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La Tablee: Grand Tasting
26 Bridge Street, Brooklyn
Tasted February 2, 2019 by MC2 Wines with 274 views
Introduction
Unfortunately we weren't able to do the full tasting since we'd gotten Hamilton tickets on release many months before, but we did opt to drop by for a bit and try some. Meant we focused mostly on the North.
Flight 1 - Yves Gangloff (3 notes)
Clearly a great producer. Enjoyed all of his wines from this weekend. He is one of the few who still believes in the idea of blending across vineyards. Great story. One of the pioneers in the region.
White
2016 Mathilde et Yves Gangloff Condrieu
Really much fresher than I typically think of for a Viognier. Very different style than the Guigals we had the night before. Lots of good acidity. Lots of lime. Very nice.
Red
2016 Mathilde et Yves Gangloff Côte-Rôtie La Serene Noire
Made from a blend of the old vineyards. Really great dark fruits. More of the granite style. It's another level of depth from the younger vines. Still very pretty. Nice acid. Very tasty.
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Red
2010 Mathilde et Yves Gangloff Côte-Rôtie La Serene Noire
From a magnum (didn't even realize you could find magnums from this producer). It's wonderful to see what even a few years in a bottle can do for these wines. This is just excellent. So fresh and clear and darker fruit and gravel and tannin that is just at the right level to add structure. Of course still young, but just lovely.
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Flight 2 - Yves Cuilleron (4 notes)
Nice wines. One of the few St Josephs that we've had for this weekend.
White
2016 Domaine Yves Cuilleron Condrieu Les Chaillets
A different version of Condrieu than some of the others. This is the lightest one that we've tried. It's very light and refreshing and pretty. Delicate. A wine made for a hot summer's day. Bit of lime and tartness.
Red
2016 Domaine Yves Cuilleron Côte-Rôtie Lieu-dit Bonnivieres
Quite enjoyable. Lots of dark raspberries. Bit of tart. A pretty style with a nice freshness to it. Tasty.
Red
2016 Domaine Yves Cuilleron St. Joseph Les Serines
More fruit driven wine than the Cote Rotie although I don't think it was overdone. There's a certain tartness to the wine which keeps it more restrained. Nice.
Red
2007 Domaine Yves Cuilleron St. Joseph Les Serines
Really do appreciate seeing these wines with a few more years of age. Fruit still very much there, but also getting some more secondary notes starting to poke through. Very pretty. Seems to be settled in a bit more. Enjoyed.
Flight 3 - Stephane Ogier (4 notes)
Great to get to try some more of these wines. The Lancement that we tried the day before was pretty special. A producer that I plan to more actively seek out.
Red
2016 Stéphane Ogier L'Âme Sœur Syrah de Seyssuel
More iron than there were on some of the Cuilleron wines we had right before. Lots of red fruits. Bit less acidity than some of the others, but still seems to work.
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Red
2016 Stéphane Ogier Côte-Rôtie La Viallière
Very nice. Very dark and brooding. It's more intense. More brine. More structure. Very young. This is a wine that could use some time.
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Red
2016 Stéphane Ogier Côte-Rôtie Reserve
This is more on the fruity side (compared to the La Vialliere). More red. A bit more tannins. Very tasty.
Red
2007 Michel & Stéphane Ogier Côte-Rôtie
Interesting as the '16 of this seemed to be all red fruits and red flowers and this was much darker in nature. A bit more broody. More granite. Very tasty. Like the way the extra time helps.
Flight 4 - Rene Rostaing (4 notes)
A favorite of ours since we visited a few years ago. These wines are just always great.
Red
2016 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Cuvée Classique Ampodium
Similar to the 14 we had the day before I get a bunch of that exotic spice style. Great red fruits. Very tasty.
Red
2016 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Côte Blonde
Very nice wine. It's a great blend between the fruit and the more gravel notes. Way too young, but it's got a nice structure. Would love to revisit in 15 or so years.
Red
2016 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie La Landonne
One of my favorites of this tasting although I'd say it's more from a potential perspective than a wine ready to drink right now. Beautiful wine. Lots of dark berries. Some gravel notes. Some floral. So well balanced and with a lovely freshness as well. Really delicious.
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Red
2003 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Cuvée Classique
Age just really helps the wines. Reminds me a bit of blueberry pie. Some gravel still. Very balanced and tasty. Still on the younger side. Has life left. Enjoyed.
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Flight 5 - Nicolas Champangneux (3 notes)
New producer (first vintage 2014). Started at Delas Freres and then got some of his own vineyards. Some great first wines although seem to be very difficult to find in the US.
Red
2016 Nicolas Champagneux Côte-Rôtie La Dédicace
Nice wine from a fairly new producer (first vintage was 2014). Bought vineyards with vines already planted. This again has that more iron/blood notes along with the fruit. Drinking well.
Red
2016 Nicolas Champagneux Côte-Rôtie Les Grandes Places
Again a nice wine from a very new producer. Very similar to the La Dedicace from the same year. Again that yummy fruit and more blood/iron style.
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Red
2015 Nicolas Champagneux Côte-Rôtie Les Grandes Places
Bigger and bolder in style. Interesting to try this after the 2016 (as it's a newer producer this was the 'back vintage'). Again lots of dark fruit. Get some more gravel notes here in addition to the fruit and blood. Nice wine that I'll keep an eye out for (doesn't seem to be very available in US yet).
Flight 6 - Maison Clusel-Roch (4 notes)
One of my favorites across the board. Has that precise style of wine making which I really appreciate. Very tasty.
Red
2016 Clusel-Roch Côte-Rôtie Les Schistes
Really love the wines from this producer. There's this crispness and precision to them that I find compelling. Very much true in this one and really nice given the price point. Lots of darker fruits. Some background of gravel notes. Enjoyable.
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Red
2016 Clusel-Roch Côte-Rôtie La Viallière
Here again this is very clear and very much just pretty. Some dark red berries. Ripe, but not in an overdone way. A bit of tartness. Just a lovely wine. Very enjoyable.
Red
2016 Clusel-Roch Côte-Rôtie Les Grandes Places
Very young and tight, but there's an underlying core. Tannins are very gripper and maybe a bit dusty. Darker style of wine. Needs a lot of time. Could be really amazing.
Red
2005 Clusel-Roch Côte-Rôtie
Great again to get some age. Lots of darker fruits, more herbal notes. Some of those exotic spices again. Very pretty wine. Amazing for the price.
Flight 7 - Jean-Baptiste Souillard (4 notes)
Another new producer. Grew up in St Joseph and sources grapes from around the area. Lots
White
2016 Jean-Baptiste Souillard Crozes-Hermitage Le Tout
100% Marsanne from an older vineyard. Honey and apricots and maybe some white flowers. Very pretty.
Red
2016 Jean-Baptiste Souillard St. Joseph Janoune
More fruity in style. Very ripe. Surprising how low the alcohol is given the taste profile. Still quite lovely though.
Red
2016 Jean-Baptiste Souillard Cornas Les Côtes
One of the few Cornas that we had during this weekend which is a bit unfortunate since it's an area I really like. Again, lots of black fruits. More fresh. 100% whole cluster. Bit of floral. I think it was drinking well, but could have used more time.
Red
2014 Jean-Baptiste Souillard Côte-Rôtie Côteaux de Bassenon
Didn't take as detailed notes on this wine for some reason. I remember thinking it was very nice Cote Rotie. One of my favorites of the line-up (along with the Cornas).
Flight 8 - Le Grand Rhone Nord (2 notes)
Table which was devoted to some very small producers who weren't able to attend themselves. Tried a few of the less known ones.
Red
2013 La Grande Colline Le Canon Rouge
From declassified vineyards and 100% natural winemaking. Which means this starts with a lot of effervesence. Lots of red fruits and tea leaves and a bit more herbal. Very different style of wine.
Red
2016 Domaine Romaneaux-Destezet (Hervé Souhaut) Syrah
Also an all natural producer although this one was more in a typical winemaking. It's very light and fresh and easy Syrah. A bit refined. Interesting.
Flight 9 - Georges Vernay (4 notes)
I can see why people talk so much about the Condrieu. The Coteau du Vernon was just stunning.
White
2016 Domaine Georges Vernay Condrieu Les Chaillées de l'Enfer
Interesting what you can do with a Viognier. This is more body but with a lot of acid as well. Lots of floral and honey and generally nice although overshadowed by the Coteau de Vernon served right after.
White
2016 Domaine Georges Vernay Condrieu Coteau de Vernon
Oh wow. This is something. It's amazing how they get this depth of flavor to the wine and yet it's so elegant and light on it's feet. Very pretty. Tons of flavor. Best viognier I've ever had.
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Red
2016 Domaine Georges Vernay Côte-Rôtie Blonde du Seigneur
Nice and pretty wine. Darker fruits. This was the last table we hit and I was rushing a bit as we had to leave soon so didn't get to think quite as much about it. But still good.
Red
2010 Domaine Georges Vernay Côte-Rôtie Maison Rouge
The last wine that I got to have at the tasting and we were rushing so again no detailed notes on it. I liked it. Appreciated what a few extra years can do in terms of making the wine feel a bit more balanced and together. Still a young wine. Something to keep an eye out for.
Closing
Completely loved the Clusel-Roch's and their precision. There was a Condrieu from Georges Vernay that took those to the next level. And I was quite taken with the 2016 Rostaing La Landonne. But really lots of wonderful wines. Also interesting to see how many new places are popping up with first vintages in the last few years. Glad to see the region doing so well. Wish that we had gotten to try a few more places, but still quite enjoyable for the time we had.