Dinner at RPM Steak
Chicago, IL
Tasted Tuesday, February 24, 2015 by acyso with 573 views
Introduction
The usual suspects, plus a master sommelier, got together for a casual dinner with great steaks and drinks. A big thank you to the fantastic staff at RPM Steak.
1996 Paul Bara Champagne Grand Cru Comtesse Marie de France 90 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
A somewhat austere nose featuring a slight bit of bread on the nose. The effervescence isn't too strong now, with the bubbles fading away quite quickly. Lovely acidity and a good biscuit quality. Definitely shows a bit of age, but I imagine this was a pretty typical showing for an approximately 20-year-old bottle of bubbles. Ready now.
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1976 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Rosalack Auslese 93 Points
Germany, Rheingau
#14-77. This had an almost pink salmon colour in the glass. The nose was very intense, and not showing too much gasoline. Quite sweet on the palate -- surprisingly so, in comparison to the other 1976s I've had -- but a lot of fresh fruit extract. Quite big but good acidity to counterbalance it.
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2012 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese 93 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
#03-14, 9% abv. Slow-oxed for 9 hours. Kaffir, stone fruit, and lime on the nose. Tons of fruit on the palate -- juicy and delicious. Strangely, this bottle doesn't seem particularly shut down at all. Certainly this will gain complexity with time, but it's just so good right now still.
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2012 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph Blanc Les Oliviers 88 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
2004 Leflaive anyone? I've never had a Rhone white with this much reduction on the nose. While the acidity on this is somewhat lacking, at least there isn't too much fruit and jamminess and other stuff that makes these wines over the top. There is the typical oiliness that you find in a roussanne/marsanne wine.
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1981 La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904 95 Points
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Just after popping the bottle, there it is, the scent of American oak. There's just a little bit of green herbal quality on the nose that is very alluring. The body is incredibly rich with ripe red cherry flavours, but at the same time, this is still slightly herbal. Super intense and rich, but sufficient acidity to keep things fresh. There is great power in this wine...
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1997 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
The nose has a bit of that dirty sur-maturite that I associate very closely with 1997 red Burgundies. Red-fruited, with a slight bit of funk. The palate is showing the same ripe red fruit and earth, though this is still slightly tight. With a bit more air, the aromatics and flavours started to blossom even more. Textbook showing, though I expected more.
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1995 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Mazy-Chambertin 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru
No nose at all... weird. The palate though is very nice, Lambrays-like in its purity and crystalline red fruit quality. Lots of tart cherries. Light but austere. That lack of nose is definitely really odd though...
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2000 Domaine Dujac Bonnes Mares 98 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Holy shit. Intense Dujac aromatics of spice and black fruit, which follows through onto the palate. Excellent depth and concentration on the palate, with a small hint of iron (which I'm guessing is the terroir speaking under the Dujac signature). An absolutely fantastic bottle, but this can definitely use a few more years to unwind.
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1995 Georges Noellat Echezeaux Flawed
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru
Smells like organic chemistry lab section.
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2002 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
This bottle just goes to show that the best producers make great wines even in bad vintages. This has lots of tart red fruit character on the nose and palate. Light, aromatic, stemmy, and fresh. However, the palate does seem a little hollow in the middle, though basically, this wine is so pretty I'm willing to overlook this.
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1982 Château Léoville Las Cases 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
I had wanted so much to be wowed by this wine, but alas, it was not to be. A good dose of green pepper on the nose. Lots of fresh fruit on the palate -- ripe and black. Despite the ripe fruit, this seems to have way more acidity than I would have expected -- maybe this wasn't a 100% sound bottle? Quite a bit of power, but at the end of the day, the disparate elements weren't coming together and this bottle really didn't do it for me.
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1998 Domaine de Vallouit Hermitage Cuvée Spéciale Les Greffières
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
The nose on this was certainly spot on -- meat, stems, pepper, olives -- everything that you want and expect in a good Northern Rhone. The palate though leaves a lot to be desired. Something seemed off to me -- the acidity was much higher than I'd expect and there wasn't much else going on. Perhaps a little bit of secondary fermentation happened? Like the protagonist of Swann's Way, I can but remember the first time I tasted a 1998 Vallouit Hermitage, for every time I try to grasp those heights, I come back empty-handed.
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2011 Emmanuel Houillon (Maison Pierre Overnoy) Chardonnay Arbois Pupillin 93 Points
France, Jura, Arbois Pupillin
So, this is a fantastic wine at $25. Add a zero to that? Nah, not so much. The nose has tons of fresh green apple, and as Alan mentioned, sour beer. Lovely fresh acidity that just keeps going. There is a certain funk (I think it's a very minor oxidative element) that makes it clear that this isn't Burgundy (premox jokes aside), but this is excellent chardonnay in its own right. This would be a delightful wine to drink with some roast chicken on a lazy weekend afternoon, and while this is delicious, there's no way it has the complexity of a $250 bottle.
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1987 Artur de Barros e Sousa (ABSL) Madeira Malvasia 98 Points
Portugal, Madeira
Extremely short cork, as in, it was just the business end of a stopper. Very, very pale colour -- the colour is more reminiscent of a Yquem from the 1970s than a Madeira. The nose on this thing is insane, with a powerful aroma of candied bitter pomelo and grapefruit, honey, and burnt sugar. Very light-bodied and lithe on the palate. This is not like any other malvasia I've had -- so elegant and light, tons of citrus peel and freshness, very much like the modern Barbeito style. There's a hint of lychee on the attack as well. Despite the lightness, this possesses an rich tongue-coating texture. If there is anything I have to say against this bottle, it's that the finish comes off slightly metallic, but really, it's hard to overstate how fantastic this bottle is.
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