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Private Chef dinner at Yann's new place
Flatiron District, Manhattan, New York
Tasted October 26, 2012 by Seth Rosenberg with 888 views
Introduction
There was no real structure to the wines at this event. We weren't at a table and people opened their bottles and poured when they felt like it. I've blocked the wines roughly based on theme, trying to preserve the chronological order for the most part. I had to move a few things around, but it's mostly accurate.
Flight 1 - Champagnes and Whites, part I (5 notes)
White - Sparkling
2002 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut
95 points
Light gold. Very spicy on the nose and very fruit forward: bright meyer lemon and orange, critrus zest, candied ginger. Very elegant with class to burn with a wonderful sweetness and creaminess. Really gorgeous on the palate - again with the lemon zest and orange and the spicy-sweet candied ginger. Really filling, yet light on its feet. Very persistent finish. This needs some time to resolve but will be flat out amazing. Maybe not a luscious and hedonistic as the 02 Bolly Grande Annee, but more sophisticated. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 6/6, Finish - 5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 17.5/20.
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Comments (1)
White - Off-dry
1993 Künstler Hochheimer Herrnberg Riesling Spätlese
92 points
Medium gold. Lots of petrol. Ripe, dripping but lively fruit: apricot and peach. Very spicy - chilli pepper. Almost Eiswein-like aromas with Botrytis. A touch light on the palate, but beautiful, creamy peach, tart apricot and spice. Dries out a touch in the finish. Nose - 5.5/6, Palate - 5/6, Finish - 4.5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 16/20.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Tissot (Bénédicte et Stéphane / André et Mireille) Crémant du Jura Extra Brut
84 points
Apples, yeast, crisp minerals and stones. Rough on the palate (especially after the 02 Tatty), lots of crisp apple, cider, mineral, yeast. Kinda fades on the finish. Nose - 4.5/6, Palate - 4/6, Finish - 3.5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 0/2 = 12/20.
White - Sparkling
1996 Henriot Champagne Brut Millésimé
94 points
Yellow. Very buttery and yeasty on the nose with notes of flour - reminds me almost exactly of sauteed soft-shell crabs (something to do with brown butter). Toasty. On the palate, really toasty and creamy. Soft mousse. A touch salty. Mature. Some butter and sweet fruit and cream in finish. Not the most complex bubbly, but really delicious and drinking perfectly right now. Nose - 5.5/6, Palate - 5/6, Finish - 5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 17/20.
Rosé - Sparkling
2004 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Rosé Brut
95 points
Tart strawberries and stones. Beautiful and soaring on the palate. Soft and creamy mousse. Crystalline soft berries. Very minerally. Not as austere as I would expect. Matt says fleshy. Better without food. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 6/6, Finish - 5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 17.5/20.
Flight 2 - Champagnes and Whites, part II (5 notes)
White
1978 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc
88 points
Very old - smells like Brandy or Eau-de-Vie. Smell of banana bread and white flowers. Unctuous but old on the palate with perfume of the banana bread. Elegant with a touch of honey. Salty/saline at the end with pear brandy - Calvados. Interesting but past its prime. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 4/6, Finish - 4/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 14/20.
White
2009 Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Goldloch Riesling Großes Gewächs
90 points
Incredibly juicy on the nose - grapefruit, passion fruit, lemon - lively and almost spritzy smelling, minerals bubble gum, citrus. Completely dry on the palate and it is a bit of a shock (at least to me) given how sweet the wine is on the nose - I found it jarring, but maybe it is just that most of the dry Rieslings I drink are Austrian, and so I'm not used to the style. Dry, with a little vibration on the palate, flavor profile like the nose, with bracing acid, but no sweetness. Acidity builds at the end to a minerally finish. Nose - 5.5/6, Palate -4/6, Finish - 4.5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 15/20.
White
1964 Château Laville Haut-Brion Blanc
94 points
Tropical aromas, coconut, rubber. Matt says orange blossom. Bread. Salty on the palate. Bitter with caramel, and flowers. Creamy on the finish. Quite nice actually. A touch boney and dry, but pretty. This was very variable - sometimes it showed really old and somewhat off. But I had a few sips after it was open in the glass for a while that were pretty damn spectacular. Those sips showed a wine that was much more full and focused, lively with hazelnuts and minerals. Nose - 4.5/6, Palate - 5/6, Finish - 5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 15.5/20. (Those better sips were 5-5.5-5-1.5 = 17/20.) So this puts the wine in the 91-94 range.
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Comment
Rosé - Sparkling
2002 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon
94 points
Very light pink. Light strawberry and citrus. Very young and winey. Tart berries and stones. really focused and potent. I liked this a great deal, but it needs time and I couldn't get a full note on it. I would put it in the 93-96 point range.
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Comment
White
1976 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières
98 points
Golden. Wonderful soft creamy nose of nuts, caramel, salty, sweet lemon, minerals and white flowers. As good as it is on the nose, it is a fucking revelation on the palate. It starts off salty and nutty, but it builds and builds with real focused power and persistence. Mouthfilling with roast nuts. Huge and soaring. Salty, lemon, spice. Fucking awesome. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 6/6, Finish - 6/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 2/2 = 19/20.
Flight 3 - Reds (6 notes)
Red
1959 Bodegas Palacio Rioja Glorioso Gran Reserva
92 points
Horsey on the nose. Salty, orange zest, and peanut butter. Matt says vitamins/fertilizer. Anise/licorice. Quite saline and sauvage on the palate. More peanut butter. Quite plush. Nice orange zest, prune, plum fruit. Dusty tannins on a long citrus peel and stone finish. You can taste the sun in this wine. Excellent old school Rioja. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 5/6, Finish - 5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 16/20.
Red
1950 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) Rioja Viña Real Gran Reserva
95 points
Very dry on the nose: sauvage and animale, plummy fruit, spice, stones. Really old school and classic nose Quite soft and elegant on the palate. Dusty and spicy with deep plummy fruit. Nice minerals. Juicy. Classic. Really excellent with years to go. Matt said that this was 'the best burgundy of the night'. Nose - 5.5/6, Palate -5.5/6, Finish - 5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 17.5/20.
Red
1972 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin
94 points
Spice. A little sauvage and vitamin, plummy fruit, dark spices. Very plush, lively with a nice orange peel/zest aspect. Salty. Plummy fruit. Not elegant, but very yummy and full. Sweet: raspberry and strawberry. Vitamin and salt. This isn't the most subtle wine - not a wine of finesse. But it was really delicious. I liked it more than others there - but everyone did like it. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 5.5/6, Finish - 5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 17/20.
Red
1985 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
96 points
Meaty, spicy, classic burgundy fruit. A classic creamy sweetness and a brutal complexity. Matt says iron filings. Soft, dark flowers, a creamy cocoa or mocha - slightly. A touch spicy. A little closed on the palate. Spicy, meaty and smokey. Really elegant and powerful, but light and classy. Soft flowers and cherry finish. Not super long but gorgeous. There is something about this wine - its class and sophistication. Silky and velvety in a way that makes you weep. A slight glimpse into the transcendent. Staggering. Nose - 6/6, Palate - 5/6, Finish - 5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 2/2 = 18/20.
Red
1989 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle
91 points
This is the second time I've had this wine, and once again, it did not move me at all. The nose was quite closed - maybe a bitter of pepper and dark fruit and tar. The palate was better - I expected it to be big and rough, but it was quite elegant and perfumed: with some sweet purple fruit and violets. Still not exceptional. I did not get a full note, but would put it in the 90-92 point range.
Red
1997 Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon Cinq Cépages
90 points
Tasted blind on this by Josh and Matt as a brilliant practical joke. Before the reveal I had guessed it was Cali cab and said that I liked it and thought it was a good wine. The darker aspect, along with the tightness and wound aspect made me guess Togni or Dunn - but looking back it was clear that the wine didn't have enough chocolate/mocha - not enough black/blue to be Togni. After the reveal, I took a full note: Clearly a Cali cab - minty, cassis, leather, herbal, a little meat. Cool. On the palate lots of herbal/mint and dark fruit. Not my favorite, but solid. Nose - 5/6, Palate -4.5/6, Finish - 4.5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 15/20.
Flight 4 - Another Champagne and Dessert Wines (4 notes)
White - Sparkling
2002 Philipponnat Champagne Brut Clos des Goisses
95 points
Very winey and concentrated. Spicy, lively and young. Pear and white flowers, slate. Really pure on the palate - chalk, white flowers, sweet lemon, racy. Spicy finish. Great champagne. These 02's are just killer. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 5.5/6, Finish - 5.5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 17.5/20.
White - Off-dry
1975 Rautenstrauch Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese
88 points
AP #3. Gold-orange. Spicy pear, cidery, lots of cinnamon and some nutmeg. Very light. Lots of lift and light on the palate. A touch of honey, spicy with a touch a peach. Short finish. Past its prime. Nose - 5/6, Palate -4/6, Finish - 4/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 14/20.
White - Off-dry
1990 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel
96 points
AP #25. Slightly cloudy medium orange. Bright apricot fruit, baking spices. Creamy. Orange and apricot. Absolutely beautiful - good acid behind the scenes, keeping the wine lively. Sweet and ethereal, not chiseled. This isn't a big wine - it isn't a bruiser. One might even call it light, but it has an energy behind it and a perfume that are captivating. Apricots and minerals on the finish. Matt wonders if the bottle isn't in perfect condition, but that was a minority report. Most of us thought it was just wonderful. Nose - 5.5/6, Palate -5.5/6, Finish - 5.5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 18/20.
White - Sweet/Dessert
1959 Moulin Touchais Anjou Blanc
92 points
Totally dead on the nose - bitter smell of medicinal mustard seeds. But the palate is something else: sweet and herbal, with flowers. Waxy and high toned. Funky but nice structure on the palate. Exactly like what a sweet Lopez Gravonia would taste like. Real persistence and drive on the finish. Really unique and a rare treat. Nose - 2/6, Palate - 5/6, Finish - 5/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 13/20. The shot nose makes my rating system fail, so I'd put this around a 92/100.
Closing
I missed a number of wines - so I got notes for 19 out of 27 altogether. Wines missed included a 93 Lafarge Beaune Graves, 90 and 91 Pousse d"Or wines, a Donnhoff, and an 85 and 88 Volnay.