Last Friday, we had an epic night of Northern Rhone’s finest that has stunned me for eternity. In a blind tasting set up, our members went through four Rhone varietals, decoding its flavors, structure and finish to determine each bottles’ vintage, composition and origin. We started with Rhone varietal’s most iconic producers and ended the night with a fifty-five year-old Bordeaux and perfectly aged Dom Perignon. Oh, what a night and we couldn’t have had such a memorable time without our generous members!
1996 Jean Louis Chave Hermitage- The overall wine of the night from the tasting! The fruit was bright and lively driven by dried, ripe red fruit complimented by wild rose. Wonderfully meaty with the perfect amount of granite, dried spices, red licorice and herbs all expressed in a silky, polished texture, leading into focused, lengthy finish.
1998 Rene Rostaing Cote Rotie Cote Blonde- The aromas jumped out of the glass in this one with wild rosemary, dried lilacs and thyme. Beautifully herbaceous, wild and rustic; also the savoriest wine from the lineup with notes of roasted meats, smoke, olive tapenade, licorice, iron, star anise, herbs de Provence galore! The finish was as wild as the wine itself, going in all directions for over a lengthy period of time.
2000 Guigal Cote Rotie Chateau d’Ampuis- (not a part of the blind tasting, but serendipitously opened this fateful night) A fantastic showing of the Ampuis! Absolutely dynamic in the glass starting off with graceful tones that opened up into a ravaging beauty.
1985 Paul Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle- (not a part of the blind tasting, but serendipitously opened this fateful night) The star of the night for me and the highlight to my week! This bottle of ’85 Jaboulet La Chapelle was truly spectacular! From the enticing nose to the haunting finish and all of its elegant qualities in between, this has been one of the best showings of La Chapelle I’ve experienced at Graileys yet. If you went on aroma and texture alone, this bottle will take you to fine aged Burgundy. Dried wild rose petals and perfectly preserved red and black cherry, pomegranate and dried plums were the leading elements in the nose. The palate offered incredible depth with seamless dimensions, one after the other, filled with dried meat, lavender, olives, dried clay, herbs, smoke and rich spice. What an amazing treat to kick off the weekend!
2003 Penfolds Grange- An epic Rhone varietal blind tasting is not complete until a bottle of Penfolds Grange is present and this magnificent baby threw in a powerful punch to the lineup. Over ripe black fruit drove the palate with concentrated layers of dark baking spices, mint and tar. At thirteen years of age, this bottle proved once again the power and longevity of Grange.
1990 Dom Perignon- After all the Rhone and Grange was drunk and enjoyed, we opened up a bottle of the 1990 Dom Perignon. It seems that we always end with an exceptional bottle of vintage Champagne as anybody should when sealing a splendid wine night with great friends and this bottle nearly stole the show! After experiencing a fine Champagne like this, there is just no turning back.