| | After almost 6 months since we last got together on my deck, we finally got together again after we were all vaccinated. MK made roast chicken, polenta, and roasted veggies. Can't remember dessert but we did have 2 ports and a Rare Wine Boston Bual madeira with them. All the wines showed well and just a fun get together after being apart for so long. Champagne and Whites With apps of cheese and charcuterie. - 1995 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut Rosé La Grande Dame - France, Champagne
First time with an aged rose champagne. Aromas of caramel, apples, copious flowers. Nutty caramel on palate with apples and flowers. With more air, the wine becomes more seamless and elegant with the aged, oxidative flavors merging with the apples and flowers. Nice acids and mild bubbles. Very nice. (92 pts.)
- N.V. Marc Hébrart Champagne Premier Cru Sélection Brut - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
PnP. Nice, effervescent, tart apple aromas with a hint of caramel, herbs and lots of minerals. Palate with tart apples, a bit of caramel, minerals and herbs. Nice finish. Excellent acids but not screechy in any way. (91 pts.)
- 2006 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Haut-Lieu - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Decanted for 1.5h then back into bottle. Now 2h after decant. Tight, very shy aromas. Palate with just ripe apples, a bit of oxidative nuttiness, lovely minerals, herbs, and a bit of wet wool. Excellent acids but yet somehow, still mellow. With more air, the wine becomes more expressive on the nose, mirroring the palate. The palate becomes more seamless and balanced as the night wore on. Excellent but clearly needs plenty of air. (93 pts.)
Reds With roast chicken, polenta, and roasted vegetables. - 1995 Domaine Barge Côte-Rôtie Côte Brune - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Stood up for a week, then decanted off sediment for 2h then back into bottle. Lovely aromas of black and red cherries, just ripe plums, herbs, leather, olives, tangy game meats and minerals. Elegant palate with black cherries, unripe plums, minerals, game meats, some olives and herbs. Elegant palate with moderate tannins still and excellent acids. Lovely balance of fruit and structure. But it was the elegant texture that stood out most to me. All the elements became more balanced with time. On a nice broad plateau. Lovely. My WOTN. (94 pts.)
- 1998 Cordero di Montezemolo Barolo Monfalletto - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
A slight amount of funky, wet cardboard aromas with leather, dried cherries, and mild flowers. Palate with lovely red cherries, herbs, some leather. Elegant palate, with nice acids and mild tannins. I think the wine was ever so slightly corked - it barely got stronger as the night wore on. Others disagreed. But the slight corkiness didn't really detract from the palate which was lovely. (91 pts.)
- 2000 Château Sociando-Mallet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Lots of strong green peppers on nose followed by dried cherries, currants, strong herbs and minerals. Palate showed dried cherries, strong bell peppers and herbs, and a good dose of minerals. Medium - full bodied still. Nice finish. Drinking well now but can definitely go for much longer. The pyrazines here are particularly strong and pronounced, almost to distraction. I say this as someone who loves Chinon cab francs. Still, this is a very nice wine. 91+ (91 pts.)
- 2015 Alain Graillot St. Joseph - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
My first time with a St. Joseph from Graillot. Bright cherry aromas with unripe plums, herbs and a bit of olives. Palate mirrors the aromas. Nice texture with medium+ tannins on a medium-full bodied frame. Nice acids. Nicely balanced. Not sure if the bigger body compare to his Crozes-Hermitage of different vintages that I've had earlier is from the terroir of St. Joseph or because of the warmer 2005. The fruit is ripe but in no way overblown. I also thought this would have been closed but that wasn't the case. Drinking nicely now abeit young. Definitely can hold for at least 5 years or more to see further evolution. Nicely done. (91 pts.)
- 1995 Château Clinet - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Some bell pepper on the nose with dried cherries, herbs and minerals. Palate is similar to the nose with added currants. Medium tannins with medium-full body. Nice acids give the wine lift and some elegance. In contrast to the 2000 Sociando, the pyrazines here are more muted and is a nicely integrated accent to the whole. Nicely done. (92 pts.)
Again, just a beautiful night of lovely wines and even better people. Can't go wrong here. |
