Chablis Fest

A bunch of out-of-towners were in Chicago and we thought that opening up some Chablis would be fun. The theme expanded a bit to include a flight of non-Chablis White Burgundy and a flight of Champagne. Only 2 off bottles in the bunch...not all that bad.

Dauvissat >>>> Raveneau on this night.

• 1990 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon 94 Points

  France, Champagne

  Another great bottle of this. Biscuity, truffle-y, with beautiful aromas of apples/pears/slate. The palate had a nice creamy note to it with with lots of lemons, limes, mushrooms, and floral notes. Delicious wine that I want to drink more of!

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• 2004 Launois Pere et Fils Champagne Grand Cru Special Club Blanc de Blancs 93 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  A really impressive, young, champagne. Tons of power, with lots of energy and lime flavors. The palate took some time to open up, but when it did the lemons and limes really began to expand. Incredibly young, but already showing signs of greatness.

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• 1999 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  A very elegant Raveneau that was akin to drinking crisp lemony mineral water. Loved the waxy lemony character with the dense minerality and salty limes. This was in a really great spot.

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• 1999 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 81 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Not a flawed bottle, but the oak was really weird here. All this had was lots of lemony oak. Disappointing and strange.

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• 1999 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Chapelot Flawed

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Oxidized

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• 2005 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Lots of firm citrus notes with great minerality and florals. Loved the tenseness of the palate and the richness of the fruits. Lots of lime...I liked that a lot...gave it a bit more acidic spine.

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• 2002 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru La Forest 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Hell yeah. Beautiful stuff that still has much of the freshness of youth with a bit of its secondary characteristics too. Flinty, with lots of lemons and lime. A very floral wine too with a streamlined, cool fruit profile that was awesome with some shellfish.

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• 2002 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  From 375ml. Just a small taste, but there was a lot of greatness here...tons of rich citrus, sea breeze tones, lime zest, and white blossoms. Awesome.

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• 2005 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  This was more of what I expected from the 2005 vintage. This didn't have the level of precision that the other vintages of this wine can have, and I think the some of the flavors were a bit rounder and fatter that what I typically look for. Not a bad wine, at all, just a bit riper.

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• 2001 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Loved the power and edgy palate to this wine. Tons of lime, salt, lemons, and flint. Tons of depth and complexity...thought this was one of the better wines of the night.

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• 2001 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Up there for WOTN, and on a whole different level from the other Raveneau's this evening. Tons of depth with exotic salinity, melon, limes, and lemon tones. Just dazzling balance and purity to the palate...this is one of those wines that is completely singular and intoxicating.

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• 2000 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur Flawed

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Corked.

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• 2007 Arnaud Ente Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

  This was my first time trying this producer. A big and rich styled Puligny with lots of lime, orange, and lemon tones. It had really nice balance on the palate - despite its weight, it never felt slick or too blowsy. I'm interested to try more of this...

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• 2005 Philippe Colin Chevalier-Montrachet 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru

  Big and powerful with lots of flinty lemons, lime, and florals. The citrus notes had a real depth to them on the palate - needs time to become more elegant.

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• 2007 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

  A "wow" wine. Just incredible depth and layered flavors and aromas here. What also made it exciting was how quickly the wine shifted gears. At times it was elegant with wisps of lemons/limes and florals, while at other times the gunsmoke took over making it richer and fuller. So good.

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• 1985 Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

  This had aged very nicely. Lots of cool citrus fruit, wet slate, melon, and lanolin. The aged personality of the wine shown through and delivered some of those Chenin Blanc type qualities like wet wool, vanilla, and melon. It had a nice acidity on the finish too...gave it some nice energy.

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• 1975 Château Suduiraut 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  A lot to like here. Loved the pineapple and coconut flavors - very dense tropical fruit profile. Nice acidity and good depth.

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• 2011 Dana Estates Cabernet Sauvignon Hershey Vineyard

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

  A lot like the last time I tasted this. Definitely a cooler fruit profile with some blackberries, charcoal, cranberries, and earth. I still think this is the Dana Estates vineyard I enjoy the most.

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It was great seeing Amy, Jeremiah, Jason, and Tm (in addition to the Chicago people)! Thanks to the team at Shaw's for taking care of us too.