Gunther's, Purivs Street, Singapore
Tasted Wednesday, November 13, 2019 by Paul S with 229 views
This was a greatly educational dinner, where every single CSJ maker was represented. A great opportunity to get to grasp on what the vineyard really offers. A Grand Cru in the waiting, or a 1er Cru pretender?
Clos St Jacques was a monopole for a long time. It was named after a statue of Saint James that had been placed in the area, as it was a resting point on the pilgrim's way to Santiago de Compostela. The vineyard is 6.7 hectares in size and there are five strips, running from the top to the bottom of the vineyard, currently owned by five different producers. The largest holder is Domaine Armand Rousseau with the original 2.20 hectares purchased by the Domaine. Sylvie Esmonin, the granddaughter of Henri Esmonin, holds 1.60 hectares. Bruno Clair and Maison Louis Jadot own 1 hectare each, which was split between them from the land purchased by Domaine Clair-Dau. Domaine Fourrier holds 0.89 of a hectare that was originally purchased by the family.
My impressions after this dinner - the 5 different makers had vastly different styles, resulting in very different expressions of the terroir. There were some commonalities in flavour and profile that shone through though. Lush red fruit, ferrous minerality, a nice velvety grip - a very noble expression of Gevrey in each case. These were quietly impressive, rather than exuberant wines. All very enjoyable though. In some hands, and in some vintages, one could see why many think the vineyard is a good candidate for promotion to GC. However, these were few and far between All in all, I think pegging this as very good 1er Cru is just about right.
2004 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 94 Points
France, Champagne
Absolutely lovely. Drinking a bit early for a Cristal, but boy this was tasty. The nose was really pretty, with a lift of sweet cream, fresh flowers, and ripe red apples, shades of yeast and mineral, all coming together in a really attractive kaleidescope. Just beautiful. It was a sleek beauty on the palate, with silky mousse and a spine of superbly integrated acidity gently tracing its way through a wonderfully pure mouthful of fresh, crunchy red apples and orchard fruit. There was yummy roundness and a real delicious depth, even power, on it, but this was so poised and balanced that it never felt any less than impeccably focused, defined and balanced. Really tasty stuff. It had a lovely finish too. Effortlessly long, superbly detailed, and really yummy, with a lovely trail of fruit and mineral and just a hint of spice. Wonderful now. It has the chops to age, but it was so tasty at the moment that I really do not see why one should wait.
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2003 Dom Pérignon Champagne 92 Points
France, Champagne
Yummy in its own right, but this suffered from being served next to a supremely elegant and refined 2004 Cristal. The DP just seemed bigger and a little clumsier. Still though, a really good effort for 2003. The nose showed ripe yellow fruited notes with touches of earth and white meat and spice, and then a brighter lift of strawberries that was more characteristic Dom. The palate carried some of the richness suggested on the nose, with sweet red apples and red berries, all with a certain ripe warmth to them, and then a bit of toasty brioche, mineral and spice at the end. Not one for the ages - this was on the richer, riper, toastier side then, but still decently balanced and poised nonetheless. Went well with food too.
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