A few wines of late

G

Gregg G

Gregg Greenbaum
For dinner with friends at the Hollywood Bowl for the season finale, "A Night at the Moulin Rouge". We drank plenty more during the show but no noteable wines.

2005 Arcadian Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow
Wow is this good. Drinking like 1er Cru Puligny. Aromas are generous and intoxicating. The flavors are sharp and focused and pure. I love the spine of acidity that carries the flavor profile through. The mid palate is full and long with great length on the finish leaving lingering flavors. The wood is really unobtrusive here at least to my palate, with perhaps a touch of creaminess as it's influence. So happy to have a few more and thank you Joe D for a great wine and to Greg K for the amazing bargain.

2000 Chateau Yon-Figeac
My last bottle of this and may have showed a touch less pleasurable than a year ago. The aromas a bit muted and shy. The flavors seem more restrained, earthy and delicate. There is complexity, yet it's more along the lines of damp earth, tobacco, savory herbs and tea like. Another wine that requires food to turn up the pleasure factor. The finish is of medium length and a touch drying. I liiked it but did not love it.

The other night at Palate. The food was really good. Green salad with red onions, watermelon, cucumbers and riccota salata. Grilled octopus salad. Fish cakes. Gnocchi with corn, parmesano reggiano, chantrells and cepes.

2005 Domaine Daniel Dampt Chablis Côte de Léchet
This wine has definitely benefited from cellaring. This has a lot more complexity than a few years ago. Classic Chablis flavors and aromas, perhaps lacking a touch of acidity initially, yet after about 30 minutes, the acidity is more prominent and adds cut and texture to the seashells, stony and saline like fruit. This paired beautifully with a few Mediterranean influenced salads. This is a food wine, suited to pairing rather than drinking on it's own. The bottle drained quickly, but I have plenty more to follow. I don’t think this will make old bones as the intensity of fruit and acidity are not sufficient for the long term (15+ yrs additional). I do however plan to enjoy my remaining bottles over the next 3-5 yrs.

2001 Beaucastel Roussanne VV
Pop and pour. The color is richly golden with a slight orangish hue. Immediately the nose sticks out with very smokey quality. This dissipates over time. The aromas change over the course of night (about 2 hrs) initially showing oxidative with apricot, and the honeysuckle others have mentioned. Later aromas become more honeyed with the oxidative note diminished and presence of chopped fresh nuts and butterscotch. The texture is waxy, lanolin like yet at the same time somewhat silky. The midpalate is rich and lush and finish goes on and on. These Rousanne VV wines are odd creatures with a chameleon like evolution. They can recover with age, lose the oxidative quality and show impressive flavors and complexity. Another first bottle from an overseas case purchase.

1998 Beaucastel Rouge
This was a pop and pour that we followed for about 2 hrs. Easily the best bottle of '98 I have had. The wine is lush yet delicate; it transcends the region yet has its roots firmly planted in CdP, never losing its sense of place. The fruit is generous with typical garrigue, yet this may be the cleanest Beaucastel Rouge ever. The funk is just not really present, which I wouldn't mind if it poked its head, nevertheless, this is what takes this wine to the next level. The fruit is absolutely luxurious and refined. It coats the palate yet remains delicate. After some air, the aromas become more profound and complex with anise, white pepper and clove appearing. The finish is really superb and leaves you savoring every drop. This is the first bottle from a case purchased overseas. Clearly, this wine has an amazing future and should last for years and years. I don't think it has seen its greatest days yet.
 
This is I think the first positive note I've seen for the chardonnay from Sleepy Hollow vineyard. Maybe Arcadian figured out a way to balance the ripeness without the wood?
 
2001 Beaucastel Roussanne VV
Pop and pour. The color is richly golden with a slight orangish hue. Immediately the nose sticks out with very smokey quality. This dissipates over time. The aromas change over the course of night (about 2 hrs) initially showing oxidative with apricot, and the honeysuckle others have mentioned. Later aromas become more honeyed with the oxidative note diminished and presence of chopped fresh nuts and butterscotch. The texture is waxy, lanolin like yet at the same time somewhat silky. The midpalate is rich and lush and finish goes on and on. These Rousanne VV wines are odd creatures with a chameleon like evolution. They can recover with age, lose the oxidative quality and show impressive flavors and complexity. Another first bottle from an overseas case purchase.
Click to expand...

I think this evolutionary trajectory can be applied to many Rhone whites, both North and South (with the exception of most CdP blancs which are mainly grenache blanc). One of the best bottles of my life was an early 90's Beacastel VV. Loved it. Just cannot afford it now, but wish I could.
 
originally posted by SteveTimko:
This is I think the first positive note I've seen for the chardonnay from Sleepy Hollow vineyard. Maybe Arcadian figured out a way to balance the ripeness without the wood?
Click to expand...

Really? I've only had 2 previous vintages of Arcadian Sleepy Hollow but like both (and didn't find them overly oaky). Or were you referring to SH in general rather than the Arcadian version?
 
originally posted by SteveTimko:
This is I think the first positive note I've seen for the chardonnay from Sleepy Hollow vineyard. Maybe Arcadian figured out a way to balance the ripeness without the wood?
Click to expand...
I've had some great ones. They can start out buttery but it's not from the wood, it's from malo. After a few years that taste is gone and they have excellent purity.
 
originally posted by MarkS:
2001 Beaucastel Roussanne VV
Pop and pour. The color is richly golden with a slight orangish hue. Immediately the nose sticks out with very smokey quality. This dissipates over time. The aromas change over the course of night (about 2 hrs) initially showing oxidative with apricot, and the honeysuckle others have mentioned. Later aromas become more honeyed with the oxidative note diminished and presence of chopped fresh nuts and butterscotch. The texture is waxy, lanolin like yet at the same time somewhat silky. The midpalate is rich and lush and finish goes on and on. These Rousanne VV wines are odd creatures with a chameleon like evolution. They can recover with age, lose the oxidative quality and show impressive flavors and complexity. Another first bottle from an overseas case purchase.
Click to expand...

I think this evolutionary trajectory can be applied to many Rhone whites, both North and South (with the exception of most CdP blancs which are mainly grenache blanc). One of the best bottles of my life was an early 90's Beacastel VV. Loved it. Just cannot afford it now, but wish I could.
Click to expand...

Yeah I guess Marsanne and Rousanne can behave similarly in the cellar. One of my all time great wines was the '87 Beaucastel Blanc VV that Jason Haas brought to a tasting last year. Jason said he was gifted a few of these bottles from Marc Perrin and has tried them over the years. Jason believes the Rousanne VV, in particular, goes through an oxidative phase, miraculously recovering at some point. I don't have enough experience with higher end rhone blancs but this was a stunner with incredible complexity and freshness. He was pretty impressed with the wine as was the entire group. A '97 Rousanne VV at the same dinner was completely oxidized and undrinkable, yet Jason was confident it was only a phase. I dunno. I've been told the Lopez Heredia whites act in a similar fashion.
 
originally posted by Jay Miller:
originally posted by SteveTimko:
This is I think the first positive note I've seen for the chardonnay from Sleepy Hollow vineyard. Maybe Arcadian figured out a way to balance the ripeness without the wood?
Click to expand...

Really? I've only had 2 previous vintages of Arcadian Sleepy Hollow but like both (and didn't find them overly oaky). Or were you referring to SH in general rather than the Arcadian version?
Click to expand...

Sleepy Hollow in general.
 
originally posted by SteveTimko:
originally posted by Jay Miller:
originally posted by SteveTimko:
This is I think the first positive note I've seen for the chardonnay from Sleepy Hollow vineyard. Maybe Arcadian figured out a way to balance the ripeness without the wood?
Click to expand...

Really? I've only had 2 previous vintages of Arcadian Sleepy Hollow but like both (and didn't find them overly oaky). Or were you referring to SH in general rather than the Arcadian version?
Click to expand...

Sleepy Hollow in general.
Click to expand...

That makes sense then.
 
originally posted by Gregg G:

Yeah I guess Marsanne and Rousanne can behave similarly in the cellar. One of my all time great wines was the '87 Beaucastel Blanc VV that Jason Haas brought to a tasting last year. Jason said he was gifted a few of these bottles from Marc Perrin and has tried them over the years. Jason believes the Rousanne VV, in particular, goes through an oxidative phase, miraculously recovering at some point. I don't have enough experience with higher end rhone blancs but this was a stunner with incredible complexity and freshness. He was pretty impressed with the wine as was the entire group. A '97 Rousanne VV at the same dinner was completely oxidized and undrinkable, yet Jason was confident it was only a phase. I dunno. I've been told the Lopez Heredia whites act in a similar fashion.
Click to expand...

It would be interesting to understand the chemistry that makes them taste oxidized, then not.
 
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
originally posted by Gregg G:

Yeah I guess Marsanne and Rousanne can behave similarly in the cellar. One of my all time great wines was the '87 Beaucastel Blanc VV that Jason Haas brought to a tasting last year. Jason said he was gifted a few of these bottles from Marc Perrin and has tried them over the years. Jason believes the Rousanne VV, in particular, goes through an oxidative phase, miraculously recovering at some point. I don't have enough experience with higher end rhone blancs but this was a stunner with incredible complexity and freshness. He was pretty impressed with the wine as was the entire group. A '97 Rousanne VV at the same dinner was completely oxidized and undrinkable, yet Jason was confident it was only a phase. I dunno. I've been told the Lopez Heredia whites act in a similar fashion.
Click to expand...

It would be interesting to understand the chemistry that makes them taste oxidized, then not.
Click to expand...

Oh, I've personally witnessed this transfiguration myself, with a 1990 Chapoutier Hermitage (Sizarene). The first bottle drunk within a few years of purchase was fresh, 2nd bottle caught in the definate oxidative-undeveloped state where it tasted mainly of glue, then the 3rd bottle at about 16 years of age when it showed signs of blossoming. Truly weird wines. But i think his hermitage is mostly, if not all, marsanne. Their idiosyncrasy is probably one reason I like these so much. That, and their flavors, which offer a real and distinctive amalgam.
 
I have miniscule experience with Rhone whites. Opened a Remizieres 1999 a short while ago and wasn't very impressed; not so much oxidized as waxy and tame. Wondering if my other two bottles are drink or hold. I think this is also a mostly-Marsanne Hermitage.
 
I dunno, there's still much to understand about wine chemistry, but the notion that something can oxidise and then naturally deoxidise seems kinda odd. Like metal rusting and then unrusting by itself. If one of three bottles tastes fine at age X, a second tastes oxidised at age Y, and a third tastes fine at age Z, I'd be much more inclined to suspect bottle variation, or a faulty cork. Unlike, say, entering and leaving a dumb phase, which some of us have experienced (in our wine, of course) frequently and consistently enough to find unquestionable as a phenomenon. Is natural deoxidation even chemically possible? If so, wouldn't people have developed ways to salvage oxidised wine? Just wonderin'...
 
Who knows? What are the chances of bad corks consistently turning up in the middle of a case? It could happen, right? But it seems to happen more consistently with Chenin, Marsanne, and Rousanne than other varieities. I'm sure some of those wines in the in-between phase are oxdized and some aren't, but that second group often gives a good approximation of oxidation.
 
I think it's important to distinguish between oxidation as a chemical concept and oxidation as an organoleptic property. They are certainly related, but by no means identical.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Unrusting the Rust BeltI dunno, there's still much to understand about wine chemistry, but the notion that something can oxidise and then naturally deoxidise seems kinda odd. Like metal rusting and then unrusting by itself. If one of three bottles tastes fine at age X, a second tastes oxidised at age Y, and a third tastes fine at age Z, I'd be much more inclined to suspect bottle variation, or a faulty cork. Unlike, say, entering and leaving a dumb phase, which some of us have experienced (in our wine, of course) frequently and consistently enough to find unquestionable as a phenomenon. Is natural deoxidation even chemically possible? If so, wouldn't people have developed ways to salvage oxidised wine? Just wonderin'...
Click to expand...

The opposite of oxidation is reduction, and wine in bottle is generally considered a reductive environment. Isn't that the rationale that some of the oxidative winemakers use to justify the practice: that oxidation early on protects the wine as it ages? My bet, though, is on the vagaries of perception: in the absence of other stimuli (tastes/smells) one can discern oxidation whereas in the presence of strong aromas such as fruit, one loses that sense of oxidation. As my esteemed colleague Mr. SFJoe states, though, it is a mysterious business.

Mark Lipton
 
I don't know chemistry or how it happens but the particular aging curve of Rhone whites--both Northern and Southern or at least some--is too well known to be a matter of accidental post hoc ergo propter hoc. And I've experienced it with Chapoutier's Sizeranne, with the regular Beaucastel white and with some other white CdPs.
 
originally posted by Gregg G:

1998 Beaucastel Rouge
This was a pop and pour that we followed for about 2 hrs. Easily the best bottle of '98 I have had. The wine is lush yet delicate; it transcends the region yet has its roots firmly planted in CdP, never losing its sense of place. The fruit is generous with typical garrigue, yet this may be the cleanest Beaucastel Rouge ever. The funk is just not really present, which I wouldn't mind if it poked its head, nevertheless, this is what takes this wine to the next level. The fruit is absolutely luxurious and refined. It coats the palate yet remains delicate. After some air, the aromas become more profound and complex with anise, white pepper and clove appearing. The finish is really superb and leaves you savoring every drop. This is the first bottle from a case purchased overseas. Clearly, this wine has an amazing future and should last for years and years. I don't think it has seen its greatest days yet.
Click to expand...

The '98 is one of my favorite Beaucastels. Love the texture of the wine and I agree, it has a great future. No real funk at Beaucastel since they cleaned things up starting with the '95.
 
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