Les Deux 2018

Chez Gill
Tasted Friday, August 31, 2018 by Aravind Asok with 257 views

Introduction

The yearly, big wine dinner put on by Mr. Gill.

Flight 1 - Pre-game (7 Notes)

This was supposed to be a German PN flight, but there were a few additions, like the Rhys and the Epenots.

  • 2009 Später-Veit Spätburgunder #1

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    Pop and pour. Very dusty nose, and then red cherry. On the palate, good acidity, but comes off as a touch thin, with not too much flavor intensity. Not bad, but would have been much better with food...suffered by comparison to other wines in this flight.

    Day 2: tasted after the Furst and Mobitz again...not a smart idea...on the palate, this shows thin, green and a bit insipid, though there is a more pronounced minerality on the nose today... However, with some mild cheddar, this shows really well!

    Day 3: tasted after a 2014 Rhys Anderson valley and this shows quite well. Nose shows a hint of cola, and really nice minerality. Still a bit thin on the palate, but density seems improved relative to yesterday. Maybe just needs a few more years?

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  • 2012 Henrik Möbitz Kanzel Pinot Noir

    Germany, Baden

    Showed gorgeously. Showed a hint of oak to start, but then loads of red cherry and bramble/earth. After about 4 hrs open, this had a wonderfully perfumed nose...one of the wines I wanted to keep revisiting. On the palate, started a touch thin but fanned out considerably with time open. Elegant red fruit, and nicely structured finish. Second wine tasted in the flight.

    Day 2: perfumed nose continues today, after it warms a bit. A touch rustic on the palate, but a spicy warm cherry nose..vosne like. On the palate, delicat and a touch rustic..maybe volnay/pommard like. Together it is definitely its own thing with the bit of bramble..

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  • 2014 Rudolf Fürst Hundsrück Spätburgunder Großes Gewächs

    Germany, Franken

    Third in the flight. Needed a decant (which it didn't get), but amazingly approachable upon opening. Just a stunning nose with brambly red fruit, a touch of oak, and loads of spice. On the palate, gorgeously spicy with excellent acidity. Easily the best young Furst I have tasted, and looks like it will be just glorious with more btl age. Also, unquestionably one of my wines of the night.

    Day 2: closed when I pulled it out of the fridge, but blossomed with air. Wow nose with loads of spicy red fruit, but more delicate than yesterday. On the palate, great acidity, and elegant. But what gets me today is the symphonic finish...the whole cluster spice builds and melds with the finely grained tannin to an intensity that holds and just slowly decrescendos to let you reflect on it.

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  • 2011 Rhys Syrah Horseshoe Vineyard

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Drank in a flight where the other wines were German PN, and this fit in pretty well. Gorgeous cool climate syrah with loads of black olive, black raspberry and some mixed herbs on the nose. On the palate, very nice red and black fruit, vibrant acidity and good structure. More classically N. Rhone than the 95 La Turque in a later flight and I would prefer this any day...

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  • 1999 Domaine Michel Gaunoux Pommard 1er Cru Les Grands Épenots

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

    This btl seemed slightly off, maybe a little oxidized. Nose showed some mature black fruit and plum--slightly pruney, with loads of wet earth. I missed a bit of the Pommard rusticity on the palate: good acidity, but lacking some structure.

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  • 2015 Azienda Agraria della Staffa Brioso Rosato

    Italy

    On the nose, like a brachetto or maybe a lambic: pure sweet strawberry, with a huge suggestion of sweetness. On the palate, nothing like the nose suggests, very dry with blood orange and strawberry, with very juicy aciidty. A very nice little sparkler!

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  • 2004 Hospices de Beaune Corton-Charlemagne Cuvée François de Salins Maison Louis Jadot

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

    Fantastic aged corton charlemagne, showing a beautiful nose with nuts and honey and a wave of candied citrus and peach. On the palate, very dense with good acidity; unctuous and mouth-filling showing just the right amount of oxidative character.

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Flight 2 - First flight (4 Notes)

Besides the Valdicava, mostly forgettable

Flight 3 - Second Flight (4 Notes)

Also could probably have passed on this flight...

  • 2012 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon LPV Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    First wine second flight. Loads of charcoal, pencil and a hint of green pepper mixed with lots of black and blue fruit. Ok acidity on the palate, followed by loads of fruit and probably some RS as this comes off as noticeably sweet, followed by some heat. Lots of structure, and better on the nose than on the palate.

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  • 2014 Cayuse God Only Knows

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

    Tasting pour, to be consumed at an event later. Double decanted and left at room temp. Nose is all cayuse with loads of ash and bright red raspberry, gamey meat and olives and a heavy dose of weedy funk bringing up the rear. On the palate, this showed a bit hot and very peppery, extreme even by Cayuse standards, and a weird chemical bitterness on the finish, which shows a hint of tannin. Hopefully this will be better after about 4 hours open...

    Better with 4 hours open. On the palate, the chemical note has vanished. The funk is pronounced, and tasted in a flight with two new world oak/fruit bomb Syrahs and a Schrader Beckstoffer Las Piedras, this showed extremely Cayuse. Not bad, but didn't really move me like other vintages have.

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  • 2011 Epoch Estate Wines Syrah Block B Paderewski Vineyard

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    Third wine second flight. Again, big oak and fruit bomb. Couldn't even tell this was syrah, just a soupy mess. Fortunately, I had the 2011 Rhys nearby to reset my palate.

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  • 2014 Torrin Akasha

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    Final wine second flight. Yuck. Totally not my style. Once again, a soupy, varietally indistinguishable mess. The alcohol makes this basically port, without any of the charm. Poured out.

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Flight 4 - Third flight (4 Notes)

Kind of disappointing, given the pedigrees

  • 2001 d'Arenberg Shiraz The Dead Arm

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    First wine third flight. Not so distinctive. Very ripe and rich, with loads of fruit and some toast. No real secondary, but at least suggested syrah. Still tannic finish.

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  • 1995 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Second wine third flight. I don't know what happened to Guigal in the early 90s, but I love the wines from the 70s and 80s, and those from 90s are just so oak driven by comparison. I thought this was a new world syrah at first...none of that cote rotie complexity. Loads of new oak and some black raspberry, but no real olives and herbs or anything gamey. I wanted to love this, but it just didn't hit for me...Just not the style I like.

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  • 2009 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée Flawed

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

    This was a slightly off bottle, certainly not Pegau standard, with loads of medicinal character and very rustic on the palate.

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  • 2001 Domaine de la Mordorée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de la Reine des Bois

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

    Final wine, third flight. This bottle tasted a little bit oxidized, but maybe not enough to call it flawed. Good raspberry grenache aromas, and some nice tertiary. On the palate, a touch flat; just missing a step.

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Flight 5 - Fourth Flight (4 Notes)

God, some amazing wines

  • 1986 Château Léoville Las Cases

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Final flight, 1st wine. I can't think of anything else I would want in a mature bdx. Just a glorious nose with loads of earth and spice, with a hint of dried and ripe fruit. On the palate, good acidity, more earth and spice and a long finish still. Just spot on; no need to contemplate, just enjoy.

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  • 2006 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único

    Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

    Final flight, second wine. Somehow this wine just got lost. After the old bdx, it just tasted so modern, so I set it aside. When I came back to it, it was good, but still tasted young and modern. Loads of ripe fruit (leaning slightly candied) and oak on the nose, and just not showing so much delineation. On the palate, ok acidity, and well-structured finish, but just kind of monochrome.

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  • 2000 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Final flight, third wine. One of the wines of the tasting for me. Just a stunning wine, showing breed and class. The nose is just beautiful classic barolo, still showing good fruit with blood orange and a tarry note. Beautifully perfumed...words don't do it justice...you can just sit and get lost in the nose on this wine. On the palate, the acidity is on point, and a good mix of secondary and fruit; follows the nose with great texture and just fantastically elegant. This was unbelievably good and has years of evolution left in it...

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  • 2001 Penfolds Grange

    Australia, South Australia

    Final flight, 4th wine. Much better than the D'Arenberg, showing more clear syrah, but I didn't get the kind of red earth I've gotten with this wine in the past. Nice black raspberry on the palate, and a long finish, but maybe acidity seemed a bit attenuated (which was probably more evident after the Giacosa). Nevertheless, a very good wine.

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Flight 6 - Miscellany and closers (4 Notes)

Miscellaneous wines tasted through the evening, and a sweet closer

  • 2007 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée

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

    Tasted blind. Nose was just tons of ripe sweet syrah and grenache fruit, and more fruit on the palate. Had enough funkiness that I guessed S. Rhone from a hot vintage, but not particularly distinguished otherwise...I still have not had an 07 CdP that I particularly enjoy...

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  • 1997 Dominus Estate

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Long wait between flights 3 and 4, and so this was opened to pass the time a bit. Just a stunning btl of wine, and this bottle had decades left (though maybe it is just the style I prefer). I thought this was bdx at first, since the nose showed great cigar box, wet leaf, dried raspberry and some nice smoky merlot notes. On the palate, this more CA, with ok acidity, and a suggestion of sweetness. A stunning btl of wine.

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  • 2005 Piña Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Buckeye Vineyard

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

    This bottle was drinking very well right now, with loads of nice secondary on the nose: loads of spice, cigar and black raspberry. On the palate, a little less interesting, and definitely showing heat, with some slightly rough tannin on the finish. Nevertheless pretty good.

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  • 2001 Château d'Yquem

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    Gorgeous. Thick and sticky, with beautiful sweetness, but not imo over the top. Got paired with a foie gras macaroon and a bacon ice cream, which worked pretty well together. The texture is amazing, somehow dense and weightless at the same time. A glorious bottle of sweet wine.

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