Going Away Dinner @ Ripple

Ripple - Cleveland Park, Washington, D.C.
Tasted Monday, November 28, 2011 by tooch with 631 views

Introduction

Met up with a couple folks and opened up some great bottles. The staff at Ripple was great and Logan prepared, yet another, splendid meal. Thanks to Danny and Mo for all of their hospitality over the past year...I'm REALLY going to miss this place. (insert sad face emoticon HERE).

Flight 1 - Flight 1 (3 Notes)

All of these were opened up at Weygandt Wines before dinner.

  • 2006 Recaredo Cava Brut Nature Gran Reserva

    Spain, Cava

    This was my first vintage Cava. Had more complexity and depth to it than any Cava I've had before. Nice spring herbs, lots of citrus with and underlying creaminess. Very nice.

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  • 2006 Clos Roche Blanche Sauvignon No. 2

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine

    This definitely needs some air to blow off some alcohol aromas. Once those passed this was another very exciting bottle of sauvignon. Nice orchard fruit, with subtle banana, crushed rocks and herbs. Like the last bottle I had, this reminded me a lot of chenin blanc in its creaminess on the palate. Good stuff.

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  • 2009 Domaine Guion Bourgueil Cuvée Prestige

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Bourgueil

    Exactly what I love in cabernet franc. Sweet red fruit on top of earthy mushrooms and rocks. Had great balance and awesome energy on the palate.

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Flight 2 - Flight 2 (4 Notes)

Opening white wines with appetizers.

  • 2008 Domaine Jean Collet & Fils Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

    Definitely a disappointing Chablis for me. I've hardly found a 2008 Chablis that hasn't excited me, but for some reason this seemed round, too dense and lacking energy. On the palate this had a lot of bruised orchard fruit, smokey minerals and white florals. Acidity was low and it seemed to lack focus. Would have pegged this for a 2006 or MAYBE a 2009 chablis...never would have guessed it was a 2008.

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  • 2004 Marcassin Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    This was the most controversial wine of the night. The nose and palate featured exaggerated tones of dense lemon oil, smokey minerals, wood smoke, and marzipan. I've had a lot of chardonnay that has featured these flavors, but never like this...I think the CT user herberto put it best when he described this as a science experiment. To me it lacked elegance.

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  • 2009 Dönnhoff Hermannshöhle Riesling Großes Gewächs

    Germany, Nahe

    Thought this showed very well. Nose had white peach, lychee, white florals and lanolin. Bright, fresh and balanced palate was wonderful. Had great acidity, and was so expressive. Didn't show any signs that it was shutting down.

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  • 2009 Crowley Chardonnay Willamette Valley

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    This had massive amounts of oak with white florals and fresh herbs. Had some nice zesty citrus, but I had trouble getting around the charred oak tones. No balance.

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Flight 3 - Flight 3 (2 Notes)

Pierre Gonon flight with a pasta dish.

  • 1989 Pierre Gonon Saint-Joseph Les Oliviers

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph

    The cork was soaked through, but the wine seemed to be in fine shape. The nose was exotic with dark florals, bacon, herbs, spices and dark fruit. The palate was so silky and elegant and went incredibly well with agnolotti of bitter greens, black walnuts, acorn squash and sage. This was my third bottle of this, and all have been great examples of aged syrah.

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  • 2009 Pierre Gonon Saint-Joseph

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph

    Another exciting bottle. This is a powerhouse syrah with dark fruit, and meat driving the palate. The spiciness was also big...reminding me of a dried spice rub that would be used on ribs or steak. Has the structure, fruit and acidity to hold up for years. Should be an exciting wine to revisit over the next 2-3 decades.

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Flight 4 - Flight 4 (3 Notes)

Bigger reds with a venison steak.

  • 2005 Celler Vall Llach Priorat IDUS

    Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

    I didn't like this one bit. The nose had intense candied plums, dark chocolate and coffee tones. Heavy and dense without much precise in my opinion.

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  • 2004 Copain Syrah Broken Leg Vineyard

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    This was from the era of Copain wines that I first started drinking and it reminded me why I stopped. The fruit was heavy, thick and dense. It lacked much of the minerality and balance that the more current releases from Copain have. I much prefer their new style of winemaking over this clunkier style of years back.

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  • 2008 Cayuse God Only Knows

    USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

    Typical Cayuse funk on the nose that is lots of fun. Reminds me of Pegau...anyways, this was dark, rich and downright elegant....not the adjective I usually use with Grenache! There were dark spices, dark floral scents, and beautiful meat tones on the palate. This is truly exotic and I think it has an exciting upside!

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