Clayfu's birthday (part 2)
Monterey Park, CA
Tasted Saturday, November 21, 2015 by acyso with 435 views
Introduction
We gathered at Elite for a giant king crab and suckling pig, among other things, with some great wine. Nice to meet so many of the LA crew.
NV Jacques Selosse V.O. Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 93 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Disgorged October 9, 2006. While this has definitely seen a bit of its freshness fade, this bottle gives me hope that the Selosse wines don't fade with time. There's a nice fat peachiness to this wine, in addition to the expected nuttiness and saline qualities that are common to all of Selosse's bottles.
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1996 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Charmes 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Amazingly, this had a reduced nose (which was a great sign for a 96 white Burgundy). Lemony and rich on the palate, but there's a slight bit of coconutty fatness I found, which seemed to round out the steely acidity. Very lively and youthful, and drinking exceptionally well now.
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2001 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
This was one of the fatter chardonnays tonight. A slight hint of reduction on the nose, followed by trademark Raveneau richness (I got some waxy pears on the palate) on top of a frame of intense acidity. Outstanding concentration, with a profile of white fruit.
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2002 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru
This showed stunningly young, with a very pale colour and quite a bit of sulphur, which did clear up with time. Another one of the fatter chardonnays tonight. This manages to wield its considerable heft with grace. Slightly herbal, with a very refreshing strain of minerality.
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2008 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
This was much lighter in style than the 02 Chevalier, and perhaps had a bit less extract and concentration. On the other hand, this was far more lithe and light, and its acidic spine not hidden under anything here. I got a bit more honeyed and floral tones on this.
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1996 Domaine Ramonet Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Flawed
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
This is a bastard that wouldn't be welcome at my table. Poxed.
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1995 Coche-Dury Puligny-Montrachet Les Enseignères 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet
Classic Coche nose -- quite reductive, with just a whiff of popcorn. I picked up the oak a little bit on the palate in the form of some coconut. Quite round, this didn't have quite the same forward drive that the 96 Chevalieres seemed to have, though I can't really say that the acidity here was less.
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1996 Coche-Dury Meursault Les Chevalières 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
This bottle was super-reduced, with lots of that Coche sulphur on the nose. The palate was simply white-hot with acidity, showing a lot of extract and cut. Very linear and focussed, with white-fruit tinted acidity that drives everything through into a long finish.
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1990 Domaine Dujac Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Aux Combottes 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
This opened up with a bit of a stemmy browness that wasn't too pleasant, but at the same time there was a lovely core of earth and iron that showed more and more prominently with time. I found this to be a bit red-tinted, but loved the spice that was showing here. Again, initially, the palate was slightly clipped, but that filled out with time and air.
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2005 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
The score is almost based entirely on the nose alone, which explodes out of the glass and decanter with a bouquet of florals, ripe black fruits, and a slight tinge of earth. Simply incredible. The palate, though? Totally shut down. There's no doubt that there's potential here -- all the stuffing is there, but it just refused to come out and play. I'm particularly enthusiastic about what I perceived to be a lighter oak treatment here (probably thanks to the ability of all the stuffing to absorb the oak). Easily one of the best Volnays I've ever had.
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1996 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Romanée St. Vivant 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru
The producers who made richer wines in 1996 seem to have done very well. This Arnoux is one of those examples. Surrounding some very prominent acids and a tannic core is a body of rich black spice and fruit. This is definitely fleshy, but thanks to that structure, everything is held in a lovely, concentrated balance.
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1969 Camille Giroud Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Pruliers 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
A late release from the domaine. This was showing quintessential Nuits, with a simply massive dose of rustic earth on the nose and palate. The mushroom note was also quite prominent, though I think it's more reasonable to chalk that up to its age. This was showing amazingly fresh for its age thanks to some bright acids. I'd never be able to call this as an almost-50-year-old wine blind. The ripe and prominent fruit makes this taste a lot younger than it is.
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1994 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 95 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
I'll have to disagree wholeheartedly with Gilman on this one. This is a fantastic bottle of wine. A bit funky on the nose with maybe a slight hint of animale. The palate is very dense and dark, and features more of a dried fig and date characteristic than fresh fruit. Nevertheless, this has amazing concentration, and the oak doesn't pop out at all.
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1983 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
A very convincing bottle of Pichon (they sure as hell don't make 'em like this anymore). The nose starts off in a classic Bordelais way, with the green pepper note especially dominant (though maybe that's because this is one of two non-Burgundies tonight). The main thing I picked up on the palate was the fantastic acidity, but there's plenty of those classic old-school Bordeaux characteristics in high concentrations to be found here.
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