Last week, after a whirlwind of spectacular Champagnes, even more stunning bottles just kept on coming our way! Graileys had a special invitation to attend the “Perfect 10″ tasting at Grange Hall and what a spectacular lineup! From the 09 Les Chetillons Cuvee Specialle Blanc de Blancs out of Magnum to 2013 Clos de Tart and 2012 de Montille’s Corton Charlemagne, there wasn’t a single bad bottle to be had!
My favorite bottle of the lineup was the 2009 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Brunate. It showed beautiful fruit with power but with approachable grace! Gorgeous nose that just jumps out of the glass and the palate is a seamless continuation of the nose but with elegant layers of earth, leather and lively spice. The texture puts the wine in overdrive and it becomes shear seduction. Beautiful now and with time, this will grow into a very fine Barolo. I can’t stop thinking about this Barolo!
The Big Boy of the tasting, the 2012 Colgin Cariad was the highlight of the flight. This isn’t your ordinary luscious 2012 Napa Cabernet, the 2012 Colgin Cariad has terrific balance with concentrated dark fruit, deep savory nuances of dark, rich spices and smoke. Layered, rich and enticing, it showed more than well at the tasting and I highly anticipate how it will show with more time in the bottle. This is a bottle to make room in your cellar for!
Our members finished the week strong with a killer lineup of Bordeaux. ’00 Pichon Lalande, ’78 Ducru Beaucaillou, ’96 Carriudes de Lafite, the list goes on and one. But there were three bottles that stood out… 1990 La Conseillante, 1995 Georges Noellat Vosne Romanee Premier Cru Les Petits Monts and the 1994 Guigal Cote Rotie La Mouline…. The ’90 La Conseillante was fantastic! Plump black and blue plums intermingled beautifully with sweet cigar, black tea, leather and compost. The ’94 La Mouline was the surprise of the night! Wild berry fruit that were wonderfully preserved, dried plums, violets, rosemary and softened tar with a silky coat. This was absolutely sexy! The ’95 Goerges Noellat Vosne Romanee Les Petits Monts was perfect! Soft red cherry, preserved raspberries, red tea, soft spice, dried herbs and dried rose. Perfect, absolutely perfect. It was another fantastic week at Graileys! I can’t wait to see what this week will bring….
