Rhone & Champagne x BBQ Meats

Tasted Thursday, July 15, 2021 by hprphf with 173 views

Introduction

85 LaLaLas as magical as they get, certainly the top wines of the year for me. Almost religious experience. This flight to be traded with a top vintage R/LT/RC flight? Difficult, maybe not. Grateful that everything performed well. Most memorable evening.

Flight 1 (9 Notes)

  • 1996 Henri Giraud Champagne Grand Cru Aÿ Fût De Chêne Brut 96 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    High acidity characteristic to the vintage, but not at all interrupting. There is a creamy background to balance, all toned flavors, slightly beer-like oxidative notes. Keeps getting more intense, yet still maintaining its lifted qualities. Some of us like it more than the rest. Personally this is the best Giraud expression I have tasted. 96-98

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  • 2009 Bollinger Champagne Vieilles Vignes Françaises 96 Points

    France, Champagne

    PnP, such a young VVF. Really like beer at first, the oxidative notes cleared up a bit to reveal an intense, really intense, expression bodied Champagne. Dark fruit flavors, woody, yet very toned and fresh. Bright while it is dark, like the light that shines throughout the void. Deep in it is a monster asleep. Tremendous energy at its core. Shh, do not disturb. 95-96+

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  • NV Krug Champagne Brut Rosé Edition 23eme 93 Points

    France, Champagne

    217014, PnP at the end of the evening. Another beer-like oxidative Chanpagne, with its signature strawberry flavors. Really quite toned, getting more complex. All I remember is I chugged a big glass (maybe half a bottle) before we had to leave. Yum. 93

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  • 1986 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc 92 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Darker gold in color, but very fresh. Some sweetness, earthy, yellow fruit. Palate is light, easy-drinking and without much depth. Still, a really good wine, and certainly well-kept at this age. 92

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  • 2003 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Réserve 93 Points

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

    Ripe, sweet, ripe, sweet. Immediately a contrast against the 96 Champagne. Actually the ripeness control is very well-done, on its own not a standout quality. Petro and yellow fruit on the nose. Bodied on the palate with a lacy stickiness. 93

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  • 2002 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve 94 Points

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

    Somewhat a vintage I did not have the best experiences with in Rhone (including the top producers), but damn Rayas well exceeded my expectations. Spicy cherry fruit on the nose, quite sweet, almost liquor-like, with a bright core just glowing with its charm. Weightless and lifted on the palate. Barely any edge, so smooth, yet with its incredible flow of energy going all around. To be fair, still lighter than even other vintages of Rayas, but this is a major success, and very ready to drink today. 94

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  • 1985 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne 98 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Perfect fill. Most structured and robust of the trio, at least on the nose, which actually softened so much with time. Heavy but soft tannin, high acidity, purple and blue fruit, smoke, undertonned minerality, animalistic, a sweet core of meatiness, mild balanced white pepper, sharp spice, lingering cherry acidity. Amazing harmony with all these flavors, so youthful, on the darker side of the trio, but still so fresh. On the palate mind-blowing energy, so lifted, not heavy at all on its own, with sweet-sour acidity, mellow, balanced, graceful, sooooooo long and sooooo backwards. 98-100

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  • 1985 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque 98 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Perfect fill. Very smoky on the nose, blue fruit, resolved, more pronounced minerality, earthy spice, pear, roasted meat, gamey, some vanilla spice, sour cherry, amazingly fresh. Somehow this crazy acidity lends more tannin and structure here, even more than La Landonne. So smooth and composed, amazing layers, super spicy, juicy even, dancing all around, in crazy dimensions that never stop expanding. Damn this is good. 98-100

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  • 1985 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline 100 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Perfect fill, and perfect wine for that matter. Reserved, composed, graceful, really elegance in a glass. Sweet spice, soft cherry fruit, deep heat, lightly caramelized brown sugar, softly herbal, tiny greenness, incredibly heat in the back, woody, really all the flavors in perfect balance, from a singular point slowly expanding into all dimensions. Smooth, incredibly deep and energetic on the palate, warmly so at first, but there is enough sharpness to cut through everything. The heat lingers forever, as it spreads across taste buds towards the front of palate again. Didn’t fade even at the bottom of the throat. At the same time it is so rich, lifted, almost chewy, with a lingering cherry acidity that keeps it fresh. Mouthwatering afterwards, with mindblowingly deep spice elements all around. I thought in characters this is the RC of Rhone. As good as it gets. 100

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