We had a feast of sushi last night with some great wines and great company. My wife and I brought a friend to meet Jud and Lisa at Yama, our favorite local BYOB sushi place. We slightly overordered as per usual, and we certainly had plenty of wine to go around despite the disappointment of a corked '96 DP. I took no notes, but here are some brief impressions from memory:
1996 Dom Pérignon: sadly, corked. Beneath the taint, I sensed that the wine was starting to show just the tiniest hint of toasty maturation, which was a contrast to the unyielding bottle I had a couple of years ago.
1996 Billecart-Salmon Grande Cuvée: generously brought by Jud and his wife as the other part of a pair of '96 Champagnes. The disappointment of the DP disappeared as I enjoyed the depth and complexity of this wine. It showed a good bit of red cherry and raspberry, combined with ripe apple and lemon, all accented by toast, floral notes, and some underlying minerality. There were plenty of layers to this beauty, which showed admirable evolution of flavor on the palate. The first sound wine was the consensus wine of the night. outstanding+.
2004 Pierre Peters Les Chetillons: classic Blanc de Blancs, with loads of steely mineral mingling with yellow apple, crisp pear, mild honeyed aromas emerging with air time, and still-subtle toast… The wine was very good when opened, but really not much better than the current release of the same producer’s NV. Later in the meal it had gained a bit of depth and even seemed to have gained some flavor intensity, bringing it, for me, right to the line of very good/outstanding. I think this wine will improve with a few years’ bottle age.
NV H. Billiot Cuvée Laetitia: Could we have had 2 flawed Champagnes in 1 night? I think we must have. This smelled and tasted like spicy mayonnaise, seasonings in New Orleans cooking, and sour beer. nothing to like here. I’ve never had this wine, but I believe the bottle was flawed. Reading through the CT notes, this does not seem typical at all.
1997 Dr Bürklin-Wolf Gaisböhl Riesling GC: This was killer right out of the gate, with loads of wet slate and smokey minerality supporting subtle layers of fruit, florals, spice, dusty earth, and “petrol”. I think the wine is right at its peak for my taste, with plenty of intensity, showing very openly and not holding anything back. outstanding.
2001 Dr Bürklin-Wolf Kirchenstück Riesling GC: Still pretty tight upon opening, this wine really blossomed over the course of the evening. Initially it was far surpassed by the Gaisböhl, but after an hour or so, this wine began to show the greatness of its potential and ended up at least equaling, if not slightly surpassing the previous wine. It was a more elegant and subtle versus the open, even up-front nature of the Gaisböhl. a beautiful wine that could use a good decant or just a few more years to really come into its own. outstanding.
NV René Geoffroy Rosé: disgorged July 2010. My second time with this wine, and it again proved to be a dry, mineral-driven style of rosé (which I like), with lots of chalk on the nose and palate, highlighting fresh red berry fruits that were quite restrained and not the least bit confected or candied. classy. a very good wine that was fantastic with our food, especially the spicy tuna and other things with sauces.
Equipo Navazos La Bota de Palo Cortado no. 21: All kinds of different nuts in here somehow do create a sense of layering of flavor, mingling with notes of yeast, dried apricot, and hints of dried orchard fruit. very good, and one of the best dry Sherries I have had, but not quite living up to the price tag. I think there’s better from this label.