From Paris with Love, 2018 Edition

What has now become an annual event, centred around the unique & great wine list of La Tour D'Argent. A unique opportunity to taste super wines kept in pristine conditions.

Nested in Trocadero building this is a chic French place. Good seafood, beautiful people , French sort of aristocracy and at the right table great views of the Eiffel Tower. Poor wine list but ok.

• NV Ruinart Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  (11/16/2018)

  By the glass at Girafe, Paris. House champagne and thus we believe the latest release.
  They seem to be making this softer and rounder over the years and definitely is very welcoming and with an easy going nature. Dependable , solid and very good as an aperitif albeit is a bit on the simple side. 89-90

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• 2015 Maison Alex Gambal Puligny-Montrachet 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet

  (11/16/2018)

  Young and still with some puppy fat of oak to assimilate.
  Good wine, good tension and depth of flavour and definitely one gets more here than a mere village. Has a meursault side to it at this stage a bit more buttery than the tension of Puligny. Very good though 90-91

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What once has fallen to the touristy scale is now making a comeback on food and quality. Of course the treasure here is its wine cellar which unique in the world. The food is now 1 star Michelin level albeit the prices or of 2-3 :) . A Mecca for wine lovers.

• 2001 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  (11/17/2018)

  A great wine especially when sourced from a pristine cellar like the one at La Tour D'Argent, Paris.
  But one needs to like the style of this oldie and we have to admit we prefer them younger and more fresh. Honey touches, tertiary fruit, well evolved, still citrus and flinty touches. We will not rate as our palate preferences would not reflect the real value of this albeit we did not rate it badly at all! ( for us it was a 93 for Andreas 95 for Nicoletta but we were split a lot about it)

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• 1990 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 99 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  (11/17/2018)

  From the excellent cellar of La Tour D'Argent, Paris, opened and rested. Not decanted but care should be taken for the sediment here.
  The nose of this wine just put a smile on our faces and the made us beam with happiness. A perfect nose. Dark fruits, smoky, roast meat, light touch of spice. Really a superb experience and one to put any wine to the test. The palate carries on the same tune, very much alive and spirited but comes shy of the perfect score. A beyond superb wine. 98-99

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• 1991 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne 96 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  (11/17/2018)

  Still a baby and albeit that we chose not to decant just let it develop in the glass. Post 30 mins this got into its stride but it's a good 5 years from getting into its full stride. We remember trying the 1991 La Mouline a few years ago and that was a lot more intense on fruit and oak while this Landonne was a lot more restrained which shows the wine is evolving well ( we would have expected similar level of oak on this too)
  Dark fruited nose, light spice, light smoky edge as it developed , licorice, light oaky dynamics of cocoa. On the palate is a tour de force for a cote rotie but with pin restriant, balance and harmony. Young still and needs a good 5 yrs or so to develop into full potential. Superb wine and hopefully we will get to cross paths in the future with it again. 96

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• 1998 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin 93 Points

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

  (11/17/2018)

  Sourced from the excellent cellar of La Tour D'Argent, Paris and thus we are pretty sure it's a solid bottle. We chose to decant to help it develop but really it did not even after a few hours.
  Maybe it is because it was eclipsed by the wines we had with it ( Chave 90 & Guigal Landonne 91 , Papies 99 & 96) but it never showed up to the party and barring the dense rich core of dark fruit, lacked an expressive side and really the complexity and flair we would have expected from it given vintage and given how superb the 2000 was when we tried it.
  Very much alive, lots of dark fruits, lightly overdone on the richness and almost feels like it tried too much in its youth and maybe lost the battle with the ripeness ( much like beaucastel did with their 98 CDP). Good wine but not Hommage level. 93

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• 1998 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Ermitage Cuvée Cathelin 96 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  (11/17/2018)

  Decanted and served blind.
  We both went straight for Syrah from Rhone, but debated as to what could be and in the end went with Ogier Belle Helene from late 90s but not a superb ripe vintage so maybe 97 or 99. The wine had a homogeneity of fruit, a balance and a focuss that to us spelled monocepage and very rigorous selection of fruit. The harmony here we will remember for a longtime.
  The wine itself when revealed sends you to a star gazing mode much like a romanee conti would.
  Soft and very silky, super fine and elegant and very well mannered for a 98 , soft on the alcohol (13%!) , superbly elegant. Young and easily needs a good 10 yrs to sing at its best when it would pretty much be a perfect wine no doubt about it. Lacked a more expressive nose at this stage but the palate was just to die for. We rate wrt how the wine feels at time of tasting so we will do 96 but really with time this will be a perfect wine.

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Classic but not heavy, superb French cooking with no attitude and precission. Proper 3 Michelin Star place, innovative albeit classic and simply superb. Probably among the best lunches in Paris if not the world.

• 2001 Serafin Père et Fils Charmes-Chambertin 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru

  (11/18/2018)

  Opened and left to rest.
  Quite the charming and elegant wine and now at full stride. Soft, silky but very much alive, nice dark fruit on the nose, secondary, silky tannin and just a charm. Less powerful e almost 4 years ago ( Papies 95) more evolved and on the right path. Very well made proper burg. 94-95

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• 1997 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie 95 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  (11/18/2018)

  Decanted for a good 45 minutes and the wine needed this to get into its stride. Post that it's a special little number. Hedonistic , light bret, smoky, spice and dark fruits . Nice rich feel but in check, very harmoneous and a different twist to northern Rhone and especially cote rotie than the rest. This drinks very nicely now and has the hallmarks to last another 10-15. 95

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• 2009 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Le Bourg 94 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny

  (11/18/2018)

  Decanted for a good 30 minutes and served.
  Dark frutis mix with strawberry touches on the nose. Very much primary, young fruit but in no way sharp or austere. But still just getting into its stride. Quite rich but in no way jammy or overdone. Solid, well made wine just giving us glimpses of what it will become. 93-94 for now

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• 2010 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 92 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  (11/18/2018)

  Tasted blind, in black Riedel glasses as part of a challenge/game by the sommelier of Epicure, Paris. Freshly opened bottle.
  Nose is textbook and was relatively easy to spot as a German Riesling. Andreas argued for spatlese, Nicol for auslese. Fresh, bright,petrolly and light caramel nose,light on the noble rot if any, rich feel but also a lightness to it. Very pretty and a solid 92

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• 2009 Château Tirecul La Gravière Monbazillac Cuvée Madame 91 Points

  France, Southwest France, Dordogne, Monbazillac

  (11/18/2018)

  Tasted blind, in black Riedel glasses as part of a challenge/game by the sommelier of Epicure, Paris. Freshly opened bottle.
  We went straight to vinsanto, ripe, dense fruit, sundried feel, rIchenss, light caramel . Young vinsanto. Nop. Very happy surprise, here, elegant, well made , good depth of flavour and delicious. Nice to try it young and fresh but this definitely has the legs to last for a loooong time. 91-92

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• 2014 Coume del Mas Banyuls Quintessence 89 Points

  France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Banyuls

  (11/18/2018)

  Tasted blind, in black Riedel glasses as part of a challenge/game by the sommelier of Epicure, Paris. Freshly opened bottle.
  A touch rustic and we guessed banyuls or rivesalts for this. Young a bright fruited, spirited, softer than a port but still with lots of presence. Lacks a bit of elegance if we are to be harsh but solid. 89-90

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• 2017 Alois Kracher Zweigelt Beerenauslese 91 Points

  Austria, Burgenland, Neusiedlersee

  (11/18/2018)

  Tasted blind, in black Riedel glasses as part of a challenge/game by the sommelier of Epicure, Paris. Freshly opened bottle.
  Very difficult to place and actually we went for a white sweet wine, more noble rot feel and we event found Sauternes in the style. Egg on our face. Very bright and right but also honey touches, soft wine and lots of palate presence. Not sure what we could compare it to. Very good. 91

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Looking forward to 2019...