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Commanderie des Costes du Rhone - Fall 2022 Intronization
Aquavit
Tasted December 7, 2022 by MC2 Wines with 144 views
Introduction
Many congratulations to our 7 new members and our 'promoted' member! This was a small but lively gathering of the group. I always love the format. BYO. Lots of small pours of lots of different wines. Unfortunately not really enough to sit and contemplate (except for the 2014 Allemand Chaillot which I was a huge fan of and so I went back to revisit at the end of the evening).
Flight 1 (24 notes)
FIRST
King Crab Salad
kohlrabi, meyer lemon, fennel
SECOND
Duck
beet, black garlic, shallot
THIRD
NY Strip Loin
truffle pommes puree, cremini mushroom, red wine jus
FOURTH
Three Local Cheeses
White
2019 Clusel-Roch Condrieu Verchery
Basic and easy wine. Actually a bit surprised on the price tag for it. This is bigger in style, rounder, less acid. Drinks well and I suspect would have paired well with the crab but alas my glass was finished before that.
Red
2000 M. Chapoutier Ermitage l'Ermite
Yum yum yum. I'm not really an Hermitage person and not as devout to Chapoutier as many Rhone folks are and yet I just love these L'Ermites. It's got some great freshness and a bit of game and yet more in a refined manner. Very pretty in style. Drinking nicely now but with many years left.
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Red
2014 Thierry Allemand Cornas Chaillot
Truly beautiful, classic, a bit of the iron ore, some mineral. A bit gamey. It's really just the structure and elegance of the wine that makes it special. From a magnum. I went back for seconds.
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Red
1998 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape
From a jero so it was definitely tasting on the young side. Bits of fruit and game and generally nice and fresh.
White
2001 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc
We have the Vielle Vignes from this year and I've been wondering when it will come out of the dumb phase and I think that we're past it now. This was young, sweet, honey, fresh, a hint of oxidation. Not really the best vintage I don't think for the whites but definitely coming around.
Red
1996 Jean-Michel Gerin Côte-Rôtie Les Grandes Places
Very subtle in style which I appreciated. Well integrated. More spice notes. Bit of iron. Drinking quite nicely.
White
2017 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc La Crau
Served this very chilled which definitely helped to give the impression of acidity (not sure it has much in general). The chill though made the wine a bit more muted and quiet. Get a touch of honey.
Red
2012 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie
A totally rocking bottle of wine. Just classic Jamet. All spice and game and a bit almost bloody. The specialness was less the flavors but just how overall vibrant the wine was. Nose jumped out of the glass right away and the structure just kindof gripped you. Really lovely.
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Red
1990 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle
A wine that I've never quite gotten the hype on. It is definitely good. Tonight drinking with a hint of a green note which added a bit of balance and I actually quite enjoyed.
Red
2012 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas
Spice and fruit and an overall solid wine that somehow seems to be missing a bit of the verve and precision.
Red
1995 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne
Drinking very nicely. Very almost pretty in style. It's got a great structure, quite open, lots of spice and dark fruits. Tasty.
Red
2007 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de mon Aïeul
Somehow our table had a lot of Southern Rhone which is unusual for the society (even though Northern Rhone is only 5% of the total wine production). When people talk about the impact of Robert Parker on the Southern Rhone they are I think perfect describing this wine. My first word was whoa. Lots of fruit, lots of alcohol. Just lots. Actually with time in the glass it starts to calm down a bit more. The alcohol blows off. Then it's all blackberry and brambles. Bigger for sure, but with time I liked it more.
Red
1998 Domaine Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape
More fruity and a bit floral. My initial impression was a bit offputting coming on the heels of the northern Rhone but as I went back to it I found it a lot more interesting. More restrained in style than the other CdPs. You can get the age on it. It's probably just about in the right window.
Red
2007 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Both from a magnum and a 750. More fruit. Bigger and a bit intense. There is definite quality here, but 2007 is a really hard year for me.
Red
1995 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline
Some elegance. Darker red fruits. Well structured. Very classic. Pour towards the end of the bottle so it was almost a touch chunky but it was still tasty.
Red
1989 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Marie Beurrier
Very lovely wine. Probably the best CdP that I had at the dinner (there was a 90 Rayas but I didn't get to try that one). This is firm red fruits and spices and a kindof classiness to it that is just great.
Red
2004 Robert Michel Cornas La Geynale
Double Cornas and I'm a huge fan. A bit youngish but there's a lot of character to the wine. Jumps out at you. I expect it will last for many more years and just get better.
Red
2006 Thierry Allemand Cornas Reynard
My WOTN although it was a close one with the 1979 Landonne. This was just rocking though. We were recently in Piedmonte and there was a regular saying of Woooow.... that fits for this wine. Herbal and spicy and well structured and just singing.
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Red
1999 Michel & Stéphane Ogier Côte-Rôtie Cuvée la Belle Hélène
Coming on the heels of allemand which is all traditional and sleek this was a bit jarring. Oak clearly prevalent here. It takes a bit to get to the fruit. More time to integrate. Interesting because the last time I had this I had thought it was further in its evolution.
Red
2009 Michel & Stéphane Ogier Côte-Rôtie
Again a bit more intense and can definitely see the producer style with more new oak treatment. Give it more time. Will grow into something I think.
Red
1979 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne
Definite contender for WOTN. When you try these with this much age you realize that we really need to keep our hands off of even the 90s. They just get so much better. Fruit still firmly there but also have the more secondary notes and just so very pretty.
Red
Red
2009 Chêne Bleu Abelard
A completely new wine and producer for me which was really fun to try. No detailed notes - it was the end of the evening. Still, I remember thinking I quite liked the wine. More traditional style. Enjoyable.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Georges Laval Champagne Premier Cru Brut Nature Cumières
Always a treat to end an evening like this with bubbles. Many thanks to Paul for making it happen. This was great. Just fresh and bright and easy to drink and really welcome after a lot of big red Rhones!
Closing
WOTN was the 2006 Allemand Reynaud although 1979 Landonne was a strong contender and the 95 LaLa horizontal was a real treat. I really loved the L'Ermite that I brought - glad that we still have a number left from that purchase. It is possibly my exception to my less keen on hermitage rule and certainly my favorite of the Chapoutier wines. The Charvin was interesting - on the heels of the Northern Rhone it was jarring, but can certainly see the finesse compared to some other CdPs.