TNs:Dom, Bollinger, Moine, Jadot, Damoy, Prum, Donnhoff, Kracher, Scavino, Pio Cesare et al

At the suggestion of a board member, I`ve re-stated the TN theme:

This has been a good week and it`s not even Friday night yet. Last Sunday was a WS Top 100 tasting, Monday was a tasting/ dinner of 20+ wines from 1970, Tuesday was my birthday and we opened some good ones and Thursday our dinner group met and that is what this post is about. We were seated in the semi private dinning room at the fine, local Santa Barbara Italian ristorante, Olio e Limone and we shared the following wines:

NV BOLLINGER ROSE- the last time I had this was at the Champagne Bollinger over a year a ago; I liked it then and like it as much now; nice sweet cherry flavors in a soft, luscious mousse which improved over the evening; medium body and lingering fruitiness enhances the experience.

NV JACQUES SELOSSE BRUT- not nearly as ready or good as one I`d had recently; this had some minerals and chalkiness with a little salt and pepper and had some funk in the nose which carried on through into the mid palate.

2002 DOM PERIGNON- bracing acidity; there was a biting sensation on my tongue and palate with each taste; tight at first, it opened up with more of the citrusy notes; it seemed that it has the stuff to develop into another fine Dom, but it needs a lot of time to integrate.

2004 PIERRE PETERS LES CHETILLONS BdB- after their stunning 2000 and 2002, I figure this has to rock; it didn`t; way too young and not integrated, it shows the makings of eventually moving into a good if not very good bubbly; some minerals, orange/ lemon, chalk, salt and pepper; the components are there; visit this in 10 years plus.

2007 JJ PRUM WEHLENER SONNENUHR SPATLESE RIESLING- absolutely fabulous; big and enticing bouquet followed up by more of the same honeyed pear and apricot in a thick, oily texture all of with a welcomed long finish.

1999 KRACHER WELSCHRIESLING TROCHENBEERENAUSLESE- 375ml; another simply incredible riesling; in a nut shell, this could be called “apricot dream”; more of the same thick, oily texture which coats the palate nicely and a lingering finish to please.

2005 DONNHOFF NORHEIMER KIRSCHHECK RIESLING SPATLESE- I`ve had better bottles; this had some salt and minerals, sweet citrus notes of grapefruit, lemon and lime, but not with the complexity and structure of previous bottles.

2005 LUCIEN LE MOINE CORTON- CHARLEMAGNE- my goodness, here`s some more oily, viscous liquid only this is a Grand Cru white Burg; after the wood in the nose, it moves into a slightly sweet lemon/ lime with some depth and complexity; wonderful wine.

2002 VINCENT GIRARDIN CORTON CHARLEMAGNE- Ive had enough of this to think this was a bottle variation on the bad side; it appeared as if it had been cooked although with premox, it may have just moved on; certainly it was way off; Ive got to open one soon and determine if there is still life left.

2005 LOUIS MICHEL LES CLOS CHABLIS- of Grand Cru fruit, it was chalky and dry with some mineralization and not a lot of fruit; some unexpected herbal and grassy notes.

2005 AUBERT REULING VINEYARD SONOMA CHARDONNAY- strange bitterness here, kind of a weird nose with a lot of minerals; I never got the fruit profile defined and just kind of moved on.

2008 JADOT BONNES MARES- somewhat closed down now, there`s some vanilla and butter in the nose and in the mid palate along with some raspberry and cherry; just OK at this point; would have benefitted from decanting.

1993 PIERRE DAMOY CHAMBERTIN CLOS DE BEZE- from a not so good vintage where I`ve actually had some good red Burgs, this was not one of them; muted nose, it was of light weight, thin and minimal fruit.

1998 PAOLO SCAVINO ROCCHE DELL ANNUNZIATA RISERVA BAROLO- again, I found this to be underwhelming; muted nose, tart and dry over ripe pruny fruit and astringency.

1997 PIO CESARE ORNATO BAROLO- soft, smooth and delicious with blueberry and blackberry fruit and complexity and structure that promises more of the same and better for years to come.

2009 JAFFURS VERNA`S VINEYARD SYRAH- upfront good ripe fruit; serious juice and a constant delight from this fine producer.

We had more wines, all from a Napa winemaker in attendance. As per his request, no notes will be published even though I really liked the wines.

Cheers

New TN theme as suggested.

Interesting note on the Scavino. I had the '98 Cannubi a few years ago and it was quite nice - have not had the RdelA.

I believe Bob didnt like the vintage but this is an exceptional vintage.

Yes. I agree. Most of g-crus which I tried recently …like CdB Rousseau and RSV-DRC still need a few years.



Bob didnt like the vintage

I believe that Bob did not like the vintage becasue he felt that the tannin will always be around …

Great notes, happy birthday, and GO VCU!

Thanks for the notes. And the reminder of Olio e Limone.

The 93 comment caught my eye. I always think of it as a great vintage. I know some our group think it is the best of the 90s.

Jason

93 Damoy (note spelling) wines are fabulous, as is the vintage for red Burgundy.
alan

Is there appreciable variation in quality for the Chetillons based on disgorgement dates? I liked the '04 considerably more than you and agree with it needing several years. Tasted it in July in a small group led by Terry Theise, which might have contributed to my positive impression.

RT

Kevin, Peter, Jason and Alan, re the 93 vintage in Burgundy,my personal experience with this vintage has been very good, not great. Ive had some really fine Jadot Le Musigny and Drouhin RSV and of courese, any and all DRCs have been stellar. BTW, RP rated the vintage 80 in the Cote de Beaune and 85 in the Cotes de Nuits FYI. Also, a few savvy collector friends have had some less that good experiences with their 93`s, so I made my comment more with that in mind than a lot of personal experience.
For me, it comes down to the producer in almost any vintage, especially difficult ones in Burgundy.

Are you sure it was the 02 Selosse?

Richard,
This is the first of the 04 vintage for me from this producer who I am very high on. I had a fantastic afternoon with Rudolph who pulled many wines out of his cellar, some newer and many older and evolved ones and they were all wonderful. I loved the 00 and 02 in their youth and was surprised to find the 04 so out of balance as a result. I did not find a disgorgement date on this bottle or cork. As with many wines and most especially an experience recently with the 95 Dom Oeno, it does makes a significant difference. Ill certainly revisit the PP 04`.
To do any tasting with Theise would prejudice the experienced favorably, I would think.

actually, there’s a long (and somewhat interesting) history regarding that 93 red Burgundy vintage rating. Initially rated 67 and 73, respectively, by Parker, many on the eBob board derided both Parker and Rovani and, suddenly and quietly without comment, the scores were significantly upgraded. There are few serious Burgundy lovers who take Parker Burgundy notes or vintage ratings seriously. Many look to Burghound, Tanzer, Gilman and Kolms. Appreciate your notes and comments.
alan

Yes

very nicely done. your notes on scavino’s 98 rocche mirror my own. this wine is usually very elegant, perfumed and did i say elegant! that is int he context of scavino’s wines.

not a fan of 97 barolo from most modernists esp cesare’s ornate bottling which as is is often exaggerated and showing overt ripe fruits.

08 jadot bones marres will be the stuff of dreams if you ask me. it needs a long time though. twice this past couple of months, it has shown tremendous improvement in the glass while showing 1/10th of whats to come.

le moine’s cc, sounds terrific. it reads as if it was a TN for coche dury’s CC. love to try one even though stylistically i know i would like other’s CC but nonetheless i am sure it will be a sensational wine.

the notes on champagnes was very helpful. never had a bolly rose. seems like 02 dom oeno will be the real deal or if there is any hope for the regular bottling, its going to come in a decade time of bottle aging. equally not surprised to read the tn on 02 sellose. for best drinking pleasure i stick to his version original, aka extra brut with a 1-2 of bottle age. sublime stuff.

cheers

So where did you get the Selosse? I have my order in but they told me its not released until next September.

Agreed. One of my favorites, I have gone through a couple of cases, and had to buy replacements in the secondary market. Prices now reflect the quality.

Alan/ Mark: Even though I misspelled the producer, Damoy is one fine burgundy and I should have mentioned that in my remarks. This 93` was not showing well and all 13 at the table agreed.

Russell, Im asking for confirmation from others who attended this and the previous dinner to substantiate the vintage of the Selosse. My notes state 02 in both cases. If it has not been released, obviously Im mistaken. Ill get back when I receive feedback. Thanks for the heads up. I like to to corrected.

Blake, it exists and is disgorged I think, so I may not be correcting anything if it came to an importer or similar as an advance release.

Russell,
I stand corrected. The Selosse was NV, disgorged 10/10. Interesting how others had it also as an 02 other than the one who brought it who I just heard back from. So, both of the Selosse wines I refer to were the NV brut. Thanks for calling this to my attention. Now, Im on the lookout for the 02 since Ive had some input as to how it shows and not had it.