Birthday Dinner with Good Wine
NEXT Restaurant - Chicago IL
Tasted Thursday, October 23, 2014 by Burgundy Al with 600 views
Introduction
Wines were served to match with the amazing NEXT Trio menu and its intricate navigation from savory to sweet and back again twice. Good time for everybody.
1996 Gosset Champagne Célebris 93 Points
France, Champagne
Lots of complex ripe fruit aromas, showing apple, pear, peach and faint tropical hints. While very ripe, also in very good balance. Some intriguing sweet spice adds complexity I really enjoyed.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1996 Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Brut Rosé Cuvée Palmes d'Or 89 Points
France, Champagne
Slightly disappointing for a great vintage Palmes d'Or, this was showing powerful fruit but moderately mature with straightforward character in every way. Not sure how/if this will evolve into a very interesting 1996. I wouldn't be holding this in the cellar long-term.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2002 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 94 Points
France, Champagne
Lots of apple with plenty of lemon and lemon peel. Aggressive acidity is slightly overwhelming right now, but this has the concentration substance that I know will come into balance in a few years and become a stunning wine.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2008 Domaine Dublère Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Ripe apple, some sweet background spice, but with lots of lemon and lime. Very good now. Enough hidden character to pick up weight and substance.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1999 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Le Montrachet
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
Third time I've had this wine. Both others were simply stunning, 95+ points. Tonight this was advanced with lots of mature stone fruit and butterscotch. Enjoyable enough, but nothing at the level of the prior bottles from 2-5 years ago.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2004 Domaine de Beaurenard (Paul Coulon et Fils) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Boisrenard 90 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Very ripe apple with tropical fruit and lots of toasted walnuts. Some very enticing sweet spice. Best now.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1998 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brûlées Flawed
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
An odd bottle, probably slightly corked. Great start with powerful fruit, albeit a slightly medicinal hint. Decreasingly interesting with more time in glass, this went from exciting to bitter in approx 30 minutes.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2001 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Corton-Clos Rognet 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru
Open an hour+ before serving, but not decanted. Slightly more black vs red fruit aromas with very muscular spice. Similar flavors, also black and slightly lean, lots of concentration clear everywhere. A bit angular to start, this kept getting better and more expansive with more air. Starting to enter a good drinking window now, but certainly better in a few more years.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1959 Georges Noellat Grands-Echezeaux 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru
Popped and poured, this would have benefited from more air. Plenty of red fruit alongside earthy and mushroom character everywhere. Savory spice and dried rosemary and thyme with lots of nuance and unfolding flavors. Very impressive, this also held up nicely for an hour+ in glass. Served alongside the 1962, which was also quite nice, just less exciting.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1962 Georges Noellat Grands-Echezeaux 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru
Served alongside the 1959, this was very nice but far less exciting than its flightmate. Very mature red and black cherry with good woodsy spice throughout. Intense aromas of reduced mushrooms that was nice but less interesting on palate. No race to drink up, but this won't get more interesting going forward.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1962 Château Ausone 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Popped and poured. Much like another bottle from 2 years ago, this provided good, simple pleasure. Mature plum and black berries with better aromas than flavors. Most interesting to start, far less enjoyable after 30 minutes in glass. Served alongside the very good 1959 Ausone.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1959 Château Ausone 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Very charming with good combination of mature black fruit, some liqueur notes, reduced shiitake mushroom, and brown spice. Good nuance and layers of flavors. Better than the 1962 Ausone served alongside.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1993 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Bonnes Mares 89 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Popped and poured. Attractive fresh fruit aromas to start with modest spice. Firm fruit flavors with ever-so-slightly too much firm tannic structure coming across from the beginning. Never quite improved as we hoped. Best when first poured, but then less harmony and balance with more air. others liked this more than I did tonight.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1962 Château d'Yquem 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Very dark color with a good fill (top shoulder-ish). Good concentration of dried stone fruit flavors and aromas. Moderate amount of botrytis. Very enjoyable. Worked well with tonight's foie course.
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
1999 Louis Jadot Le Montrachet 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
Popped and poured. Age appropriate level of maturity. Lots of ripe stone fruit with very charming spice. Very enjoyable today, but slightly short of energy and I wouldn't risk cellaring many of these long-term.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1999 Domaine Thenard Montrachet 96 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
Fifth or 6th time I have had this wine, all from the same case, and tonight's was the best. Some wintergreen notes to start. Cross-section of fresh fruit aromas with great spice accompaniment. Identical, complex flavors with great length and intensity. My WOTN and many others agreed tonight.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2002 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands-Echezeaux 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru
Decanted ~3 hours, could have used more time. Incredibly enticing aromatic start with intense red berry and powerful baking spice. Similar flavor profile but very subdued. Certainly my nose of the night, but just not as forthcoming on palate. Great potential here, just slightly awkward right now.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2012 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru
George told Matt we wanted some young Burgundy tonight and this fit that bill to an extreme! Also decanted 3+ hours, this was very ripe, dense and powerful. It was ever-so-slightly sweet, but with incredible elegance and balance that was surprisingly harmonious for Grand Cru this young. Very long with a mineral-driven finish I really enjoyed. 93-96 point potential for me.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1996 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie 90 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Lots of black fruit, still mostly fresh but with a rustic, barnyardy underlying note throughout. Tannins still need more time and the fruit should hold nicely for better balance, but this is an ok vintage for Jamet, not one of their best.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2004 Domaine Leroy Gevrey-Chambertin 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
I haven't had this wine in at least 3 or 4 years but it is evolving like all the other Leroy cuvees from this vintage. Mature black fruit with some background animale that showcases Gevrey nicely. but this won't be getting better going forward and it's time to drink up in the next 2-5 years. This was also popped-and-poured; I would not want to give this any more air.
Read 1 Comment / Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
1999 Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brûlées
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
An odd wine tonight. I don't recall ever having this 1999 before, but Leroy Brulees is often a personal favorite. Classically Vosne aromatic start with lots of black and red cherry just starting to mature. Plenty of spice. Much less interesting flavor profile. Very firm and dense, not really harmonious for a 1999. If I had any in my cellar I'd be holding to 2020 or later.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2003 Château Tirecul La Gravière Monbazillac 93 Points
France, Southwest France, Dordogne, Monbazillac
Very rich and concentrated dried and fresh apricot and peach. Very ripe, very powerful. Much more energy and freshness than I expected for the 2003. Good now, better going forward.
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
1990 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon
France, Champagne
Magically appeared at the end of the evening. Far superior to another bottle form a few weeks ago, this was a fresh and refreshing burst of energy and acidity that was a pure thrill in a glass.
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue