Rocking out at Chez Leve with Hermitage and a whole lot more
Los Angeles, CA
Tasted Sunday, February 19, 2006 by Eric with 1,202 views
Introduction
This was our 'rest' night and fourth event in a progression of five. Instead it may have turned into our most raucous. Jeff did a bang-up job in the kitchen, and by the time everyone arrived a great mix of older tunes, blues and rock and jazz, was blaring away. People had a blast! The partners in crime included our host Jeff Leve, myself, Brad England, Claudio Lazo, Howard Horwitz, Al Stewart and Christopher Sliney. Unlike the other nights, all of my tasting notes were in my head, so these are largely quick impressions of a great and fun evening of food, wine and fun guys.
Flight 1 (6 Notes)
We started off with some nice munchies including: a big plate of prosciutto, shaved parmesan and arugula; assorted cheeses; and duck rillette. As everyone arrived we popped these single file and worked our way through an eclectic collection of great wines.
Flight 2 (8 Notes)
After an hour we sent Leve to the kitchen to quickly finish off his culinary masterpieces: truffle mashed potoes; thick cut veal chops that were stuffed with foie gras, seared, roasted and finished off with a red wine and veal demi glace reduction. Awesome!
Flight 3 (3 Notes)
The meal tailed off with a nice salad, the tunes getting louder, and everyone starting to wander around to play boardgames. These bottles opened up because, well, they were there!
Closing
I gathered up the bottles on the bar in order, took down all of the names and then curled up in an armchair, fully spent and very contented! Thanks again for another great night!
2001 E. Guigal Ermitage Blanc Ex-Voto
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
We started off with this one. I expected a fairly rich, oily Marsanne/Roussane wine, but in fact this seemed much more like a Condrieu, very spicy on the nose but surprisingly delicate and precise on the palate. It was a nice wine, and as it warmed it did gain some of the oiliness and nuttiness I would expect. However, it never really wowed me and largely seems very overpriced for what it is.
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1999 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru
Now this was a cruel and dangerous wine to taste next. The wine EXPLODED from the glass with the smell of crush gunflint and slate. The palate was a razor, precise and powerful, very cutting on initial taste. However, as you sipped it the wine filled your palate and showed enormous concentration and deceiving viscosity. For someone who doesn't collect white Burgundy, this was a haunting wine to taste. Truly mindblowing.
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1955 Château Cos d'Estournel
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
This was Brad England's birthyear wine, so he tossed it in. Raging debate ensued as to whether this Nicolas Cellars wine was recorked. Either way, it was very nice with a textbook claret nose and a nice, round mouthful of tobacco. Somewhat simple, this is a very satisfying sipper.
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1974 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
USA, California, Napa Valley
This had a beautiful, pure nose of black currants and mint. Impeccable fill. Oh that mint, what a nice lift it gives to the wine. The palate is medium weight, beautiful, not showing loads of complexity after 32 years yet a joy to sip. Yet the purity and delineation was very fine with black fruit and good vibrancy on the palate.
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1985 Château La Conseillante
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
This was a stunning bottle, as perfectly preserved as one could image, sultry with chocolate and smokey overtones. Drop dead sexy and everything that a solid right-bank wine should be. People were oohing and gooing over this one and deservedly so. Yummy!
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1966 Château Latour Grand Vin
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Wow, what a hammer of a wine! On first pour it was black and forbidding and fairly stern on the palate. Some cedar and graphite sneaks out, but it's not giving much. I took my next sip 15 minutes later while chatting with Jeff in the kitchen, and I nearly dropped my glass. Wow and I mean WOW, this has just exploded into a huge, tannic monster of a wine, loaded with black fruit and graphite. Great bottle HH!
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