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Suckling Pin Dinner at St. John
London, UK
Tasted October 6, 2006 by JeffGMorris with 760 views
Introduction
In attendance were me and Dena, Nigel and Sophie Williams, Russell Faulkner, Linden Wilkie, Phil Wilkins, Nicos N., Scott Manlin and Noel.
Meeting many of these people for the first time was a true pleasure. The food was first rate and the wines even better. 22 bottles and not one was corked, or even controversial in terms of being an off bottle.
The Champagne followed by the 2 Rangen Rieslings and then the 3 magical flights of Chave that made up the first half of the evening's wines were really the highlight for me. The sheer number of bottles combined with the very high bar that was already set and my general dislike of Cote Rotie, Cornas, etc. left me hoping for a return to Chave and a lack of precision on the notes for the later wines.
Thanks to all the Londerers for making this such a memorable weekend for me and Dena and to Scott for offering up our first sample of the indescribable '03 Chave.
Besides having a lot of fun at these types of events I always like to look at them as a learning experience. What did I learn? Well, not much, really just a reinforcement of a few things I already knew:
1. The London crowd treats their guests to great evenings.
2. Rangen Riesling is one of the world's best wines, particularly when left to age and gain complexity. The '89 seemed to have almost everyone enthralled.
3. Preconceived notions as well as the residual sugar stats continue to be a poor measure of ZH wines. I love to see these notions rendered useless as people try the wines and see low residual sugar wines taste sweet from the richness and ripeness while other wines taste much less sweet than their stats or monikers would imply.
4. Vilmart remains my favorite Champagne producer and the oak does integrate with time.
5. There is no other Syrah based wine like those from J.L. Chave. The combination of complexity, balance and richness these wines achieve is second to none.
6. I really don't like many examples of Northern Rhone wines other than those from Chave.
Flight 1 (1 note)
White - Sparkling
1992 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Coeur de Cuvée
94 points
Always a treat from magnum. Thanks Russell! Burnished gold in color with very tiny unobtrusive bubbles. Medium to full bodied with aromas and flavors of lemon, apple, biscuit and a little toast. Very nicely integrated showing little of it's supposedly heavy oak treatment. Lots of acidity on the very long finish really clears everything off the palate. Drinking really well as did a magnum last year. Very glad to have some of this still in the cellar. 50+13+13+9+9 = 94
Flight 2 (2 notes)
White
1989 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain
93 points
Light gold in color. The note that immediately came to mind for me on this medium bodied wine was “liqueur de Rangen”. Very complex wine with minerally, stony qualities on a dry yet somewhat rich palate. Long finish sported great freshness and acidity. A real testament to the vineyard and to Olivier Humbrecht. 50+13+13+8.5+8.5 = 93
White
2000 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain
90 points
Light to medium gold, a little darker than the '89 showing once again how color seems to be a bad indicator of age on these wines. I assume this is due to the very high ripeness of this vintage. Medium bodied, this wine is very ripe and rich, drinking much sweeter ( today ) than it's residual sugar would indicate ( 19 g/l ). There was some minerality under the ripeness but this is still a baby. Medium length finish. I suspect it will get longer as it gains the complexity of age. Probably shouldn't open another for at least 3-5 more years. 50+12+12+8+8 = 90
Flight 3 (2 notes)
Red
1982 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage
89 points
While the '83 seemed to be the near unanimous choice for wine of the flight, this '82 was hardly without charm. Lots of bricking, quite amazing to see the color difference between this and the '83 in the glass next to it. The nose has a nice perfume to it and also a meaty note. Very sweet on the palate but it falls off quickly on the finish leaving behind some acid. Drunk on it's own over dinner I'm sure everyone in attendancer would be happy but tonight the competition is steep.
50+13+11+7+8 = 89
50+13+11+7+8 = 89
Red
1983 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage
93 points
Ruby in color, this was not only much darker than the '82 but it had a richer, more vibrant hue to it. Some menthol and a little brett ( in a positive sense adding complexity ) on the nose. Medium + in body, the palate was very rich and the wine showed mostly resolved tannins. Some tannins on the long finish but nothing too rough. Had been shipped in the cargo hold of a trans-Atlantic flight earlier that same day but showed absolutely no signs of bottle shock. 50+12+13+9+9 = 93
Flight 4 (2 notes)
Red
1989 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage
93 points
Medium ruby in color and throwing a fair amount of sediment. Medium to full bodied and the richest of the Chaves so far. Medium plus length on the finish, I think it will get longer with age as it adds more complexity. Drinks much younger than the '83 at this point but seems to be in a really great place as it has been with previous bottles the past few years. 50+13+13+8.5+8.5 = 93
Red
1990 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage
92 points
Darker ruby than the previous wines. Richer than the '89 and drinking much younger still. Lots of tannins today. This is a great wine still on the long road to it's apex. While I liked the '89 a little better tonight, this will ultimately be the better wine. When coming back to this wine a few hours later the nose had opened considerably and the perfume was classic Chave. 50+12+13+8.5+8.5 = 92++
Flight 5 (3 notes)
Red
1997 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage
87 points
So what happens when the previous flight is '89/'90 Chave and this wine is sitting next to the '99 and the '03? It gets under-appreciated. While I'm certain this wine would be really nice on it's own it was totally overshadowed tonight. Dark ruby in the glass and medium bodied, it was, to me, the weakest of the Chaves by a wide margin. 50+11+11+7.5+7.5 = 87(+?)
Red
1999 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage
94 points
WOW! Should young Chave be able to drink this well? Dark ruby in the glass, this wine is clearly very young but also has a great balance to it. Still quite tannic but some how the wine's incredible raw materials melt away those tannins. A really beautiful wine, and one that may be on the path of the '89. 50+13+13+9+9 = 94+
Red
2003 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage
95 points
Clearly the most anticipated bottle of the night. Dark purple in the glass. This wine is unlike any previous Chave I've had in color, aroma, size, etc. Will it have more in common as it ages? I think it just might. While I would never guess Chave blind, I also wouldn't say it was New World either. I think I would guess it was a one off wine made in just one vintage on one of the earth's finest pieces of soil. More than any other wine I've ever had it seems to combine the ripeness of a top California or Australian Syrah with the elegance that can only come from French terroir. As we all grasped to come to terms with this wine, I think many of us came to this same conclusion. Full bodied ( that's an understatement! ) with really deep and rich fruit. Some oak is clearly evident, but it is incredibly young. The finish is endless. This is a wine that will be fascinating to try in 20 years, and would most likely be even more fascinating to try in 50 years. So awed by the wine and the ensuing discussion, I realize I forgot to score it. So, in hindsight... 50+13+14+9+9 = 95++(++?) As a side note, earlier that same day Dena found what is believed to be the last 2 reasonably priced bottles of this wine in London at 119 pounds each!
Flight 6 (1 note)
Red
1999 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Côte Blonde
88 points
Purple in the glass, this was clearly a very well made wine from strong raw materials but is just not my thing. Shows the richness of the '99 vintage and Cote Rotie-typical notes on the finish that just turn me off. 50+12+12+7+7.5 = 88.5
Flight 7 (2 notes)
Red
1999 Marc Sorrel Hermitage Le Gréal
86 points
Dark ruby in color, I found this wine to be very tannic and to be lacking in intensity. 50+11+11+7+7 = 86
Red
1999 Tardieu-Laurent Hermitage
83 points
Light purple in the glass. Very oaky, maybe this will integrate in time. To me, this really stuck out after all the great Chaves. 50+11+10+6+6 = 83
Flight 8 (1 note)
Red
1995 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon
86 points
Purple in color and very tannin, I found little of interest in this wine. Not a bad wine, but nothing special either. Maybe it will improve with some additional time. 50+11+11+7+7 = 86+
Flight 9 (2 notes)
Red
1999 Alain Voge Cornas Cuvée Vieilles Fontaines
86 points
Purple in the glass. Clearly has some of the '99 richness but the finish falls off quickly and is dominated by heavy tannins. 50+11+11+7+7 = 86
Red
1995 Noël Verset Cornas
83 points
Medium ruby in color. All barnyard and acid to me. Really not a style I enjoy. 50+10+11+6+6 = 83
Flight 10 (2 notes)
Red
1997 Sean Thackrey Orion Rossi Vineyard
88 points
Purple in the glass and medium bodied, this wine surprised me as I have never cared for Orion in the past. While this bottle didn't make me want to buy any, it was not bad. 50+11+12+7.5+7.5 = 88
Red
2004 Pax Syrah Lauterbach Hill
86 points
Dark purple, this one really stood out from the crowd, and not in a positive way. Really big fruit, but really big oak to match. Sort of harsh on the finish. Will be interesting to see how/if this wine integrates. 50+11+11+7+7 = 86+
Flight 11 (3 notes)
White - Sweet/Dessert
1989 Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain Sélection de Grains Nobles
95 points
Medium gold in color with amber highlights, this big full bodied wine was just how I like my Rangen Gewurz - 90% Rangen, 10% Gewurz. Even with all the sugar, there were plenty of minerals and peat showing through on the palate. Despite all this the palate was almost delicate while full bodied at the same time. Great razor sharp acidity on the long spicy finish washes everything away leaving a residual sensation that seems to last until you take the next sip. 50+14+13+9+9 = 95
White - Sweet/Dessert
1993 Royal Tokaji Wine Co. Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos Szt. Tamás
89 points
Amber in color, somewhat thick and heavy ( at least after the SGN ) and filled with apricots, this was clearly better than the other Tokaji I've had but it still seems to lack the excitement of a great Alsace or German dessert wine, at least for me. Long acidic finish ( meant as a positive in this case ). Maybe I just need to have a really old example to show me what can happen with these well regarded wines. Maybe I'll get the opportunity on a trip to the Turks & Caicos islands ( you had to be there! ) 50+12+11+8+8 = 89
White - Fortified
N.V. Bodegas Tradición Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Pedro Ximénez Muy Viejo
86 points
Black in color. Huge wine like most PX, but also like most there's little depth to make things interesting. Full bodied and nutty with a very long finish of burnt caramel. 50+11+11+7+7 = 86