(Very) Good Bottles

Everyone put up a shortlist of decent stuff that they wanted to share, and the Chave/Yquem theme leapt out.

• 2008 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 95 Points

  France, Champagne

  I've now tried this wine in 2022, '23, '24 and '25, and (as expected) it continues to get better and better. The nose is instantly arresting, with its lush intensity; it's full-on and enveloping but also well-defined. At first it was hard to identify any discrete notes within that glorious aroma, but with air the trademark cream and patisserie showed themselves. Upon first sip it's immediately obvious that the wine has been made from perfectly ripe fruit, with a delightfully 'golden' feeling along with brighter accents of lime zest, cut grass and sassafrass. It's not actually a particularly large-framed wine, but it's effortlessly arresting. A great start!

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• 2017 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc 95 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  A stunning, rich, seemingly sweet nose that wouldn't have been out of place on a Sauternes. Then - what a mouthful! Kapow, almost like drinking a Bourbon. Piercing intensity and glycerol breadth, with a touch of florality and incredible length, the finish savoury and lingering. It's probably a bit young, but I thought this was just stunning.

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• 1997 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Unsurprisingly a darker yellow than the '17, and again had some resemblance to a (much older) Sauternes. Quite evolved, and initially somewhat musty, although that blew off after around 10-15 minutes. There's an underlying sweetness to the fruit, but the wine was totally dry, stony, and very savoury. A grippy, preserved lemon side, too. For my palate this was probably 5+ years past peak, but I was delighted it was alive, and to have tried it.

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• 1996 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 97 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  This was wildly complex and intoxicating. A gamey, powdery, truffley nose, with sweet decay and then, with even more air (this had been decanted for a couple of hours), notes of bacon fat and something sweet and childlike, which reminded me of Funny Feet ice lollies. Delicate and nicely proportioned on the palate, which had refreshing forest fruit through the midpalate and finished in a dirty, smoky and sexy register. Fantastic with our food, and all-round delightful. My and the group's WOTN, and up there for my WOTY.

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• 2001 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 96 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Another wine in peak form. It had been double-decanted before a full decant at the restaurant, but took longer to hit top speed. Musky nose, with wafts of tomato stalk, pink soap, and (towards the end of the glass) honeysuckle. High acidity, gorgeous structure and dark notes of charcoal gave a stately feel, but the finish was roaringly exciting. So intense and juicy. My #3 tonight.

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• 2006 Thierry Allemand Cornas Reynard 96 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

  My bottle, decanted for about 90 minutes. Notably savoury nose, with all the trademark notes like blood, iron, earth, coffee, tobacco and even granary bread! Intense, piquant and again delightfully savoury on the palate, with a core of Bloody Mary and notes of espresso, pickled walnut and strawberry. Tannins were well-behaved but still attractively grippy. Ridiculously long. My and group's #2.

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• 2001 Château d'Yquem 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Half. My first time trying this famous vintage... and I didn't hear the choir of angels. That said, it's clearly a damn good wine. Such a spicy bouquet, with ginger, toffee, plum and a gentle smoke. Svelte and elegant on the palate, with more of the delightful gingery spice, and verging on bitter towards the finish. Superb - but not mindblowing.

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• 1990 Château d'Yquem 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Half. Amazingly, my fourth time trying this - what a treat. Deeper colour than the '01, more umber than amber. It's deeper and more savoury than its flight-mate, with a note of granary bread as well as fun things like Turkish delight and shoe polish, which reminded me of Madeira. A spicy finish, which had notable persistence. Suspect this bottle was past peak, but what a pleasure.

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Delighted that everything showed so well!

Group votes (including Mathieu):
Chave 1996 - 14
Allemand 2006 - 9
Yquem 2001 - 8
Chave 2001 - 4
Comtes 2008 - 3
Chave 1997 - 2
Chave 2017 and Yquem 1990 - 0

Must be a good night where Yquem 1990 gets zero votes :-)