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Work Wine Tasting - Chablis & Claret
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Tasted March 16, 2017 by SimonG with 340 views
Introduction
A look at Chablis terroir using 2008s, and Bordeaux commune character with some 2000s interspersed with non-Bordeaux cabernet sauvignons of similar age.
Flight 1 (1 note)
White - Sparkling
N.V. Charles Heidsieck Champagne Brut Réserve
91 points
2007 base. Two bottles with consistent notes. mellow and rich with a hint of vanilla and brioche. Fresh with good line and persistence on the finish. Superb nv. Ready now but will hold and develop further. ****
Flight 2 (6 notes)
The striking thing about the Chablis flight was how one could pick out differences between the vineyards, and how similar the M de Tonnerre from two different producers were to each other — far more similar than any of the Chablisienne premiers to each other. Obviously relatively subtle differences between wines but they all showed as one would have expected on paper, with a marked progression in intensity/grip moving up the ladder.
White
2008 La Chablisienne Chablis 1er Cru Montmains
89 points
Saline nose, a touch of iodine. Light and almost floaty on the attack before the core of saline grip engages and then eases off to a rounded, honeyed finish. Lovely, and very typical. ***
White
2008 La Chablisienne Chablis 1er Cru Les Lys
90 points
Again, classic nose, and then nicely saline with some grip on the attack. Some honey on the mid-palate, though lighter than the Montmains, and then a nice core of grippy salinity. Finishes well. Slightly rounder and with a bit more presence on the finish. ***1\2
White
2008 La Chablisienne Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre
91 points
Magnum. Cleaner and more linearly mineral on the nose with healthy squeezes of lime. That lime minerality and line continues through the mid palate. Finishes well. Plenty of saline grip. ****
White
2008 Moreau-Naudet & Fils Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre
92 points
Magnum. Remarkably similar profile here to the Chablisienne example. Real sense of vineyard rather than vigneron. None of the custard apple of the previous bottle. Very saline and mineral but with a slight smoothing on the attack and through the finish. Lovely. ****
White
2008 La Chablisienne Chablis 1er Cru Vaulorent
93 points
Lots of grip here. Very proper, archetypal Chablis. Punchy and long. Vibrant. An extra layer of grip and complexity on the previous premiers. Super. ****
White
2008 La Chablisienne Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir
94 points
An extra layer of density and also padding around the taut mineral core. Also, a slightly crystalline texture on the finish. Lots here, this is excellent and has really evolved well and gained complexity since first tasted in 2011. Really super. ****1/2
Flight 3 (10 notes)
A few quirks, but again the wines performed pretty much as one would expect based on the stereotypes of communal character. I don't know whether this was luck, or whether the wines chosen are reliably typical of their commune, but it worked well. With the exception of the nuanced and complex Vergelegen, and the slightly atypical Farnito, the ringers stood out as relatively one-dimensional, the Penfolds and Mondavi being obvious examples of wines that were true to stereotype.
Red
1997 Carpineto Cabernet Sauvignon Farnito Toscana IGT
89 points
Mid to full garnet. Fragrant nose, quite plummy. This is relatively evolved, and has moved on from when last tasted six years ago. A freshness and acidity that signals Italy even though the fruit is a little ripe and evolved. Smooth and balanced though, this is probably just starting to ease of its plateau and should probably be drunk up now. ***
Red
2000 Château Maucaillou
89 points
Deep garnet. An attractive nose of blackcurrant leaf, graphite and cedar with a slightly minerally edge. Similar on the palate. This has interest and freshness with a nice line. A slightly gravelly edge to it. Good. ***
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Red
2000 Château Larmande
87 points
Dark and quite brooding. A slightly dusty, dark red fruit with a little graphite. Surprisingly full and quite dense on the palate. A chewy dryness here. This is far more foursquare and burly than I'd anticipated. Some plummy fruit but it quite well disguised.***
Red
2000 Château d'Aiguilhe
90 points
This has been consistently good over the past few years. Nicely rich with soft mulberry and damson fruit. Reasonable mid-palate depth and a decent finish. Easy to drink but reasonable complexity too with some cedar and wet earth notes. Lovely. ***1/2
Red
1998 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 407
88 points
Mid to full ruby. Classic blackcurrant and blackcurrant leaf nose. Similar on palate with a touch of mint. Ripe and rounded, somewhat one dimensional in the company but does exactly what is says on the label. ***
Red
2000 Vergelegen Cabernet Sauvignon
91 points
Fully dense ruby. Nicely savoury blackcurrant leaf nose. Quite minerally and refined. Shows well in the company, in binary terms, Bordeaux rather than new world. Again, six years on from last tasting and this has evolved nicely. Still plenty of line but with a nice secondary development and minerally complexity around the core of nuanced fruit. Super. ****
Red
2000 Château Durfort-Vivens
91 points
Curious one this. Nose constantly changing, from bright violet-scented, to coconut, to stewed porty fruit. Smooth and quite nuanced on the attack. Fruit does seem a little over-ripe on the mid palate though. Finishes well, and there's certainly some complexity. Benefit of the doubt ****
Red
2000 Château Gloria
91 points
Some cedary complexity to the dark red fruit on the nose. Quite powerful on the attack, plenty of grip, blackcurrant and raspberry fruit with a cigar box tobacco and cedar complexity. Lovely. Really quite full though, verging on being a bit of a bruiser at this stage. Reasonably long. Just about ****
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Red
2000 Château Lynch-Moussas
89 points
Deep ruby. Classic blackcurrant and blackcurrant leaf nose. A touch of graphite. Mid weight with good blackcurrant fruit. Some developmental complexity. Good typicity. ***
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Red
1999 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
86 points
After a run of 2000 Bordeaux, this stood out a little at the end of the tasting with it's more obvious alcohol. Blackcurrant fruit a little stewed and porty, the whole package a little diffuse. OK but probably a little past it, and a little simple in the company. bare ***