Dinner at 112 Eatery (Boillot, Arnoux, Jadot, Ducru, Lynch, Mondavi, Girardin)

Our usual group of Brad England, Steve Sigmond, Christopher Larson, Craig Vanderah, and me met for dinner and wine at the 112 Eatery in downtown Minneapolis. We dined in the new upstairs dining area, and this proved to be a perfect venue. There is much more space between tables. We had two tables pushed together so we had plenty of room for five of us, our eight bottles of wine, and four to five glasses per person. The service was pretty good. The corkage policy is $25 per bottle which is very steep, but the food is so good that it more than makes up for this. We put Brad in charge of ordering a variety of foods, and shared everything that came family-style. I have to say the food was awesome and really paired well with the wine. I won't go through all of the courses, but if you are in the Twin Cities you need to make a special effort to get to 112 Eatery. I find it a step above every other restaurant in the area.

• 2005 Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

  Pale yellow color. The nose is not particularly intense, but gives a lovely expression of honey and mineral with a subtle floral note. Very elegant. In the mouth the flavors expand and coat palate with concentrated fruit, honey, butterscoth, and minerality. Great mouth feel. Great balance. Great lingering finish. A first class white burgundy.

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• 1995 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Romanée St. Vivant 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru

  Deep red color with a slight hue of rust. gant and feminine on the nose. When first poured it was dominated by red fruit, beef blood, blood orange, mushroom, and a hint of violets. After sitting in the glass for awhile the nose changed rather dramatically towards a violet/floral expression. The taste is not quite as elegant and feminine as the nose. It has a powerful cherry and mushroom taste, zingy acidity, and plenty of chunky tannin on the finish. This is a really nice red Burgundy, that could probably use a few more years in the cellar.

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• 1995 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Domaine Louis Jadot 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  Deep ruby red color. After sitting in the glass for a little while, the nose became big and expressive giving dark fruit, cocoa, mineral, and some mushroom/funkiness. The taste is dominated by concentrated dark fruit. This has a great mouthfeel, but finishes a little rough due to chunky tannins. Good balance and good length on the finish. This is much more structured and masculine than the elegant and feminine Arnoux RSV served alongside it.

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• 1982 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Opened about 45 minutes before serving. Deep red color. The nose is brooding but sucks you in with dark fruit, leather, lead pencil, coffee/cocoa, and mineral. This also had a slight VA which seemed to blow off with time. The taste was very interesting. There is a healthy dose of dark fruit, but the tannin rises up by mid-palate and really dries the mouth obscuring some of the taste/finish. I thought this was also a bit tart. Steve and I discussed the possibility that this wine may not get much better than it is now -- there's just not enough fruit to offset the massive tannins. Setting these nits aside, this is an excellent wine with great character.

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• 1985 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Double decanted about four hours before serving. Deep red color. The nose is a brooding blend of dark fruit, leather, lead pencil, coffee/tobacco, and mineral -- almost identical to the 1982 except that there was no VA. The taste exceeded the 1982 by being much better integrated -- the mouthfeel was smooth and caressing. There is great balance, and the finish is long and satisfying. I'd say this is in a great drinking state right now.

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• 1985 Château Lynch-Bages 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Opened (maybe even double decanted) about three hours before serving. This was an awesome bottle of wine. The nose was an intense and aristocratic blend of dark frui, pencil lead, tar, cedar, and spice box. In the mouth this shows dark fruit with tobacco notes, but is also extremely smooth with fully integrated tannins -- similar to the 1985 Ducru. However, there is much more power in the Lynch Bages. This has an excellent lingering finish. An excellent wine that is in a prime drinking window right now.

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• 1994 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Ruby red color with a slight rust hue. The nose is expressive with dark fruit, earth, vanilla, cedar, and tobacco. On the palate this is smooth and balanced. The rich dark fruit flavors coat the entire mouth. I would say this is between stages -- it has lost its youthful charm, but not enough secondary nuances have developed yet. I would say there is enough fruit and structure present to give hope that this will continue to develop for quite a few years into the future.

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• 2002 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Pommard 1er Cru Les Grands Épenots Vieilles Vignes

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard 1er Cru

  Bright red color. The nose gives black fruit, oak, vanilla, mushrooms, and smoke. Youthful, but promising. On the palate this gives concentated black fruit with a hint of baking spices and some smoke. Packed with fruit but also well structured. Nice finish. This showed well, but definitely needs a few more years of cellaring to shed some baby fat.

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There was no consensus from the group on WOTN. Craig voted for the Boillot followed by the Lynch Bages. Steve voted for the Arnoux. Chris voted for the 1985 Ducru. Brad voted for both the 1985s. My WOTN was a toss-up between the 1985 Ducru and the 1985 Lynch Bages. In the end I went with the Lynch Bages due to its more powerful nature.

It was great to get together again. Everyone is interesting to talk to, and the conversation flows freely. I learn tons about wine from these guys every time we get together.