Howard Camhi was back in NY with Elizabeth and I once again enticed them over to my place with the promise of home cookin' and a small collection of motley locals to add a little fun and spice to the evening. Michel Abood made it over with the lovely Veronica and David Sugarman joined us, Burgs in tow. All brought wonderful wine and great wit and a delightful evening ensued.
NV Franck Bonville- Champagne Cuvée Les Belles Voyes Brut Blanc de Blancs - France, Champagne, Avize, Champagne
The usual jokes about my general disdain for Champagne erupted when this was opened, but, as I always do, I tried it with an open mind and actually enjoyed it. It's quite ripe and fruit dominated with golden delicious apple, sweet yellow citrus and a hint of stone fruit flavors leading the charge with plenty of yeastiness and a touch of caramel. Small bead and nicely balanced. Probably not for those that like a steely style of Champagne, but I like the fruit levels and richness. A-.
2001 La Chablisienne- Chablis Grand Cru Grenouilles - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Nice richness here and it's not as steely as some Chablis, making it a wonderful match with the seared scallops with leek, potato and celery root puree. There's a keen streak of flinty mineral and brininess running through the wine with ripe pear and apple flavors. Nice persistence and balance. The oak was not noticeable when first opened, but started to show a bit more by the end of the evening when we went back to the wine. Drink up. A-/B+.
1993 Etienne Sauzet- Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet
Started off entirely too oaky for my tastes and was terrible with the scallop dish as it made them taste like bad oysters. Stuck with the Chablisienne for that course, which gave the wine some time to integrate and the oak did finally die down a bit and was pretty well integrated by the end of the evening. Richness and power on the palate with ripe pineapple, stone fruits, apples and a touch of toasted nuts. With air the minerals and acidity started to come up and helped counter the strong butterscotch character. Nice depth and balance and the mineral notes carry nicely on the finish. Mature and probably should be consumed sooner rather than later. I'm actually a bit surprised I ended up liking it as much as I did. Low A-.
1985 Domaine Jean Grivot- Clos Vougeot - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
The nose was fantastic. Beautifully perfumed with tobacco, sweet old red fruit, earth and forest floor aromas. Unfortunately it showed a bit past peak on the palate, with similar flavors as aromas, but the wine lacked vibrancy and freshness, was drying on the finish and had a distracting metallic/tinny note. That said, the cherry fruit did rally after some air time, before fading off again. B/B-.
1985 Domaine Louis Trapet- Latricières-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru
Quite a bruiser here. The aromas aren't as complex as the Grivot, with cherry and game and meat dominating, but the Trapet showed much better on the palate. Formidable tannins are still lurking about, there's a beautiful core of cherry fruit here along with game and earth notes. A-.
1998 Vietti- Barolo Rocche - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Really surprised and disappointed with this showing and am hoping it's just in an awkward phase. I last had it five years ago at a 1967-2004 Rocche vertical dinner with Luca Currado and I loved it then. This bottle shows the same extracted style with black fruit, VA, chocolate and anise as it did then, but the fruit was rather buried in the background and new oak with a bit of a bite to it was in the forefront. The wine was double decanted around 5:30 pm and served at around 9:45 pm, so it had some air. I suppose I'll leave my remaining bottles in the cellar awhile, but I just hope that there'll be enough fruit to absorb the oak. B.
1994 Michel & Stéphane Ogier- Côte-Rôtie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
A really beautiful showing. The wine is fully integrated, silky and fresh with delightful flavors and aromas of green olive, bright cherry/raspberry, herb and smoky bacon. At times the herb notes took on a distinct celery note before slipping back into a more traditional garrigue identity. Nice acid levels and the fruit carries nicely across the palate. Just lovely. Solid A-.
1998 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe- Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape La Crau - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape
Another terrific, youthful showing. The wine seems to just be hitting peak now and shows a wonderful core of black briary fruit, game, licorice, garrigue and even tarry/burnt tire notes one often gets from young grenache, which is quite a feat at age fifteen. Layered with wonderful balance and freshness and sweetness to the fruit that carries through to the long finish. My WOTN. Low A.
2005 Fritz Haag- Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel #12 - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Extremely honeyed and nicely sweet, but perfectly balanced by crisp acids. There's a wonderful intensity to the wine while maintaining deftness and elegance. Plenty of honeysuckle, peaches, quince paste and sweet citrus with mineral providing just a bit of crunch on the finish. Gorgeous wine and a wonderful way to wrap up a fun evening. A/A-.
Some pics from the evening.
The group.
The wine.
Seared scallops with leek, potato and celery root purée.
Osso bucco with risotto Milanese and Broccoli Rabe.
Some terrific cheese from Murray's courtesy of Howard and Elizabeth.
NV Franck Bonville- Champagne Cuvée Les Belles Voyes Brut Blanc de Blancs - France, Champagne, Avize, Champagne
The usual jokes about my general disdain for Champagne erupted when this was opened, but, as I always do, I tried it with an open mind and actually enjoyed it. It's quite ripe and fruit dominated with golden delicious apple, sweet yellow citrus and a hint of stone fruit flavors leading the charge with plenty of yeastiness and a touch of caramel. Small bead and nicely balanced. Probably not for those that like a steely style of Champagne, but I like the fruit levels and richness. A-.
2001 La Chablisienne- Chablis Grand Cru Grenouilles - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Nice richness here and it's not as steely as some Chablis, making it a wonderful match with the seared scallops with leek, potato and celery root puree. There's a keen streak of flinty mineral and brininess running through the wine with ripe pear and apple flavors. Nice persistence and balance. The oak was not noticeable when first opened, but started to show a bit more by the end of the evening when we went back to the wine. Drink up. A-/B+.
1993 Etienne Sauzet- Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet
Started off entirely too oaky for my tastes and was terrible with the scallop dish as it made them taste like bad oysters. Stuck with the Chablisienne for that course, which gave the wine some time to integrate and the oak did finally die down a bit and was pretty well integrated by the end of the evening. Richness and power on the palate with ripe pineapple, stone fruits, apples and a touch of toasted nuts. With air the minerals and acidity started to come up and helped counter the strong butterscotch character. Nice depth and balance and the mineral notes carry nicely on the finish. Mature and probably should be consumed sooner rather than later. I'm actually a bit surprised I ended up liking it as much as I did. Low A-.
1985 Domaine Jean Grivot- Clos Vougeot - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
The nose was fantastic. Beautifully perfumed with tobacco, sweet old red fruit, earth and forest floor aromas. Unfortunately it showed a bit past peak on the palate, with similar flavors as aromas, but the wine lacked vibrancy and freshness, was drying on the finish and had a distracting metallic/tinny note. That said, the cherry fruit did rally after some air time, before fading off again. B/B-.
1985 Domaine Louis Trapet- Latricières-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru
Quite a bruiser here. The aromas aren't as complex as the Grivot, with cherry and game and meat dominating, but the Trapet showed much better on the palate. Formidable tannins are still lurking about, there's a beautiful core of cherry fruit here along with game and earth notes. A-.
1998 Vietti- Barolo Rocche - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Really surprised and disappointed with this showing and am hoping it's just in an awkward phase. I last had it five years ago at a 1967-2004 Rocche vertical dinner with Luca Currado and I loved it then. This bottle shows the same extracted style with black fruit, VA, chocolate and anise as it did then, but the fruit was rather buried in the background and new oak with a bit of a bite to it was in the forefront. The wine was double decanted around 5:30 pm and served at around 9:45 pm, so it had some air. I suppose I'll leave my remaining bottles in the cellar awhile, but I just hope that there'll be enough fruit to absorb the oak. B.
1994 Michel & Stéphane Ogier- Côte-Rôtie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
A really beautiful showing. The wine is fully integrated, silky and fresh with delightful flavors and aromas of green olive, bright cherry/raspberry, herb and smoky bacon. At times the herb notes took on a distinct celery note before slipping back into a more traditional garrigue identity. Nice acid levels and the fruit carries nicely across the palate. Just lovely. Solid A-.
1998 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe- Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape La Crau - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape
Another terrific, youthful showing. The wine seems to just be hitting peak now and shows a wonderful core of black briary fruit, game, licorice, garrigue and even tarry/burnt tire notes one often gets from young grenache, which is quite a feat at age fifteen. Layered with wonderful balance and freshness and sweetness to the fruit that carries through to the long finish. My WOTN. Low A.
2005 Fritz Haag- Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel #12 - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Extremely honeyed and nicely sweet, but perfectly balanced by crisp acids. There's a wonderful intensity to the wine while maintaining deftness and elegance. Plenty of honeysuckle, peaches, quince paste and sweet citrus with mineral providing just a bit of crunch on the finish. Gorgeous wine and a wonderful way to wrap up a fun evening. A/A-.
Some pics from the evening.
The group.