Spruce Restaurant, San Francisco
Tasted Thursday, March 21, 2013 by aagrawal with 997 views
This was a once-in-a-lifetime wine dinner put on by the Rare Wine Company because they didn't know what to do with their very small allocation of single vineyard Selosse (24 bottles of each single vineyard imported into the country). In order to have as many people try it as possible, they decided to put on a few (very expensive) Selosse-themed dinners around the country. In summary, it was spectacular.
Served with small hors d'oeuvres. This was a very good wine to start the dinner, but it didn't particularly stand out to me. I'm not sure if I would have spent the time and effort aging Huet for this result.
This was a fascinating flight of three disgorgements of the Initiale: 2012, 2003, and 2001 (when it was called Tradition). There was a clear evolution between the 2012 to the 2003, but then the 2001 was somewhere between the other two in terms of evolution. Peter Liem explained to us that the 2003 was likely based on the 1997 vintage, which evolved relatively quickly, while the 2001 was likely based on the 1995, which is still early in its evolution. I certainly loved all three wines and each had its own character, but I probably give a slight edge to the 2003 disgorgement that had great complexity and some lovely mature notes (ready to drink). The other two were still young but pleasurable in their own youthful and vibrant way.
This course was paired with oysters en gelee with local caviar.
This was an incredible flight. All the Lieux-Dits are single vineyard wines that are in the early stages of being established as a solera (multiple vintages blended together in perpetuity). La Cote Faron is from Ay, Le Bout du Clos is from Ambonnay, and Sous Le Mont is from Mareuil-Sur-Ay. Each one was unique, fantastically balanced, and overall a superb champagne. Le Bout du clos was more about power and was very forward, the sous le mont had an herbal quality to it that was very intriguing, and la cote faron was a great blend of power and elegance. The clear standout here for me was Sous Le Mont, though I may have been one of the few who shared that opinion. I thought it was near perfect.
This course was paired with sea scallops, root vegetables, and roast shellfish broth.
These were the blanc de blancs single vineyard solera-styled wines. In general, they were also excellent, but in a completely different way than the blanc de noirs. The blanc de noirs all seemed to have a more unique character that I hadn't seen in other producer's wines, whereas the blanc de blancs were similar to other champagnes that I've tried in style, though so much more refined and balanced. Le chemin de chalons (Cramant) was the stepchild in this flight... still excellent, but not at the same level of any of the other lieux-dits. The Les Chantereines (Avize) and Les Carelles (Le Mesnil) showed almost crazy amounts of acidity and clearly need some time in bottle to settle down. These two were superb.
This course was paired with Japanese Tai snapper, mussel butter, and foraged mushrooms.
This flight consisted of two disgorgements of Substance (2011 and 2001) as well as the 1999 Vintage en magnum. These were all excellent wines, but after the last few flights it didn't hold up as well. They were well balanced and interesting (and I would certainly drink them anytime), but they had somewhat less character than Selosse's other wines. Of note, the 1999 Vintage wine had a huge amount of acidity, even more than the Le Mesnil in the flight before it, and likely needs a lot of time. That was probably my favorite in this flight. As far as Substance, given the price and quality I would probably choose Initiale every time if I was paying.
This course was paired with Wolfe Ranch quail, black truffle braised cabbage, and cavatelli.
This was a fabulous event, and I'm very glad I attended despite the cost. The best flight for me by far was the blanc de noirs single vineyards, though the Initiale flight was superb as well and would be my choice for what to buy given their relative costs. My only previous experience with Selosse (a bottle of the Initiale) was stunning, and this dinner confirmed that despite my relative lack of experience with Selosse, I can confidently claim that it is the top champagne producer that I have tasted to date (and now is my highest rated champagne to date with the Sous Le Mont). The pairings were also superb, and the food was delicious. Many thanks to Rare Wine Company for putting on such an event!
1996 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Mont 90 Points
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Served as an aperitif. Yellow-gold color; nose has nice balanced fruits, mineral, chalky; palate is rich, medium bodied, complex; finish is a bit tart. Very nice. 90-91
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