A Northern Rhone Dinner with Doug

Chez Senna
Tasted Saturday, July 22, 2017 - Sunday, July 23, 2017 by CMN with 302 views

Introduction

Doug decided a Northern Rhone dinner was in order and he went all out. Our generous hosts went all out and everything -- the food, wine, and circuses -- was fantastic. A lovely evening with some great people.

Flight 1 (8 Notes)

The wines were expertly paired by Doug, but between the copious amounts of wine and the conversation it was a but hard to keep accurate track of what was going on. The wines listed are in the order that they were consumed per the notes I took on my phone. I think that I missed out on a couple other wines, but c'est la vie.

  • 2004 Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Champagne Vieilles Vignes de Chardonnay

    France, Champagne

    (7/23/2017)

    Light/med yellow with a yeasty nose. Very yeasty with tart green apples, a hint of grapefruit and a fine bead. Finishes like liquid bread. For my palate, ready now (I like some citrus notes in my Champagne). A lovely starter. From magnum.

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  • 2000 Prager Grüner Veltliner Auslese Achleiten

    Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

    (7/23/2017)

    Medium+ yellow colored with a lightly sweet and tropical nose with a hint of almond. Smooth and dense on the palate, with dry tropical flavors mixed with a dollop of unsweetened butterscotch. Finishes slightly bitter with some nuttiness coming through. Will not improve; drink now.

    Paired very well with a lettuce and onion soup.

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  • 2015 Julien Pilon Condrieu Vernon

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu

    (7/23/2017)

    Pale gold. Floral nose with a pinch of confectioner's sugar. Purple flowers on the palate with a bit of citrus, great freshness and a medium+ finish. A unique wine that was flat out fun to drink.

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  • 2002 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    (7/23/2017)

    Red fruit and white pepper nose. Red fruits and a healthy does of white pepper on the nose with some licorice on the finish. Tannins are still a bit prickly. There's plenty of life left and it should be drinking well on it's 25th birthday.

    I liked this quite a bit; the other tasters at the table were a bit more indifferent.

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  • 2015 Julien Pilon Côte-Rôtie La Porchette

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    (7/23/2017)

    Very grapey nose with some of the Viognier poking through. The palate follows the nose; all grapes and flowers in a medium weight package. There's no complexity to speak of; right now it is just hinting at its future potential. More about grace than power. Hold 2-3 years minimum.

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  • NV Valdespino Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Palo Cortado Viejo C.P. Single Vineyard Macharnudo alto

    Spain, Andalucía, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry

    (7/23/2017)

    Nose of almonds, figs, caramel and almonds. The palate was quite dry and tasted primarily of bitter almonds with hints of orange pith and smoke. Interesting, but I don't really think that I "get" sherry.

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  • 2004 Pax Syrah Walker Vine Hill

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    (7/23/2017)

    A dense wine that is marked by flavors of blackberry and well-integrated oak. I was worried by the 15.5% abv listed on the label, but it was very well balanced. While it improved with extended aeration, I didn't get the hype.

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  • NV Osborne Pedro Ximénez Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Rare Sherry Pedro Ximénez Viejo

    Spain, Andalucía, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry

    (7/23/2017)

    This wine was fucking insane. Our host told us the bottle had been open for 10 years. Thick in the glass, a bit of swirling left a thick yellow haze coating the walls of the glass. Nose is sweet and raisiny. Palate is figs and raisins with just a hint of nuttiness. Thick, viscous and only moderately sweet. Finishes long and gentle. Loved it.

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Closing

Toward the end of the evening some hard alcohol was poured (not that it was necessary). I was particularly smitten with Blanton's bourbon. At 93 proof it was way outside my comfort zone, but it was unbelievably tasty. Thanks again to Doug and Senna for a fantastic evening.

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