Michel Abood sent out the siren call, "who's up for ribs 'n Rhones?" A chorus of "I am" responded and this past Friday a most enjoyable group consisting of Michel, Chris & Meredith Wilford, Paul Jaouen, Christine Huang, Marty Ellington, Suzanne Camhi, Kenny Shusterman, Nano & Claudia Pedraza and yours truly gathered at Dinosaur BBQ for some vino and 'cue. Personally, I was up for a sweet tea offline, but the wines worked well enough.
2002 Joh. Jos. Prüm- Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Shows a big blast of sulfur on the nose that took awhile to blow off before showing some citrus and mineral aromas. The vintage's ripeness and softness is present, especially in the mid-palate, where it loses focus a little bit. Not too sweet and showing typical peach, green and yellow citrus and mineral flavors. This bottle shows perhaps the merest hints of taking on petrol notes, but remains pretty youthful. There's some nice acidity on the finish that makes up for the loosey goosey middle. Quite nice. A-/B+.
2001 Le Vieux Donjon- Chateauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Chateauneuf-du-Pape
I'm a big fan of Vieux Donjon's classic, old school style and this bottle is in a wonderful place right now. Aromatically it shows a lot of seaweed/iodine, black olives, black fruit and spice. Nicely rustic and a bit chunky on the palate with much more of a garrigue and meat presence than what showed on the nose. There's the start of some secondary development, though the acidity and tannin strength clearly suggest this wine has plenty of years left at peak. One of my top three wines of the evening. Solid A-.
2003 Roger Sabon- Chateauneuf-du-Pape Le Secret des Sabon - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Raspberry jam with a dollop of cherry preserves, spice and way too much alcohol showing. Quite low in acidity and not particularly well-balanced, the only saving grace here is the sweetness of the fruit, but it still can't stand up to the alcohol. Just not much here to keep one's interest and shows many of the faults of the vintage. Low B.
2004 Chateau Rayas- Côtes du Rhône Chateau de Fonsalette Reserve - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône
Can't say I've ever really gotten an overtly minty smell on a Côtes du Rhône before, but there it was in spades along with red fruit and herbs. It enters the palate with some elegance before the oak takes over and goes all Tasmanian devil in the mouth. To me it's a raw, unripe oak that dries out the wine and imparts a harsh, coarse mouthfeel and deflects attention away from what otherwise be nice strawberry, raspberry and garrigue flavors. Low B.
1999 Domaine du Pégaü- Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Showing a bit subdued, with brambly red fruit, spice and fur aromas. Rather lean, but refreshing with more of a game presence on the palate than was on the nose. The usual red fruits, garrigue and spice profile is there, too. This bottle is showing just a bit less fruit and more structure than past bottles, so depending on how you like your CDP, it might be time to drink this one more frequently as it seems on the back half of peak. Low A-.
2000 Domaine du Pégaü- Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Chateauneuf-du-Pape
A richer, more complete wine than the '99, it shows the exuberance of the vintage with its sweet, but not overripe briary fruit, licorice spice and garrigue notes. Expansive across the palate and showy, there are no hard edges here. Like Prince William in the Holy Grail, it just wants to sing and it does so beautifully. A/A-.
2003 Domaine du Pégaü- Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Chateauneuf-du-Pape
I've never understood all the positive reviews for this wine as despite being a big Pegau fan, I've always found it unbalanced with no real depth, the fruit completely roasted and over extracted and the alcohol way to prominent. Tonight was no different. Just ungainly stuff and I'm not sure anyone at the table liked it. If I had any, it would be a no brainer to flip. B-.
1998 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe- Chateauneuf-du-Pape La Crau - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Chateauneuf-du-Pape
A beautiful, youthful showing and easily the best aromatics of the night. The wine was extremely fragrant with strong floral/violet notes, black and red fruit, spice and licorice. Beautiful ripe, though nicely restrained black and red fruit, with the edge going to the blacker fruit. Plenty of licorice, a touch of herb and nicely spicy, the tannins still show a lot of grip and the acidity seems higher here than in a lot of '98s. I've seen notes that suggest that this wine is mature, but if this and another bottle I've had recently are any indication, well-stored bottles are still on the upswing. My WOTN. A/A-.
1998 Domaine du Pégaü- Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Nicely meaty with briar berries that show a bit of a roasted edge to them, spice and licorice. Smooth and harmonious and drinking at peak, this bottle shows a bit of a drying note on the finish, which is the first time I've encountered it in this wine. To me it's not as complete as the '00, or as fresh as the '99, but for fruit fun it's just a little more pleasurable than the '99. That said, I have had slightly better bottles than this one. A-.
1998 Domaine du Pégaü- Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Laurence - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Chateauneuf-du-Pape
I've never really been much of a fan of the Laurence bottlings as the extra time in foudre dries the wine out, imo and that's what's happened here. The brambly fruit just seems lost and plays second fiddle to the drying wood notes. The structure is limp and altogether the wine's just not that pleasant and seems much more mature than the Réservée bottling. B.
2001 Rotllan Torra- Priorat Amadis - Spain, Catalunya, Priorat
A blend of 50% Grenache, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Carignan, 15% Syrah and 10% Merlot, like many Priorat it's just a bit too modern for its own good. Low acid, it shows ripe, bordering on jammy black fruit, cocoa and sweet spices with just a bit more sweet oak than the fruit can handle. Pretty much resolved, so I'd drink up before the wood really starts to take over the fruit. Solid B.
1999 Ridge- Geyserville - USA, California, Sonoma County
A blend of 68% Zinfandel, 16% Carignane and 16% Petite Sirah. Wow. Just not a good showing at all. Loads of minty oak on the nose and palate that completely dominates the crushed berry fruit. The sharp vanilla tones just run amok and make the wine drying and unpleasant. I've really enjoyed Geyserville bottlings in the past, but mostly '95 and older. Extremely disappointing. C+.
2008 Cabot Vineyards- Syrah Humboldt County - USA, California, North Coast, Humboldt County
A somewhat surprising and disappointing showing, unfortunately. The wine starts of nicely with sweet, but not overripe black fruit, spice, licorice, smoke and just a touch of bacon, but very quickly bitter oak notes start to come up and soon dominate the wine and it became unpleasantly oaky and smoky. This is extremely surprising as what I've enjoyed about John's wines is his restrained use of oak. Indeed, Michel, who brought the wine, mentioned how beautiful it was when he first opened it at home, but was forced to admit that it had become a shell of itself by the end of the evening. I was under the impression that they were too far North to have been affected by all the smoke from the fires that greatly affected Sonoma County that year. Puzzling. B/B-.
Some pics from the evening.
The group.
The wine.
Paul gets the party started.
Nano works on a cork.
There it goes!
Bazinga!
All smiles.
Nano and Claudia next to a grumpy old guy.
Amazing how the grumpy old guy's mood brightens when accompanied by two lovely ladies.
Chris makes sure to keep his eye open for this pic.
2002 Joh. Jos. Prüm- Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Shows a big blast of sulfur on the nose that took awhile to blow off before showing some citrus and mineral aromas. The vintage's ripeness and softness is present, especially in the mid-palate, where it loses focus a little bit. Not too sweet and showing typical peach, green and yellow citrus and mineral flavors. This bottle shows perhaps the merest hints of taking on petrol notes, but remains pretty youthful. There's some nice acidity on the finish that makes up for the loosey goosey middle. Quite nice. A-/B+.
2001 Le Vieux Donjon- Chateauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Chateauneuf-du-Pape
I'm a big fan of Vieux Donjon's classic, old school style and this bottle is in a wonderful place right now. Aromatically it shows a lot of seaweed/iodine, black olives, black fruit and spice. Nicely rustic and a bit chunky on the palate with much more of a garrigue and meat presence than what showed on the nose. There's the start of some secondary development, though the acidity and tannin strength clearly suggest this wine has plenty of years left at peak. One of my top three wines of the evening. Solid A-.
2003 Roger Sabon- Chateauneuf-du-Pape Le Secret des Sabon - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Raspberry jam with a dollop of cherry preserves, spice and way too much alcohol showing. Quite low in acidity and not particularly well-balanced, the only saving grace here is the sweetness of the fruit, but it still can't stand up to the alcohol. Just not much here to keep one's interest and shows many of the faults of the vintage. Low B.
2004 Chateau Rayas- Côtes du Rhône Chateau de Fonsalette Reserve - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône
Can't say I've ever really gotten an overtly minty smell on a Côtes du Rhône before, but there it was in spades along with red fruit and herbs. It enters the palate with some elegance before the oak takes over and goes all Tasmanian devil in the mouth. To me it's a raw, unripe oak that dries out the wine and imparts a harsh, coarse mouthfeel and deflects attention away from what otherwise be nice strawberry, raspberry and garrigue flavors. Low B.
1999 Domaine du Pégaü- Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Showing a bit subdued, with brambly red fruit, spice and fur aromas. Rather lean, but refreshing with more of a game presence on the palate than was on the nose. The usual red fruits, garrigue and spice profile is there, too. This bottle is showing just a bit less fruit and more structure than past bottles, so depending on how you like your CDP, it might be time to drink this one more frequently as it seems on the back half of peak. Low A-.
2000 Domaine du Pégaü- Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Chateauneuf-du-Pape
A richer, more complete wine than the '99, it shows the exuberance of the vintage with its sweet, but not overripe briary fruit, licorice spice and garrigue notes. Expansive across the palate and showy, there are no hard edges here. Like Prince William in the Holy Grail, it just wants to sing and it does so beautifully. A/A-.
2003 Domaine du Pégaü- Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Chateauneuf-du-Pape
I've never understood all the positive reviews for this wine as despite being a big Pegau fan, I've always found it unbalanced with no real depth, the fruit completely roasted and over extracted and the alcohol way to prominent. Tonight was no different. Just ungainly stuff and I'm not sure anyone at the table liked it. If I had any, it would be a no brainer to flip. B-.
1998 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe- Chateauneuf-du-Pape La Crau - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Chateauneuf-du-Pape
A beautiful, youthful showing and easily the best aromatics of the night. The wine was extremely fragrant with strong floral/violet notes, black and red fruit, spice and licorice. Beautiful ripe, though nicely restrained black and red fruit, with the edge going to the blacker fruit. Plenty of licorice, a touch of herb and nicely spicy, the tannins still show a lot of grip and the acidity seems higher here than in a lot of '98s. I've seen notes that suggest that this wine is mature, but if this and another bottle I've had recently are any indication, well-stored bottles are still on the upswing. My WOTN. A/A-.
1998 Domaine du Pégaü- Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Nicely meaty with briar berries that show a bit of a roasted edge to them, spice and licorice. Smooth and harmonious and drinking at peak, this bottle shows a bit of a drying note on the finish, which is the first time I've encountered it in this wine. To me it's not as complete as the '00, or as fresh as the '99, but for fruit fun it's just a little more pleasurable than the '99. That said, I have had slightly better bottles than this one. A-.
1998 Domaine du Pégaü- Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Laurence - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Chateauneuf-du-Pape
I've never really been much of a fan of the Laurence bottlings as the extra time in foudre dries the wine out, imo and that's what's happened here. The brambly fruit just seems lost and plays second fiddle to the drying wood notes. The structure is limp and altogether the wine's just not that pleasant and seems much more mature than the Réservée bottling. B.
2001 Rotllan Torra- Priorat Amadis - Spain, Catalunya, Priorat
A blend of 50% Grenache, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Carignan, 15% Syrah and 10% Merlot, like many Priorat it's just a bit too modern for its own good. Low acid, it shows ripe, bordering on jammy black fruit, cocoa and sweet spices with just a bit more sweet oak than the fruit can handle. Pretty much resolved, so I'd drink up before the wood really starts to take over the fruit. Solid B.
1999 Ridge- Geyserville - USA, California, Sonoma County
A blend of 68% Zinfandel, 16% Carignane and 16% Petite Sirah. Wow. Just not a good showing at all. Loads of minty oak on the nose and palate that completely dominates the crushed berry fruit. The sharp vanilla tones just run amok and make the wine drying and unpleasant. I've really enjoyed Geyserville bottlings in the past, but mostly '95 and older. Extremely disappointing. C+.
2008 Cabot Vineyards- Syrah Humboldt County - USA, California, North Coast, Humboldt County
A somewhat surprising and disappointing showing, unfortunately. The wine starts of nicely with sweet, but not overripe black fruit, spice, licorice, smoke and just a touch of bacon, but very quickly bitter oak notes start to come up and soon dominate the wine and it became unpleasantly oaky and smoky. This is extremely surprising as what I've enjoyed about John's wines is his restrained use of oak. Indeed, Michel, who brought the wine, mentioned how beautiful it was when he first opened it at home, but was forced to admit that it had become a shell of itself by the end of the evening. I was under the impression that they were too far North to have been affected by all the smoke from the fires that greatly affected Sonoma County that year. Puzzling. B/B-.
Some pics from the evening.
The group.
The wine.
Paul gets the party started.
Nano works on a cork.
There it goes!
Bazinga!
All smiles.
Nano and Claudia next to a grumpy old guy.
Amazing how the grumpy old guy's mood brightens when accompanied by two lovely ladies.
Chris makes sure to keep his eye open for this pic.