opened my eyes and saw the 1998 Vieux Télégraphe. So much brambly red fruit with dried floral notes, and earth. Still had a really nice power to it, too. Was a big fan of this wine…and it has a lot of upside to it, too. (94 pts.)
  • 1998 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    corked. NR (flawed)
  • 1989 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    A stunning wine. So much going on here with tons of secondary and tertiary notes of earth, florals, red fruits, and stone. Jim mentioned that it was more like a Burgundy with its elegant floral notes, and I’d have to agree. Still had a great backbone, and the depth of flavor was just off-the-charts. (95 pts.)


  • 1998 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
    Interestingly, the only other time I had had this wine was at the same restaurant 2 years earlier. On this night, I wasn’t as entranced by it as I was then. This was still a beautiful, magical wine that had incredible power and charm. The dark fruit were sappy and dense, the earthiness was pungent and it had an ever present acidity to it that kept the fullness and the power in check. This is a great bottle of wine. I think it’s still on the trajectory to reach the level of the 1982 with more time. (94 pts.)
  • 1998 Domaine de Vallouit Hermitage Cuvée Spéciale Les Greffières - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
    Any edgy and raw Hermitage that seemed downright acidic and rustic next to the 1998 Chave. This was more about the pepper and florals - less about the meat, olives, and dark fruit. I think there’s a lot of upside to this. (91 pts.)
  • 1998 Jean-Luc Colombo Cornas Les Ruchets - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
    I am not a fan of JLC’s newer Cornas’. They’re too slick and modern. This was a glimpse into the past in a way…and I liked this a lot more. There was a lot of smokey earth, dark fruit and some underbrush. Definitely more rustic than new JLCs, but still on the modern side. Decent. (85 pts.)


  • 2012 Jemrose Viognier Late Harvest Egret Pond - USA, California, Sonoma County, Bennett Valley
    This was my first time trying Jim’s Late Harvest viognier. Liked it a lot. The density was tuned up, the sweetness was tuned up and so was the acidity. Lots of peach and mango…gorgeous texture too, and just so delicious. (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Jim’s latest Viogner

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the lineup

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Two of my favorite 98 CDPs, Pegau and VT. Too bad about the Pegau. Haven’t had a 98 Chave in quite some time, and it was pretty closed to the best of my memory. Maybe it’s time to revisit.

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This was a really fun night with a great bunch of people…the great surprise was Philipe’s dyslexia on the theme and bringing the 1989 CDP. That bottle showed amazingly well and just blew me away with the complexity. Definitely the wine of the night. The hermitage pairing side by side was really fun. The Chave was all elegance while the Vallouit was a rustic. Both nice wines but totally different styles. The Bristol took great care of us for the evening.

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Hey, at 95 points I certainly wouldn’t be complaining. flirtysmile [snort.gif]
As always, love the notes and pics!

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Looks like a great night!

I’m down to my last three bottles of '98 CdP; 2 VT’s flirtysmile , and one Pegau. I’ve always swooned over the former.
I had a bunch more, but all my '98 Beaucastels (which was one of my epiphany wines) turned into some awful vinous rendition of barbecue sauce [barf1.gif].

Next time you’re in Bellingham, let’s pop open my last '98 Pegau!

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For sure. I wish I had steadier business in Seattle…I find myself in Tacoma often, so one of those times I’ll drive up north.

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Great wine dinner and lots of fun. The food and service at Bristol was excellent. Nice touch holding open the table right next to us all night so we had a space to place our wines.

Nice job on the notes Matt. I could not agree with you more on the 1989 Les Cailloux being a stunning wine. Incredible aromatics, silky texture,almost weightless, and deep complex flavors. Phillipe said he bought this from Hart Davis Hart that day for $38!!

My second fave wine of the night was the 1998 Chave Hermitage. Much more elegant than I expected. Fruit dominated on the aroma with some earthiness and pepper in the background. Also lighter on palate than I expected but flavors deep and lingering. Some more bottle age will bring out some of the secondary aromas but drinking well now with some air.

Matt thanks for pulling this together and Mark for setting us up at The Bristol. Look forward to the next dinner.

Jim

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I dont think wine can have brambly red fruit. It can have bramble red fruit, which is a fancy way to say “raspberries”, or it can have dark bramble fruit, which is a fancy way to say “blackberries”.

But “brambly” means “thorny” or “prickly”.