Community Tasting Note

Rossodio wrote:

Saturday, August 1, 2009 - This bottle was flown to Connecticut for my brother's wedding. It was shared with the groom, the other groomsmen, our father, and the father of the bride, the night before the ceremony. There was some question of provenance with this particular bottle, as I purchased it at auction at home in New Orleans. The cellar which donated the bottle for auction was a local hotel, and it was likely that the bottle suffered through Hurricane Katrina; the label was scuffed badly and potentially water-damaged. Nonetheless, as it was mislabeled in the auction guide as a non-vintage Ruinart BdB, and was one of the last lots, many folks were uninterested, tipsy, empty-walleted, and not paying attention. I picked the bottle up at a ludicrously low price.

My fears about the storage conditions of the wine were allayed as I removed the firmly-planted cork. A strong hiss came forth as the cork was dislodged intact and with no signs of seepage. Immediately, medium-sized bubbles rose lazily to form a beautiful mousse, seemingly ignorant of their voyage through arguably the worst natural disaster in American history, with hundreds dying in inhumane conditions within less than 5 miles of the bottle's cellar. The bottle itself likely went through weeks without power in a flooded cellar during a scorching summer, but one would never know this as the bubbles ascended to the tops of the cups and glasses as I poured, bursting into beautiful aromatics delightfully. I reflected briefly on the voyage this wine has had as others in the room immediately commented on the beautiful aromas that permated the room. The nose carried with it honey, buttered toast, white flowers, and butterscotch atop a firm foundation of crisp chalkiness, rounded citrus acidity, and a bit of minerality. The palate presented this flavor profile methodically, stepwise, and smoothly, with the full range of the palate expressing itself over the course of many seconds in the mouth. The sweeter flavors were bracketed with well-balanced light chalkiness as the fizz presented beautiful miniature breaks from what the juice itself offered to the palate. The finish showed each of the flavors gracefully bowing out over 45, 60 seconds, or maybe more. All in all, the experience was enjoyed by everyone involved, and this wine certainly did its label justice.

I don't know that this wine will evolve much in the next few years, and the richer parts of the flavor profile struck me as possibly being at the tail end of their peak; I wouldn't keep this wine for 10 more years, but it certainly has a few more good years left if you have a few bottles. It is drinking very well at this moment, however, so if you have a bottle, by all means, pop the cork and enjoy it!

A great bottle enjoyed with great company.

Post a Comment / View Rossodio's profile
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue (4,466 views)