Important Update From the Founder
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Dinner with Mike Grammer
Union @ Seattle, WA
Tasted August 2, 2007 by kris.h with 872 views
Introduction
Many thanks to Roy for organizing this, Union Restaurant for hosting us, and everyone else for bringing such nice wines. It was a pleasure meeting Mike and some new faces from the Seattle crowd. Dinner was fabulous and all the wines were great too. Amazingly, out of the 16 bottles we opened, not a single one was corked, oxidised, or spoiled in some way.
Flight 1 - Champagne (1 note)
White - Sparkling
N.V. Camille Savès Champagne Premier Cru Brut Carte Blanche
89 points
Medium straw in color. The nose is subtle but gives off hints of apple, and lemmon. On the palate the wine is lively and very effervescent with a good body. Good length on the finish that offers a subtle toasty note.
Flight 2 - Chablis (2 notes)
White
2002 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru La Forest
92 points
This wine has a vibrant light yellow color. The nose is very tight but with time in the glass and lots of swirling I coaxed out some apple, smoke, and flint. On the palate, this has really nice weight and great minerality. It is zesty and lively. This is outstanding right now but will be stunning with additional bottle age.
White
1997 Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos
93 points
A medium yellow color with a slight orange tint. There is a lot going on in the nose. It smells rich with lemon custard, apple, cream, and lime. Nicely delineated on the palate and a long finish. This wine seems to be drinking at or near peak so open one up if you have some.
Flight 3 - Other Whites (2 notes)
White
2004 René Barth Riesling Mambourg
88 points
The nose offers up some light floral scents, honey, lemon zest and a petrolly nuance. A touch of residual sugar that adds to the medium weight mouth feel. Finishes off dry with lemon and pear.
White
2004 Didier Dagueneau Blanc Fumé de Pouilly
92 points
Light yellow color. The nose is open and expressive giving off hints of freshly cut grass, tropical fruit, and some laundry detergent. On the palate, the wine is medium to full body with mouth watering acidity and a long finish.
Flight 4 - Burgundy (2 notes)
Red
1999 Domaine Darviot-Perrin Volnay 1er Cru Santenots
90 points
The color is a nice dark ruby red. On the nose there is some leather, cherry, and plum along with some earth and some other good things I can't quite name. Nice weight on the palate and well balanced though it does finish a little tannic right now. Give this one a few more years for the tannins to resolve and it will see much improvement.
Red
1986 Maison Leroy Savigny-lès-Beaune
93 points
When initially opened this was kind of stinky and musty. I double decanted it and took it to the restaurant where it was reopened about 2 hours later. What a transformation. The nose now has lots of vibrant cherry with floral notes and some soy. On the palate the wine is medium body with a surprising amount of tannin though not overpowering. A nice lingering finish with some cherry and blueberry. This wine evolved nicely over the course of the evening. There is probably no reason to cellar these further but I think they will continue to provide pleasure for 5 to 10 more years.
Flight 5 - Northern Rhone (3 notes)
Red
1991 M. Chapoutier Hermitage La Sizeranne
94 points
The color is dark red. The nose gives off some smoke, bacon, and dark spicy fruit. The palate is firm and moderately tannic with lots of acidity. This is an outstanding wine but it could still use some more time.
Red
1999 Delas Frères Hermitage Les Bessards
90 points
Bacon fat and violets. Yum! Tannic, full body, and good acidity. Long tannic finish. The nose was very reticent and this needs lots more time in the cellar to really shine. With time in the glass the nose did start to open up to reveal some plum and strawberry.
Red
1996 Tardieu-Laurent Cornas Vieilles Vignes
92 points
A pungent nose of ripe fruit, flowers, compost, and meat. Grippy tannins and full body, great acidity. A little tannic at the moment so try to keep your hands off these if you have them.
Flight 6 - Bordeaux and a Southern Rhone (3 notes)
Red
1996 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
90 points
This wine had a very noticeable green streak running through it. It was strong but not completely overpowering. Under all those vegetables was some nice fruit, cedar, and tobacco. Medium to full body and shows good balance. The finish seemed too short though.
Red
1998 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou
91 points
The nose is toasty with sweet berries, plum, and cedar. On the palate there is more sweet fruit. Nicely structured with good length on the finish.
Red
1997 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape
91 points
Medium garnet red. The nose is open and expressive giving hints of dark berries, dried cherries, herbs, and leather. Medium weight on the palate. Moderate acidity with a nice tannic structure. Drinking very well right now.
Flight 7 - Dessert (3 notes)
White - Sweet/Dessert
2002 Daniel Lenko Viognier Icewine
94 points
Really nice pungent tropical fruits, peach, nectarine, and flowers. This is bliss. Full body and nicely sweet. Honied and thick. Low acidity. Medium length finsh.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2004 Royal DeMaria Gewürztraminer Icewine
97 points
Let me just start of and say this wine was incredible. Thanks Mike for bringing it! A very inviting nose of lychee, asian pears, spices, honey, pineapple. The list could go on. Amazing complexity. On the palate it's even better. Great acidity that keeps the wine fresh and lively. Full body and beautifully balanced. That acidity is really nice, it keeps things focused and interesting. It was a real treat to taste this wine.
Red - Fortified
1980 Dow Porto Vintage
92 points
This was served blind. I guessed a Vintage Port from the late 80's or early 90's. I was not brave enough to venture a guess for the producer but now that I think of it, Dow was the natural choice. The color is a deep dark red, this is showing very young for a 27 year old Port. The nose was chocolate covered cherries, with some strong alcohol at the end. The palate is elegant and shows restrained sweetness. Not super sweet like Graham's. Firm tannins. Nice length on the finish. Give this one 5 more years and it will be singing.