By: Ryan Tedder
Every once in a while a truly special night of celebration occurs at Graileys where close friends take the opportunity to get together and drink some of the best wines ever made to mark the occasion. Before Thanksgiving we had such an epic night of fun, drinking, eating and laughing to celebrate or dear friend and valued member William. He is one of the most generous people I have met in my life and seldom a day goes by here that he is not opening up a stunning bottle of wine to share with friends new and old. A little shit will get talked and some dirty jokes fly but all in all, few people exist in the world with the quality of character that Mr. Stuart has. I was blessed to be able to commune at this wine dinner for the ages! As you can see, things started out great with some 1976 Pichon Lalande that was drinking with that pure Pauillac charm of red currant, tobacco, gravel, cigar box and a nice green note that is a signature of the estate. We drank several more wines before the meal which I will summarize at the bottom of the page but the dinner table was where the magic really happened!
It was a full table of good friends with stunning wines to go around. I think we could use some more glasses;)
The full line-up of wines was one of the best I have ever had.
We started with a blind side by side of 2007 Domaine Ramonet Puligny-Montrachet Champs Canet 1er Cru (from 3L!) & 2011 Hensteeth Chardonnay. The Hensteeth was showing great with precision, minerality and wonderful class. Most people thought it was the White Burgundy until they tasted the Ramonet. The Ramonet was simply outstanding! White peach, ripe grapefruit and lemon thyme, with crushed stone and floral nuances. Juicy, precise and firm, with dry, elegant floral, mineral and hazelnut flavors currently dominating underlying citrus notes. This wine was stunning and a great wine. The 3 Liter format didn’t hurt either!
Then the craziness ensued… a bucket list wine for me and my wine of the night was the Magnum of 1983 Jaboulet La Chapelle Hermitage. It was seamless and silky, but also with a firm backbone of mineral, wet earth, plum, blackberry and leather notes. An old-fashioned red with a long finish that could inspire prose. It was the classic pepper, garrigue, old library books, animal and sois bois notes with a finish that I could taste the next day. Bravo!
We had four crazy good red Burgundies:
1992 Domaine Ponsot Griotte-Chambertin – These 1992s are drinking great and it was perfectly vinous and mature. Great stuff.
2003 Thibault Liger Belair Clos Vougeot – A great producer in a warm year that was showing great with juicy fruit, heady aromas and integrated Nuits flavors.
1976 Gros Freres Richebourg & 2007 Gros Freres Richebourg – HOLY CRAP THESE WERE AWESOME! The 1976 still had primary fruit and a certain wild, sauvage quality that made it a wine I could hardly put down. the 2007 was more forward and drinking in the perfect window. The 2007 was the quickest wine drank of the night! Bravo Bill “Richebourg” Stuart-you outdid yourself!
Ivan the Fiver was here so some superlative Cali gems and a rare Aussie made an appearance as well:
2001 Clarendon Hills Astralis Shiraz – this was a tribute to Mr. Stuart and his humble Aussie origins. the wine was like figgy pudding with brambly fruit, black pepper, clay minerality and a super round, supple palate. Great juice from an iconic producer in McLaren Vale.
2011 Tusk – This is the best 2011 Napa Cabernet produced in my opinion and it did not disappoint. Bereft of the typical green 2011 vintage notes, the wine is black in color and flavor. Cassis, black cherry, mocha, gravel, and sweet spices with a powerful tannin profile and a seamless, lengthy finish. Delicious!
2011 SQN Patine Syrah (Extended Barrel Aging) – Wow, wow, wow! Every EBA bottle I have tried has been amazing. This one has aromas and flavors of graphite, sweet oak, smoked meats, pepper and black raspberry and cassis-like fruit. While it shows the vintage’s cooler nature, it has a stacked mid-palate and will evolve gracefully. This will be legendary for 30 years or more.
We even had a stunning older bottle of Bordeaux, 1959 Cos d’Estournel! The label was falling off but the wine certainly was not! This was Bill’s favorite wine of the night I believe and I can see why. 1959 is such a great vintage and Cos is a top 3 Super Second to me. Imminently complex, refined, thought-provoking and lengthy, the 1959 Cos drank great from the bottle and started to fall off after a bit of time in the glass as you would expect. When it was on, it was as good as the 1959 Pichon Baron and 1959 Pichon Lalande that I tried this year with some typicity still intact from this great piece of land across the border from Lafite.
The dinner was great but the wines stole the show! It was a night for the ages without a doubt! Before and after we drank several more bottles. Check them out:
1998 Henriot Cuvee des Enchanteleurs
NV Delamotte Blanc des Blancs
NV Andre Clouet No 3 Brut Rose from Magnum
2007 Chartogne Taillet Les Barres
1978 Remoissenet Volnay Clos des Chenes 1er Cru
2009 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Russian River Valley
1999 Potel Grands Echezeaux
2002 Nuits St George Les St Georges 1er Cru
2007 Pierre Morey Meursault Charmes 1er Cru
2007 Fontodi Flaccianello
1989 Cos d’Estournel
1976 Pichon Lalande
2012 Gargiulo OVX G Major 7 Study Red Blend
2012 Blankiet Rive Droitte
2012 Peter Michael Au Paradis Oakville Cab (#1 Wine of the Year from Wine Spectator 2015!)