TN: The supper club meets at Sarah's. Champagne, Burgundy, Loire Chenin and CDP are served.

WINE TALK
1

It was Sarah Kirschbaum’s turn to host the supper club this month and as usual she did a terrific job in the kitchen. Always a great time when this group gets together.

Cheers,

Brad


  • 1998 Krug- Champagne Brut - France, Champagne
    Plenty of toasted brioche on the nose with apple skins and citrus aromas. On the palate it has a surprisingly light mousse. Citrus and green apple dominated with mineral and toast, it’s quite tart and rather austere. Not a tremendous amount of depth and it could use more richness to help balance out the structure which is a bit overwhelming at this stage. B+.
  • 2000 Domaine Guy Roulot- Meursault Les Meix Chavaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
    This showed beautifully and was a perfect match with the scallop and uni crudo. It’s floral with apples, pears, hints of citrus and a light smoky note on the nose and palate. Wonderfully balanced with a lovely elegance and softness to the mouthfeel, though there’s richness there. Finishes with a nice mineral streak and a touch of herb. Low A-.
  • 2000 Domaine Leflaive- Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
    In comparison to the Roulot, I found this a bit ponderous. There’s much more obvious oak here with an almost California richness. Ripe stone fruits and citrus with too much butterscotch for my taste. Thickly textured with good depth and resonance, but just too much oak for me. Low B+.
  • 1995 Huët- Vouvray Sec Le Mont - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
    Corked, dangit. One of the first bottles of Huet I ever bought and my last bottle of it. NR (flawed)
  • 1995 Domaine des Baumard- Savennières Clos du Papillon - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières
    Drinking almost identically to a bottle I had this past summer, but perhaps with a touch more vigor. Quince, mineral and toasted nuts on the nose and palate. There’s just a bit of normal oxidation showing, but the wine still shows freshness. Bone dry with good length and a taut structure. A-/B+.
  • 1997 Domaine Méo-Camuzet- Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Aux Murgers - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
    There’s a nice blast of sweet cherries and spice on the nose before mint and oak aromas take over. Nice ripeness to the cherry fruit, but it’s all upfront, unfortunately. The wine has a hole in the middle and is a little too green and slightly bitter on the finish due to the oak. Still, it’s pleasant enough, but it’s past peak and is perhaps becoming a bit unglued. B/B-.
  • 1990 Château de Beaucastel- Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    Quite a bretty bottle, but with a sufficient amount of air it eventually subsided enough so the raspberry, earth, garrigue, olive, game and spice flavors and aromas could shine through. That said, the brett never left, but I’m not brett averse. This is drinking beautifully now and is probably at peak, though has a long life yet. There’s richness, but balance and depth. Nice sweetness to the raspberry fruit, but it’s not roasted. Always one of my favorites. A.

Some pictures from the evening.

The wines.

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Scallop and uni crudo.

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Fluke sashimi over Persian cucumbers with yuzu and saffron salt.

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Ricotta ravioli with golden beets, spinach, caramelized onions, aged parmigiano and balsamic reduction.

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Butter poached chicken breast with leeks, cremini mushrooms, crispy skin and Brussels sprouts.

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Acacia honey and Meyer lemon panna cotta with lemon caramel and citrus powder.

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Posted from CellarTracker

2

You admit liking a chardonnay more than a chenin (though I suspect the Huet would have changed things had it been sound). I’m impressed.

3

Wow. Dinner looks amazing. Kudos to Sarah. Sorry about your Huet.

4

Hey, I do like some Chardonnays. Just not most of them. Plus, not really a fair contest as I don’t like an oxidative profile and the Baumard showed that. I’ve discovered through the years that for the most point, I prefer Savennieres younger before they take on a more oxidized character.

5

Wow - that is some seriously beautiful food! Well done.

6

Fantastic dinner by Sarah…everything perfectly on point!

I agree with Brad’s assessment of the wines except for the Leflaive which was sublime…A, A+ if you enjoy the Leflaive style. But Brad doesn’t like oak…at all. I honestly don’t understand why Brad reviews wines that show any oak at all. [scratch.gif] Brad’s always going to diss the wine. And this bottle was not the least bit overt in its treatment of oak.

Sorry to take issue with you, my friend, but I think 5 other people thought it was excellent! [cheers.gif]

7

This is too funny. I love Brad… I (many times) hate his palate! pileon

Sarah- gorgeous food!

8

Don’t worry, boys. I have plenty of beaver palate friends. [bleh.gif]