Important Update From the Founder
Read message >
La Tablee: Julien Cecillon Dinner with Julien Cecillon
Gus's Chophouse
Tasted November 17, 2022 by MC2 Wines with 62 views
Introduction
The same evening as the Gentaz dinner but this was a bit more approachable and we've been lucky enough to have the unicorn wine before. I thought it would be fun to try a producer we've not had or even heard of. Recommendation from Matt Conway of the Tippling House in Charleston and given how much I like his list down there made sense to try.
Flight 1 - RECEPTION (1 note)
White - Sparkling
N.V. Philipponnat Champagne Royale Réserve Brut
Again the starter wine for all of the dinners of this week and a nice starter wine it is. Drinks very well and good QPR.
Flight 2 - FIRST COURSE (2 notes)
Panisse, Kohlrabi, Fermented Pepper
(surprisingly this did work alright with the wines)
White
2020 Julien Cecillon Viognier Invictus
Green apple, very fresh, very pretty. This is a style of Viognier that I quite like. It perhaps has a bit less of the honey notes but there's a lovely brightness to the wine.
White
2020 Julien Cecillon St. Péray Gemini
Different take on Marsanne/Roussanne than I am used to. I almost get some vanilla notes in this. A nice style of drinking though with a good balance between having that rhone body but keeping the right acid to keep it balanced.
Flight 3 - SECOND COURSE (3 notes)
Chicken Liver, Sourdough
Red
2020 Julien Cecillon St. Joseph Babylone
A wine that wants to be served with food and in fact tastes better and reacts better to it. Very young and fresh and a bit more primary in style. Easy to drink. With time it opened up a bit more. Still quite young.
1 person found this helpful
Comments (2)
Red
2019 Julien Cecillon St. Joseph Babylone
My favorite of the first flight. Throughout the dinner could tell that Julien's wines were really coming together and that the more recent vintages were quite good. This was in that category. Darker fruits, good acid, a bit more floral. Drinks very well if too young now.
Red
2013 Julien Cecillon St. Joseph Babylone
The thing I appreciated the most about some of the younger Julien wines was the precision in them. A clear acid backbone that stands up the wine. This didn't quite have that same style. More barnyard and a bit darker and almost brooding in nature. Less fruit here. Still a nice wine but I like the evolution that the wines have taken. First vintage.
1 person found this helpful
Comment
Flight 4 - THIRD COURSE (4 notes)
Lamb Loin Chop, Sides for the Table
Red
2020 Julien Cecillon Crozes-Hermitage Les Marguerites
This one jumped out a bit to me. It's just a pretty style of wine. Very precise and structured. Young but you can really see the promise of the wine.
Red
2018 Julien Cecillon Crozes-Hermitage Les Marguerites
Again - really pretty in style. More floral. Darker fruits. Young but with a lot of promise and likely to get better and better.
Red
2014 Julien Cecillon Crozes-Hermitage Les Marguerites
Perhaps not quite as obviously fresh and precise as the younger vintages but you can see the evolution heading that way even in this second vintage. There's a sense of the prettiness that the others have. Good dark fruits. Good structure. Still youngish but nice.
Red
2013 Julien Cecillon Crozes-Hermitage Les Marguerites
Again interesting to see the evolution in style. For a first vintage this wine drinks well and I feel very comfortable saying mine wouldn't be nearly this good but I do think that with time Julien got even better at crafting the wine and so this doesn't show quite as well as the others in the flight. A bit less clean. But still interesting. Perhaps a touch of brett.
Flight 5 - FOURTH COURSE (2 notes)
Cheese Plate
Red
2019 Julien Cecillon Cornas Saint Pierre
Well structured with black fruits. Perhaps it's the lack of whole cluster that has me finding myself drawn back to the Marguerite? This is maybe even a bit more powerful than the other cuvees. Stronger tannins.
Red
2018 Julien Cecillon Cornas Saint Pierre
Good with again a well structured style to it. There's a backbone to this wine. Very young. Needs more time almost to penetrate.
Flight 6 - DESSERT (0 notes)
Chocolate Cake, Creme Fraiche, Hazelnuts
Closing
Definitely some good talent here with wines that I think got better and more precise over the years. I surprised myself by being really taken by the Crozes-Hermitage Les Maguerites. I would have guessed I'd be all about the Cornas but while that was good there was an extra elegance to the Crozes that stood out for me.