Bella Trattoria, San Francisco
Tasted Friday, October 24, 2014 - Sunday, October 26, 2014 by aagrawal with 457 views
A wonderful biannual dinner with friends who love sauternes.
A rare treat, the Dauvissat was showing incredibly well. Balanced, enjoyable, fruity, this was everything I wanted in a Chablis and one of the highlights of the evening.
I brought the 1995 Dunn and didn't realize that it was slightly corked. It was exceptional nonetheless. The 2001 Dunn is excellent as well, though noticeably younger and a bit riper than the 1995 (which I will try again at some point soon). The Bond was a very good supple wine, though made in a more modern style with riper fruit.
Lessons:
1) The 1995 was the best of the three, easily. The most well balanced, fresh, great acidity, some of the best complexity, and a long life ahead. The 1998 is a value Yquem which is enjoyable but nothing profound. The 2011 is impossible to evaluate at this young age. It seems excellently balanced and will likely turn into something very good. I would love to try the 2011 again in 2016+.
2) Halves are a wonderful size.
3) Wait 15 years before seriously trying an Yquem.
4) At least two of these wines had interesting grapefruit notes comparable to Fargues. Also, the style was strongly reminiscent of Fargues.
5) There was supposedly a stylistic shift in 2005 from the more rich and unctuous Yquem to a lighter less barrel-aged Yquem (2 years instead of 3). This is the first post-style shift Yquem that I've tried (the 2011), and it's hard to know what conclusions to draw. In one respect, the style of the 1995 and 1998 is much more my preference and I think a big part of what makes Yquem what it is (the richness but freshness), and the 2011 seems to head too far into the minerality spectrum of a good Barsac. But it may also be too early to evaluate, so judgements will need to wait until it has some age on it.
An interesting off-theme dessert wine. I didn't try it the night of the dinner since I didn't want to distract from Yquem, but Geary kindly let me take it home and try it later. Interesting to try, and I can see the potential if it was a higher quality wine. As someone who hasn't tried much Italian dessert wine, this makes me interested in Amarone or other sweeter wines that may be in a similar style but better complexity.
Always a wonderful dinner with wonderful friends. And plenty of sauternes.
2002 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
(10/24/2014)
Wonderful nose with butterscotch, caramel, slight truffle; palate is full bodied but with exquisite acidity, fruit, and flavor; long finish. World class mature Chablis, and one of the best that I've tried. 94-95.
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