La Tablee: Julien Cecillon Dinner with Julien Cecillon

The same evening as the Gentaz dinner but this was a bit more approachable and we've been lucky enough to have the unicorn wine before. I thought it would be fun to try a producer we've not had or even heard of. Recommendation from Matt Conway of the Tippling House in Charleston and given how much I like his list down there made sense to try.

• NV Philipponnat Champagne Royale Réserve Brut

  France, Champagne

  Again the starter wine for all of the dinners of this week and a nice starter wine it is. Drinks very well and good QPR.

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

Panisse, Kohlrabi, Fermented Pepper

(surprisingly this did work alright with the wines)

• 2020 Julien Cecillon Viognier Invictus

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes

  Green apple, very fresh, very pretty. This is a style of Viognier that I quite like. It perhaps has a bit less of the honey notes but there's a lovely brightness to the wine.

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

• 2020 Julien Cecillon St. Péray Gemini

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Péray

  Different take on Marsanne/Roussanne than I am used to. I almost get some vanilla notes in this. A nice style of drinking though with a good balance between having that rhone body but keeping the right acid to keep it balanced.

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

Chicken Liver, Sourdough

• 2020 Julien Cecillon St. Joseph Babylone

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph

  A wine that wants to be served with food and in fact tastes better and reacts better to it. Very young and fresh and a bit more primary in style. Easy to drink. With time it opened up a bit more. Still quite young.

  Read 2 Comments / Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2019 Julien Cecillon St. Joseph Babylone

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph

  My favorite of the first flight. Throughout the dinner could tell that Julien's wines were really coming together and that the more recent vintages were quite good. This was in that category. Darker fruits, good acid, a bit more floral. Drinks very well if too young now.

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

• 2013 Julien Cecillon St. Joseph Babylone

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph

  The thing I appreciated the most about some of the younger Julien wines was the precision in them. A clear acid backbone that stands up the wine. This didn't quite have that same style. More barnyard and a bit darker and almost brooding in nature. Less fruit here. Still a nice wine but I like the evolution that the wines have taken. First vintage.

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

Lamb Loin Chop, Sides for the Table

• 2020 Julien Cecillon Crozes-Hermitage Les Marguerites

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage

  This one jumped out a bit to me. It's just a pretty style of wine. Very precise and structured. Young but you can really see the promise of the wine.

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

• 2018 Julien Cecillon Crozes-Hermitage Les Marguerites

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage

  Again - really pretty in style. More floral. Darker fruits. Young but with a lot of promise and likely to get better and better.

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

• 2014 Julien Cecillon Crozes-Hermitage Les Marguerites

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage

  Perhaps not quite as obviously fresh and precise as the younger vintages but you can see the evolution heading that way even in this second vintage. There's a sense of the prettiness that the others have. Good dark fruits. Good structure. Still youngish but nice.

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

• 2013 Julien Cecillon Crozes-Hermitage Les Marguerites

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage

  Again interesting to see the evolution in style. For a first vintage this wine drinks well and I feel very comfortable saying mine wouldn't be nearly this good but I do think that with time Julien got even better at crafting the wine and so this doesn't show quite as well as the others in the flight. A bit less clean. But still interesting. Perhaps a touch of brett.

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

Cheese Plate

• 2019 Julien Cecillon Cornas Saint Pierre

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

  Well structured with black fruits. Perhaps it's the lack of whole cluster that has me finding myself drawn back to the Marguerite? This is maybe even a bit more powerful than the other cuvees. Stronger tannins.

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

• 2018 Julien Cecillon Cornas Saint Pierre

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

  Good with again a well structured style to it. There's a backbone to this wine. Very young. Needs more time almost to penetrate.

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

Chocolate Cake, Creme Fraiche, Hazelnuts

Definitely some good talent here with wines that I think got better and more precise over the years. I surprised myself by being really taken by the Crozes-Hermitage Les Maguerites. I would have guessed I'd be all about the Cornas but while that was good there was an extra elegance to the Crozes that stood out for me.