Wow what a wonderful week of wine drinking last week at Graileys! Some weeks go by when it’s hard to sit down and appreciate the quality and sheer volume of amazing wines that get drank and shared here. Last week was one such week full of truly world class wines and great camaraderie with new and old members. We started the week with some amazing French wines and a house favorite Napa Cab. One of our favorite members opened up a bottle of 1989 Remoissenet Vosne Romanee Les Suchots 1er Cru that was spectacular! We have had a wonderful track record with this excellent Burgundy operation. The sweet Pinot Nuits red berry fruit was still lush and generous with loads of truffle, wet forest, heavy clay and sois bois. A very lengthy finish and a bottle with a ton of life left in it. Next a bottle of 1995 Joseph Drouhin Chambolle Musigny Les Amoureuses 1er Cru was a more powerful, closed Burgundy that needed several hours of air to show it’s full potential currently. Musigny like power and Bonnes Mares savory/animal side, this Amoureuses was a great example of why this treasured Premier Cru is getting talked about for eventual Grand Cru status upgrade. it tasted every bit the part of GC to me. Next we drank a bottle of 2000 Guigal La Turque Cote Rotie that also needed a good few hours to come to life (as to be expected). The La Turque is always a welcome addition to any day of wine drinking. This is the most balanced of the three La Las and has always been a personal favorite of mine. Notes of espresso, black pepper, plum pudding, Medjool dates, bacon, beef jerky, blood and garrigue oozed out of the glass with proper aeration. A core of sweet cassis, black tea and anise with plump, round tannins that still showed a good tug. Lastly we finished with a stellar bottle of 1996 Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. One of the finest track records for aging in our experience drinking Napa Cabs going back to the 70s. The 1996 was just entering a perfect drinking window that should last for 10 more years easily. The tannins were completely refined and the has a seamless, uber-smooth caressing quality that practically dared you to drink more. It was classic Napa Cab with a touch of mint to go with the sweet black cherry and black currant core. Plenty of fruit, tobacco, cedar and complexity to spare. A true joy to drink. I had every intention to write all about this the following day but then Luc Bouchard came by and all wine hit the fan. Then the next day this happened:
Another great room full of some of our favorite members drinking some more stunning Cab blends. A bottle I had never seen before was the 1978 Heitz Cellars Fay Vineyard Cabernet from the talented Dr. Ellis. These Heitz bottlings from the 70s are sublime and the Fay vineyard serves as the core to all the great wines from Stags Leap Wine Cellars and Warren Winiarski. It literally tasted like 1978 Pichon Lalande with slightly sweeter fruit. This was unbelievable in every way and drinking like some of the best 70s Napa Cabs I have ever drank. He said it was his last bottle and all I could express was my extreme gratitude for sharing such an amazing bottle. In turn Graileys popped a bottle of 1994 Beringer Private Reserve Merlot Howell Mountain that was reminiscent of excellent older pavie or a similarly fine right bank blend from 1990 Saint Emilion. Truffle, dark plums, coffee roast, heavy clay, dried leaves, pipe tobacco and blackberries filled the glass. The wine improved over the first 30-40 minutes and drank well until we slurped it down after 2 hours. Next we had the most “not-ready-to-drink” wine of the flight-the 2004 edition of Chateau Palmer’s XIXth Century Wine- A blend of Cabernet family grapes blended with Syrah in the style of 200 years ago, this wine is unbelievably rare. Only one barrel was made in 2004! The gentleman from Palmer told us that he did not know how we got the wine as they did not ship it the the USA. Even after being open for 5 hours this brawny wine was impressive nonetheless. Imagine an amazing bottle of Hermitage blended with a 2005 Margaux…Imagine that bottle of wine with 20 more years on it. I bet it might need that long, but when its ready-you watch out! Then one of our double consonant members who we had not seen in a while popped a rocking bottle of 1985 Haut Brion. This was head to head with the Heitz for profundity in a more nuanced fashion. A very complex nose of cedar, dried herbs, smoke, creosote, and black cherries, plums, and currants jumps from the glass. In the mouth, it is round, concentrated, medium to full-bodied, with a velvety texture and beautifully integrated alcohol, acidity, and tannin. A finish that went on for over a minute and drinking on the latter half of its life, but at a very high level. Find this wine if you can and drink it! I was going to write about this the next day and then this happened:
We had a rawkus good time with some good friends and we drank through the 2008 Thibault Liger-Belair Nuits-St-George “La Charmotte”, 1992 Domaine Meo-Camuzet Nuits-St-George Aux Murgers 1er Cru. 2000 Chateau Monbousquet, 2000 Pichon Lalande, 2000 Chateau Beaucastel and 1997 Ceretto Zonchera Barolo. All of these wines were stupendous in their own right showing great typicity and quality. The 2 standouts to me where the Meo Camuzet and the Pichon Lalande. The 1992s in Burgundy are drinking wonderfully right now and this was a stunner! A solid, dark ruby color, and a big, spicy nose of smoky new oak, black fruits, and herbs. Thick, soft, round, and generous, with no hard edges, plenty of smoky, rich fruit, and a long, lush finish. Black truffle, fudge, dense minerality and dried roses. This was a delight to drink. The 2000 Pichon Lalande tasted downright amazing too! It tasted like a 100 point wine that was a younger version of the legendary 1982. The 2000 Pichon Lalande is opulent, rich and dense that was dense purple in color, with loads of coffee, mocha, creme de cassis, and chocolate notes as well. A wine to stockpile! Sorry for the delay in relaying all of these great wines, but I was too busy enjoying them with our great members! Let the good wine times roll!