The Durham restaurant mafia serendipitously converged on the excellent cocktail bar Alley 26 Saturday evening. After a few delicious libations, it was time to get some food, so we tromped across the street to Rue Cler (holy shit, who the fuck is writing this?!?!?!?). Since this was such a happy circumstance, we decided to make the most of it. And we certainly did. It was one of those nights when all the wines showed great and not a corked bottle in sight.
Peters Grand Cru "Cuvée Réserve"
Same as it ever was, I've forgotten the disgorgement on this, but it is a fairly recent one. Toasty, mineral tinged chardonnay. Delightful, but hard to remember after the Ledru.
Ledru Grand Cru Extra Brut
I'll be in Sophie's debt forever for introducing me to these wines just in time to buy some before it is too late. Incredible density and depth of flavor. Almost saline in it's palate impact with lovely rose and light red fruit notes. Really intense and very complex.
2012 Vatan Sancerre Chavignol "Clos la Néore"
Often when I have Ledru, the wine after it gets smushed. Not the case here. Same as it ever was, Vatan is in a class by itself when it comes to sauvignon and even Sancerre. There is a creamy limestone quality to the wine that I don't get from anyone else. And as it opens its peacock's tail, it is a breathtaking wine. Beauty, power, resolve, length. A complete package. Somewhere around $90 retail these days, so I'm not sure how much longer I'll be a buyer, but damn.
2009 Clos Roche Blanche Cuvée Côt
A lacy, beautiful rendition of this grape. Has a distinct dryness without being mean. Layers of leather and wood bark over some blue-black fruits. Minerals in the finish, but not bright ones, dark earth ones. As it always seems to, drinking this wine just feels good. It has an ineffable something. If this is the last CRB Côt, they went out with a bang.
2009 Coudert Fleurie "Clos de Roilette Cuvée Tardive"
The most closed of the wines, but I wouldn't call it shut down. The aromatics stayed in a tighter orbit around the deep, quintessential Coudert fruit with various particles escaping orbit to surprise you from time to time. The palate is not tannic the way the 2005 has always been, not silky exactly, but supple enough.
2006 Texier Brézème "Domaine de Pergaud Vielle Serine"
This is a great fucking wine. Like Jupiter it has all sorts of flavors that swirl around forming eddies then dispersing only to form new ones. I could list all the aromas and flavors, but you know what they are by now. What is so striking about what Eric has been able to do is the texture of this wine. Silky and strong, something you can imagine bending in all different ways, but whatever the bulge, it will regain its own shape. The nose is that way too. It moves around you and envelops you in its perfume without you realizing what's happening. Anyway, that's enough flowery language for a big, dumb Rugby-Ox like Eric, but honestly, very well done.
Peters Grand Cru "Cuvée Réserve"
Same as it ever was, I've forgotten the disgorgement on this, but it is a fairly recent one. Toasty, mineral tinged chardonnay. Delightful, but hard to remember after the Ledru.
Ledru Grand Cru Extra Brut
I'll be in Sophie's debt forever for introducing me to these wines just in time to buy some before it is too late. Incredible density and depth of flavor. Almost saline in it's palate impact with lovely rose and light red fruit notes. Really intense and very complex.
2012 Vatan Sancerre Chavignol "Clos la Néore"
Often when I have Ledru, the wine after it gets smushed. Not the case here. Same as it ever was, Vatan is in a class by itself when it comes to sauvignon and even Sancerre. There is a creamy limestone quality to the wine that I don't get from anyone else. And as it opens its peacock's tail, it is a breathtaking wine. Beauty, power, resolve, length. A complete package. Somewhere around $90 retail these days, so I'm not sure how much longer I'll be a buyer, but damn.
2009 Clos Roche Blanche Cuvée Côt
A lacy, beautiful rendition of this grape. Has a distinct dryness without being mean. Layers of leather and wood bark over some blue-black fruits. Minerals in the finish, but not bright ones, dark earth ones. As it always seems to, drinking this wine just feels good. It has an ineffable something. If this is the last CRB Côt, they went out with a bang.
2009 Coudert Fleurie "Clos de Roilette Cuvée Tardive"
The most closed of the wines, but I wouldn't call it shut down. The aromatics stayed in a tighter orbit around the deep, quintessential Coudert fruit with various particles escaping orbit to surprise you from time to time. The palate is not tannic the way the 2005 has always been, not silky exactly, but supple enough.
2006 Texier Brézème "Domaine de Pergaud Vielle Serine"
This is a great fucking wine. Like Jupiter it has all sorts of flavors that swirl around forming eddies then dispersing only to form new ones. I could list all the aromas and flavors, but you know what they are by now. What is so striking about what Eric has been able to do is the texture of this wine. Silky and strong, something you can imagine bending in all different ways, but whatever the bulge, it will regain its own shape. The nose is that way too. It moves around you and envelops you in its perfume without you realizing what's happening. Anyway, that's enough flowery language for a big, dumb Rugby-Ox like Eric, but honestly, very well done.
