Dinner with Jeff Leve at Lucques

Dinner organised by Jeff Leve for my visit in the US. The service was really very good and the food matched well the quality of the wines we had. Many other wines were drunk during that evening but I am giving information here only on wines were I have some kind of TN - most of the TNs are quite sketchy, though.

• 2001 Château-Grillet (Neyret-Gachet) Château-Grillet

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Château-Grillet

  Very pure and elegant, quite a contrast with the bold and fat style of the '90. Typical Condrieu profile with a touch of marzipan as a signature. I actually prefer this wine young than old. It's good but didn't really impress me.

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• 1991 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Blanc De L'Orée

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  My best bottle of this wine so far, which confirmed that at least one bottle I've had was badly oxidised. The wine was open for business and delivering a lot of pleasure in a precise, focused way - a very subtle wine with a lot of discrete aromas, ever-chaning with a long finish. I'm still no big fan of white Rhones but this one was definitely a great example.

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• 2002 Peter Michael Chardonnay Point Rouge

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Knights Valley

  Typically big Cali chard with a superb, complex nose, lots of oak and still very tight on the palate. I appreciated it but noticed a definite lack of acidity and minerality, two components I realised I was incredibly used to (and even addicted to, in a way). I'm glad I tried it.

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• 1981 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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

  A great Chateauneuf, one of the best Beaucastel I've had so far (I preferred the 89). Great nose with a nice balance between the animalistic component (that can be a bit overpowering in Beaucastel) and fruit (fading but still distinctly present). I love the "dustiness" of old Rhones in the mouth and this one did not disappoint! A long finish rounds up a beautiful showing. Drink up, the upside potential is slim.

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• 1990 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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

  Gives the impression of still being shutdown. Big structure, intense fruit, a big too strong and dense for my taste, at the moment it seems brutal and unrefined. Still needs some time to come around.

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• 1998 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Laurence

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

  Already drinking well, very forward and pleasing but with the impression that it tries to get out of its way to please - in other words, good but lacking character. I'm not a big fan of this wine, I guess I prefer class to sexiness.

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• 1998 Roger Sabon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Prestige

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

  I have to disagree with Jeff here - for me the best CdP of the flight and potentially the best of the evening (if drunk in due course). The nose was just incredibly complex and deep, showing pure fruit and notes of torrefaction. An iron fist in a velvet glove, everything in this wine seemed to fit right into place. A real treat.

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• 2003 Domaine de Cristia Châteauneuf-du-Pape Renaissance

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

  Surprisingly fresh for a 03 CdP, good balance, minerality showing through. Hard to enjoy at this stage but with good potential. However I consider several other 03 CdPs to be in another class (e.g. Janasse VV or Mordoree RdB).

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• 1991 M. Chapoutier Côte-Rôtie La Mordorée

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Difficult to know where to start since this wine has so many charms. The nose is pretty much everything one could wish for in a Cote-Rotie with all the components (animal, bacon, meat/blood, flowers...) coming wave after wave, merging together and ultimately giving great pleasure. I also loved the mouthfeel, incredibly silky, invading the whole mouth, and the finish was appropriate for a wine of this level. The only thing I thought could get better was the palate, with maybe a touch more power. That's really nitpicking, though.

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• 1982 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  What a great Hermitage! I just pretty much loved every aspect of it, in particular the incredible complexity both on the nose and palate. This one also the "dustiness" factor that just seems to sprinkle the wine in the mouth and keep it there in suspension in order to enhance and prolong the whole experience.

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• 1982 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Very good but having a hard time next to the 82 Chave. The fruit has a great quality to it but it doesn't go much further than that at the moment. I would expect a bit more complexity but it might come in some more years since it didn't seem fully mature to me.

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• 1989 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  This wine is still going strong and has many years ahead before it delivers its full potential. But when it does it will really be great. For me quite backwards with a tannic structure that makes it hard to really enjoy at the moment.

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