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Champagne and claret

John's place, Croton

Tasted January 5, 2024 by salil with 98 views

Flight 1 (14 notes)

White - Sparkling
N.V. Jacques Selosse Initial France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
92 points
Didn't catch the disgorgement info on this, but it was delicious. Brightly fruited with a vivid mineral base beneath, and really lively acids underneath giving it a vibrant and energetic palate presence. Delicious and very easy to drink.
2 people found this helpful Comment
Red
2001 Château Trotanoy France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
91 points
Pretty wine with a core of very fresh red and black fruit, but surprisingly primary with very little apparent development beyond that herbaceous/savoury earthy character I find in younger Bordeaux. Nicely balanced, but I found myself drawn more to the complexity in the '93.
Red
1993 Château Trotanoy France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
92 points
Producer over vintage, producer over vintage, producer over vintage. As Barney Gumble said in one episode of the Simpsons, just hook it up to my veins. I could have drunk a lot of this (and preferred it to the '01 alongside). It's lightweight for Bordeaux, but holy crap the aromatics are an immediate wow. An array of fresh dark berried fruit with bright green forestal and herbal notes, leading into a palate that's quite gentle and barely even medium weight, but conveying impressive presence and depth. It falls away a touch at the finish, but the whole package is a lovely, fragrant, and immensely complex wine. Loved this.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Robert Barbichon Champagne Cuvée Réserve 4 Cépages France, Champagne
90 points
Fun wine, not a producer I'm familiar with but I should look out for more in the future. Love the clarity and brightness of the fruit here, and a nice yeasty/toasty overlay to the flavours.
Red
1989 Château La Dominique France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
94 points
Oh, this is the good stuff. Such a spectacular fragrance here - so complex and haunting that somehow it took my attention away from the '89 Magdelaine in the adjacent glass (yes, really). An array of bright spicy and herbal notes dominate and lead into a core of red and dark fruited flavours that are conveyed with remarkable intensity and brightness on a medium weight frame. Grainy tannin and bright acids add plenty of structure here; this has years to burn but it's absolutely delicious and irresistible now. Gorgeous wine.
Red
1989 Château Magdelaine France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
92 points
Always love this wine, although tonight my attention was pulled away by the '89 La Dominique in the same flight. Lovely complex red and dark fruited flavours with more savoury smoky, herbal, and wintergreen notes, very pretty and elegant. Lovely wine, but perhaps lost a bit in a lineup where there were several spectacular wines.
2 people found this helpful Comment
White - Sparkling
2007 Marie-Noëlle Ledru Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésimé France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
96 points
This has been one of my favorite Champagnes in the past, and this was my last bottle. Performed (as a number of last bottles do) at its peak, just utterly haunting with an intensely yeasty/buttery/toasty scent that's evocative of being in a bakery making all kinds of wonderful brioche and croissants. Beneath is a palate full of tart green apples, pears, and chalky mineral notes, and vibrant acids, with an impressively long finish. Stellar wine that was hard to move away from while it was on the table. Opened at the perfect time with ideal company, couldn't have asked for much more from this bottle.
Red
1989 Château La Conseillante France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
98 points
Out of words to describe this. It's close to the archetype of right bank Bordeaux that I could imagine; such elegance and brightness to the red and dark fruited flavours here and an array of herbal, smoky, sandalwood and other spicy notes, and more savoury tobacco and earthy flavours framing the fruit here. A silken, graceful texture, and a finish that just stays with you. Gorgeous wine, my WOTN in a lineup of many strong contenders.
2 people found this helpful Comment
Red
1989 Château Certan de May France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
91 points
Liked although didn't love this, a touch leathery and slightly bretty with a faint murkiness to the red fruited flavours that made it feel a bit muddled next to the '89 Conseillante poured alongside (alas, comparison, the thief of joy). Time helps bring it together as it clears up in the glass and gains focus; it's a pretty wine though never (for me) became an especially compelling or exciting one this evening.
Rosé - Sparkling
2006 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon France, Champagne
92 points
Pretty wine; lots of bright red fruit and faint herbal/yeasty/toasty notes over a chalky mineral base with a bright acidic spine. Very refreshing and easy to drink.
Red
1986 Château L'Arrosée France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
flawed
Alas, corked.
Red
1982 Château Magdelaine France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
93 points
Beautiful wine - I always love this; the balance of fruit, richness, and savoury/tertiary development here is always compelling and such a wonderful wine.
Red
1989 Château Trotanoy France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
flawed
Corked. BOO! NOT COOL!
Red
1985 Château Trotanoy France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
97 points
Well then. This is Burgundy, I swear it, but it also tastes/smells like archetypal Pomerol. Silken red and dark fruit, tobacco, sandalwood and other exotic spicy notes all converging into a seamless, medium weight whole - and there's such a sense of polish and finesse on the palate. The tannins seem fully resolved, this is drinking perfectly right now, and it's a wine I could have just kept sitting and smelling all night if I hadn't a train to catch after. Still, stunning.
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