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La Paulée Meets Chicago - Dinner
Blackbird - Chicago IL
Tasted September 24, 2015 by Burgundy Al with 724 views
Introduction
What a great dinner. Chicago's first La Paulée event. Great dinner following a wonderful tasting. Notes are in three sections. First are the wines my friends and I brought, despite there being an official program of great wines. Those wonderful wines (at least those for which I took notes) are in the 2nd section. Finally notes from the after-party at Formento's.
Flight 1 - Bottles from our Cellars (25 notes)
My group had two of the five tables at tonight's dinner and successfully made this a memorable evening. There were a few more bottles I can't accurately recall or read what I wrote.
White
2004 Henri Boillot Chevalier-Montrachet
93 points
Small pour, brief note. Ripe orchard fruit with some peach. Lots of spice with some still protruding new oak. Overall very tasty.
White
2009 Louis Carillon Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet
93 points
Small pour, brief note. Dark color. Extremely ripe, dense, great spice. Apple and peach. Best now, I doubt this will age gracefully past 2018 or 2020.
White
1999 Maison Leroy Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières
90 points
Small pour, brief note. Orchard fruit with very good spice. Certainly fresh enough, just not as powerful and dense vs when last tried a few years ago, and that bottle was from the same source.
White
2002 Etienne Sauzet Montrachet
95 points
Rock star great. Served in 02/04/06 vertical. Pear and peach with huge spice. Very long and persistent with great textures, exceptional harmony. Sadly my last bottle. This was far better than my previous bottle opened.
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Comment
White
2004 Etienne Sauzet Montrachet
flawed
A shadow of how well this wine has shown before. Ripe fruit, lots of concentration, just very advanced, so not worth drinking in this flight of 02/04/06 plus the rest of the evening.
White
2006 Etienne Sauzet Montrachet
94 points
Small pour, brief note. Served in 02/04/06 vertical. Lush and very enticing stone fruit throughout, also slightly tropical. Great tasting now, perhaps even better than the 2002, but less nuanced. I wouldn't cellar this long-term, but it's holding nicely for the vintage.
White
2006 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Montrachet
96 points
Small pour, brief note. Great cross-section of fruit aromas and flavors, with some slightly sweet baked apple hints. Powerful and harmonious throughout. Knockout wine with enough structure for enticing textures. I wouldn't have thought from 2006 if served blind.
White
1998 Rapet Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne
87 points
Small pour, brief note. Good density, mature fruit, moderate nuance. Still drinking ok, but slightly past its peak.
White
1999 Marquis de Laguiche (Joseph Drouhin) Montrachet
93 points
From magnum. Orchard fruit cross-section with lots of spice. Elegant mineral textures stand out at finish.
White
2002 Marquis de Laguiche (Joseph Drouhin) Montrachet
96 points
Small pour, brief note. Absolutely outstanding. Still fresh, vibrant, super powerful. Great length, expanding finish with an elegance that personifies Montrachet.
Red
1990 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands-Echezeaux
95 points
Small pour, brief note. Once again this wine is "wow," with lots of fresh, lush black and red fruit, fantastic savory spice throughout. Long finish, great power at the end. Certainly a top red tonight. Slightly better than the 1993 served alongside.
Red
1991 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands-Echezeaux
flawed
Heat damaged or stewed in some way. This was supposed to be served in a vertical flight with the 90 and 93, both of which were excellent. A tough night for 1991s.
Red
1993 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands-Echezeaux
94 points
Served alongside the 1990. Lots of power and density with a backward character, but very engaging spice on finish. There was some confusion as to which was in each glass, but I'm confident I was correct since I poured this '93. Bottle was in perfect condition. The best I ever recall for this wine.
Red
1988 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant
92 points
Small pour, brief note. From magnum. Lots of maturing cherry, cross-section of red, black and blue. Moderate spice for DRC RSV. Still firm and brawny. Served in 88/01/02 vertical.
Red
2001 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant
94 points
Small pour, brief note. Served alongside 88 and 02. Lots of fruit and spice, perhaps not quite as much as its 2002 counterpart, but I adore the harmony of fruit, spice with tannins and acidity here. Still very youthful.
Red
2002 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant
95 points
Small pour, brief note. Served in 88/01/02 vertical. Still very fruit-driven and seemingly forward. With great spice throughout. Structure comes through at finish. Great now, while also incredibly ageworthy.
Red
2004 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes
88 points
Small pour, brief note. Nicely mature red fruit, modest spice. Didn't find any bitter 2004 character, but it's lighter-styled and best consumed over the next 5 years.
Red
1996 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
94 points
Small pour, brief note. Much like another bottle from last month. Fresh black fruit, barely evolved with lots of superb spice and a hint of meaty character. I think this has upside from here because I still feel the new oak will integrate better going forward, despite it already closing in on 2 decades.
Red
2003 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg
Small pour, brief note. Ripe, fat and opulent with a hint of blueberry jam, but with serious structure and acidity. Excellent now, with lots of upside from here.
Red
1998 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Bonnes Mares
small pour, brief note. Completely consistent with prior bottles, lots of black and red cherry, great spice and structure in perfect harmony. Delicious from start-to-finish.
Red
1993 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Clos Vougeot
93 points
From magnum. Dense, meaty black and red fruit aromas with good baking spice. Dense and powerful flavors as well, all with good power and concentration.
Red
1996 Domaine Leroy Clos Vougeot
Late night, brief note. Floral and spice start with red fruit. moderate weight and intensity. Not quite a much fun as the 1998 opened even later in the evening.
Red
1988 Domaine Leroy Clos Vougeot
Late taste, brief note. At a great place now. Best of the Leroy CVs tonight?
Flight 2 - Official La Paulee Wines (13 notes)
The official program had a great lineup of younger wines. I managed to taste most while focusing on the older wines our group brought.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Delamotte Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut
90 points
Good way to start our Chicago LaPaulee dinner. Lots of orchard fruit throughout with a nice burst of energy at the end. I've liked this more the past few years vs what i recall from earlier.
White
2008 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons
91 points
Apple with peach and lemon peel hints. Lighter styled with moderate depth. Still slightly tight.
White
2008 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses
Very firm and tight. Great concentration makes me expect great things, but not any time soon.
White
2007 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos
Lots of lemon and lemon drop with plenty of pronounced acidity today. Another wine that will benefit from more time in the cellar. Not nearly as forthcoming as a sensational bottle from a few months ago with dinner while in Chablis, which was decanted.
White
2011 Domaine François Mikulski Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières
92 points
Served alongside Charmes and Goutte d'Or, this was the clear star of the flight. Apple with some good spice, highlighted by great mineral and acid-intensive finish.
White
2011 Domaine François Mikulski Meursault 1er Cru Charmes
Served in flight alongside Genevrieres and Goutte d'Or. Came across as most ripe and powerful with classic Meursault nuttiness that I liked a lot. Give this another year or two in the cellar.
White
2011 Domaine François Mikulski Meursault 1er Cru Gouttes d'Or
Served alongside Genevrieres and Charmes. Apple, peach, some background spice. Probably the most fun of the three wines tonight, just less complexity than either of the two other wines in the flight.
Red
2007 Méo-Camuzet Frère et Sœurs Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Cras
Mature red fruit with ok spice, lots of earth. Good enough now, but I wouldn't hold this much longer.
Red
2008 Méo-Camuzet Frère et Sœurs Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Cras
Small taste, brief note. A step up vs 2007 with good red cherry, spice hints, good balance. Chambolle textures. Drinking nicely now.
Red
2008 Méo-Camuzet Frère et Sœurs Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Feusselottes
Small taste, brief note. Similar fruit to the Cras in the next glass, but less nuanced textures so I found this slightly less interesting.
Red
1985 Joseph Drouhin Corton
Late night, brief note. All black and dense with firm Corton character. Very good now.
Red
1985 Joseph Drouhin Clos de la Roche
90 points
Late night, brief note. Mature black fruit, good spice. Not quite as enticing as another bottle tried in Burgundy a few months ago, but still a fun drink.
Red
1985 Joseph Drouhin Bonnes Mares
Late night, brief note. In Drouhin 1985 horizontal flight. This was the highlight of the flight. Leather, mature black fruit, sweet spice and reduced mushroom, all nicely working with elegant structure. Very good.
Flight 3 - After-Party (3 notes)
A few extra bottles...because we could.
Red
1966 Camille Giroud Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Pruliers
91 points
Late night, brief note. Perfect representation of mature Burg. Fruit, spice, forest floor aromas and flavors.
Red
1998 Domaine Leroy Clos Vougeot
Late night, brief note. Not a powerhouse Leroy, but tasty like all her 1998s. Very enjoyable now.
Red
1995 Christophe Roumier Ruchottes-Chambertin
Very late night, brief note. Late night decision to open. Very tasty, very fresh. Great 1995.