The Grand Crew- French Wines 10 years and older

At the Chicago Art Institute there was a Seminar about the Billionaire's vinegar. So, Ken decided to run with that theme and arranged for 14 of us to have dinner at the Lockwood Restaurant in the lovely Palmer House Hilton. The theme itself was French wines that were 10 years and older, that got divided into flights to pair with the foods, and have a general theme to them

• NV Laurent-Perrier Champagne Grand Siecle 92 Points

  France, Champagne

  wasn't able to get a disgorgement date or anything resembling a vintage blend on this. This was out of a magnum
  
  nose: wonderful and deep tones of bread, lemon peels, all sorts of minerals, tart citrus tones, and a good bit of white florals pervate and blend well together. It doesn't jump out of the glass, but instead it seems to meld together while being distinctive at the same time
  
  taste: great medium+ acidity and a beautiful and polished medium feel with tones of lemon curd, minerals, white florals, and a good amount of citrus tones. Very well balanced and distinct at the same time
  
  overall: a great starter bubbly. Nice light color and was very fresh out of the magnum. It didn't give a disgorgement date or at least which vintages were used in it, but there was great depth and purity in it

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

These were paired into two flights with the Corton Charlie and ZH together and then onto the bordeaux Blancs. All presented different facets which made them extremely interesting on their own, and as a whole was a great way to really kick things off

• 1988 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne 94 Points

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

  nose: beautifully layered nose that unfolds in the glass with great balanced tones of buttered toast, white florals, fat tones of tangerines, a good helping of nutty tones, hints of clove spice, and pretty tones of peach blossoms. Very well balanced that changes by the minute and provides tones of intrigue at each turn
  
  taste: wonderful medium feel that just glides across the palate with deep and layered tones of white florals, all sorts of white fruits, great underlying mineral tones, peach blossoms, and bits of clove spices
  
  overall: the color was great as it was a good medium gold color. A very lovely and mature Corton Charlemagne that has a way to go as the acidity was a bit sneaky to where you almost didn't notice it, but it would creep up on you. This has a lot of life left in it from a quality producer

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 1999 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Brand 93 Points

  France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

  nose: great spicy base on the nose leads into deep tones of green apples, clove spices, sweet tones of navel oranges, bits of peaches and hints of apricots. great depth with loads of class that is hard to fully put into words
  
  taste excellent medium feel and great medium+ acidity with well balanced and very deep tones of various spice tones, green apples, peaches, and a bunches of apricots. Very classy and very deep that makes it very delicious
  
  overall: while this is drinking fine right now, it has a long way to go. The acidity is a perfect compliment right now along with the great flavors that the wine brings. Still has a primary feel to it, so one can drink and be very merry, or can easily hold this longer

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 1999 Château Laville Haut-Brion Blanc 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  nose: somewhat oxidized nose at first that somewhat blows off with tones of carmelized apples, bits of lemon custard, peaches and apricots. Almost like a dry sauternes on the nose with good depth
  
  taste: good medium feel with well balanced tones of carmelized apples, peaches, apricots and some hints of lemons. Comes off as fully mature, and the oxidized tones blow off a bit after sitting in the glass
  
  overall: seems fully mature at this time and may be more on the downside. I enjoyed this wine though as it was very drinkable and opened up in the glass with more time and the color got lighter. While this may not be a long distance runner, it sure it a very enjoyable mature bordeaux blanc

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 1999 Château Monbousquet Bordeaux Blanc 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux

  nose: extremely smokey nose strikes right off the bat with tones of lemon curd, bits of custard, and some tart citrus tones with a touch of honey. Good depth adds an extra element, but there is a bit too much toast on the nose for me
  
  taste: the smokey toast continues on the palate with tones of tart citrus', lemon curd, and custard tones. Very polished feel with still present acidity that adds to it and the toast isn't as big as it was on the nose
  
  overall: a quality bordeaux blanc. The smokey/toasty tones haven't seemed to fully integrate and let the good citrus tones shine through as they seem to be hiding underneath the smoke. THe feel is very sexy and polished that one would expect from a Perse wine. It still has a way to go as the acidity was very refreshing and provided a nice spine to the wine

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

The Prieurs were absolutely beautiful and everything I'd want from a Clos Vougeot. While for right now I slightly preferred the 98, the 96 is the real long haul wine and has stunner written all over it. There was a differing opinion within the group as to who preferred which one, but they were both beautiful

The Clos Des Papes was a great change of pace, but still worked well with the Clos Vougeots. What really came to my mind is, so, this is what Clos Des Papes is like mature, well, it looks like I'm gonna have to start adding some to my collection

• 1998 Domaine Jacques Prieur Clos Vougeot 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

  nose: beautiful and lifting nose that is on the verge of intoxicating with round and beautiful tones of red florals, good bits of earthen tones, red cherries, currants, and a good helping of brown spices. A very captivating nose that really draws you in and is just rearing to go right off the bat
  
  taste: just classic clos vougeot on the palate with a real silky and classy with well polished tones of dark berries, earthen tones, brown spices, red cherries, and some soft tones of red florals hide underneath. Great medium+ acidity gives this a real nice spine and adds to the elegance
  
  overall: a beautiful Clos Vougeot. Very elegant that does a great job showing off the vintage and terroir. The nose is what really makes the wine right now, and the palate could catch up a slight bit, but this seems to really be hitting its stride and should be quite enjoyable for a good while to come

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 1996 Domaine Jacques Prieur Clos Vougeot 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

  nose: very young on the nose with primary tones of red cherries, earthen tones, dark red fruits, raspberries, and nuanced tones of dark florals. Comes off as fairly primary, but with great depth, and is wide open right now. Very classy, but still holding a slight bit back right now
  
  taste: pretty medium feel with medium/high acidity that one would expect from a 96. Pure silk across the palate with reserved, but fresh tones of raspberries, dark berries, dark red fruits, and a good helping of red cherries along with some spice tones
  
  overall: still very primary and is a marathon wine. This will probably take at least another 6-8 years to really get into the next gear and comes off as a wine that could be a 40-50 year wine in a quality cellar. The primary aspect of it is extremely enjoyable right now, but isn't as evolved as the 98 was before it, which for me was slightly preferred, but it may be a different story in 10 years

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 1990 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 93 Points

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

  nose: great and deep nose that just brings the funk straight off the bat with tones of black cherries, liqueur tones, animal hides, and a good helping of dark berries. There is a real good richness to the nose with a ton of balance that just really brings you in
  
  taste: very sexy medium feel with tones of funk, black cherries, all sorts of dark berries and rich tones of liqueur. Good body and well resolved this just glides across the palate well and is well mature, while coming off as having more legs and having a silky finish
  
  overall: a wonderfully mature CdP. This is pure Clos des Papes with the funk that you would expect, but with lots of class. Great depth and polish, this is really fun to drink and should provide plenty of enjoyment for a good while

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

A real nice flight with all of the wines showing well and showing off their style and what they can do. Both the 95 and 96 have a ways to go, and the 82 was a real beautiful and mature bordeaux that is in a perfect place right now

• 1982 Château Haut-Bages Libéral 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  nose: beautiful and balanced nose of cedar, red and black currants, red cherries, tobacco tones, and some bits of leather to round it all out. Grew in the glass a bit, but was very on point right from the beginning
  
  taste: great balance and depth with beautiful and mature tones of cedar, black currants, red cherries, tobacco, and leather all blending well together with a great medium feel. Still some slight tannins present to let you know that they are still there
  
  overall: This bottle still possesed great color. Not too much bricking and it had a real good red color to it where you there was some see-through, but it wasn't too light. This bottle is certainly in its prime, but is a far way from falling off too

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 1995 Château Léoville Poyferré 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  nose: red currants galore on the nose with lovely tones of red cherries, cedar, tobacco, and hints of red florals. A real lovely and elegant nose that had a real silky pretty quality to it with excellent and classy depth
  
  taste: a real lovely medium/full feel that is very elegant with well balanced tones of red currants, cranberries, red cherries, cedar, tobacco, and bits of red florals. Good tannins give the wine a good spine, and this comes off as just beginning to show what it really has to do
  
  overall: a quintessential st julien that is just starting to hit its stride. This is what I love about Leoville-Poyferre as the elegance of the house is starting to really come out and has really started to enter what should be a good long window

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 1996 Château Lagrange (St. Julien) 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  nose: classic tones of cedar, tobacco, black currants, dark red cherries, and sour cranberries with some spice box tones. Much different on the nose then the previous 96 lagrange as it had a more classic 96 nose that is just pure unadulterated bordeaux. Great balance on the nose with great depth
  
  taste: excellent full body with good tannins and tones of cedar, tobacco, dark red cherries, sour cranberries, and a good helping of currants and spice box tones with a touch of leather
  
  overall: still comes off as a bit young as the color is a good dark ruby color. The tannins didn't seem to bite as much as they did previously. Good body and very classic bordeaux, this has an elegance to it, that needs some time to get out

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

Really, it wasn't fair having the 97 in with the Verset, which is not to say that the Clape wasn't an outstanding wine(it was), its just that the 90 Verset is something else and it was going to pale in comparison. It showed extremely well considering the competition and is a wine that I would gladly have in my glass at any time.

The Verset, well, that's what syrah is about to me, and its got a long way to go. It just still just leaves me shaking my head and leaves you dumbfounded at how great it is. For me, there are few wines out there that can compete with it(so who wants to sell me some, :))

• 1997 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas 90 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

  nose: there is a reserved quality to this nose that seems to be holding it back a bit. Excellent tones of black cherries, animale, dark berries, leather, and liqueur tones with some smoked meats. Isn't extremely wide open, but a more reserved Clape that still is very much cornas and you can certainly smell it from the instant your nose hits the glass
  
  taste: full bodied with well balanced tones of dark berries, animale tones, liqueur, smoked meats, leather, and black cherries. Robust with good tannins on the palate, but the tannins aren't over bearing. Flows well and comes across as fully ready to drink
  
  overall: almost acts like a wallflower Clape. There is the rustic side of it that one expects, but it seems to be holding back ever so slightly, though at the same time is fully in its drinking window

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 1990 Noël Verset Cornas 96 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

  nose: good lord the nose is so deep on this that almost belies words. It smacks you around, but yet is so balanced and just hits you with a 2x4 of rich and insanely deep tones of asphalt, leather, tobacco, animal hides, blackberries, smoked meats, and char grill tones amongst the menagerie of other tones that are hard to really describe. This is near blow away stuff, but at the same time still feels like it wants to give more
  
  taste: Full bodied doesn't fully begin to describe this as its a behemoth on the palate, but with great depth to boot. Good tannins still persist, but aren't obtrusive along with very deep tones of charcoal, tons of bacon fat, smoked meats, char grill tones, black cherries, animal hides, leather and blackberries. Its extremely big on the palate, but yet flows across very well and just doesn't seem to want to stop with the depth
  
  overall: To say that I've been lucky to have this twice in a 6 week span is an understatement. This was a mind bending wine that, while utterly stupendous right now, can easily go a lot longer. This comes across as a teenager and still possesses a dark red color to it. The tannins are still very much there, but they more let you know that they are there as opposed to crushing your palate with them. As good as this is now, I'd love to know how this will be when it hits 30 as it only seems like it's started to really get going

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

A Zind-Humbrecht VT to end the night, well, why thank you, I'll gladly have some. Always a treat and shows why Zind-Humbrecht is one of the great domaines/wineries in the world

The Shafer was a nice surprise as it came out of nowhere and certainly was different from the rest. It needs a bit of time to work itself out, but it was a thrill ride of a fortified wine already, would love to see where it goes with time

• 1996 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Rotenberg Vendange Tardive 92 Points

  France, Alsace

  nose: succulent tones of sweet apricots, honey, a whole lot of melons, and a good amount of delicious green apples all intermingle with each other in well balanced fashion that is a real delight on the nose. Good depth to boot, the nose is sweet without being cloying and has a real class to it
  
  taste: well balanced and tasty tones of green apples, honey drops, apricots, and bits of pears blend well together with good acidity that reigns it in. Good medium feel that isn't too much or overbearing and retains the class that one would expect of zind-humbrecht
  
  overall: the more Zind-Humbrecht I drink, the happier I always seem to be. This is in a terrific spot right now and has lots of class and balance that makes it very enjoyable. Delicious tones on both the nose and palate work well together

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2003 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Port 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

  nose: massive and explosive nose with rich tones of dark cherries, plums, raisins, anisette, dark chocolate and some bits of syrupy tones(though not bad syrup). Very bold with a good dose of alcohol on the nose as would be expected from such a young fortified wine
  
  taste: big and powerful, but the heat kicks in on the back end. Rich tones of dark chocolate, black cherries, sour cranberries, anisette and plums work well together, but with rich tannins to boot along with a very full bodied feel
  
  overall: very young, but with a good amount of promise. Very interesting to come across a fortified wine like this. Needs some time to fully settle down and be what it wants to be, as it needs a very extended decanting right now. This would be very interesting to taste in another 10 years or so as it balances out

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

This was my first Grand Crew tasting and it was a real blast. Lots of great wine was on hand, along with a lot of good conversation and good food. All of that for a excellent price for the quality of food and service that was provided to us. I wasn't able to make the Seminar a block away due to my class schedule, but was very glad when I was told that an opening for the dinner was possible. Lots of great wine and all of us went home happy