Funny you should mention Bob Spector. One of the earliest offlines I attended with Don was a Loire gathering and Bob Spector brought an '89 Huet Fin de Presse, which was my first taste of one of the estate's special cuvees from that remarkable year. That dinner also opened my eyes to the ageability of Chenin as a 53 Huet LM Moelleux and '67 Baumard QdC were also tasted and to that point they were the oldest Chenin I had tried. Don posted notes on that tasting here.
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Thunderbolt
- Thread starter Don Rice
- Start date
Funny you should mention Bob Spector. One of the earliest offlines I attended with Don was a Loire gathering and Bob Spector brought an '89 Huet Fin de Presse, which was my first taste of one of the estate's special cuvees from that remarkable year. That dinner also opened my eyes to the ageability of Chenin as a 53 Huet LM Moelleux and '67 Baumard QdC were also tasted and to that point they were the oldest Chenin I had tried. Don posted notes on that tasting here.
originally posted by Chris Coad:
You'll never get the full Huet experience from '98s and '99s, no matter how long you wait.
What about the 97s?
originally posted by Thor:
Huh?
originally posted by Marshall Manning:
originally posted by Don Rice:
At a reunion dinner of old Compuserve folks last night in NYC, this was a total, total surprise.
Don, who was there from the old CS wine board? I always wonder what happened to guys like Dave Sit and Bob Spector, guys who helped turn me on to interesting wines before the internet was invented by Al Gore.
Hey Marshall, long time... - I brought a 1990 Joguet Dioterie in honor of Bob S., He brought one to an NYC dinner in 94 or so. But I've lost touch with him
I see Dave Sit annually at get-togethers like this. He's in DC and still knows wine. This night we had Robb Gordon and Loren Grossman, along with competitive bridge-playing friends of Robb's.
pab should visit CRU when he next gets to NYC.originally posted by SFJoe:
It's funny to say it, but that's a great price for that wine on that list.
originally posted by SFJoe:
Don, any guesses at when this was released from the Domaine, and where it had been since?
it has Chadderdon US import labels...
Chris Coad
Chris Coad
originally posted by SFJoe:
It's funny to say it, but that's a great price for that wine on that list.
The prices do seem very 'reasonable,' whatever that means in this context. They have the '47 molleux 1ere trie for $780, while Astor is selling the regular molleux for $950.
Chris Coad
Chris Coad
originally posted by Don Rice:
originally posted by SFJoe:
Don, any guesses at when this was released from the Domaine, and where it had been since?
it has Chadderdon US import labels...
Any chance of a pic?
Just to help with my sense memory challenge, you understand....
Marshall Manning
Marshall Manning
originally posted by Brad Kane:
Don posted notes on that tasting here.
Really, I thought this site had only been open a month or so?
I know, it's a bad html tag, Brad.
Interesting that Bob Scherb was at that tasting, too. I'll have to ask him about it. He's the owner of Liner & Elsen (a Portland wine shop) now.
Chris Coad
Chris Coad
What about the 97s?
Hard to go wrong there.
And the "new" GH logo family stock label? Seems from their inventory that they must be getting these all from Chadderdon from the recent family releases. That's the best provenance you could ask for.originally posted by Don Rice:
originally posted by SFJoe:
Don, any guesses at when this was released from the Domaine, and where it had been since?
it has Chadderdon US import labels...
originally posted by Marshall Manning:
originally posted by Brad Kane:
Don posted notes on that tasting here.
Really, I thought this site had only been open a month or so?
I know, it's a bad html tag, Brad.
Interesting that Bob Scherb was at that tasting, too. I'll have to ask him about it. He's the owner of Liner & Elsen (a Portland wine shop) now.
Bob Scherb? No he wasn't at this reunion (or do you mean way back when?) . But pls say hello when you see him. He was a part of the NYC Compuserve gang in the mid 90s
- by "Bob S." I meant Bob Spector
originally posted by SFJoe:
And the "new" GH logo family stock label? Seems from their inventory that they must be getting these all from Chadderdon from the recent family releases. That's the best provenance you could ask for.originally posted by Don Rice:
originally posted by SFJoe:
Don, any guesses at when this was released from the Domaine, and where it had been since?
it has Chadderdon US import labels...
Yep that's the label. Will take a pic tonight.
I post an old writeup that is from the lost archives of another site:
It was a big birthday recently for Mark, and we went upstairs at Chez Panisse. A small table, just 5 of us. The vegetables, and particularly the salad greens at CP remain a reason to come to California often. Seeing my old friend Jim Churchills new Kishu tangerines mentioned by name on the dessert menu tickled me as I waited for the others to arrive. We warm up with a perfectly fine bottle of their house Fleury Champagne, but get serious fast with a rich, savory, exotic, lip-smacking bottle of 1989 Meo-Camuzet Cros Parantoux. Spectacular young wine. I dont need a hell of a lot more from Burgundy than this.
Regrettably, my 1954 Bosconia was corked, but Aldo Conternos 1989 Granbussia was as grand as it should be. Took a while in the decanter to get rolling, but it rocked when it did. Great balance of fruit and structure, plenty of young tannins, wonderful. Best Barolo of my recent life. Roasted pork leg and pork sausages were great with it.
But then it was time to open the 1921 Le Haut Lieu from Huet. Curiously, it seems that the Huet family didnt buy the vineyard until 1928, so this is old stock from a previous owner, now with the Huet family label. The vintage is the most famous of the century in the Loire, in many appellations ahead of 1947. Ive been hunting this wine for years, and finally found it in an auction direct from the estate at Christies in the spring of 2004 in London. The wine had a couple of weeks to rest in SF before dinner.
Green-tinged brown color, remarkably like a sweet old Madeira, as has been mentioned before about other old Vouvray. Clearly a botrytis vintage, darker than 1919 or 1924. Slightly hazy, and a fair bit of black sediment was present in flecks at the end of the bottle.
Botrytis still on nose, some va, and a glorious complex old Vouvray bouquet, powerful and fragrant. Thad notes lanolin, we all note stones and flowers and an aroma that fills the air. Not a delicate wine like the 24, 35, or 36, but more substantial.
In the mouth, the wine is quite sweet, but perhaps not so sweet as the great postwar vintages. Or maybe its just that there is still a vibrant backbone of acidity stiffening the sweetness. This is a potent package, not showing its years, not in decline. Decades of life ahead, as Mikey might say. The structure can make you neglect the considerable sweetness that remains, but this is not a syrupy wine. Ive never had the 21 Bredif, but it seems that that wine must be sweeter. The 21 Huet doesnt have the same flamboyance as a great bottle of 1947 LHL M, but it has a riveting clarity and great kaleidoscopic length that make it a different beast. It uncoils on your tongue endlessly, revealing different sides, sparkling from different facets.
We all sip this compulsively, the acid makes it endlessly refreshing. Peter Schleimer says that its so addictive that he could take small sips over a couple of hours and drink a bottle by himself. He sees my frown and laughs, but I say that this is the sort of bottle I could never open without company and an occasion. 1971 demisec, I mention, could be a secret vice for me. That wine I could suck down in solitude every night. But the 1921 demands company and an occasion and is unthinkable otherwise.
Jim Churchills Kishu tangerines were grand, with some not very sweet Barhi dates. Thanks to Mark and Molly for a great dinner.
It was a big birthday recently for Mark, and we went upstairs at Chez Panisse. A small table, just 5 of us. The vegetables, and particularly the salad greens at CP remain a reason to come to California often. Seeing my old friend Jim Churchills new Kishu tangerines mentioned by name on the dessert menu tickled me as I waited for the others to arrive. We warm up with a perfectly fine bottle of their house Fleury Champagne, but get serious fast with a rich, savory, exotic, lip-smacking bottle of 1989 Meo-Camuzet Cros Parantoux. Spectacular young wine. I dont need a hell of a lot more from Burgundy than this.
Regrettably, my 1954 Bosconia was corked, but Aldo Conternos 1989 Granbussia was as grand as it should be. Took a while in the decanter to get rolling, but it rocked when it did. Great balance of fruit and structure, plenty of young tannins, wonderful. Best Barolo of my recent life. Roasted pork leg and pork sausages were great with it.
But then it was time to open the 1921 Le Haut Lieu from Huet. Curiously, it seems that the Huet family didnt buy the vineyard until 1928, so this is old stock from a previous owner, now with the Huet family label. The vintage is the most famous of the century in the Loire, in many appellations ahead of 1947. Ive been hunting this wine for years, and finally found it in an auction direct from the estate at Christies in the spring of 2004 in London. The wine had a couple of weeks to rest in SF before dinner.
Green-tinged brown color, remarkably like a sweet old Madeira, as has been mentioned before about other old Vouvray. Clearly a botrytis vintage, darker than 1919 or 1924. Slightly hazy, and a fair bit of black sediment was present in flecks at the end of the bottle.
Botrytis still on nose, some va, and a glorious complex old Vouvray bouquet, powerful and fragrant. Thad notes lanolin, we all note stones and flowers and an aroma that fills the air. Not a delicate wine like the 24, 35, or 36, but more substantial.
In the mouth, the wine is quite sweet, but perhaps not so sweet as the great postwar vintages. Or maybe its just that there is still a vibrant backbone of acidity stiffening the sweetness. This is a potent package, not showing its years, not in decline. Decades of life ahead, as Mikey might say. The structure can make you neglect the considerable sweetness that remains, but this is not a syrupy wine. Ive never had the 21 Bredif, but it seems that that wine must be sweeter. The 21 Huet doesnt have the same flamboyance as a great bottle of 1947 LHL M, but it has a riveting clarity and great kaleidoscopic length that make it a different beast. It uncoils on your tongue endlessly, revealing different sides, sparkling from different facets.
We all sip this compulsively, the acid makes it endlessly refreshing. Peter Schleimer says that its so addictive that he could take small sips over a couple of hours and drink a bottle by himself. He sees my frown and laughs, but I say that this is the sort of bottle I could never open without company and an occasion. 1971 demisec, I mention, could be a secret vice for me. That wine I could suck down in solitude every night. But the 1921 demands company and an occasion and is unthinkable otherwise.
Jim Churchills Kishu tangerines were grand, with some not very sweet Barhi dates. Thanks to Mark and Molly for a great dinner.
Chris Coad
Chris Coad
originally posted by Thor:
Boy, it sure would be nice to have a preview function.
Wow, great idea!
originally posted by Thor:
Dan, the empty posts from me are usually closing the heading tag that's screwing up the font (apparently only for some of us). If the post is completely blank, that means the entirety of the post was an tag.
Boy, it sure would be nice to have a preview function.
Yeah, from Don's "Hey Marshall, long time..." post through Joe's post two above this one, the fonts are all screwed up.
Chris Coad
Chris Coad
Fonts look fine here. Safari 3.1.2.