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Elisabeth Salmon dinner at S.K.Y. |  (561 page views) | | | - N.V. Georges Laval Champagne Premier Cru Brut Nature Cumières - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
L0111, disgorged August 28, 2014. This has really good brightness on the palate, but a touch of green on the palate that really detracts from the overall brilliance of this wine. Good acidity and freshness -- this is a solid, if not the most interesting champagne. I will add that this is much, much better than the disastrous rose of the same vintage. (88 pts.)
- 1988 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon - France, Champagne
An outstanding bottle of Dom. Biscuit, almonds, and a really generous helping of stone fruit. This shows a gorgeous ripeness and maturity, and well-balanced acidity that drives this dense, powerful package. To my palate, this is a champagne at its peak. (95 pts.)
- 1996 Henriot Champagne Cuvée des Enchanteleurs Brut - France, Champagne
This is one of the rare 1996s that is actually ready to drink. It shows a lovely perfumed nose, alongside a mix of ripe apples and pears. A light touch of biscuit thrown in as well, to provide a dose of maturity. Acidity that isn't over the top, and balanced with a little bit of chalkiness as well. An excellent showing. (93 pts.)
- 2011 Marie-Noëlle Ledru Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée du Goulté Blanc de Noirs Brut - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
The 2011 green has affected this wine as well, but in the context of the rest of the package, it seems that it adds an interesting grassy, herbal element instead. Really beautiful freshness here, this shows a little more pinot character than some of the other Goulté I've had in its density. Probably needs a little bit more time to flesh out. (90 pts.)
- N.V. Emmanuel Brochet Champagne Premier Cru Extra Brut Le Mont Benoit - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
L. 10/09, 4 g/L dosage. Disgorged January 2014. This is a really nice example of the modern grower champagnes, in that it has the body and heft to counterbalance that intense chalky acidity. There's a touch of breadiness on the palate as well, that lends this some extra richness as well. (90 pts.)
- 1989 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Vintage Rosé Cave Privée - France, Champagne
From magnum. An outstanding example of aged rose champagne, this had a lot of mature elements to it, but coupled with an acidity that was just so fresh. There's a vibrancy here that is just brilliant, and coupled with those mature elements, it makes this a really complete wine. There are some slight mushroom notes here, but they're mostly supplemental to the lovely fruit and bread aromas. (93 pts.)
- 1978 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart - France, Champagne
This is what a well-stored aged champagne should taste like, at least, in my mind. Lots and lots of biscuit, bread, nuts, and mushrooms on the nose and palate, but the acidity is still present and providing a serious lift to all those savoury elements. There's an aroma on this that makes me think of the shiitake-infused soy sauce that they serve at Fat Rice, but it's not soy in the over-the-hill-Barolo sense. (95 pts.)
- 1996 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Le Clos Saint-Hilaire - France, Champagne
Next to some of the other 96s we had tonight, I felt this was a fairly weak wine. It's mostly a story of the screaming 1996 acidity, and until I looked it up later, I would have been easily convinced that this was a blanc de blancs. Shows much too thin, sharp, and acidic for easy enjoyment, though that's not to say it's a bad wine. We'll see if this ever comes around (I'm not super optimistic). (90 pts.)
- 1989 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon - France, Champagne
An outstanding aged rose. This has impeccable balance between the fruit, minerality, acidity, and just overall primary and secondary character. Clearly a well-cared-for bottle, this tasted surprisingly young, but mature at the same time. No aged funkiness at all, this is clean and crisp, with a clear, delineated mineral drive. (95 pts.)
- 1991 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon - France, Champagne
Probably my least favourite of Liz Salmons tonight. This was all structure, showing mineral and acid, and a little bit of almondy bitterness on the back end. Not much fruit to be found, though there's a richness that makes this still a good drink. I'd probably like this a lot more on its own, but in the context, it was so obvious that this was the runt of the litter. (90 pts.)
- 1995 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon - France, Champagne
This is a tight, and densely packed iteration of this wine. High acid, but with all the necessary elements to balance it out. This behemoth needs some time to sort itself out; a little more resolution on the tight acids, as well as a bit more development of secondary characteristics will make this a wine to behold. (93 pts.)
- 1996 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon - France, Champagne
This and the 2002 were probably my favourite of the Liz Salmons. The first thing you notice is the grand scale of this wine -- there's a massive skeleton of acidity and minerality here, but it's all fleshed out with concentrated fruit flavours. There are barely any secondary characteristics here, but the monumental quality of this wine is impossible to miss. Will be better with time, but amazing now. (95 pts.)
- 1997 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon - France, Champagne
This is the first example tonight that actually showed any age on it. It's definitely one of the earlier-drinking editions. Nowhere as intense and concentrated as the monumental 95 and 96, this really suffered in that context. Ordinarily, I would love to drink this wine by itself, but it wasn't too interesting in comparison. There's still fruit, but it's not powerful or dense, and the acidity, while there, doesn't seem to have as much drive as many of the other wines. (90 pts.)
- 1998 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon - France, Champagne
This was, to me, a little blowsy. It's really large scaled, but it doesn't have the same structural elements that you might find in the 95 or 96. This is also the first (and really, only) wine where I found the fruit just a little on the candied side. All that said, this is, in its own right, still a very impressive and delicious example of the cuvee. (93 pts.)
- 2000 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon - France, Champagne
This is a bit of a lesser vintage, and it shows in its relative lightness, but there's still a lot to like here. There's a really interesting tone here where the fruit veers significantly away from any rose characteristic, and I think if this were served to me in a black glass, it'd be 50/50 for me to say this was a rose at all. The mineral crispness here is outstanding, but this is a little scrawnier in comparison. (93 pts.)
- 2002 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon - France, Champagne
This may well edge out the 1996 as my favourite wine. It's got that new wine smell (it really shouldn't considering that it's 15 years old now), but that super bright fruit just can't be hidden. Super dense, with tons of ripe fruit, all held together by intense acidity, this has that fruit profile that I love in champagne. (95 pts.)
- 2006 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon - France, Champagne
Corked. (FLAWED)
- 1970 Croft Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto
This is about as textbook as it gets with vintage port. Figs, dates, and a touch of floral perfume, with a large-scaled palate where you can clearly feel a touch of an alcoholic burn. Not too sweet, this is very nicely balanced overall. (90 pts.)
- 1978 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage Nacional - Portugal, Douro, Porto
A port that is sui generis. Surprisingly light, elegant, and floral, with some dried fruit tones on the nose. I was shocked by how light this wine was. It wears its alcohol incredibly well, there is no sense of heat at all! Silky smooth, with fully resolved tannins. Absolutely gorgeous. (95 pts.)
- 1987 Château d'Yquem - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
This showed a classic Yquem nose, with a touch of marmalade and coconut. It wasn't super intense or powerful (perhaps given the weaker vintage), but the familial signs were all there. The palate is not as sweet as many of the richer vintages, and that gives this a really nice lift. The bitter orange on the finish really ties this together, but it gets just a little too bitter. (90 pts.)
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