Sharon Bowman
Sharon Bowman
Michel Abood has blown into Paris in a tempest of wine bottles, and festivities pursued their course with a dinner in honor of his birthday, chez Bowman, last night.
1996 Pierre Moncuit VV - Oh dear. I poured a little of this in my glass and smelled: deep, honeyed, nutty nose. On the palate, somewhat oxidized tasting. In the glass, the wine was dark yellow. With time it became a little more balanced, but I was shocked at how quickly this one had slipped away. I bought it a year and a few months ago, at which time it was heady stuff. Time to drink the rest. With people I don't like.
NV Ruinart Ros en magnum - The other side of the coin: this was big and young and tight. Deep pink color. There was a lot going on, raspberries and biscuits and bark. We came back to it at the end of the meal and it was even better, smoother and palate-pleasing.
1993 Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru "Champgains" - Eew. Michel is going to think I don't like him. This started out absolutely disgusting. Fat lemon dreck. In its favor, it was impossibly young-tasting; I would never have guessed it was 15 years old. Over time (we came back to it with the cheese course), it developed a spearmint thing that took over. It lost its angles and gained a more classic Cte d'Or nose, but, weird.
2000 Rousseau Ruchottes-Chambertin - no problem, here. Other than that everyone drank this down so quickly there was no time to linger with it. Lingering with it is what I would do, oh yes. This was pitch-perfect, with a soft Burgundy nose and earthy, cherry, ore, and other mixed fruit and natural phenomena going on.
1973 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon - there was no question of opening another Burgundy after that tour de force, so we switched entirely to faraway lands and times. The cork on this was intact and only stained maybe a third of the way up. In the glass, it was slightly cloudy with a very dark body. The nose was appealing. On the palate, it seemed younger than it was, good Cabernet of yore balance, yet with the sweet overtone that marks older wines. That sweetness became a little intrusive, and it wasn't really a wine I would enjoy more than a glass of. There remains one glass, and I'm curious to see how it will have evolved, this evening.
NV Didier Tripoz Crmant de Bourgogne - Michel had a dark bag with this dark horse in it. He made me swear up and down I would not peek, and he never believed me when I called Crmant de Bourgogne after we had all deliberated for some time. Michel, I did not peek. This wine was hard to pinpoint at first. It had a lot of body and a bitter cut at the end. It was clearly not a Champagne, but what could it be? Not Chenin, no, maybe a Crmant du Jura. We knew Michel had just been all over France, so that was no help. In the end, once revealed, it was easier to cozy up to it; it overperforms for Crmant, so context is important.
1996 Pierre Moncuit VV - Oh dear. I poured a little of this in my glass and smelled: deep, honeyed, nutty nose. On the palate, somewhat oxidized tasting. In the glass, the wine was dark yellow. With time it became a little more balanced, but I was shocked at how quickly this one had slipped away. I bought it a year and a few months ago, at which time it was heady stuff. Time to drink the rest. With people I don't like.
NV Ruinart Ros en magnum - The other side of the coin: this was big and young and tight. Deep pink color. There was a lot going on, raspberries and biscuits and bark. We came back to it at the end of the meal and it was even better, smoother and palate-pleasing.
1993 Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru "Champgains" - Eew. Michel is going to think I don't like him. This started out absolutely disgusting. Fat lemon dreck. In its favor, it was impossibly young-tasting; I would never have guessed it was 15 years old. Over time (we came back to it with the cheese course), it developed a spearmint thing that took over. It lost its angles and gained a more classic Cte d'Or nose, but, weird.
2000 Rousseau Ruchottes-Chambertin - no problem, here. Other than that everyone drank this down so quickly there was no time to linger with it. Lingering with it is what I would do, oh yes. This was pitch-perfect, with a soft Burgundy nose and earthy, cherry, ore, and other mixed fruit and natural phenomena going on.
1973 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon - there was no question of opening another Burgundy after that tour de force, so we switched entirely to faraway lands and times. The cork on this was intact and only stained maybe a third of the way up. In the glass, it was slightly cloudy with a very dark body. The nose was appealing. On the palate, it seemed younger than it was, good Cabernet of yore balance, yet with the sweet overtone that marks older wines. That sweetness became a little intrusive, and it wasn't really a wine I would enjoy more than a glass of. There remains one glass, and I'm curious to see how it will have evolved, this evening.
NV Didier Tripoz Crmant de Bourgogne - Michel had a dark bag with this dark horse in it. He made me swear up and down I would not peek, and he never believed me when I called Crmant de Bourgogne after we had all deliberated for some time. Michel, I did not peek. This wine was hard to pinpoint at first. It had a lot of body and a bitter cut at the end. It was clearly not a Champagne, but what could it be? Not Chenin, no, maybe a Crmant du Jura. We knew Michel had just been all over France, so that was no help. In the end, once revealed, it was easier to cozy up to it; it overperforms for Crmant, so context is important.