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The supper club eats and drinks well in Connecticut.
Bill's.
Tasted June 15, 2013 by BradKNYC with 1,095 views
Introduction
It was Bill Lawrence's turn to host this month's supper club gathering and with the weather finally warming up, he thought it would be a great idea to host us in Greenwich, where he could make it a family day so those with kids could come up and use the pool and run around in the yard. Unfortunately Wilfred couldn't join us this month, so the Sugarman's, all four of them, received the golden ticket to fill in and joined Christine Huang, Marty Ellington and his two boys, Sarah Kirschbaum, Jonathan Read and me for a festive and fun-filled day. Bill and Pam were the hosts with the most, filling us with good eats and tasty wine and Bill even arranged for the weather to be perfect. It was a super day in every way.
Flight 1 (16 notes)
White
2011 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Haut-Lieu
Showing better than a bottle I had when it was first released, the alcohol, which really stood out last time, was much better integrated, though the lightly dilute character remains. Lean, dry and nicely acidic with a yellow and white profile on the nose and palate comprised of quince, bitter almond, yellow citrus, pith and mineral. Not in the same league as the previous few vintages, but it still is nice a nice drop on a hot day. B+.
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White - Sparkling
1995 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut
Rather serious and lean with crisp acidity, it shows plenty of bread and yeasty aromas and flavors with tart apple, bitter orange, toast and mineral. Refined with a light mousse. Needs a little bit more flesh for my tastes, but is pleasant. A-/B+.
White - Sparkling
1990 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Grande Cuvée
Riper and friendlier than the Krug with less attack-minded acidity. Red apples, pomelo and brioche with the fruit showing just a touch of sweetness. Finely beaded, complex and more at peak than the Krug. Solid A-.
White
2007 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Charmes
Sports a showy nose full of cream, smoke, lemon candy, pear, apple and mineral. Rich and creamy on the palate, but with delineation and fine acids. Nice ripeness to the fruit without being overdone. Elegant and beautifully balanced with a touch of wood on the finish. This went very nicely with the raw tuna dish where the toasted sesame seeds made the pairing really pop. Solid A-.
White
2007 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Charmes
Much tighter on the nose and palate than the Lafon. It's bigger in body, but not as elegant or well put together and is showing a touch more oak. Some creaminess with a strong mineral character to go along with toasted nuts, pears, citrus and yellow and white flowers. A-/B+.
White
2007 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros
The tightest and my least favorite of the three '07s. It shows nice minerality and oyster shells, but the fruit is rather lean and the oak is more prominent here than in the other two wines. Unripe pineapple and yellow fruits with some tannic structure on the finish. Never been a huge fan of Fevre and am mystified by those that suggest the oak is light in these wines. B+.
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Red
1988 Hubert Lignier Charmes-Chambertin
Fairly tight on the nose, but shows plenty of meatiness and rusticity on the palate. There's an edginess to the tannic structure and the wine is rather lean in profile, which seems on par for an '88, but it does have solid red fruit levels to go with the earth, spice and blood character. Low A-.
Red
2001 Domaine Dujac Charmes-Chambertin
I'm normally a fan of Dujac and while this was enjoyable, it was also slightly disappointing. It's much more fragrant, thickly textured and obvious than the Lignier, which is to be expected, but while there's plenty of dark chocolate covered cherries to enjoy, there's a stemminess to the wine that's distracting and the oak is not fully integrated at this point. Still, it's a pleasant glass. B+/A-.
Red
1982 Château Gruaud Larose
Normally one of my favorite Gruauds, this is a poor showing, unfortunately. There's Cordier funk and then there are brett bombs and this bottle is completely dominated by brett. The wine comes off as underweight, a bit of a shell with the fruit and cedar in the background. NR.
Red
1982 Château L'Evangile
Shows a touch of brett on the nose, but nothing like the Gruaud. Wonderfully earthy with black plum, cherry and cigar box aromas. Mid-weight and showing nice elegance on the palate. The wet earth/mineral character is just as dominant here as it was on the nose. There's nice vibrancy to the red and black fruit and the tobacco and cedar aromas round out the classic profile. Drinking beautifully right now. Solid A-.
Red
1985 Spring Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
flawed
Seems as if this bottle saw some heat along the way as it's lightly maderized. NR.
Red
1981 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard
From magnum and mildly controversial. Most seemed to greatly enjoy it, but Sugarman and I weren't all that impressed with the wine. I found it much more enjoyable and generous on the nose than on the palate, where it exhibited complex aromas of cherry fruit, dried herbs a hint of mint and dusty earth. Rather lean, with high acidity and austere tannins. Earthy with dried herbs and the fruit more in the background. The steak helped the wine, but it's certainly on the back end of its life. B+/B.
Red
1984 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon
Extremely raisiny on the nose and palate with some cedar and earth. Fairly resolved and not that complex, but still enjoyable. B.
Red
1984 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Older Mondavi Reserve Cabs frequently elicit comments about how Bordeaux-like they show and that's the case here with its cedar, dried herb and red cherry profile. The only thing really missing is the intense minerality and higher acid levels that come with Bordeaux. Drinking quite well, if starting to unravel at the seams a bit at this stage. The oak isn't fully integrated and I don't think the wine will live long enough to fully absorb it and there's some austerity on the finish. That said, it's really a nice example of an aged California Cab made in an old school style. A-/B+.
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White - Sweet/Dessert
1990 Château d'Yquem
Always a wonderful and rare treat to try and it showed beautifully with a rich, yet relatively elegant mouthfeel and crammed full of crème brûlée, pineapple, botrytis, citrus and stone fruit flavors and aromas. Still on the upswing and needing further time in the cellar as the oak needs further integration and there hasn't been any secondary development. Terrific wine with decades of life ahead of it. A.
White - Sweet/Dessert
1995 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru
Paired with the '90 Yquem, I knew it would be a formidable match for that wine as my experience has been that high acid, unoaked dessert wines usually outperform oaked, lower acid dessert wines and that was the case this evening. Well, at least half the group thought so, including Bill, who generously opened the Yquem. The vivid acid structure and pure, unadorned apricot preserves, quince paste, orange citrus and mineral flavors and aromas are riveting and actually make the Yquem come off as a bit clumsy and weighty in comparison. Still not a lot of development here and I didn't notice any earl grey tea notes at this point. The focus and length of the wine is just terrific. Gorgeous wine and the '95 remains my favorite vintage from the domaine. A+/A.
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Closing
Some pictures from the day.
The group.
Hosts with the most.
Starters. I missed the Deutz and the Taittinger
The white Burgs.
The reds.
Two stellar dessert wines.
A tasty salad.
Tuna sashimi course.
Stuffed portobello mushrooms.
Plenty of steak.
Sliced and ready for devouring. 
Profiteroles.