Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
attendees: Don+Melissa, Eden+Scott, Jay, Jayson, Jeff, Lisa, Victor
It's getting themey in here.
Don and Jayson pour.
J1. Very open nose, smells just like... wine, white wine; Eden ventures "Sauvignon blanc?" (no), Jay tries "Riesling?" (no), I say "Gruner?" (no), Don asks first about "Anjou Noir?" (no) and then excitedly "Chablis?" (yes). This is really long and continues to open as it sits in the glass. Let's start on the vintage: I guess "2010s?" (yes), "2017?" (no, but a good guess given the vintage generalizations), "2014" (yes). We'd like to guess the vineyard or the maker next but there are quite a lot of both of them map (pdf). Jayson simplifies: "Is this village, premier cru, or grand cru?". We all agree that it is premier cru (yes).
The reveal... Billaud-Simon 2014 Chablis 1er "Montee de Tonnerre", 13%
Day 4: a little musty? very very minerally, I think the fruit has fallen out
J2. An even more forward nose! Intense. "Richer fruit in the nose" -Melissa. Richer on the palate, too, but "there is a lactic note" -Don. Agreed, way into the finish it does go milky tasting. Anyway, the wine is lusher, stronger, fruitier, while J1 is lighter and more elegant.
Of course we guess 2014 Chablis again (yes). I suggest "Grand Cru?" (no); OK, so a good premier cru. "Goes in a viognier direction" -Eden. "The finish is like liquefied pith" -Jayson.
The reveal... Dom. Samuel Billaud 2014 Chablis 1er "Montee de Tonnerre", 12.5%
Day 4: seashells, juicy, mid-palate of limestone and green grapes, medium body, long mineral-flecked finish
Both wines have notes of orange zest and licorice.
J3. Untasted, Jay guesses 2014 Chablis. A miracle! "There is a density and an airiness to the nose" -Jayson. Nice texture although "starting to nudge into the 'heavier wine' category". Notes of white pepper in among the more typical scents of seashell, orange and licorice. Another MdT?
The reveal... Dom. Louis Michel 2014 Chablis 1er "Montee de Tonnerre", 13%
Day 4: same nose as Day4:J2 but plus a little clementine (so, riper), palate is fruitier but simpler than Day4:J2, I'm not inclined to finish the pour
So far, Jay prefers both J1 and J2 over J3; Victor and Jayson prefer J1, while the rest of us prefer J2.
J4. Sulfur and limes; very juicy; "Linear" -Jayson; very prominent orange zest; Jay is kvelling as the wine shows somewhat similar to J1.
The reveal... Dom. Fevre 2014 Chablis 1er "Montee de Tonnerre", 12.5%, under DIAM-10
Day 4: nose is classic green and yellow fruits and limestone, acids are strong but integrated, not so minerally on the palate but definitely shows in the finish, worthwhile
In email, Jayson added: Day 2... Billaud-Simon, Louis Michel improved over night. Michel much better. Fevre about the same but maybe even modest improvement. Samuel Billaud about same but maybe modest decline.
Research: The famille Billaud story takes a little untangling. The original estate was created in 1815 and Samuel Billaud was the sixth generation to be the winemaker (starting in 1985). When his grandfather passed, Samuel and his uncle Bernard disagreed about the future of the domain: Samuel wanted to make wine, Bernard wanted to sell. They both got what they wanted: Samuel setup his own domaine in 2009 (or 2010 or 2011, nobody says it authoritatively) and Bernard sold to Faiveley in 2014. Faiveley bought 85% of the property and Samuel kept the rest in vineyards, including a prime chunk of MdT.
Research: And there's more: Bernard Billaud decamped in July 2014, leaving the estate in the hands of a Faiveley winemaker who had never made Chablis before (Olivier Bailly). He let the staff go through the motions while he watched. Meanwhile, Samuel has plots in two GC and four 1er vineyards, as well as many lesser holdings; and he buys grapes, too, as he has all the old family connections. When asked to pick just one of his wines to recommend, he chose MdT: "the most emblematic of the 1er Cru, giving truly impressive power and minerality."
sources: one, two
Research: Dom. Fevre used to be a poster child for premox so they were among the first Burgundy domaines to switch to DIAM corks. They started using DIAM-5s (or their early equivalents) in 2003, switched to DIAM-10s in 2010, and have been happy with them since. Due to the better and more predictable seal they have reduced sulfur use at bottling by 20%. ((NB. And that's all I'm going to say because talk about closures turns into arguments about closures very easily.))
sources: one, two
---
D1. This fragrant cup is Chinon, no doubt. The wine is open, red cherry nose but the palate is saline and licoricey. We guess Baudry pretty quick and then we run through all the vineyards (no, no, no...) until we finally guess that it's the Domaine! "The poster child for why you should buy this, too" -Jayson. Eden guess 2010 (yes) and our work is done here.
The reveal... Bernard Baudry 2010 Chinon "Domain", 13%
Day 4: thinning, souring, roses and tart raspberries, maybe a little shoe polish, starting to fall apart
D2. Also 2010 Baudry. Also beautiful. More redfruit, less dark flavors; also more minerally. Grezeaux.
The reveal... Bernard Baudry 2010 Chinon "Les Grezeaux", 13%
Day 4: beautiful nose, a little extra sweetness makes all the difference, raspberries and cranberries and good shoe leather, yum
D3. Gotta be the CB (yes). This one has a leathery note as it sees a little oak. "Tree bark and dark chocolate" -Jayson. This is drinking fine but it still has more coming. A substantial wine and it will need more years to show it.
The reveal... Bernard Baudry 2010 Chinon "La Croix Boissée", 13.5%
Day 4: air... darker-hued fruit flavors, so much lift and life here, soil tones (but not sure quite which), really perfect, gotta go get one of these from storage
D4. "Spicy" -Melissa. Much more fruit. Much more in your face. Takes us a couple tries to keep the vineyard and change the vintage to something hotter.
The reveal... Bernard Baudry 2009 Chinon "La Croix Boissée", 13.5%
Day 4: very similar to Day 4:D3 but more fruit and less obvious soil tones, whiff of orange and lemon oils, plenty rich for table use, not a bruiser but can go a few falls with you
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J5. "That's old" -Eden. "Has a balsamic quality" -Eden. Jay investigates... Bordeaux (yes), previous to 1990 (yes), previous to 1980 (no), given the tannins he next tries 83/86/88 (yes). Don says 83 (yes). Victor says Left Bank (yes). Jayson says it is St-Julien even though it doesn't really taste like it. "This is less spicy than many 83s" -Victor. "It is a mellow bottle" -Jayson. "Smoky tea" -Melissa.
The reveal... Ch. Gruaud-Larose 1983 St-Julien, 12%
Day 2: Jayson... Gruaud was better first night: I saved a half of the little bottle but it probably a mistake.
Day 4: this is wow cabernet! clean linen napkins, black raspberries, hints of lemon pith and resin and licorice, very pretty
D5. Dark gold, nose of caramel, "it's chenin" -Jayson, a little taste of sultanas. Guesses tumble on... not Bonnezeaux, not Quarts de Chaume, not Foreau, not Pinon, so it darn well better be Huet (yes). Moelleux, that's pretty clear. Don says it is 1er trie. "Well, it's not Debut Pressee" (um, er, yes it is).
The reveal... Domaine Huet 1989 Vouvray Moelleux "Le Mont" "1er Trie" "Début de Pressée", typically this is a light and elegant wine but this particular bottle is big and chunky
Day 4: seriously dark (think maple syrup), very rich, very sweet (duh!), toasted grapes(!), brown sugar (not a good sign to me), has that velvety mouthfeel that comes in Vouvray, a 'bread and apricots' elixir
Wonderful tasting. Thank you to both our munificent providers!
It's getting themey in here.
Don and Jayson pour.
J1. Very open nose, smells just like... wine, white wine; Eden ventures "Sauvignon blanc?" (no), Jay tries "Riesling?" (no), I say "Gruner?" (no), Don asks first about "Anjou Noir?" (no) and then excitedly "Chablis?" (yes). This is really long and continues to open as it sits in the glass. Let's start on the vintage: I guess "2010s?" (yes), "2017?" (no, but a good guess given the vintage generalizations), "2014" (yes). We'd like to guess the vineyard or the maker next but there are quite a lot of both of them map (pdf). Jayson simplifies: "Is this village, premier cru, or grand cru?". We all agree that it is premier cru (yes).
The reveal... Billaud-Simon 2014 Chablis 1er "Montee de Tonnerre", 13%
Day 4: a little musty? very very minerally, I think the fruit has fallen out
J2. An even more forward nose! Intense. "Richer fruit in the nose" -Melissa. Richer on the palate, too, but "there is a lactic note" -Don. Agreed, way into the finish it does go milky tasting. Anyway, the wine is lusher, stronger, fruitier, while J1 is lighter and more elegant.
Of course we guess 2014 Chablis again (yes). I suggest "Grand Cru?" (no); OK, so a good premier cru. "Goes in a viognier direction" -Eden. "The finish is like liquefied pith" -Jayson.
The reveal... Dom. Samuel Billaud 2014 Chablis 1er "Montee de Tonnerre", 12.5%
Day 4: seashells, juicy, mid-palate of limestone and green grapes, medium body, long mineral-flecked finish
Both wines have notes of orange zest and licorice.
J3. Untasted, Jay guesses 2014 Chablis. A miracle! "There is a density and an airiness to the nose" -Jayson. Nice texture although "starting to nudge into the 'heavier wine' category". Notes of white pepper in among the more typical scents of seashell, orange and licorice. Another MdT?
The reveal... Dom. Louis Michel 2014 Chablis 1er "Montee de Tonnerre", 13%
Day 4: same nose as Day4:J2 but plus a little clementine (so, riper), palate is fruitier but simpler than Day4:J2, I'm not inclined to finish the pour
So far, Jay prefers both J1 and J2 over J3; Victor and Jayson prefer J1, while the rest of us prefer J2.
J4. Sulfur and limes; very juicy; "Linear" -Jayson; very prominent orange zest; Jay is kvelling as the wine shows somewhat similar to J1.
The reveal... Dom. Fevre 2014 Chablis 1er "Montee de Tonnerre", 12.5%, under DIAM-10
Day 4: nose is classic green and yellow fruits and limestone, acids are strong but integrated, not so minerally on the palate but definitely shows in the finish, worthwhile
In email, Jayson added: Day 2... Billaud-Simon, Louis Michel improved over night. Michel much better. Fevre about the same but maybe even modest improvement. Samuel Billaud about same but maybe modest decline.
Research: The famille Billaud story takes a little untangling. The original estate was created in 1815 and Samuel Billaud was the sixth generation to be the winemaker (starting in 1985). When his grandfather passed, Samuel and his uncle Bernard disagreed about the future of the domain: Samuel wanted to make wine, Bernard wanted to sell. They both got what they wanted: Samuel setup his own domaine in 2009 (or 2010 or 2011, nobody says it authoritatively) and Bernard sold to Faiveley in 2014. Faiveley bought 85% of the property and Samuel kept the rest in vineyards, including a prime chunk of MdT.
Research: And there's more: Bernard Billaud decamped in July 2014, leaving the estate in the hands of a Faiveley winemaker who had never made Chablis before (Olivier Bailly). He let the staff go through the motions while he watched. Meanwhile, Samuel has plots in two GC and four 1er vineyards, as well as many lesser holdings; and he buys grapes, too, as he has all the old family connections. When asked to pick just one of his wines to recommend, he chose MdT: "the most emblematic of the 1er Cru, giving truly impressive power and minerality."
sources: one, two
Research: Dom. Fevre used to be a poster child for premox so they were among the first Burgundy domaines to switch to DIAM corks. They started using DIAM-5s (or their early equivalents) in 2003, switched to DIAM-10s in 2010, and have been happy with them since. Due to the better and more predictable seal they have reduced sulfur use at bottling by 20%. ((NB. And that's all I'm going to say because talk about closures turns into arguments about closures very easily.))
sources: one, two
---
D1. This fragrant cup is Chinon, no doubt. The wine is open, red cherry nose but the palate is saline and licoricey. We guess Baudry pretty quick and then we run through all the vineyards (no, no, no...) until we finally guess that it's the Domaine! "The poster child for why you should buy this, too" -Jayson. Eden guess 2010 (yes) and our work is done here.
The reveal... Bernard Baudry 2010 Chinon "Domain", 13%
Day 4: thinning, souring, roses and tart raspberries, maybe a little shoe polish, starting to fall apart
D2. Also 2010 Baudry. Also beautiful. More redfruit, less dark flavors; also more minerally. Grezeaux.
The reveal... Bernard Baudry 2010 Chinon "Les Grezeaux", 13%
Day 4: beautiful nose, a little extra sweetness makes all the difference, raspberries and cranberries and good shoe leather, yum
D3. Gotta be the CB (yes). This one has a leathery note as it sees a little oak. "Tree bark and dark chocolate" -Jayson. This is drinking fine but it still has more coming. A substantial wine and it will need more years to show it.
The reveal... Bernard Baudry 2010 Chinon "La Croix Boissée", 13.5%
Day 4: air... darker-hued fruit flavors, so much lift and life here, soil tones (but not sure quite which), really perfect, gotta go get one of these from storage
D4. "Spicy" -Melissa. Much more fruit. Much more in your face. Takes us a couple tries to keep the vineyard and change the vintage to something hotter.
The reveal... Bernard Baudry 2009 Chinon "La Croix Boissée", 13.5%
Day 4: very similar to Day 4:D3 but more fruit and less obvious soil tones, whiff of orange and lemon oils, plenty rich for table use, not a bruiser but can go a few falls with you
---
J5. "That's old" -Eden. "Has a balsamic quality" -Eden. Jay investigates... Bordeaux (yes), previous to 1990 (yes), previous to 1980 (no), given the tannins he next tries 83/86/88 (yes). Don says 83 (yes). Victor says Left Bank (yes). Jayson says it is St-Julien even though it doesn't really taste like it. "This is less spicy than many 83s" -Victor. "It is a mellow bottle" -Jayson. "Smoky tea" -Melissa.
The reveal... Ch. Gruaud-Larose 1983 St-Julien, 12%
Day 2: Jayson... Gruaud was better first night: I saved a half of the little bottle but it probably a mistake.
Day 4: this is wow cabernet! clean linen napkins, black raspberries, hints of lemon pith and resin and licorice, very pretty
D5. Dark gold, nose of caramel, "it's chenin" -Jayson, a little taste of sultanas. Guesses tumble on... not Bonnezeaux, not Quarts de Chaume, not Foreau, not Pinon, so it darn well better be Huet (yes). Moelleux, that's pretty clear. Don says it is 1er trie. "Well, it's not Debut Pressee" (um, er, yes it is).
The reveal... Domaine Huet 1989 Vouvray Moelleux "Le Mont" "1er Trie" "Début de Pressée", typically this is a light and elegant wine but this particular bottle is big and chunky
Day 4: seriously dark (think maple syrup), very rich, very sweet (duh!), toasted grapes(!), brown sugar (not a good sign to me), has that velvety mouthfeel that comes in Vouvray, a 'bread and apricots' elixir
Wonderful tasting. Thank you to both our munificent providers!
