La Paulée Meets Chicago - Dinner
Blackbird - Chicago IL
Tasted Thursday, September 24, 2015 by Burgundy Al with 720 views
Introduction
What a great dinner. Chicago's first La Paulée event. Great dinner following a wonderful tasting. Notes are in three sections. First are the wines my friends and I brought, despite there being an official program of great wines. Those wonderful wines (at least those for which I took notes) are in the 2nd section. Finally notes from the after-party at Formento's.
Flight 1 - Bottles from our Cellars (25 Notes)
My group had two of the five tables at tonight's dinner and successfully made this a memorable evening. There were a few more bottles I can't accurately recall or read what I wrote.
Flight 2 - Official La Paulee Wines (13 Notes)
The official program had a great lineup of younger wines. I managed to taste most while focusing on the older wines our group brought.
Flight 3 - After-Party (3 Notes)
A few extra bottles...because we could.
2004 Henri Boillot Chevalier-Montrachet 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru
Small pour, brief note. Ripe orchard fruit with some peach. Lots of spice with some still protruding new oak. Overall very tasty.
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2009 Louis Carillon Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Small pour, brief note. Dark color. Extremely ripe, dense, great spice. Apple and peach. Best now, I doubt this will age gracefully past 2018 or 2020.
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1999 Maison Leroy Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Small pour, brief note. Orchard fruit with very good spice. Certainly fresh enough, just not as powerful and dense vs when last tried a few years ago, and that bottle was from the same source.
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2002 Etienne Sauzet Montrachet 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
Rock star great. Served in 02/04/06 vertical. Pear and peach with huge spice. Very long and persistent with great textures, exceptional harmony. Sadly my last bottle. This was far better than my previous bottle opened.
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2004 Etienne Sauzet Montrachet Flawed
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
A shadow of how well this wine has shown before. Ripe fruit, lots of concentration, just very advanced, so not worth drinking in this flight of 02/04/06 plus the rest of the evening.
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2006 Etienne Sauzet Montrachet 94 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
Small pour, brief note. Served in 02/04/06 vertical. Lush and very enticing stone fruit throughout, also slightly tropical. Great tasting now, perhaps even better than the 2002, but less nuanced. I wouldn't cellar this long-term, but it's holding nicely for the vintage.
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2006 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Montrachet 96 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
Small pour, brief note. Great cross-section of fruit aromas and flavors, with some slightly sweet baked apple hints. Powerful and harmonious throughout. Knockout wine with enough structure for enticing textures. I wouldn't have thought from 2006 if served blind.
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1998 Rapet Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne 87 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Small pour, brief note. Good density, mature fruit, moderate nuance. Still drinking ok, but slightly past its peak.
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1999 Marquis de Laguiche (Joseph Drouhin) Montrachet 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
From magnum. Orchard fruit cross-section with lots of spice. Elegant mineral textures stand out at finish.
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2002 Marquis de Laguiche (Joseph Drouhin) Montrachet 96 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
Small pour, brief note. Absolutely outstanding. Still fresh, vibrant, super powerful. Great length, expanding finish with an elegance that personifies Montrachet.
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1990 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands-Echezeaux 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru
Small pour, brief note. Once again this wine is "wow," with lots of fresh, lush black and red fruit, fantastic savory spice throughout. Long finish, great power at the end. Certainly a top red tonight. Slightly better than the 1993 served alongside.
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1991 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands-Echezeaux Flawed
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru
Heat damaged or stewed in some way. This was supposed to be served in a vertical flight with the 90 and 93, both of which were excellent. A tough night for 1991s.
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1993 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands-Echezeaux 94 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru
Served alongside the 1990. Lots of power and density with a backward character, but very engaging spice on finish. There was some confusion as to which was in each glass, but I'm confident I was correct since I poured this '93. Bottle was in perfect condition. The best I ever recall for this wine.
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1988 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru
Small pour, brief note. From magnum. Lots of maturing cherry, cross-section of red, black and blue. Moderate spice for DRC RSV. Still firm and brawny. Served in 88/01/02 vertical.
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2001 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant 94 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru
Small pour, brief note. Served alongside 88 and 02. Lots of fruit and spice, perhaps not quite as much as its 2002 counterpart, but I adore the harmony of fruit, spice with tannins and acidity here. Still very youthful.
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2002 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru
Small pour, brief note. Served in 88/01/02 vertical. Still very fruit-driven and seemingly forward. With great spice throughout. Structure comes through at finish. Great now, while also incredibly ageworthy.
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2004 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
Small pour, brief note. Nicely mature red fruit, modest spice. Didn't find any bitter 2004 character, but it's lighter-styled and best consumed over the next 5 years.
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1991 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes Flawed
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru
Corked.
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1996 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze 94 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru
Small pour, brief note. Much like another bottle from last month. Fresh black fruit, barely evolved with lots of superb spice and a hint of meaty character. I think this has upside from here because I still feel the new oak will integrate better going forward, despite it already closing in on 2 decades.
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2003 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru
Small pour, brief note. Ripe, fat and opulent with a hint of blueberry jam, but with serious structure and acidity. Excellent now, with lots of upside from here.
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1998 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Bonnes Mares
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
small pour, brief note. Completely consistent with prior bottles, lots of black and red cherry, great spice and structure in perfect harmony. Delicious from start-to-finish.
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1993 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Clos Vougeot 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
From magnum. Dense, meaty black and red fruit aromas with good baking spice. Dense and powerful flavors as well, all with good power and concentration.
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1996 Domaine Leroy Clos Vougeot
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Late night, brief note. Floral and spice start with red fruit. moderate weight and intensity. Not quite a much fun as the 1998 opened even later in the evening.
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1998 Domaine Jacques Prieur Montrachet Flawed
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
Corked.
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1988 Domaine Leroy Clos Vougeot
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Late taste, brief note. At a great place now. Best of the Leroy CVs tonight?
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