Todd and Teri Waldmann were in town a couple of weeks ago and he gave me a heads up that he'd like to get together. Unfortunately, without much notice a full scale Vouvray-a-thon was not possible, but Suzanne and Kenny offered to host a dinner and we were joined by Michel & Veronica Abood, Christine Huang and Marty Ellington. Suzanne did a great job grilling up some tasty morsels and Christine brought along a scrumptious passion fruit angel food layer cake. It was a wonderful evening and it was great to finally meet Todd after years of knowing him through the interwebz.
1995 Godmé Père et Fils- Champagne Brut Millésimé Grand Cru - France, Champagne, Verzenay, Champagne
Crisp apple aromas dominate the nose with a hit of toast and mineral. Shows nice creaminess on the palate with a soft mousse. Drinks nicely with apple and mineral flavors at the forefront. A-/B+.
2005 Henri Boillot- Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Wow. Mr. Ed after consuming a bucketful of Beefy-Ohs, for those that know the Seinfeld reference. Completely obliterated by sulfur. After forty minutes in the glass one finally gets some nice minerality, a bit of pear and a touch of spicy oak, but the sulfur never stopped playing anything other than a leading role. B-.
2011 Domaine Tempier- Bandol Rosé - France, Provence, Bandol
Exactly what you'd want from this bottle of wine. Plenty of strawberry, watermelon, cherry, mineral and spice flavors and aromas, nicely integrated and showing depth and balance. There's a wonderful harmony to it that makes me like this just a little more than the '12 that I had last month. A-.
1996 Domaine Henri Gouges- Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Saint Georges - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
Still showing a lot of toughness with its juicy acidity and muscular tannin structure. There's pleasant black fruit here with earth, wood and spice. The finish is a little hard, though and shows some greenness. Needs some more time to soften. B+.
2002 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville- Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
A much more feminine wine than the Gouges and drinking well. It's nicely aromatic with red fruit tones, stony minerality and spice aromas. Nicely juicy, but not too overt acidity keeps things fresh and lively on the palate. The red fruit is savory and the minerals have nice crunch to them. Drinking well now, but there's no hurry whatsoever here. Low A-.
2007 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils- Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Best nose of the three Burgs. It's extremely fragrant with sweet cherries and red berry fruit, a touch of spice and a faint hint of nettles. Beautifully textured and showing both elegance and depth. A touch high toned, but with nice fruit levels. There's a nice touch of tart red plums and tart raspberries to go along with the ripe cherries. As on the nose, there's a little bit of a nettles character on the finish, but it's not unpleasant. Lovely. A-.
2000 Domaine de la Charbonnière- Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape
A TCA explosion. One of the most profoundly corked bottles I've had in awhile. NR (flawed)
1988 E. Guigal- Hermitage - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Plenty of smoked meat and bacon goodness to be had, with aged black and red brambly fruit, garrigue and olives. While the tannins have softened, there's still nice acidic lift here that keeps the wine from showing just a bit too tired, though it's certainly on the back end of peak. It delivers just what you want out of nicely aged Northern Rhone Syrah. A-/B+.
1985 Huët- Vouvray Moelleux Clos du Bourg - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Showing similarly to a bottle last year, though maybe even just a tad fresher. Remarkably youthful and vibrant with the color still bright and yellow. The usual wooliness is there as is quince, acacia, bitter almond and mineral. Terrific acidic structure and a few of us commented that this seemed the equivalent sweetness of some of today's demi-secs. Beautiful. Solid A-.
1995 Huët- Vouvray Cuvée Constance - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Normally an intense, youthful and stellar wine, while there was no tca present, this was clearly an off bottle as it was lifeless. Hate when that happens. NR.
Some pics from the evening.
The group.
Tasty starters.
Grilled shrimp with avocado.
Suzanne's Zuni style chicken.
Ready to serve.
Heirloom tomatoes with goat cheese.
Christine's amazing passion fruit angel food layer cake.
Two Vouvray.
1995 Godmé Père et Fils- Champagne Brut Millésimé Grand Cru - France, Champagne, Verzenay, Champagne
Crisp apple aromas dominate the nose with a hit of toast and mineral. Shows nice creaminess on the palate with a soft mousse. Drinks nicely with apple and mineral flavors at the forefront. A-/B+.
2005 Henri Boillot- Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Wow. Mr. Ed after consuming a bucketful of Beefy-Ohs, for those that know the Seinfeld reference. Completely obliterated by sulfur. After forty minutes in the glass one finally gets some nice minerality, a bit of pear and a touch of spicy oak, but the sulfur never stopped playing anything other than a leading role. B-.
2011 Domaine Tempier- Bandol Rosé - France, Provence, Bandol
Exactly what you'd want from this bottle of wine. Plenty of strawberry, watermelon, cherry, mineral and spice flavors and aromas, nicely integrated and showing depth and balance. There's a wonderful harmony to it that makes me like this just a little more than the '12 that I had last month. A-.
1996 Domaine Henri Gouges- Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Saint Georges - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
Still showing a lot of toughness with its juicy acidity and muscular tannin structure. There's pleasant black fruit here with earth, wood and spice. The finish is a little hard, though and shows some greenness. Needs some more time to soften. B+.
2002 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville- Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
A much more feminine wine than the Gouges and drinking well. It's nicely aromatic with red fruit tones, stony minerality and spice aromas. Nicely juicy, but not too overt acidity keeps things fresh and lively on the palate. The red fruit is savory and the minerals have nice crunch to them. Drinking well now, but there's no hurry whatsoever here. Low A-.
2007 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils- Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Best nose of the three Burgs. It's extremely fragrant with sweet cherries and red berry fruit, a touch of spice and a faint hint of nettles. Beautifully textured and showing both elegance and depth. A touch high toned, but with nice fruit levels. There's a nice touch of tart red plums and tart raspberries to go along with the ripe cherries. As on the nose, there's a little bit of a nettles character on the finish, but it's not unpleasant. Lovely. A-.
2000 Domaine de la Charbonnière- Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape
A TCA explosion. One of the most profoundly corked bottles I've had in awhile. NR (flawed)
1988 E. Guigal- Hermitage - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Plenty of smoked meat and bacon goodness to be had, with aged black and red brambly fruit, garrigue and olives. While the tannins have softened, there's still nice acidic lift here that keeps the wine from showing just a bit too tired, though it's certainly on the back end of peak. It delivers just what you want out of nicely aged Northern Rhone Syrah. A-/B+.
1985 Huët- Vouvray Moelleux Clos du Bourg - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Showing similarly to a bottle last year, though maybe even just a tad fresher. Remarkably youthful and vibrant with the color still bright and yellow. The usual wooliness is there as is quince, acacia, bitter almond and mineral. Terrific acidic structure and a few of us commented that this seemed the equivalent sweetness of some of today's demi-secs. Beautiful. Solid A-.
1995 Huët- Vouvray Cuvée Constance - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Normally an intense, youthful and stellar wine, while there was no tca present, this was clearly an off bottle as it was lifeless. Hate when that happens. NR.
Some pics from the evening.
The group.