Last night I went over to a friend’s house to taste a few wines and eat some good food. Six of us converged for a meal of roasted chicken, mashed potatos and some roasted asparagus accompanied by a few Burgundies.
Here are the wines. A wonderful night.
Champagne and Cali Chards
2001 Cedric Bouchard Inflorescence La Parcelle
A nose of creamy reddish type fruit. Not much brioche. Very pure.
The palate is creamy and rich. Loaded with pinot character. Great balance and finish. The length is the only thing that isn’t Grand Cru here.
Really nice.
2000 Williams-Selyem Chardonnay
A focused nose of white fruit and a hint of vanilla. The palate is a creamy mix of yellowish fruit with oak spice and a hint of caramel. The finish is pretty good. Not bad but not my kind of Chardonnay
2006 Rhys Chardonnay
A piercing nose of rich light golden type fruit. Some tropical notes too but they are bathed in a sensuous minerality. The palate is full and shows fabulous acidity. Dances on your tongue despite the volume in your mouth. A really long finish. This is fantastic California Chardonnay.
Red Burgundies
Flight One (unblinded)
1993 Bruno Clavelier Vosne Romanee Les Beaumonts
An intense red fruited nose. Piercing and focused. It lingers in your sinuses. Just amazing. The palate is a little on the light side. It doesn’t quite fill out in the middle and loses some of the red fruit. The finish is nice but not special. A+ nose however.
1993 Leroy Nuits St Georges Les Boudots
An intense nose. Dark fruit. Some element of iron to me. There is intensity here that is hard to describe. The palate is loaded with sexy darker fruit. Terrific length. This is fabulous.
1993 Chevillon Nuits St Georges Les St Georges
The nose here is more reserved. Dark red fruited and extremely focused. A regal type of palate. Incredible balance of dark fruit and acidity here. The tannins are softening and provide terrific grip on the finish. Fabulous length here. This is special stuff.
Flight Two (unblinded)
1992 Leroy Vosne Romanee Les Beaumonts
Very pure dark reddish color. The nose is focused red fruit with some element of spice. Restrained and sexy. The palate just caresses you. The red fruit extends on the finish. The finish is satisfying if not extremely lengthy. This is wonderful. Still appearing young to me.
1997 Leroy Vosne Romanee Les Beaumonts
A slightly brown rim here. Dark color. The nose is effusive and attacks you out of the glass. There is lots of volume and gorgeous aromas but not the focus of the 1992. The palate is big and voluptuous. Nice finish. Full bore kind of wine compared with the wonderful restraint of the 1992.
N.B. My preference is for restraint and beauty over a much bigger although voluptous wine. A nice contrast of vintages here.
Centerpiece
1988 DRC Echezeaux
Cloudy. The nose is intense. Red fruit and spice. Big in volume again. The palate is wonderfully proportioned. It fills your mouth with red fruit. A nice finish. I liked this but not quite as much as some of the other wines we tasted.
Cheese Wine
2001 Henri Boillot Meursault Charmes
Almost the color of water. The nose is beautifully proportioned with light golden fruit and a sexy mineral note. The palate is full and carries through to an almost Grand Cru finish. Lots of light golden fruit. This really is charming and also delicious.
Dessert
1990 Suduiraut
A golden color. Apricots in abundance on the nose and palate. Now turning semi=sweet on the palate. Terrific length. This is wonderful.
Thanks Chas for being the instigator.
Big thanks to Bill for hosting and supplying many of the wines.
Thanks to all for the wonderful conversation and company.