Long overdue boy's nite

7 fellas got together at my place to eat cassoulet and guiness spice cake... sans girlfriends/wives.

Simple whites to start out... all of them solid wines with the Macon standing out for me in terms of its style and price.

• 2007 Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy Sancerre 84 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  Consistent with note below though I had it with average not "a little low" on the complexity this go around... a well made, classic Sancerre that is drinking just like one would expect at this point... drink them up.

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• 2004 Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon Mâcon-Chardonnay Clos de la Crochette 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Mâcon-Chardonnay

  Consistent with note below... I continue to blitz through these as they are drinking splendidly right now... for its style and price this is a fantastic bottle of wine.

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• 2007 Weingut Willi Bründlmayer Grüner Veltliner Terrassen Kamptal 84 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Kamptal

  Straw rim, light depth of color, slight bit of spritz upon opening. Aromatically simple but pure with citrus, grapefruit, and a slight hint of vegetal... on the palate dry with high acidity and a light spritz, low tonmoderate palate weight... no signs of barrique, MLF, lees contact... low ETOH. A balanced wine with shortish length, good intensity, decent complexity, good finesse, a fine texture, and good expression of place. A fresh, simple, "good" wine without the depth of flavor to age for an extended period of time... drink up.

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There were a lot of good wines at the table tonight... for me the Allemand stole the show with its effortless textural excellence at such a young age... the Barolo really showed the most aromatic complexity and changed the most throughout the night... each of the Cdp's had their issues but were great wines from two very different vintages... the Bandol was a surprise and the Chave was, well Chave, though a bit past its prime. The only wine not finished was the Pey-Labrie, but before going to bed I really started to feel its strengths more. No duds at all though we did have a corked 96 Chave Hermitage sadly.

• 2006 Thierry Allemand Cornas Chaillot 94 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

  Light color, purple rim. Hugely, really hugely, aromatic with loads of floral red fruits (a touch of grapiness still), spice, vitamin-like minerality, tobacco leaf herbality... on the palate the wine is truly seamless with beautifully firm yet smooth acidity leading to a wonderfully full, yet light midpalate, a perfect transition into a moderately + tannic finish that is very fine in texture... low to moderate ETOH. Fantastic balance, good length, great intensity, very good complexity for its age, near perfect finesse and texture, great expression of its place. How can such a young wine with so much material be so fine and effortless? Drinks great now but will improve for 5-7 years.

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• 2001 Château Moulin Pey-Labrie 86 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Canon-Fronsac

  Moderate depth of color, ruby rim. On the nose tons of ripe plum and dark fruits... background barrique spice, good minerality, very slight vegetal note. On the palate moderate acidity, a very plush and full midpalate, smooth transition into a low to moderate tannic finish. Good balance, at or below average persistence on the palate, average intensity, decent complexity, good finesse and a fine texture, good expression of place. I liked this more than I thought I would (Dressner and Boreaux isn't a combo that usually interests me much)... the wine is a very earthy, plumy wine with good depth of flavor that is very well made for its style and appellation. Drink or hold another 1-2 years.

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• 2000 Château Jean-Pierre Gaussen Bandol Longue Garde 88 Points

  France, Provence, Bandol

  Dark color, ruby to red rim. Very aromatic with plenty of wet fur, dark fruits, barrique spice, hint of leather. On the palate firm, rustic acidity, a broad midpalate, "coarse" transition into a firmly tannic finish. Good balance between fruit intensity and new barrique use (felt about 50% new, all French), good persistence, great intensity of aroma and flavor, good complexity of fruit and earth, not a ton of finesse and a bit rustic texturally... very expressive of its origin. I was surprised by this wine... it has its mouvedre component out in the front and though rustic, is quite likable. Close to or at its peak with some tannin left to integrate over the next 1-3 years.

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• 1998 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau 88 Points

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

  Light color, reddish brown clearing rim. Aromatically dominated by brett with plenty of leather, horsey aromas... spice and red fruits come forward with time as do Provencial herb aromas. On the palate the wine has a firm and aggressive ascent with moderate + acidity... the midpalate while having plenty of depth of flavor and extract is a little bit firm/metallic, the wine transitions smoothly into a low to moderate tannic finish that is quite integrated... the wine has moderate + ETOH. Good balance between moderate + ripeness of fruit and acidity/tannins... very good persistence, intensity of flavor, and complexity. Wine has decent finesse, has a slight textural issue with that hardness/metallic note in the midpalate, and is very expressive of place. I was a bit disappointed in this wine and I think the metallic hardness on the palate, which isn't on the nose, may be a sign there is some mousiness going on (Brettanomyces production of tetrahydropyridine) which may account for the mouvedre notes some are perceiving in this wine. At any rate there is a lot of stuffing in here and it will be interesting to see how this wine develops and how other bottles present themselves brett-wise... I'm not as convinced as others this wine will gain much in complexity over the mid to long term but perhaps this bottle was on the high end of the brett scale?

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• 1996 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée 88 Points

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

  Very light color, red to slight bricking and lots of clearing at the rim. Very aromatic with plenty of smoky, horsey brett, lots of very light and floral red fruits, plenty of minerality and herbal spice in there. On the palate the wine has very high acidity and is still quite fresh, the midpalate had good grenach breadth but lacked a little depth, very smooth transition into a low + tannin finish that is completely integrated. Good comparison to the 98 Pegau with more balance, less persistence and intensity... similar aromatic complexity. Much more finesse and a finer, lighter, more Burgundian texture... similarly classic expression of place. The wine is certainly a light Pegau that still has plenty of freshness and aromatic complexity albeit needing a bit more depth and extract to be great... at its peak.

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• 1996 Parusso Barolo Bussia Vigna Munie 90 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Pretty deep in color for nebbiolo... red to brick at rim. Aromatically intense out of the gate with deep, dark fruits, layers of exotic spice, forest floor earthiness, florality... on the palate firm with high acidity, a tight, appropriately narrow midpalate with good extract, very nice transition into a still firmly tannic finish... moderate + ETOH. The wine changed throughout the night as most good Barolo do with different aromatic components moving to the front... front end of wine sweetened and got more full over the night. Great balance between the rich fruit and firm structure, great intensity and complexity, good finesse, firm yet fine texture, very expressive of its place. Wine could have had a bit more persistence on the finish which at 20-30 sec was a bit short and pinched compared to the rest of the wine. Just barely" outstanding" wine that is probably getting close to its peak but will live there comfortably for some time.

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• 1986 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 88 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Very similar to my last note... this bottle had a bit more intensity of aroma and flavor but otherwise remains an aromatically pretty wine that is still fresh but lacks the depth of flavor and extract of better 80's vintages of Chave... drink up.

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How can you go wrong with cassoulet and this lineup of wines?