Martin Weiner Hermitage and Cote-Rotie Tasting Dinner (Chave, Chapoutier and Guigal)
Martin Weiner's Westwood Home
Tasted Friday, November 14, 2008 by rjonwine@gmail.com with 1,211 views
Introduction
I love Northern Rhone whites and reds, so a 6-hour drive down to L.A. for a tasting dinner with a great lineup, including 6 whites and 15 reds, made sense to me, especially when the wines were to include a couple of Chapoutier Blanc L'Orées, a vertical of Chapoutier Le Pavillons, the '97 La Las, and an interesting vertical of La Landonne . Even though a couple of the bottles had TCA, most of the wines showed very well, and the '98 Blanc L'Orée, '01 Le Pavillon, and '97 La Landonne were particularly stellar. It was also great to see many of my L.A. wine buddies on hand as well.
Carol, Joe and Bonnie:
Flight 1 - Flight 1 - Chapoutier and Chave Blancs (3 Notes)
This was a nice start. The '97 was slightly oxidized but still tasty, the '00 had a wonderful nose, and the '01 was impressive, although very tight yet. To accompany these wines, we started with Martin's homemade crab quiche, and Martin is a quiche master. The wines paired very well.
Flight 2 - Flight 2 - Chave Blanc and Chapoutier Blanc L'Oree (2 Notes)
This 2nd round of Blancs included the L'Orees. Unfortunately the '96 was corked, but the '98 was outstanding. Wow! One of the best white Rhones I've ever had. The '99 Chave Hermitage Blanc seems to be on a fairly rapid evolutionary track, and was good, but not favored by comparison to the '98 L'Oree.
Flight 3 - Flight 3 - Côte-Rôtie (2 Notes)
Our first red flight included our second corked wine, the '99 d'Ampuis. Perhaps as a result of having paid our dues with 2 corked wines early on, we were TCA free for the heavyweights to come. The '90 Jamet, with its herbaceous flavors, went very well with our wild boar and Andalusian garlic sausage cassoulet. David added in a blind wine, which we all guessed to be a New World Syrah, and a very decent one, that turned out to be the '00 Ojai Thompson Vineyard Special Bottling.
Flight 4 - Flight 4 - Chapoutier, Delas Frères and Chave (4 Notes)
This was a strong flight over all. The '00 Chave and '99 Delas Freres were both young and tight at this point, but the Chave in particular has much promise. The '95 La Mordoree was gorgeously balanced and complex. Ronny added the '00 l'Ermite as a blind wine. It fit beautifully with the flight, and is a fabulous wine.
Michael sitting and Ronny standing:
Flight 5 - Flight 5 - Chapoutier Le Pavillon (3 Notes)
This was a great flight. The '99 might have been flawed, as I picked up some mercaptan notes on the nose, and the palate wasn't as strong as I might have hoped. The '95 was poised and stunning, and the '01, while still a baby, is a complete knockout.
Flight 6 - Flight 6 - '97 La Las (3 Notes)
This was a great chance to try La Las with some age on them side by side, and it was striking how "textbook" the three were as individual examples of those vineyards/selections. With 11 years of age, the La Landonne had the power and depth one expects from it. La Turque was quite youthful yet, with some of the strength of La Landonne but some of the prettiness of the La Mouline as well. La Mouline seemed to be more about delicacy and lighter black fruit flavors, but the oak stuck out too much at this age for me to rank it as high as the other two.
Flight 7 - Flight 7 - La Landonnes (3 Notes)
What a better way to end than with three more La Landonnes? They were all good, showing the vineyard's power and depth, but I felt the '86 was starting to fade, while the '87 seemed to be at its peak. The '90 was also very impressive.
Closing
Retasting and sharing impressions at the end of the tasting:
2001 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Blanc l'Ermite 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Light golden yellow color; focused lemon tart and vanilla nose; oily texture, tight yet, but light footed palate of cream, vanilla, banana and lemon tart; medium-plus finish
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2000 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Blanc Le Méal 92 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Light yellow color; intriguing floral, baked orange and almond nose; light bodied palate of ripe lemon, lemon oil, banana and mineral; medium finish
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1997 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Medium butter yellow color; floral, juicy lemon and pineapple nose with a little sherry oxidation; tasty tart pineapple, lemon and mineral palate with slight oxidation; medium finish 93+ pts.
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