Ripple - Cleveland Park, Washington, D.C.
Tasted Friday, October 28, 2011 by tooch with 1,267 views
I'm leaving DC at the end of November so I wanted to assemble a group of friends together to share wine and have one last (major) dinner. We drank and ate well at Ripple. Logan prepared some incredible dishes, and service was beautifully orchestrated by Mo. Ripple continues to impress!
It was a bittersweet dinner for me as I'll miss all these people tremendously - not sure what I'll do without all of these great people! Thanks to everyone for coming along and bringing such a wonderful selection of wines.
We started off with a large selections of champagnes. I only got to try 4 of them, but there must have been 3-5 others floating around that I didn't get to try.
We had some oddball whites show up...but all were stunning! The rieslings were beautiful and elegant and the Chevalier showcased how exotic Bordeaux Blancs can be.
The white burgundies hit the spot. While the Les Lys was a slight disappointment, I enjoyed having another Genevrieres from Jobard and trying the Les Clos from Moreau for the first time.
The red burgundies were very interesting to me. The 1999 vintage continues to impress and both of these were far darker, denser and meatier than I expected.
I haven't drank a lot of Beaucastel lately, so with Fall weather back in the DC area thought it would be fun to do a horizontal from what I consider to be an incredibly exciting vintage from Beau. All of the wines showed well, but I think everyone admitted that the the CdP and the Hommage should have been opened hours earlier than they were.
We had a couple other Southern Rhones that we put together in a small little flight. The 1999 Hommage was sadly corked, but the 2001 Pegau showed well and reminded me how exotic they can be.
By chance, three Margaux wines showed up all from different decades. It was an incredible flight that showcased some beautiful wines.
NV Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru Tradition Brut 90 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Nice energy on the palate with good citrus, mineral and mousse tones. Had a nice density while still remaining taut with sizzling acidity and florals. Great bottle.
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NV Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Premier Cru Rosé de Saignée Extra Brut 89 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
Had a slightly sweeter profile than the Soutiran Rose we had. Strawberry, yeast, brioche and lemon combined nicely on the palate.
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2004 Champagne Fleury Champagne Cepages Blancs Brut 91 Points
France, Champagne
Had dense mousse on the nose with yeast and citrus as well. The palate was firm and complex with great acidity and weight. This was my favorite Champagne of the night - thought it was elegant and taut with a great life ahead of it.
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NV Soutiran Champagne Grand Cru Brut Rosé 90 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
This was outstanding with wild strawberry, minerals, and brioche tones on the nose. I was impressed by its energy and complexity with layers of florals and minerals on the palate.
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