Atlanta visit: Day 1 of 3
After journeying to Atlanta for professional business purposes, we extended our stay for 3 more days to share some wonderful moments with good friends who live in a grand home in the Buckhead section of the city.
We were blessed to have the beautiful fall colors encompassing the area. To accentuate this magnificence, our host invited me to go up in his single engine 4 seat Cirrus SR 22 Generation 3 plane to explore the surrounding area from the sky. At a fairly low altitude of around 3,000 feet, we flew over the downtown section, Stone Mountain and Lake Lanier and saw other topographical landmarks such as the origin of the Appalachian Mountains and areas that were historically significant in the Civil War.
Each night consisted of a stellar dinner with exquisite wines and we were joined by some of their special friends who I felt privileged to meet and share quality time with. I had shipped some wines in advance to add to those of our host and others. The first night was in their home and the entire home cooked dinner was prepared in fine vegan style cuisine along with we enjoyed some nice wines:
NV VARNIER FANNIERE BRUT ROSE- from Grand Cru vineyards, this delightful rose pleases with nice strawberry, raspberry notes in a medium body; it`s bright, refreshing and very fulfilling for anyone desiring a decent rose at a decent price of under $50.
NV RENE GEOFFROY EXPRESSION BRUT- from 1er Cru vineyards, this is good bubbly offering a bountiful of acidity showing up with a mostly citrus flavored fruit profile and a touch of saline and being delivered in a mild creamy mousse; a perfect match for a warm summer`s day and in this case, on a warm fall day.
2007 DOMAINE LEFLAIVE les PUCELLES PULIGNY MONTRACHET- 1er Cru of Grand Cru quality; consistently a winner vintage after vintage, decade after decade, this is so good; its creamy rich with a lot of lemon lime notes, a bit of saline and honeysuckle come in by mid palate; its soft, smooth and luscious; I remain grateful for the high quality this producer maintains with this vineyard`s special gifts.
1996 WILLIAMS SELYEM PRECIOUS MOUNTAIN PINOT NOIR- I brought this for a turn on to some who have not ventured into the magnificence of these wines from the early 80s through 97, the last year Burt Williams vinified before selling the winery; it did not disappoint; from one of the most treasured vineyards designated for individual bottlings, it was so elegant and yet had immense sophistication; balance is the key most obvious component of the entire experience here; the taste profile included cinnamon and a touch of clove embellishing the still almost primary flavors of strawberry and cherry which carried all the way to the back end with a long and welcomed finish; this was all I had hoped it would be for my friends.
1999 BEAUX FRERES PINOT NOIR- I was a big fan of the 94, 95 and 96 Pinots from this label, but have only sporadically revisited since so this was a real treat; this wine was on the “masculine” side of things being very big and bold with an abundance of fruit, but not one dimensionally so; its pretty serious and complex almost intense at first which suggested to me it might have been good to decant it for an hour or more; it did have some alcohol component that came in about mid palate [the label states 14.7%]; this has the stuffing to go for a long time and should evolve with more time.
2008 DOMAINE PONSOT MOREY ST. DENIS CUVEE des ALOUETTES- this 1er Cru was shining brightly and served to be such a contrast from the Williams Selyem and Beaux Freres which were quite a contrast to each other; after a floral nose mostly of violets, it moved into a bright fruity character of red cherry that had a nice spicy touch, all of which continued on to the back end for a long finish; with its youthful exuberance, this had some power and a tease of finesse which I expect to balance out with maturity.
2005 CAMILLE GIROUD CHAMBERTIN GRAND CRU- and now for the grand finale; this wine has already arrived at a perfect place offering beautiful balance and complexity with depth and structure that ensures longevity; the fruit profile was more of black berries which was trasported in a soft and silky texture; what`s more to like?
Well, this was a great first night and I already know the last night of the 3 is set up with an all star lineup of wines, a 7 course dinner at a great local restaurant shared by 8 wine passionate people. I`m loving Atlanta.
Cheers,
Blake
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