By: Ryan Tedder
As will often happen on a good Friday with a lot of friendly members that know each other, several superlative bottles of Champagne will be consumed for the pure love of it with fellow Bubble-Heads because mutual appreciation is assured. This Friday was Graileys at its best and the quality of the Champagnes could not have been higher! We started with the only Grower Champagne of the lot, the 2009 Jean Milan “Terres de Noel” Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru and the wine was unreal! I had to special order a case of this rare Tete de Cuvee from the extremely high quality Farmer Fizz house of Jean Milan. The Fruit profile tasted like Grand Cru Chablis from Les Clos with citrus blossoms, lime sherbert, crisp salinity and an expansive finish. The wine got better as we drank through it and, sadly, the last bottle left the building. These bottles are like your kids-it’s tough to see the last one go sometimes… Next up was the 2002 Salon Blanc de Blancs - this is probably my favorite Champagne produced and the 2002 vintage of this stunner took Blanc de Blancs to a whole new level! Melted minerals, steel, lime blossoms, pastries with apples and honey, sea salt, almondine, hazelnut tart, and on and on. What a complex, powerful, head-spinningly wonderful bottle of bubbles. Holy cow!
Next up was the NV Krug Rose and it was spot on. For being Non-Vintage this Rose is unlike any other. There is such tension and verve is this bottle. Wild flowers, fresh strawberries, frozen cherries, fresh orange zest, pomegranate, ripe peach, light cream and even cotton candy? Limestone and other minerals carry the finish. This is a Rose to lay down and enjoy for a few decades, Wow! Lastly we finished with a pair of spectacular 2002s. Another of one of my favorite wines is the 2002 Rare from Piper Heidsieck and this bottle was no different. The wine has amazing autolytic richness with a very vintage Krug like flavor. Wonderfully complex with toasted brioche, currant and pear pastry flavors, with notes of fresh ginger and coconut, cappuccino foam and spun honey. Mineral accents of smoke, ground spice and fleur de sel build on the long, echoing finish. The 2002 Pol Roger Winston Churchill was every bit as rich but was a bit more complex, noble and damn near aristocratic in nature. This tasted like Montrachet with more acid and ultra fine bubbles. It has a mousse of cashmere and a texture of satin. This was a top 5 Champagne of the last 20 years for me. Refined and lacy in texture, with spices and graphite-laced flavors of ripe apricot and blackberry, lemon meringue pie, chopped almond and briny mineral. You must find this wine if you love Champagne-it rocks!
I had to do a separate photo of these kick ass wines! The 1990 Haut Brion was the Wine of the Night by all accounts. Both bottles were badass! The 1990 Palmer was spectacular as well. This was my 5th bottle of the 1990 Rossignol Trapet Chambertin and this wine is just getting better by the day. The last wine that blew me away (but it was crazy young) was the 2003 Penfolds Grange Shiraz. Aromas of cedar, cigar box, leather, Asian spices, and blueberry – classic Grange. Great wines all!
With Cote de Couer the next day, we also had the pleasure of hosting Cushing Donelan and Bob Egelhoff. Lots of great wines were enjoyed including these:
2007 Mayacamas Chardonnay from Magnum
2002 Araujo Altagracia
2012 Evening Land Seven Springs Vineyard Pinot Noir
2007 Arnot Roberts Alder Springs Syrah
2007 Pahlmeyer Red
2010 Modus Operandi Cabernet Sauvignon
2002 Sean Thackery Andromeda Pinot Noir from Magnum
2006 Chapoutier Le Meal Ermitage
2012 Linne Calodo Rising Tides GSM
2013 Egelhoff Riesling
2012 Egelhoff Pinot Noir RRV
2010 Egelhoff Walton Cabernet Sauvignon
2009 Egelhoff Blue Label Cabernet Sauvignon
2012 Donelan Chardonnay Nancie
2011 Donelan Cuvee Christine Syrah
2012 Donelan Cuvee Moriah Syrah
2012 Donelan Walker Vine Hill Syrah