Champagne dinner

L'Apicio, NYC.
Tasted Wednesday, October 29, 2014 by Seth Rosenberg with 404 views

Flight 1 (2 Notes)

  • 1996 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon 92 Points

    France, Champagne

    PnP. Subdued nose, some ox? Nose of ginger, spice, lemon. Also cidery - more advanced than I would expect. Also notes of gunpowder, flint, some malt balls, caramel, sea spray, bread. The palate shows some advancement as well - golden, ginger, flint, lemon, pear, cider. Solid acid builds in the palate with nice grip. Lots of stony-lemon acid at the end, a touch of vanilla, creme, citrus, some ox - malt balls. Just getting a little of that aged Dom creaminess in the middle and then the acid takes over at the end - flint and lemon. This doesn't feel integrated. My conclusion is that this bottle was not ideal, but that the 96 acid was propping it up and covering over some of the flaws - but instead of a unitary masterpiece, you end up with a juxtaposed palate. Still a good bottle of wine, but not like the previous bottle I had. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 4.5-5/6, Finish - 5.5/6, Je ne Sais quoi - 1/2 = 16.5/20.

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  • 2006 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons 89 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    Yeasty, bready, lemon, orange peel - spicy and very bright. Palate showing bread, ginger. Cut and focused. Soft mousse - first sip had assertive entry and then died off. Not sure what was happening Another pour later seemed to have less of this. Still a little short on the end-palate and finish. Palate showed bread, citrus, minerals and pear. Nose - 5-5.5/6, Palate - 4.5/6, Finish - 4/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 14.5-15/20.

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Flight 2 (2 Notes)

  • 1998 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs 92 Points

    France, Champagne

    Medium yellow-gold. Rich but lively nose: brown-yellow spectrum aromas: caramel, golden apple, brioche. Baroque with malt-lemon, nice creamy-crisp thing going on. Similar on the palate - it's got some brioche and malt, lemon, orange. Clear but not crazy acid. Nice finish of malt and lemon. I haven't had many 98 Champagnes, and this one helps me get a feel for the vintage: this wine is quite ripe and baroque, but with solid acid. In some way reminding me of the 1998 Germans. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 5/6, Finish - 5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 16/20.

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  • 2002 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs

    France, Champagne

    Nose of lemon, bread, sea spray, flint - it seems subdued. Palate is bready, lemon, flint - but dumb. Closed or a bad bottle. The notes from other on CT don't seem to indicate that this is closing down.

    I was looking forward to trying this again and was disappointed. This bottle was nothing like the previous ones. The volume was just turned down on everything - it was showing little, and it seemed to have none of the joy or complexity that I had encountered previously. The bottle was not corked, or feel ox-ed, so I'm reluctant to mark it as flawed. More data are required. Someone want to open a bottle for me. If I had to rate it, it would be Nose - 4/6, Palate - 4/6, Finish - 4/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 13/20 = 86/100.

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Flight 3 (2 Notes)

  • 2004 Dom Pérignon Champagne 94 Points

    France, Champagne

    Yes! Now we are talking. The 04 DP has not disappointed me yet. Great Dom nose - elegant and racy: malty, vanilla, sea spray, lemon, spicy, gunpowder. Great on the palate as well - lemony, spicy, sea spray, creme, vanilla, and some flint. I love the alloy of the 04 austerity with the creamy Dom notes that are just starting to show. Lemon flint finish. Nose - 5.5/6, Palate - 5.5/6, Finish - 5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1-1.5/2 = 17-17.5/20.

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  • 2004 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année

    France, Champagne

    Drokk! Look ... this is a big Champagne. The austerity and acidity of the 04's have combined with the Bolly house style to create a monster. Nose of eau-de-vie, huge lemon, pear, nutty, spicy. Wait, this smells like Madeira. WTF? Huge. Spicy, brown, broad, lemon, spice-ginger, big. Lemon spice finish. This is good, but I prefer the 2002 overall. I'm not sure how to rate this. How do you rate the Hulk?

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Flight 4 (2 Notes)

Flight 5 (1 Note)

  • 2010 Schloss Lieser Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 97 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    The nose is that wonderful 2010 SL combo of creamy and juicy-citric with passion fruit, lime, flowers, minerals, and creamy Botrytis. Coiled and spicy on the palate with more passion fruit and lime. Smooth, thick, with huge citric acid. Very long with the lime, acid and stones on the finish. Nose - 5.5/6, Palate - 6/6, Finish - 5.5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 18.5/20

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