At J. Betski’s in Raleigh.
1999 Freie Weingärtner Riesling Smaragd Achleiten
Deep golden/green color. The nose is still white pitted fruits and Achleiten stone. I can't think of another vineyard with this kind of stony signature. It really does smell like a glass full of rocks. I would have liked a bit more generosity on the palate, there was something that wasn't quite cohesive, keeping it from being excellent, but it was very good.
1999 Franz Hirtzberger Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Honivogl
Man, what a bummer. This wine has been a monument to Gruner Veltliner and I thought for a minute it might just be some mustiness that would blow off. That was not to be as it got more and more chlorinated as it was open. The strange thing is, I've never been happier for a bottle to be corked as it forced us to order from the list, and what we ordered blew our minds.
1993 Louis Jadot Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots
The nose was full of beautiful fruit with spice and sous bois notes developing around the edges. After a couple of hours of being open, it began to shut down a little bit. I think that it has a little upward potential if the structure resolves a little. It's close now, but the tannin are still a bit hard on the back end. It has great lift and the nose is amazing. Very much the Vosne side of Nuits.
2001 Bernard Levet Côte-Rôtie La Chavaroche
I opened this mid-afternoon on Josh's advice. By the time we tasted it at around 7 it was beautiful. Full meaty nose with hints of minerals, leather and other sauvage animal notes with some black and red fruit skins underneath. Really well put together. Smooth but still structured and cut. The structure was there to help the wine get across its meaning, not to dominate or distract. Given what the air did for it, I think this has years of development ahead of it. It is a hard wine to rate in the circumstances because the food wasn't geared to this type of wine, it was opened with another restaurant in mind. Really impressive and a singular expression of Côte-Rôtie.
1979 Karthäuserhof Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg Riesling Auslese Sang
We purchased this off the list at J. Betski's because the Hirtzbereger was corked. Man, what a great piece of luck. The color was an ambient golden. The nose was still full of gooseberries and slate with only a hint of diesel or milkyness. On the palate, the acids really lit the wine up, giving the sensation that it was glowing in your mouth. It was driving itself into pleasure centers of the brain that rarely get tickled, sensual and intellectual all at once. It was the sort of experience that just stops you dead in your tracks and you just have to say "Damn". Easily the best white wine of 2011 and a steal even of the list. It was so good that we ordered another bottle to enjoy over conversation with the chef and the owner of the restaurant. Really shockingly good and I'd advise anyone who runs across a bottle to buy post haste!
Showing posts with label Nuits St. Georges. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nuits St. Georges. Show all posts
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Monday, August 30, 2010
Assorted excellence
1999 Nikolaihof Riesling Steiner Hund
This was a couple of different wines during the evening. When it was first opened it was all rocks and seemed to lack density and had no fruit. I insisted to Michael that there was real density there, it just might take a little bit. It started to emerge about an hour or so later starting as floral notes and then becoming deeply pitched with fruit and hints of honeysuckle, all the while keeping it’s frame and mineral spine. A great wine.
1971 Huët Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Clos du Bourg
This also did some neat tricks over the course of the evening. At first it tasted quite dry, which can happen with older Moelleux in my experience, and then started to sweeten up and take on more baked fruit and spices. It never got sweet, sweet, but certainly became richer and more interesting. A very fine wine.
1998 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays
I dropped this by the restaurant and had it opened 2 hours before dinner. That first nose upon opening was fantastic. Spice and earth around fruits in a heady perfume. Over the course of the evening it became diffuse and then hardened. Not really sure what to make of that development. I’m not sure that the future will make it better, but now is not a good time so I’d sit on it rather than open now.
1995 Gouges Nuits St. Georges 1er Les Saint Georges
This was a surprise bottle for me from Michael and was an incredibly generous gift on his part. If there is an argument for Les St. Georges to be classified as grand cru, then the wines from Gouges and Chevillon make the best case for that. Where one really gets the class of Les St. Georges is in the structure and mouthfeel. There is such a pristine quality to the tannins, they are fine and almost velvety but also completely frame the wine with a lattice structure. It’s a nice trick.
This was a couple of different wines during the evening. When it was first opened it was all rocks and seemed to lack density and had no fruit. I insisted to Michael that there was real density there, it just might take a little bit. It started to emerge about an hour or so later starting as floral notes and then becoming deeply pitched with fruit and hints of honeysuckle, all the while keeping it’s frame and mineral spine. A great wine.
1971 Huët Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Clos du Bourg
This also did some neat tricks over the course of the evening. At first it tasted quite dry, which can happen with older Moelleux in my experience, and then started to sweeten up and take on more baked fruit and spices. It never got sweet, sweet, but certainly became richer and more interesting. A very fine wine.
1998 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays
I dropped this by the restaurant and had it opened 2 hours before dinner. That first nose upon opening was fantastic. Spice and earth around fruits in a heady perfume. Over the course of the evening it became diffuse and then hardened. Not really sure what to make of that development. I’m not sure that the future will make it better, but now is not a good time so I’d sit on it rather than open now.
1995 Gouges Nuits St. Georges 1er Les Saint Georges
This was a surprise bottle for me from Michael and was an incredibly generous gift on his part. If there is an argument for Les St. Georges to be classified as grand cru, then the wines from Gouges and Chevillon make the best case for that. Where one really gets the class of Les St. Georges is in the structure and mouthfeel. There is such a pristine quality to the tannins, they are fine and almost velvety but also completely frame the wine with a lattice structure. It’s a nice trick.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Unheralded excellence
Over dinner with my friend Ryan at Vin Rouge.
1999 Mugneret-Gibourg Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Chaignots
This was a spectacular bottle. Of the 3 I’ve tried from my stash, all have shown amazingly well even tasted years apart. Seems to be a very Vosne expression of Nuits. Elegant, silky, with very seductive fruit and spice elements. Finishes very polished and long with non-obvious structure. I think this wine often gets underestimated in the Mugneret line-up. Should age gracefully for 15 years or more, but is balanced and fun to drink now.
1999 Mugneret-Gibourg Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Chaignots
This was a spectacular bottle. Of the 3 I’ve tried from my stash, all have shown amazingly well even tasted years apart. Seems to be a very Vosne expression of Nuits. Elegant, silky, with very seductive fruit and spice elements. Finishes very polished and long with non-obvious structure. I think this wine often gets underestimated in the Mugneret line-up. Should age gracefully for 15 years or more, but is balanced and fun to drink now.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Even non-geeks love geeky wine
I would like to thank the Politburo and the other disorderlies for making this the refuge of choice on the intertubes.
Over the weekend, I enjoyed a magnificent bottle of 2006 Baudry Chinon Blanc La Croix Boisée. This was screaming delicious from the moment it was opened. Thrilling nose of stones, Sweettart, limestoney that seemed to shimmer and pulse. On the palate it was racy and alive, as if it had absorbed its fat and transformed it into muscle, but with just enough cushion so as not to be freakish. One of the best bottles I’ve had in a while. Exhilarating, even to the decidedly non-geek I was dining with.
A difficult act to follow, but a bottle of 2001 Chevillon Les St. Georges was stellar, if not quite as captivating, but that’s some hair splitting. Unlike the Baudry, this was tight upon first opening. Clinched and with its structure in the forefront it took a while to open. Once it did, it was excellent. Everything you could want in a Burgundy. Layers of fruit, minerals, and brush, draped atop a lattice like structure. This may be the most consistently pleasing wine in all of Burgundy. I’ve never had one be brutally mean, even if I opened it too young, and I’ve never had one be terrible, even in difficult vintages. This vintage has epic written all over it. It should be a fine wine for a couple of decades although you can enjoy it now for those silky layers of fruit if you have a decent stash.
We followed these up the next day with a stunning bottle of 2006 George Descombes Morgon. My mother loves Descombes and put a huge dent in my stash the last time she was here. This bottle showed splendidly with lacey stoney fruit that mixed in hints of flowers, herbs and sunshine. About as delicious as a wine can be and I see no reason to age it further. Incidentally, non geeks love this wine.
Last but not least, a wine that I think really typifies Wine Disorder, the 2007 Puzelat pineau d’Aunis La Tesniere. I’ve always had a soft spot for the wines of Thierry (and those he makes with his brother Jean-Marie) and I’ll accept the odd flawed bottle or rough patch to experience the gorgeousness of something like this. This bottle was fresh, vibrant, snappy but with just enough pineau d’Aunis grip to stand steadfast in the face of some fatty food. I could drink my bodyweight in this. Really.
I’m with Blackwood, all hail 2007!
Happy Birthday Wine Disorder. I think we all know that I’m the obvious choice for Stalin.
Over the weekend, I enjoyed a magnificent bottle of 2006 Baudry Chinon Blanc La Croix Boisée. This was screaming delicious from the moment it was opened. Thrilling nose of stones, Sweettart, limestoney that seemed to shimmer and pulse. On the palate it was racy and alive, as if it had absorbed its fat and transformed it into muscle, but with just enough cushion so as not to be freakish. One of the best bottles I’ve had in a while. Exhilarating, even to the decidedly non-geek I was dining with.
A difficult act to follow, but a bottle of 2001 Chevillon Les St. Georges was stellar, if not quite as captivating, but that’s some hair splitting. Unlike the Baudry, this was tight upon first opening. Clinched and with its structure in the forefront it took a while to open. Once it did, it was excellent. Everything you could want in a Burgundy. Layers of fruit, minerals, and brush, draped atop a lattice like structure. This may be the most consistently pleasing wine in all of Burgundy. I’ve never had one be brutally mean, even if I opened it too young, and I’ve never had one be terrible, even in difficult vintages. This vintage has epic written all over it. It should be a fine wine for a couple of decades although you can enjoy it now for those silky layers of fruit if you have a decent stash.
We followed these up the next day with a stunning bottle of 2006 George Descombes Morgon. My mother loves Descombes and put a huge dent in my stash the last time she was here. This bottle showed splendidly with lacey stoney fruit that mixed in hints of flowers, herbs and sunshine. About as delicious as a wine can be and I see no reason to age it further. Incidentally, non geeks love this wine.
Last but not least, a wine that I think really typifies Wine Disorder, the 2007 Puzelat pineau d’Aunis La Tesniere. I’ve always had a soft spot for the wines of Thierry (and those he makes with his brother Jean-Marie) and I’ll accept the odd flawed bottle or rough patch to experience the gorgeousness of something like this. This bottle was fresh, vibrant, snappy but with just enough pineau d’Aunis grip to stand steadfast in the face of some fatty food. I could drink my bodyweight in this. Really.
I’m with Blackwood, all hail 2007!
Happy Birthday Wine Disorder. I think we all know that I’m the obvious choice for Stalin.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Perfectly quiet Burgundy
Had a quiet and perfect roast chicken with my good friend Will at Rue Cler. I can always count on my brother to deliver the goods. I think sometimes we underestimate the value of very good wines, matched perfectly, with very good food over the GREAT. Sometimes the GREAT is the enemy of the pleasant evening. Everyone gets so worried about the great, they forget to enjoy where they are and who they are with.
1998 Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Saint Georges
Of the 1998s I’ve been working through, this is by far the most in the moment. It was surprisingly backward at first, but as it opened, you could feel the structure move towards the back of the palate. None of the off aroma issues that I’ve had with other Chevillon 1998s (particularly the Vaucrains). A focused, muscular, and darkly mineral spine held together the fruit and earth bound notes. By the end, this was spot on. Others might hold it for another 10 years. I say it could wait maybe another couple, but is good now.
1998 Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Saint Georges
Of the 1998s I’ve been working through, this is by far the most in the moment. It was surprisingly backward at first, but as it opened, you could feel the structure move towards the back of the palate. None of the off aroma issues that I’ve had with other Chevillon 1998s (particularly the Vaucrains). A focused, muscular, and darkly mineral spine held together the fruit and earth bound notes. By the end, this was spot on. Others might hold it for another 10 years. I say it could wait maybe another couple, but is good now.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Excellent Cathiard, mediocre Olek
Met up at Rue Cler with my friend Susannah for dinner after work.
2005 Olek-Mery Chinon Blanc
I’d been really curious about this wine for a while and was psyched for Susannah to bring it to dinner. I’m curious about the etiology of this wine as it could be the same grapes that Matthieu Baudry uses for the Croix Boisée blanc, but I don’t know and will have to remember to ask. This had a leesy scent and what appeared to be some new wood. It was a bit flabby and dilute, not really what I was hoping for at all. Compared to the recent bottle of 2004 Baudry Croix Boisée blanc, it was distinctly inferior.
1999 Cathiard Nuits St. Georges 1er Murgers
I decanted this and then set it aside while we tried the white. This wine built and built like a slow train. It reminded me of Coltrane. Snoop would dig it on the Soul Plane. Anyway, for the first time I understood a comment someone said to me about Cathiard being fruity. I’ve never though of the wines as fruit forward, but as supremely elegant and reserved wines, especially in the context of Vosne. Right upon opening it was quite fruity and not appropriately structured. This all started to change dramatically at about the hour mark. I suspect that folks who find this fruity just popped and poured. It really benefitted from time in the decanter. The unfurling picked up speed and the wine gained in precision and focus, stretching out before us while developing snap and verve. Cool red fruits framed by floral and Spring field-ish notes. I loved the structure. This was strikingly precise and detailed for a wine from Nuits St. George, but the vineyard location and vigneron have something to do with that. I wish Cathiard wines hadn’t got so expensive. I think the 2005 sells for like $200 or something ridiculous like that. Who knew?
2005 Olek-Mery Chinon Blanc
I’d been really curious about this wine for a while and was psyched for Susannah to bring it to dinner. I’m curious about the etiology of this wine as it could be the same grapes that Matthieu Baudry uses for the Croix Boisée blanc, but I don’t know and will have to remember to ask. This had a leesy scent and what appeared to be some new wood. It was a bit flabby and dilute, not really what I was hoping for at all. Compared to the recent bottle of 2004 Baudry Croix Boisée blanc, it was distinctly inferior.
1999 Cathiard Nuits St. Georges 1er Murgers
I decanted this and then set it aside while we tried the white. This wine built and built like a slow train. It reminded me of Coltrane. Snoop would dig it on the Soul Plane. Anyway, for the first time I understood a comment someone said to me about Cathiard being fruity. I’ve never though of the wines as fruit forward, but as supremely elegant and reserved wines, especially in the context of Vosne. Right upon opening it was quite fruity and not appropriately structured. This all started to change dramatically at about the hour mark. I suspect that folks who find this fruity just popped and poured. It really benefitted from time in the decanter. The unfurling picked up speed and the wine gained in precision and focus, stretching out before us while developing snap and verve. Cool red fruits framed by floral and Spring field-ish notes. I loved the structure. This was strikingly precise and detailed for a wine from Nuits St. George, but the vineyard location and vigneron have something to do with that. I wish Cathiard wines hadn’t got so expensive. I think the 2005 sells for like $200 or something ridiculous like that. Who knew?
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