Rotating Dinner Series-Wines Jimmy Likes
Acadia, Chicago IL
Tasted November 19, 2013 by KeithAkers with 623 views
Introduction
November was Jimmy's turn for the RDS. He was able to set things up with Acadia and his focus was on wines that he really likes. I was really looking forward to this as I've been wanting to go to Acadia for a while.
Flight 1 - Opening Bubbles and Sakes (4 notes)
These were on their own. The Bubbles was an opener from Acadia and Jimmy provided the Sakes.
Taste: Medium Bodied with medium/high acidity. The structure is very youthful, but it isn't overpowering with cherries, red berries, red apples, and citrus notes.
Overall: This was a great starter. This showed off the pinot noir and had a real precision to it.
Taste: Medium bodied with a very polished feel. There is a satiny quality to the feel with bananas, white florals, papaya and grapefruits.
Overall: I have precious little experience with sake, especially high end sake. This was slightly murky in the glass, but not on the really milky side.
Taste: Medium/full bodied with a very silky and polished feel with papaya, guava, tropical citrus, bananas, and sea salt.
Overall: The tones seem to jump out of the glass and this is a definite notch above the other two sakes. This sake was completely clear in the glass.
Flight 2 - Maison Ilan MSD Chaffots-off (2 notes)
This was paired with an opening Amuse Bouche soup.
Taste: As good as the nose was, this just felt like it was dumb on the palate. The medium feel was very nice with medium acidity, but there was a thinness to it as well.
Overall: I wasn't sure what to make of it, but something didn't fully seem right. The nose was gorgeous, but the palate just didn't want to come out and play. I hope to try this again a ways down the road to see where it ends up.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity and some youthful tannins. the feel is very silky with dark red fruits, spices, earth tones, red florals, and red cherries.
Overall: This was more like it. this was much more on the refined side of things with very pure aromatics.
Flight 3 - Second Maison Ilan flight (3 notes)
This one included two grand crus along with the Monts-Luisants. This was paired with a Kohlrabi Soup.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium/high acidity and silky tannins. The structure is certainly youthful along with dark red fruits, dark red cherries, earth tones, and some leather on the back end.
Overall: This is clearly in need of time. Still, there is a very good backbone to this with a very attractive quality to the tones too.
Taste: Medium/full bodied with medium/high acidity and very youthful tannins. The structure doesn't seem too imposing, but it's very sneaky as the tannins become more pronounced with air. Even with the palate showing size, there is deftness to the tones of dark spices, dark red fruits, violets, and some perfumes on the back end.
Overall: I would love to see where this goes with age. The balance and depth is completely there and brings about a quiet confidence in the wine. It seems a bit shy now, but this has loads of room to grow.
Taste: Medium/full bodied with medium/high acidity and silky tannins. The structure is certainly there with dark red fruits, dark red cherries, leather tones, earth, and spices.
Overall: While the Chambertin had a more subtle power to it, this had some real density. This is a tremendous Charmes and can grow, but naturally the Chambertin has a much higher ceiling.
Flight 4 - Clos des Lambrays Flight (3 notes)
This was with a Mushroom "risotto" that was amazing.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium/high acidity and youthful tannins. The feel is very silky and refined with red fruits, peppery notes, violets, crushed rocks, red cherries, spices, and some perfumes on the back end.
Overall: This is a stunningly gorgeous Clos des Lambrays. This certainly does need time as the structure is very imposing. Still, what lies underneath right now is an amazing wine that can certainly get better.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium/high acidity and chewy tannins. The structure is very imposing, but there is very good balance with red florals, fresh picked roses, herbs, red cherries, strawberries, and earth tones. There is a deftness to the tones with an understated quality as well.
Overall: This was wound a bit tight, but it was also a very interesting contrast to the 10 and 02. This showed a more restrained and shy side to it, but with some real underlying beauty.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity and silky tannins, this is very well balanced with red cherries, spices, red fruits, roses, and some herbs on the back end. The tones are showing well, but they are still youthful too.
Overall: This was showing very well on the night. It still has a bit of a sappiness that I come across in 02s, but it is smoothing out much more and becoming more restrained and refined.
Flight 5 - Blind Flight (3 notes)
This was with without food between courses
Taste: Medium bodied with medium/high acidity and sneaky tannins. The feel is very silky and lithe with red fruits, tar, dried red cherries, spices, and bits of rose hips.
Overall: Once this opened up it was a lovely mature Barbaresco. This showed the perfume and poise that you want from a wine of this age along with being a pleasure to drink.
Taste: Medium/full bodied with medium acidity and good supporting tannins. The feel is mature, but the structure is still there along with dark red cherries, licorice, herbs, cranberries, earth, and some back end funky notes.
Overall: This bottle showed a hell of a lot better than the one I had a few months ago. This bottle was rearing to go and was exactly what one would want from a mature 80s Gruaud Larose.
Flight 6 - Desert Flight (1 note)
This flight included two beers and was paired with a Fall Chocolate dish
Taste: Full bodied with some nice medium acidity. There is a richness to the palate, but it is far from overdone with nectar, wax, apricots, and nectarines.
Overall: This was a delicious way to end Jimmy's portion of the evening. There were two Imperial Stouts that went with this, but I didn't keep notes on those.
Flight 7 - Extra Wines (6 notes)
This were provided by some extremely generous diners near us. They saw a lot of wine open and us sitting in a private room and then joined us with their amazing wines. To say that we were in the right place at the right time is an understatement. I'm still stupefied by this experience.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity. The feel is well balanced with wax, brioche, red apples, and some crushed rocks. There is nice layering, but it is lacking a crispness to it.
Overall: This wasn't premox'd, but it was on the slightly advanced side. It was still very enjoyable to drink as was, but this was showing some more wear than one would expect from a chablis of this age.
Taste: Refined, regal, and poignant Medium feel with medium acidity and silky supporting tannins. The feel is silky along with a satin quality to the tones of dark red cherries, leather, tobacco leaf, cedar box, spices, red berries, with violets and perfumes on the back end. The tones are ethereal, deep, and layered.
Overall: This was special. I was nearly speechless by this bottle as it was pristine and was rocking from the get go. To say that this lived up to my expectations is an understatement. This bottle was perfect.
Taste: Silky, elegant, and sexy Medium/full feel with medium acidity. There is a hint of tannin still persisting, but they have mostly gone and we are left with lovely tones of cedar, perfumes, licorice, dark red cherries, and spice box notes with a touch of tobacco hiding in there.
Overall: It was amazing how red this still was. This was a bottle that most certainly wasn't on life support. Instead this bottle provided us with a very unique experience of being refined and leading to a discussion of everything that happened in the year of 1945 leading up to when the grapes were picked. It's rare moments like these that make wine so amazing.
Taste: The Medium feel is like pure satin along with medium+ acidity. While there is good body to this, there is a feather-like quality with vosne spices, violets, wild flowers, red fruits, red cherries, and perfume that seems to grow on the back end.
Overall: This was a middle-weight fighter that moved like a lightweight. There was density and sheer elegance at the same time while being hedonistically pure. This wine was one that you sit and ponder on as you let it tell you it's story (however brief this one was).
Taste: Full bodied with medium+ acidity. The feel is silky and sexy with red apples, waxy notes, lanolin, limes, and caramel. The layers of depth really come through as it is extremely deft and polished.
Overall: There was an amber color to this that had me wondering if it was shot. It clearly wasn't and that's where the fun truly began. This was a wine that left you in stunned silence and pondering philosophical questions in your head. This was something that was truly special and very unique.
Taste: Medium/full bodied with medium+ acidity and silky tannins. The feel is ever so polished and regal with a refined sense. All of that is backed up by glorious tones of clay, earth, dark red fruits, minerals, red berries, and dark red cherries.
Overall: A truly stupendous wine.This was firing on every possible cylinder and just left me stupefied.
Closing
What was to be an extremely good night of wine and food turned into the surreal and legendary. One can never discount the generosity of others and that came through in spades. This ended up being one of the most memorable wine nights I've ever had.