TNs: Krug, DP, Chave etc etc

WINE TALK
1

Had a bunch of wines this week - many at last night’s Acker auction. Very festive mood - hopefully a positive economic sign.



Here are some brief descriptions of some of the highlights and lowlights for me this past week or so.



’64 Krug - When I removed the cork, I feared the worst. It came out immediately without any sound of CO2. My hopes went up once I poured it and saw a bright golden color with a bit of mousse in the glass. Smelled great with typical mature champagne aromas, but also a touch of saline, some truffles and a load of fruit. The palate had layers of honeyed fruit to it that expanded with a long finish and a good acidic backbone. Killer minus



’90 Krug - What a contrast to drink with the '64. Vanilla creme soda, vivid fruit and effervescence. While a powerful champagne, it isn’t aggressive on the palate or the finish. This vintage of Krug has really toned down - in a good way - over the past few years. Excellent plus



’71 Dom Perignon - poorly stored bottle - very advanced - dominated by mushroom flavors - NR



’95 Dom Perignon Oenotheque - had three very consistant bottles. While the '95 DP is a very good bottle of champagne, the Oeno takes it up a couple of levels. Bright yellow fruits, some smokiness to it with a razor blade of acidity that dissipates at the perfect time. Staggering minus



’96 DP Rose - still way too youthful to drink. All the components are there - especially a ton of red fruit. The next bottle I open won’t be for another 5 years, mags at least 10 more. Currently Painful Minus (a brand new rating on my scale ) but down the road will surely be at least Excellent



’75 Cristal - Not a huge fan of Cristal in general, but there are a few vintages I really like - the '75 being on of them. Had that slight orange tint to it that I sometimes find in older Cristals. Mainly red fruits on the nose and palate with touches of mushrooms and leather. In a perfect place right now to drink. Staggering minus



’85 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses - Very pale colored with vibrant effervescence. A ton of sweet lemons and other citrus fruits on the nose and palate. Atypical for Goisses in that it seems like it’s a Blanc de Blancs. Not sure if the blend in '85 weighed more heavily towards Chardonnay, but it sure smelled and tasted that way. Excellent plus



’66 Perrier Jouet Rose - No efferevescence. Aromas of old mushrooms and caramel, with zero fruit. A little better on the palate, but not much. Fair minus



’90 Taittinger CdC - I wish I had drank this the same night as the '85 Goisses. Would have been interesting to see which one had more intense aromas and flavors of lemons. Still lightly colored but touches of mature champagne flavors are just starting to show and are an excellent compliment to the lemon fruit. Excellent plus



’79 Pol Roger SWC Mag - Extremely vibrant with a youthful pale color to match. Bold fruit on the palate and nose, with touces of smoke. Served blind, I would have thought it was half the age it was. Still humming along after being open for six or so hours. Excellent plus



’64 DRC Echezeaux - surprisingly intense fruit on the nose with notes of leather, mushrooms and “clean” barnyard. The biggest surprise for me was on the palate with its depth of fruit and flavors. One of the better DRC Echezeaux I’ve had, but in my mind they have grown to be held in higher regard than I once did. Recent excellent bottles of '90 and '83 have helped the cause, as did this bottle. Staggering minus.



’64 Petrus - good fruit on the nose but it doesn’t have the intensity of fruit that better vintages of Petrus can have. Certainly enjoyable with its red fruit, touches of spice and satin mouthfeel. however, once the prictag is factored in, it can only be viewed as a bit disappointing. Excellent minus.



’64 Vieux Chateau Certan - blew the Petrus away for 20% of the cost. More intense red fruit, with more lushness. Where the Petrus was satin, this was velvet. Touches of chocolate were a perfect match to the red berry fruit. Staggering.



’82 Vieux Chateau Certan - Not the best example of this wine that I’ve had, but still sound. I love VCC’s from '82 and prior, especially their incredible run from '45-'50. I haven’t had any very recent vintages, but other post '82 VCC’s that I’ve had, have been disappointing. Excellent minus.



’89 Chave - Dark fruits, underbrush and autumn notes on the nose. Solid core of fruit on the palate. Excellent



’90 Chave - a touch better than the previous wine, but not worth double the price. A very good but not great example of this wine. Dark red/black color with plenty of power and firm tannins that give the wine good structure with about being bothersome. A classic Chave. Excellent plus



’89 La Mouline - is certainly a very good wine, but I can’t help but think of how much better the '88, '90 and '91 Moulines are than this vintage. It lacks that sexy soaring nose of Viognier and dense fruit on the palate that the better Moulines have. Excellent minus



’75 La Chapelle Mag - from Graham Lyons cellar - every bottle of which I drank has been fresh and sound. Considering how bad the reputation of '75 N. Rhone this was a huge overachiever. As good as the best bottles of La Mouline that I’ve had from this vintage. Classic notes of black olices, herbs, leather and underbrush. Fruit is still fresh with no signs of drying up. This was my favorite of the four Rhones of the evening. Staggering Minus



’64 Cantemerle - Also from Graham Lyons cellar, while not spectacular it was certainly a solid example of a mature Bordeaux. I’ve drank a fair amount of much older Cantemerle out of this cellar and they’ve all been good. This bottle have a Graves like profile, with tobacco and notes of cedar. Very good plus.



’93 Dujac Clos de la Roche - I love this wine. what’s not to love -Pure clean fruit - complex notes of saddle leather, truffles, porcini mushrooms - good structure - long finish etc Staggering.



I’m sure I’m forgetting a few - if I think of some more I will edit my post.

2

Haha…Painful Minus as a rating. I had the '96 Dom Rose from maggie a couple of months ago and thought it was a tad better than that.

3

Great notes Ray, I would love to try some of those wines.

The CdlR has me spinning, I wish I could take one of those to dinner tonight.

4

Ray,

Awesome notes and line-up as usual. How’d the auction show?

And I agree, I haven’t had the 93 Dujac CdlR in a while, but man I loved it a few years back.
Cheers! [cheers.gif]

5

Great notes. Drinking well as usual. [notworthy.gif]

Dujac better with time?

6

Michel,

The auction was pretty strong. There was a ton of champagne offered and I was expecting that segment to be soft, but it wasn’t.

Paul,

As you know, I love bottles with age on them, so for me I think it will get better with time, but it’s hard will be hard to keep my hands off my remaining bottles.