By: AJ McClellan
A mellow Monday with the heat of an African sun beating down outside. The few members that we had come in were happy to be greeted with a crisp cool glass of Brocard Chablis. The zingy acidity and cold minerality of the white lifted our spirits and banished the oppressive heat of the day. In celebration we opened a great bottle of Bordeaux to bring the day to a close.
2008 Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis 1er Montee Tonnerre – This wine is a treat to drink, especially on a hot day. Crisp and clean with lemon meringue pie topped with lemon zest and a decorative floral arrangement of small white summer flowers. The palate was driven by a refreshing minerality sprayed with sea salt like treading through knee high schist next to the ocean.
1986 La Dominque – I was incredibly impressed with this bottle. Out of the gate it was classic Bordeaux with big forest floor, graphite, purple flowers, dry blue and black fruit, and a rocky minerality of crushed boulders and marl. The palate was surprisingly soft for a wine from the notoriously big year of 86. Mellow tannins with soft boysenberries and blueberries backed by a thin stream of smoke and supple moist earth.