Dinner with Mike Grammer

Union @ Seattle, WA
Tasted Thursday, August 2, 2007 by kris.h with 873 views

Introduction

Many thanks to Roy for organizing this, Union Restaurant for hosting us, and everyone else for bringing such nice wines. It was a pleasure meeting Mike and some new faces from the Seattle crowd. Dinner was fabulous and all the wines were great too. Amazingly, out of the 16 bottles we opened, not a single one was corked, oxidised, or spoiled in some way.

Flight 1 - Champagne (1 Note)

Flight 2 - Chablis (2 Notes)

  • 2002 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru La Forest 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

    This wine has a vibrant light yellow color. The nose is very tight but with time in the glass and lots of swirling I coaxed out some apple, smoke, and flint. On the palate, this has really nice weight and great minerality. It is zesty and lively. This is outstanding right now but will be stunning with additional bottle age.

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  • 1997 Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

    A medium yellow color with a slight orange tint. There is a lot going on in the nose. It smells rich with lemon custard, apple, cream, and lime. Nicely delineated on the palate and a long finish. This wine seems to be drinking at or near peak so open one up if you have some.

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Flight 3 - Other Whites (2 Notes)

  • 2004 René Barth Riesling Mambourg 88 Points

    France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

    The nose offers up some light floral scents, honey, lemon zest and a petrolly nuance. A touch of residual sugar that adds to the medium weight mouth feel. Finishes off dry with lemon and pear.

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  • 2004 Didier Dagueneau Blanc Fumé de Pouilly 92 Points

    France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Pouilly-Fumé

    Light yellow color. The nose is open and expressive giving off hints of freshly cut grass, tropical fruit, and some laundry detergent. On the palate, the wine is medium to full body with mouth watering acidity and a long finish.

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Flight 4 - Burgundy (2 Notes)

  • 1999 Domaine Darviot-Perrin Volnay 1er Cru Santenots 90 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

    The color is a nice dark ruby red. On the nose there is some leather, cherry, and plum along with some earth and some other good things I can't quite name. Nice weight on the palate and well balanced though it does finish a little tannic right now. Give this one a few more years for the tannins to resolve and it will see much improvement.

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  • 1986 Maison Leroy Savigny-lès-Beaune 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune

    When initially opened this was kind of stinky and musty. I double decanted it and took it to the restaurant where it was reopened about 2 hours later. What a transformation. The nose now has lots of vibrant cherry with floral notes and some soy. On the palate the wine is medium body with a surprising amount of tannin though not overpowering. A nice lingering finish with some cherry and blueberry. This wine evolved nicely over the course of the evening. There is probably no reason to cellar these further but I think they will continue to provide pleasure for 5 to 10 more years.

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Flight 5 - Northern Rhone (3 Notes)

  • 1991 M. Chapoutier Hermitage La Sizeranne 94 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    The color is dark red. The nose gives off some smoke, bacon, and dark spicy fruit. The palate is firm and moderately tannic with lots of acidity. This is an outstanding wine but it could still use some more time.

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  • 1999 Delas Frères Hermitage Les Bessards 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Bacon fat and violets. Yum! Tannic, full body, and good acidity. Long tannic finish. The nose was very reticent and this needs lots more time in the cellar to really shine. With time in the glass the nose did start to open up to reveal some plum and strawberry.

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  • 1996 Tardieu-Laurent Cornas Vieilles Vignes 92 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

    A pungent nose of ripe fruit, flowers, compost, and meat. Grippy tannins and full body, great acidity. A little tannic at the moment so try to keep your hands off these if you have them.

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Flight 6 - Bordeaux and a Southern Rhone (3 Notes)

  • 1996 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    This wine had a very noticeable green streak running through it. It was strong but not completely overpowering. Under all those vegetables was some nice fruit, cedar, and tobacco. Medium to full body and shows good balance. The finish seemed too short though.

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  • 1998 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    The nose is toasty with sweet berries, plum, and cedar. On the palate there is more sweet fruit. Nicely structured with good length on the finish.

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  • 1997 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 91 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Medium garnet red. The nose is open and expressive giving hints of dark berries, dried cherries, herbs, and leather. Medium weight on the palate. Moderate acidity with a nice tannic structure. Drinking very well right now.

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Flight 7 - Dessert (3 Notes)

  • 2002 Daniel Lenko Viognier Icewine 94 Points

    Canada, Ontario, Niagara Peninsula, Niagara Peninsula VQA

    Really nice pungent tropical fruits, peach, nectarine, and flowers. This is bliss. Full body and nicely sweet. Honied and thick. Low acidity. Medium length finsh.

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  • 2004 Royal DeMaria Gewürztraminer Icewine 97 Points

    Canada, Ontario, Niagara Peninsula, Niagara Peninsula VQA

    Let me just start of and say this wine was incredible. Thanks Mike for bringing it! A very inviting nose of lychee, asian pears, spices, honey, pineapple. The list could go on. Amazing complexity. On the palate it's even better. Great acidity that keeps the wine fresh and lively. Full body and beautifully balanced. That acidity is really nice, it keeps things focused and interesting. It was a real treat to taste this wine.

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  • 1980 Dow Porto Vintage 92 Points

    Portugal, Douro, Porto

    This was served blind. I guessed a Vintage Port from the late 80's or early 90's. I was not brave enough to venture a guess for the producer but now that I think of it, Dow was the natural choice. The color is a deep dark red, this is showing very young for a 27 year old Port. The nose was chocolate covered cherries, with some strong alcohol at the end. The palate is elegant and shows restrained sweetness. Not super sweet like Graham's. Firm tannins. Nice length on the finish. Give this one 5 more years and it will be singing.

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