Northern Rhone tasting with the Lakeshore Boys

Last night my wife, Anita, and I hosted a Northern Rhone tasting at our house. My old neighbors and the "Lakeshore Boys" (Mike Zolik, Herb Blair and Paul Raphilian) came over from Grand Haven/Spring Lake for what's becoming a regular tasting group. I met these guys on the BB and our first time together was a Haut Brion tasting. Mike followed that up with a great Piedmont dinner at his place. Last night was our turn to show what we could do in the kitchen and my wife and I tried to live up to the standards set by the Zoliks.

I didn't take specific notes during the dinner, so I'm just going to give some general impressions on the wines from what I “remember” (for some strange reason I stayed up until 4:00am cleaning and finishing the leftovers).

Served with Rainbow of Marinated Olives, Rosemary and Parmesan Madeleines, and Smoked Salmon with Chavrie and Capers.

• 2001 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Roussanne Vieilles Vignes 94 Points

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

  Popped and quaffed, this wine went down real easy (the first bottle always does). Honeysuckle on the palate with a nice nose of white flowers. Great balance and fruit concentration. A great wine to start the evening with.

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• 1998 M. Chapoutier Hermitage Blanc Chante-Alouette 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  This wine was a nice surprise. I opened this because we were waiting on others to arrive and the Beaucastel went down pretty quick and I/Mike wanted to have the ’91 Blancs side by side at the table. Slight honey with good acidity, this wine is currently a real pleasure to drink now as a “young’ Hermitage Blanc.

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Served with Lobster Bisque.

• 1991 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Blanc De L'Orée 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Double decanted an hour and a half before serving and drank over the next 45 minutes. Honeyed fruit with an oily texture. Seemed a little flabby compared to the Chave. Fully mature, this wine was better in its youth (just the opposite of the Chave).

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• 1991 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc 97 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Double decanted an hour and a half before serving and drank over the next 45 minutes. This was the consensus WOTN. Pale gold with a nice oily texture. This bottle was in pristine condition for a 13+ year old white wine. The nose had a little cheesy funk but in a good complex way. Flavors of mixed nuts with good acidity. On the palate this wine felt more like a red than a white. Great stuff.

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Served with Roasted Pesto Crusted Rack of Lamb and Tomato Tart.

• 1991 M. Chapoutier Côte-Rôtie La Mordorée 97 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Opened (not decanted) 2 hours before serving and consumed over the following 2 hours. This was the best red of the night. The nose had a little gameness with the faint smell of animal fur and flowers. Silky smooth tannins and sweet dark fruit on the palate with a hint of wild game. I would say that this wine is currently peaking but should hold for at least another 5-7 years.

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• 1996 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline 94 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Opened (not decanted) for about two hours before serving and drank over the following four. This had a beautiful perfume nose when initially opened. The high level of viognier (almost 20%) really came through. The wine is currently drinking very well and had seamless sweet tannins. This wine would have scored higher if the oak hadn’t taken over the nose as the night went on. The score relects the first hour of consumption.

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• 1998 M. Chapoutier Côte-Rôtie La Mordorée 95 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  This wine was another surprise, Herb was suppose to bring the ’97 but grabbed the wrong bottle by mistake. Decanted two hours prior to serving and consumed over the next 4 hours. This was a really deep dark wine for a Cote Rotie. The nose of black fruits and roasted meat continued to blossom through the night and was really singing at the end. Full bodied with a good concentration of fruit. Approachable now but should improve with another 5 years in the cellar.

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Served with a selection of French Cheeses.

• 1991 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon 95 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Decanted 3 hours prior to serving and consumed over the following 2 hours. This wine was showing much younger than the La Mordorée. Black color. Spices and black fruits on the nose. Extremely concentrated with silky tannins. Needs another 3-5 years at least.

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• 1997 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon 94 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Decanted 4 hours prior to serving and consumed over the following two hours. Very similar to the ’91 but younger. Still very primary. Tight and concentrated. Give this wine another 10 years.

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• 1996 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Decanted 4 hours prior to serving and consumed over the following 6 hours. Even with plenty of air this wine wasn’t yielding much on the nose. The palate was a different story though. Black fruit and minerals with a firm structure. This wine has potential for those who are patient. I won’t be touching one of these again for 7-10 years.

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Served with Molten Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Sauce.

• 1996 M. Chapoutier Banyuls Vin Doux Naturel 90 Points

  France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Banyuls

  This went really well with the desert. Cherries and coffee on the nose and red fruits on the palate. Seemed like a young port with the spirit not fully integrated. I wonder if this would have showed better if decanted for a couple of hours (or more) before serving?

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• 1999 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  At this point we/I definitely didn’t need anymore wine but this was already decanted, so WTF. Decanted 5 hours before and drank over the following 5 hours (I finished the last glass at 4:00am). This is the biggest young Cote Rotie I’ve ever had. I can just imagine how big those La La’s were at the LA tasting. Roasted meat, black fruit and sweet oak on the nose. Full bodied with cassis and sweet powerful tannins. Great balance and purity. Very young and will be better once the oak becomes more integrated in 5 or more years.

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All in all it was a successful dinner and tasting. The Cote Rotie flight overshadowed the Hermitages but that was probably a result of the Hermitages needing more time in the cellar.

This summer should be fun and interesting when I have my rental in Grand Haven for two weeks over the 4th of July. Mike’s already planned a ’95 Cali Cab tasting that will feature some of the greatest wines of the vintage (Harlan, Shafer HSS, ect.).