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Winefool Intro/Retro
Chez Winefool
Tasted May 19, 2017 by Nanda with 344 views
Introduction
A fun night digging into two very good and educational flights shared generously from Chris' cellar.
Flight 1 - BLIND CHARDONNAY (6 notes)
An interesting exercise. Wines were shared to be in three pairs, with each pair being roughly five years apart. We were asked to identify the pairs. I failed to identify the pairs, but at least was able to identify the three "young" vs. the three "old" wines. The real surprise of this flight was the Kistler ... I'm totally impressed with how they showed, in particular the 03 which has aged quite well. The 2005 Dauvissat certainly suffered in the context of the bigger wines.
White
2000 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons
flawed
Served blind. Light golden color. Oxidative nose -- tired orchard fruit and advanced oxidized notes. The palate follows suit -- flat, tired with oxidized fruit. 80-82 point showing, but let's call it flawed. My #6, Group #6.
White
2007 Kistler Chardonnay Vine Hill Vineyard
94 points
Served blind. Light golden color. Gorgeous, full nose with ripe apple and pear fruit, mint notes and some oak spice. Delicious on the palate with richer texture but sufficient acidic cut. More mint notes and some mineral complementing the rich fruit. I was correct in picking this as one of the younger wines in the flight, but thought it was white burg (Ramonet given the mint notes). My #1, Group #4.
White
2005 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons
90 points
Served blind. Pale gold in color. Medium nose is understated in the line-up -- melons, lighter orchard fruit and lemon zest. After the reveal, I was clearly getting seashells on the nose too, but who knows if that's just a psychological effect. The palate is lean and a tad astringent with lots of acid relative to the lighter fruit profile. Picked this out as one of the younger wines, but missed Chablis -- though it was screaming Chablis, in hindsight. I under-ranked this. My #5, Groups #3.
White
2004 Aubert Chardonnay Reuling Vineyard
88 points
Served blind. Medium gold color. The nose shows some age with bruised orchard fruit and with time in the glass some interesting lavender notes emerge. Rich and even waxy on the palate. The fruit here is sweet and the acid is fading, so the overall effect is of a wine on the back nine. My note reads a bit harsh as this is a good Chardonnay, but past peak. Easily identified as one of the older wines and new world. My #4, Groups #5.
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White
2009 Aubert Chardonnay Reuling Vineyard
93 points
Served blind. Pale gold and slightly cloudy. Love the nose here -- rich and opulent orchard fruit with a big oak spice kick. The palate follows suit with opulent, riper styled fruit and some well-integrated barrel spice. Good fresh acids that provide lift and length. Excellent wine in the style. Easily identified as one of the younger wines and readily pegged as new world (and Aubert). My #3, Group #1.
White
2003 Kistler Chardonnay Vine Hill Vineyard
93 points
Served blind. Light-to-medium gold. Full nose has mature, but still rich orchard fruit and spice. On the palate this is delicious with mature orchard fruits, some mineral, spice and fresh cut herb accents. Fresh and bright acids provide balance. Identified this as one of the older wines. Drinking wonderfully, and should hold. My #2, Group #2.
Flight 2 - BLIND PINOT (8 notes)
Another fun exercise. We were told that all eight wines were in theme, with two ringers. Most of the group correctly guessed it was a horizontal (though I incorrectly guessed a vertical). Quite clearly Pinot and Burgundy. The hardness of the Faiveleys was deceptive as the entire group guessed the horizontal was younger than 2001 -- with guesses including 2005, 2008 and 2010. This flight confirms the well known principle that Faiveley (from the older winemaking style) needs decades to mature, even in lighter vintages like 2001. Great line up and highly informative.
Red
2001 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin
93 points
Served blind. Light garnet color. Gorgeous, explosive aromatics. Layered red and black cherry, spice and just a bit of meatiness. The palate is quite elegant with great intensity yet a lightness of body. Good firm, crunchy acidity clamps down the back end a bit. This has a long ways to go and a few points of upside. Preferred the nose to the palate right now. My #4, Groups #1.
Red
2001 Faiveley Echezeaux
92 points
Served blind. Light garnet. The nose here has more power and richness with sweet red fruits and more overt spice. Similarly the palate starts out with broad, mouth-coating rich red cherry fruit. Once again though the structure (acids and tannin) really clamp the wine down for a compact finish. Preferred the beautiful nose the palate right now. Lots of upside. My #5, Group #2.
Red
2001 Hospices de Beaune Mazis-Chambertin Cuvée Madeleine Collignon Henri Boillot
95 points
Served blind. One of the two ringers. Medium garnet. Wow, terrific open-for-business and layered nose of red cherry, musk, new leather and significant spice. The palate is similarly giving and generous with excellent layering and concentration. Well-balanced. Huge spice kick in the finish. Totally ready to go now. Pretty clearly one of the ringers, given how open it was showing. My #1, Group #4.
Red
2001 Faiveley Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
89 points
Served blind. Medium garnet. The nose here is a more dense and closed in. Brooding. On the palate this is all about structure -- big shouldered, tannic, with dense and concentrated ungiving fruit. Intensely tannic. Hard to evaluate at the moment. Seemingly would have lots of upside in 10+ years. My #7, Groups #6.
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Red
2001 Faiveley Clos Vougeot
88 points
Served blind. Medium garnet. The nose here is also closed-in, but with time it sneakily starts to give lots of subtle spice. On the palate, it's similar to the Beze -- very hard and mouth clenchingly tannic. Give this a decade or two. Would guess there is plenty of upside with time. My #8, Groups #5.
Red
2001 Faiveley Mazis-Chambertin
92 points
Served blind. Medium garnet. Beautiful aromatics with red and black cherry, musk, and spice notes. Really layered and sultry nose. The palate here is once again on the leaner side with lots of firm structure. Some fruit does emerge, so its not as hard as the CdB or Vougeot, but not too far behind. Far preferred the nose to palate right now. My #6, Groups #7.
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Red
2001 Mongeard-Mugneret Echezeaux
94 points
Served blind. Clearly an outlier in the flight. The color is a more mature, browning garnet. Wonderful layered nose of mature red fruit, musk, forest floor, potpourri and spice. The palate is generous and complex. The first hint of sous bois. Really in a prime drinking zone right now, though it should age for years. My #3, Groups #3.
Red
2001 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley
93 points
Served blind. Bright, translucent garnet. The nose starts closed in, but with an hour or so in the glass it opens to show ample red cherry, earth tones and spice. This is structured, for sure, but is giving some fleshy fruit that has nice intensity/lift across the palate. Big boned, but not as hard as the CdB, Mazis or Ech, ironically. Nice complexity of flavor. My #2, Groups #8.
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Flight 3 - BONUS LATE NIGHT WINE (1 note)
Red
2005 Araujo Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard
94 points
Late night pop n' pour bonus wine. Served blind, but known to be Cali Cab. Full, generous nose in a classic style with just the right amount of fruit richness and lots of cedar, bell pepper and tobacco markers. The palate is generous and well-balanced. In a prime, but early, drinking window. More classic than new wave Napa, for sure.
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