Dinner at La Boheme with the Crew

Palo Alto
Tasted Tuesday, April 18, 2023 by Richard P Howden with 110 views

Introduction

It was great to taste this collection of (mostly) wines from 1987-1990. All French, but great variety of flavors, aging, and delight. No off bottles happily, they were all a delight to enjoy with good company over dinner. The Trevallon, though, wow that was a standout!

Flight 1 - Hello, Champagne (1 Note)

Flight 2 - Some beautifully aged French reds (4 Notes)

  • 1989 Marc Sorrel Hermitage Le Gréal 93 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Took a few hours to open. Very pretty nose of strawberries, cherries, olives, mint - the nose is its best feature. Strengthening palate, well balanced, excellent poise good fruit. Not a powerful wine but good depth. I like it, probably much better with a long decant.

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  • 1989 Domaine de Trévallon 94 Points

    France, Provence, Les Baux-de-Provence

    Powerful, unique combination of Syrah & Cabernet Sauvignon. Super clean bottle, long and e sharing. Excellent. Showing the complexity of age but not at all ‘aged’ notes.

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  • 1990 Château Gruaud Larose 89 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Fading glory, not one of the better bottles of 1990 GL I’ve had. Still after a couple of hours this showed some youthful red fruited charm and a pretty cassis nose.

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  • 1987 Bernard Faurie Hermitage Greffieux Bessard Méal 89 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Had attractive but delicate aromatics, mostly of red fruit, after the bottle warmed up. The palate had good density and texture but was lacking either the charm or the pow of better aged N. Rhônes I’ve had. Still I enjoyed this a ton with cassoulet as the earthy flavors of the food with mixed with the wine. So wonderful to get to try these older rare wines.

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Flight 3 - A little sweetie (1 Note)

  • 2001 Château Coutet Barsac 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

    See Ashish’s note, but perhaps I liked it a bit more. Really gorgeous, I love how sweet the nose is and yet the finish is nicely balanced and not sugary. Delicious.

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Closing

The theme was French wine, not Pinot Noir or Chardonnay. Pleasure achieved.

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