87 Guigal La La's, 90 la Chapelle, 90 Montrose, 89 Palmer, 90 Tertre Rôteboeuf

Montrachet
Tasted Tuesday, April 5, 2005 by jamiekutch with 1,229 views

Introduction

God Damn what a night!!! Seven of us made the trip to Montrachet where they have free corking on Monday nights. We all enjoyed some great conversations, wonderful food, and most importantly some KILLER wines. I walked in on time at 6:30 and everyone was already seated and going to town on the 2 German Rieslings Andy was gracious to bring along. This was a special dinner that Steve Wolfe initiated and we worked around his 3 bottles of Guigal La La's from the 1987 vintage. It was one hell of an experience and one I was very fortunate to attend.

The players were:

Steve Wolfe

Carol Wolfe

Andy Raffle

Andy Levine

Paul Jaouen

John Belden

Jamie Kutch

Flight 1 - German Reisling Heaven (3 Notes)

I sat down immediately and was prior to the event was hoping Andy brought some of his wonderful German Rieslings from his cellar. The waiter started making his way over to the
table with the two German Rieslings when Andy said "its ok, he doesn't like German Riesling - you can hold onto those for us for later." I should have known from the emails that went back and forth for the past week that tonight there would be plenty of ball busting. I just hoped none of my wines would be corked. The German's paired perfectly with the Seared Foie Gras with Oxtail and Candied Root Vegetables

  • 1983 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 94 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    Simply beautiful. What a start.. Golden yellow with a nose that tells you someone cared for this wine since release. Light on its feet like a and silkier than the 1990 with a tad less acidity and complexity. It is still, non-the-less a glorious wine with honey-suckle, tangerine juice, fruit bowl, etc.. The nose still has some sulfer but its not distracting in any way.

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  • 1990 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 96 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    WOW - simple amazing.. It's been some time since I experienced a German Riesling this good. It's got it all - golden shower in color with a healthy amount of fruit including peaches and pears, grapes, and some honey. Its clean and focused and gets my FULL attention. The acidity is just right and it balances the entire wine out into a smooth, round brilliant star at the table. Thank you Andy for sharing the wealth. The finish is still going in my mind...

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  • 1997 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

    There was something unusual going on with this bottle. It had some SERIOUS sulfer and green notes to it. Even past those too unpleasant notes the wine was thin and disjointed. We decanted, but it was beyond hope. My worst fear was coming true - I brought the one flawed bottle and heard about it all night long.

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Flight 2 - Best flight of the year (4 Notes)

When someone said “best flight of the year” I didn't have to think about it for longer than 1 second as this was clearly the case for myself. This was easily the best flight I have had in a long time. The wines were so similar yet so different. It truly was amazing how different the La La's were on the table yet how close to one another the vineyards are. These were some of the finest wines I have ever tasted. There were lots of happy faces around the table and from the looks of the glasses, not a drop went to waste. Steve had decanted about an hour and a half earlier to remove sediment and by the time they touch my lips, they were singing. Let’s not forget about the Chapelle. A Parker perfect wine. Simply amazing.. For you point whores - there were 387 Parker points on the table. ;)

  • 1987 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque 97 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Upon the nose in glass Andy said, "Ohh Man"", "Wow", I said "Holy Shit." The nose was amazing.. Popping you in the face with its dark glorious fruit that has been awaiting for some time to be opened by Steve. The la Turque was totally upfront on the nose including everything you have read that they poses including spices, licorice, and a smattering of black fruit. This is the big brother of the TRIO. It's dense and big needed food to bring it all out. The tannins are almost all resolved but could use some more time in the bottle. Still, it drank like a star athlete with multiple layers and its subtle nuances that give it almost a personality.

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  • 1987 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne 96 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Opaque purple this nose is not as pronounced as the la Turque. This wine was the middle child with its round concentrated dark fruit and balanced frame of spice, earth, smoke, and roast beef. There isn't a single edge to this wine. It subtle personality takes shape over the 60 minutes in my glass and one can taste all the way to the center core of the fruit - passing layer after layer of exotic spices and hints of its character including chocolate and licorice. This must be tasted alongside la Turque and la Mouline in ones lifetime to see how magical and different each wines is.

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  • 1987 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline 98 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Amen. I was ready to thank God after tasting my third wine of the flight. la Mouline took home the gold. This is what fine wine is all about. At this moment I am sharing with 6 other wine lovers a close to perfect bottle of wine. These moments are cherished and never leave me. The la Mouline was bustling with flavors and layers of roasted coffee, meat, earth and a dazzling array of dark fruit flavors. It’s seductive, so sensual. It’s mesmerizing and hypnotic. Like a gorgeous brunette with baby soft skin. It's sweet and innocent. The wine is clean and concentrated - no edges - you can loose yourself in the bottle as the finish takes you away to another place. A magical experience.

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  • 1990 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 98 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Opaque Purple, bordering on black. Darker than the trio. This nose dances from the glass rim. Bubbling over with dark black, concentrated fruit nuances. The nose is surreal. Amazingly close to perfection with sweet fruit, leather, earth, meat, blackberry, blueberry, the bouquet overtakes the rest of the flight. . The palate is surprisingly silky and totally mouth coating. It's almost creamy with perfectly rounded corners and velvety tannins. So amazingly concentrated and full bodied. The upper-cut comes on the finish. Last for eons of time - almost pointless to count. A fantastic wine that I am beyond words happy to have experienced.

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Flight 3 - Bordeaux flight (4 Notes)

The Bordeaux flight was going to have one hell of a time competing with the Rhones we just consumed. It was a wild flight with many different Bordeaux styles. We had the sexy Margaux - Palmer, the powerful Montrose, The wild Tertre Rôteboeuf, and amazing Léoville Poyferré from the legendary 82 vintage. I couldn't believe how great one wine after another turned out to be.

  • 1990 Château Montrose 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe

    1st off – Man - are there a lot of notes on this wine in CellarTracker. Dark opaque purple. The nose started with a touch of stinky horse, leather, earthy and dirt. It shortly blew off. Its one hell of a big wine, almost knocking me over after the Rhone flight. The tannins are massive, thick and mouth coating. The wine almost grabs at you at you and is concentrated beyond belief. Still though it is just a pup and needs lots of time. The Montrose offers a glimpse into its perfect world and its like a sneak preview to an upcoming blockbuster movie. Get your tickets now – this is a winner.

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  • 1990 Tertre Rôteboeuf 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

    The nose is wild like a bull. Blood and bitter chocolate as Andy mentions as well as coffee and mocha. This is amazingly original in the nose and palate. I have never had such a pronounced meaty wine. The vineyard in English means, "the hill of the belching beef" and it's easy to see why. It's concentration is wonderful and the wine is layered with succulent flavors. This is as wild as the shirt Squires wore to the Shafer offline.

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  • 1989 Château Palmer 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Decanted for 1 hour. Dark ruby red in color. The nose is singing with sweet notes of blackberry and jam. A better bottle than the one I drank with Manlin and Tony a few weeks prior. The palate has some feminine qualities including blackberry, cherry, and red rose peddles. It was sweet yet succulent with precision and focus. It’s medium in body and has low acidity. Coupled with its silky fruit flavors it is easy to drink down. The finish is clean and elegant. A pretty wine.

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  • 1982 Château Léoville Poyferré 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

    Absolutely stunning. I couldn't believe my eyes when Andy Levine pull it from his bag as we wanted some more red to match with the cheese course. This was my second time tasting this wine inside a month and I was thrilled. Someone even mentioned how much Eric Levine has loved this wine in the past and I had just written the same comment in my last TN: on this wine. This bottle tasted as thought it was stored perfectly. Singing aromatics of sweet & succulent fruit. It Smelled like the grapes were picked just yesterday. The texture and mouth feel is fleshy and full in body. Still muscular and loaded with nuances this wine is a keeper but is drinking brilliantly now. For the price I would jump on it if I saw it. Thanks Andy.

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Flight 4 - Dessert wines - FIVE of them..... (5 Notes)

I should have known that going to an offline with Andy he would produce several amazing dessert wines. They all had amazing personalities and were a treat to experience. Who needed the Crème Brûlée? I sure didn't but boy was it good..

Closing

Steve - thank you for your generosity and for the invitation. I doubt I will ever be invited back after my crappy bottle of white burgundy I brought along. Thank goodness the Palmer showed well and Carol thought it was one of the best wines she had ever tasted. I sure am going to miss all of you. Thanks again - Jamie..

Ps: To ALL -- make sure you get to know Steve Wolfe - He brings great wines to offlines and even pays the tab at the end.

Extra shots -

Andy Levine & John Belden

John Belden & Paul Jaouen

Andy Raffle

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