TN: 1989 Palmer, 1989 Montrose, 1990 Chapoutier CDP, 2001 Beaucastel CDP, Core 442

Gramercy Tavern NYC
Tasted Thursday, March 17, 2005 by jamiekutch with 1,370 views

Introduction

It was a treat to go to dinner with Scott Manlin, Tony Velebil, Dave Corey, and his wife (who's name escapes me) of Core Wines this past week. We met up at Gramercy Tavern where the food is always charming and corking is very reasonable. There was lots of fun conversations and I was glad to have finally met Scott and Tony from the board. Thanks guys for joining me once again. - Jamie

Flight 1 - Chateauneuf du Pape Flight (2 Notes)

  • 2001 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 93 Points

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

    Beautiful bright ruby glowing red. What a gorgeous nose. I opened this at my apartment a few hours prior to going to dinner. I smelled and sipped and immediatly recorked as the wine was all there and open for business. Still very primary but clean and layered. The wine was perfectly integrated with hints of oak, cherries, jam, spice, currant berries, and rich mouth coating tannins. Medium in body this is sure to be a wonderful wine in 10 years. I need more.

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  • 1989 M. Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Barbe Rac

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

    Very light red with light bricking on the rim. Strong acidity apparent on the nose with tomatoe sauce qualities - stewed tomatoes. On the palate lemon zest and orange peel. Very high in acidity maybe this wine has seen some heat. After an hour in the glass, the wine gets a little better but nothing worth 13 years of cellaring. NA

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Flight 2 - Bordeaux Flight (2 Notes)

  • 1989 Château Palmer 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Decanted for 1 hour. Medium to dark ruby red in color. The nose never truly popped like it should have but gave a small glimpse into the wines future including some feminine qualities, black fruit and red rose peddles. It was sweet and succulant with precision and focus. With it's medium body, low acidity and silky fruit flavors it is easy to drink down. The finish is clean and elegant like am Italian race car.

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  • 1989 Château Montrose 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe

    Darker than the Palmer in color. Another sweet nose with black fruit. Some secondary flavors including meat and game. Plenty of tannins lets you know this wine is built for a long time to go. It's definitly a big boy Bordeaux. Fantastic and balanced. Much bigger in style than its Palmer brotherin, this Montrose only flaw was that the nose never evolved very much. Manlin brought this along from Chicago that day so it was well mixed and waasn't decanted as was the case with my Palmer. The finish was superb with clean ripe fruit traveling down my throat and lingering flavors that lasted for 30 seconds.

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Flight 3 - Big Guns (2 Notes)

  • 1999 Clos Erasmus Priorat

    Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

    Dark ruby purple color. Black fruit - tar, licorice, smooth on the palate and very coating - Had a good amount of oak. Not a wine for my palate but a fine effort for this style.

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  • 2003 Core Blend 442 Alta Mesa Vineyard

    USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

    Very nice wine. Delicious accompaniment to a fine selection of cheese from Gramercy Tavern.

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