La Rochelle Aoyama FTW

Aoyama, Tokyo, Japan
Tasted Thursday, October 29, 2020 by StefanAkiko with 71 views

Introduction

A long-time missed dinner from Covid. Until Feb I visited them on a monthly basis... Staying at a hotel in Tokyo in order to be able to avoid the morning and evening rush hours on the trains/metros, I grabbed this chance!

Brought one btl and ordered white by the glass.

Dinner was sublime!!! (As always.)

Flight 1 - The whole shebang (2 Notes)

It's always scary to bring a wine that has a high probability to underperform. Corks are a dreadful thing. So, I had a mature Clarendon Hills Piggot's Range as a backup. (Now quietly resting in the restaurant's wine cellar until I want it. Service.)

  • 2015 Martin Schaetzel Riesling Kaefferkopf 92 Points

    France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

    Absolutely stunning pure and pristine Riesling nose with flowers in its hair and happiness everywhere.
    On the palate, this wine has a great acidic spine with a pinch of Alsacian earthiness at the end.
    Severely youthful today, but should have started to mature already in ~10 years' time.
    Some pleasure today, but immense pleasure to come.

    One glass at formidable La Rochelle Aoyama (Tokyo).

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 1982 Château La Dominique 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Started out thin from the plopp. Grew tremendously over the 3 hours we enjoyed it. Contrary to fruitlovers, I'm sure this is but a padawan who will evolve further and become one of the wines that remains awesome also as an advanced wine.

    Great aromatics, stunning personality and requires listening to rather than expecting to be served a phat fruit punch in the face.

    Some prefer young pop stars, others (like me) prefer old, quirky professors because they have so much more amazing stories to share.

    Wish I had more!
    Cork was mushy, crumbled completely and required the whole toolbox to get out of the bottle.

    BYOB to formidable La Rochelle Aoyama (Tokyo).

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

Closing

With tears in my eyes, the dinner was suddenly over.
I'm not sure there is such a thing as "too much pleasure"... I still crave for more!

La Rochelle in Aoyama is well worth a visit.

×
×