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Chardonnay Blind--CA and France @ Tom Moore's Place
Tom's House
Tasted June 14, 2014 by Frank Murray III with 583 views
Introduction
Great dinner hosted by Tom and Tami at their place. Beautiful home, with a long table set for 12, supported by a private chef who cooked us a 6 course meal. I did not capture all the wines, as I know we had a Letitia bubbly from Central Coast, then two 1/2 bottles of dessert wine at the end (one was a La Tour Blanches). All in, this was a terrific evening, a menu that I thought was well-executed and quite tasty and of course, the humility and learning that comes with blind tasting, sans the critics, the scores and the power of the brand.
Flight 1 - Warm Pear & Brie Crostini and Warm Dates with Gorgonzola & Prosciutto (1 note)
White - Sparkling
2005 R. & L. Legras Champagne Grand Cru Présidence Vieilles Vignes
Tasted fine for a 2005, didn't seem too rich. Enjoyed it.
Flight 2 - Vichyssoise with Whipped Saffrom Cream (3 notes)
White
2009 Copain Chardonnay Brosseau Vineyard
This didn't wow like I hoped it might. Tasted blind, Smoky, nutty nose. Lemon, fleshy, orange oil. Honeyed with moderate intensity.
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Comments (1)
White
2008 Domaine Billaud-Simon Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos
Tasted blind. This is an intense wine, with generous, laser-like acidity and for some, it might be too much cut but I dug this wine, as I enjoy acidity. The intense lemon note forms the core of this wine, along with green apple and what seemed like a touch of creamy oak, with gives it also a lemon curd note. In the end, this is all about acid, terrific.
White
2007 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champ-Canet
Tasted blind. Ah, hello old friend. This was a WOTY for me a few years back and was key for me discovering white burgundy. I have enjoyed several of them in the past, long since drank my last one and have not reloaded any Sauzet as I believe the wines have become too expensive. As to how this showed, it's got nice balance, lithe and complete at this stage, with lemon peel, stone/flint and a briny quality. In a good spot now.
Flight 3 - Aspraragus, Leek and Lemon Zest Ricotta Crepe Stack with Brown Butter Sauce (3 notes)
White
2011 Sandhi Wines Chardonnay Bentrock
Never had this producer before but know of them. Tasted blind. Lermon/lime, yellow apple and a bit of oak gives it a custard note. Good richness, clearly for me CA, not France. The finish maintains a lemon peel note.
White
2008 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne Domaine
Power chardonnay. With no added air, simply opened and poured off a taste. Don't get the oak sig I got back in 2012. Intense lemon, creamy core, mineral. After another 90 mins, keeps improving with more focus. The intensity in this wine is notable, like a beam of lemony acid, vibrant green apple, kiwi and stones, and again no sign for me of any oak tones....OK, so let me say this, unless I got the order of the wines wrong, as we did this blind over dinner, this CC really went sideways for me. I liked it earlier before I left the house, but when bagged and tasted, this ended up seeming like a glass of 7-Up. While there is lemon, yellow apple and mint, and there is some zesty quality too it, the oak just seemed to emerge, which I had hoped it would have integrated by now. I have one bottle left in the cellar and at $110 per, I'm going to look to sell it. I'd rather drink Dauvissat Forest or Pepiere in multiples than roll all my $$ into something like this. Disappointing and shows once again for me, when the blind is in, all bets are off and humility owns the stage.
White
2012 Poe Wines Chardonnay Ferrington Vineyard
flawed
Damn TCA. Corked. Too bad, as this wine I expected to stand in and compete well with the CA/French lineup we had assembled.
Flight 4 - Smoked Trout, Fennel, Citrus, and Marcona almond Salad with Orange & Fennel Frond Vinaigrette (3 notes)
White
2008 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru La Forest
Ding ding ding, winner. We tasted this blind, and as coincidences sometimes go in a blind line up, the wines was flighted twice, two separate bagged bottles. When the first bottle appeared, I starred the wine as it really lit me up. Citrus, pineapple, good intensity, stony apple and a zingy finish with a medium body. Then, forward to the next flight, and it appears again, of course bagged. This time I find the same pineapple, lemon, good acidity, a little creaminess with a zingy palate and breezy, marine-like aromatic. Both times I enjoyed this wine, what a terrific bottle of chardonnay.
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Comment
White
2012 Arnot-Roberts Chardonnay Trout Gulch Vineyard
Tasted blind. I found this simple, lime, some mineral, lemon but nothing to get firerd up about. Basically, it stuck out and got crushed down by the preceding 2008 Dauvissat Forest and then followed by a 2010 La Chablisienne Preuses.
White
2010 La Chablisienne Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses
Tasted blind. In a word, fantastic. Smells like Chablis, too. Sea air, citrus, citrus pith, a quality of grapefruit (credit to Brig for calling out this descriptor, as it was dead on), stony, lean and savory. WOTN.
Flight 5 - Roasted 1/2 Cornish Hen with Dill & Lemon Charred Cauliflower and Grilled Broccolini (2 notes)
White
2011 Rhys Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard
Open about 1/2 hour. Correct temp, too. Intense pineapple and lemon, long spicy finish. More to follow with air. Tasted again several hours later, blind at correct temp. Some additional richness came out with air, oak showed a bit, adding a lemon curd quality.
White
2011 Liquid Farm Chardonnay Four
Tasted blind, this was the last wine of the flight and of the evening. As such, my notes were starting to get shorter, my palate fading. Toasty nose, pineapple, spicy oak, intense lemon/lime.
Flight 6 - Lemon and Lavender Meringue with Fresh Cream & Raspberries (1 note)
Red
2005 Arcadian Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard
This was opened on the fly, following about a 15 wine lineup of bubbly and mostly chardonnay. I tell you what, this drank damn good. I bet it saw 30 mins of total air before the bottle was nearly empty, as was my glass. Herby, stony, red and blue fruit. Would have liked to sample this today with a fresh palate.