Chablis Les Clos night + an addictive and most impressive Scheurebe BA
Tasted April 7, 2014 by octopussy with 595 views
Introduction
In a small group, we met to taste some wines blind. I was told in advance that there would be some Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos, which was all I knew (this was more than the other knew though). We started with five white wines, four Chablis Les Clos and a pirate (which I didn't know either). Then we went on to two red wines blind and then two sweet wines blind.
Flight 1 - First Bracket - Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos + a Pirate (5 notes)
We started with the Chablis. I wasn't allowed to participate in guessing what it is because I was told in advance. The first Brocard (2008) was a wee bit disappointing because it was so tart and austere that it simply was hard to drink that night. More bottle age should do good though as the underlying material seems excellent. The second Brocard (2007) was my favorite of all four Chablis, it was equally tart in the nose as the 2008, but so much better in the mouth, bright, open, inviting, delicious. The group guessed it right that wine no. 1 and wine no. 2 were the same wine from different vintages. Someone said Chablis, the others said yes, it could be Chablis, but didn't want to commit.
The first Fèvre (2006) was maybe a bit unexciting at this point, it was well balanced and everything seemed in the right place, but it lacked the extra-dimension that for example the 2005 had. The second Fèvre (2005) was the favorite Chablis of many on the table, but for me it came only second after the 2007 Brocard. It's an excellent wine though with great texture, nice balance and lots of finesse. The funny thing is that everyone on the table (except for myself) guessed that this would be the pirate wine. Many on the table took it for a Loire Sauvignon Blanc, which I thought was not absurd as the wine did indeed have some characteristics that the best Loire Sauvignon Blancs have.
For me it was clear though that the last wine is the pirate as it did indeed taste very differently from the rest. The 2007 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc was quite controversial, some people really detested it in the beginning, but liked it better and better with more air (it was opened some three hours in advance though). For me it tasted like Irn Bru, that Scottish soda, at first, but became more and more complex also with air. I wouldn't have though Sauvignon Blanc though. After all, what's really funny is that people took a Chablis for a Sauvignon Blanc and a 85% Sauvignon Blanc, 15% Semillon blend for a Chablis.
To sum it up, the 2006 Fèvre and the 2008 Brocard Les Clos still seemed way too young, but the 2005 Fèvre and the 2007 Brocard seemed ready to go, if still young as well. No prem-ox, not even signs of it. The 2007 Domaine de Chevalier was something special, really, and if it weren't so expensive I'd think about buying it more often.
Flight 2 - Second Bracket - 2002 Vosne-Romanée vs. 2002 Moulin-à-Vent (2 notes)
In the second bracket, we were served both wines blind and did not guess what it was. My guess was that we had two German Spätburgunder with a little age on them. It was mostly the smoked bacon notes on the first wine that led me to that (wrong) conclusion. Some others in the room said Burgundy Pinot Noir, someone said Northern Rhône Syrah, but nobody guessed the Diochon right as a Beaujolais. Actually, I wasn't excited about either of the wines, but I was alone with that opinion. Most in the group really liked both wines, but the Charlopin-Parizot VR better than the Diochon. In any case, the Diochon had aged really well and is far away from having to be drunk anytime soon. It is approachable though. I found the Charlopin-Parizot to be quite advanced already, it didn't have the firmness that I would have liked to see.
Flight 3 - Third Bracket - Two 2002 sweet Scheurebes (2 notes)
We started the last bracket with the wine of the night without any doubt, the Andreas Laible Durbacher Plauelrain Scheurebe Beerenauslese 2002. The smell was seductive already, but once you took this liquid into your mouth it was like an explosion, like fireworks, like the sun rising and going down at the same time, heavenly, truly wonderful and hard to describe with words. We were all drooling over this wine, trying to lap up every last drop that there could be in the glass. We all concluded that we'd even work for free at the winery for a few days just to get the chance to get another half bottle of this magic potion to share between us. Actually, the Laible was meant to be the last wine of the night, but since it was not too late, our host got a half bottle of Alois Kracher Scheurebe TBA #10 2002. This was great as well, but it had a hard time after that Laible, it was sweeter, had less prominent acidity and just lacked this otherworldly extraterrestrial dimension that the Laible had. In any case, these were two outstanding wines to end the night.