We had a really fun tasting last week. Todd Mathis came in and tasted us through Martines Rhone portfolio with a few bubbles and Chablis thrown in. The tasting went great and as usual there were some awesome wines opened after the fact. One of our members who also posts on Wine Berserkers took some great tasting notes that I thought I would share with you…
By: Phil Robert
Had the opportunity to taste through a nice batch of producers I was not familiar with. The Chablis were fantastic, Champagne good to very good, but the Rhones were outstanding both in quality and price.
Patrick Piuze – new producer to me but he has made wine for Brocard, Verget and Olivier Leflaive previously. This guy is one to watch for sure.
08 Chablis “Terroir de Chichee” really good, crisp, good cut, hint of pineapple and lemon zest.
08 Chablis 1er Cru “Montmains” - very clean, lemon and green apple, nice minerality, stony.
08 Chablis Grand Cru “Bougros” – creamy, more muscular than the rest, a step up, finesse and a touch of baby fat relative to the cut of the previous 2 wines. Really outstanding though, and got way better as I saved my glass to follow over another hour.
Saint-Chamant Champagnes: Another new grower for me. Found the wines good, and they tended to have more yeasty characteristics. Primarily Chardonnay with a small amount of Noir and meunier.
NV Blanc de Blancs Brut – 85% from 01, 15% from 99 and 00 – disgorged 09. Fairly straightforward, nice bread dough and green apple.
00 Blanc de Blancs Brut – disgorged 09. Nice fine bead. Presenting more yeast notes, fairly crisp and dry.
99 Blanc de Blancs Brut – disgorged 09. this one had the most prominent doughy/yeasty notes, preferred the 00 as this was just a little too funky for me.
Stephane Coquillette Champagnes – I found these very good and the les Cles to be outstanding.
NV Blanc de Blancs “Cuvee Diane” Brut – nice straightforward green apple and fairly lively.
NV Carte d’Or Brut – very good, clean crisp exuberant nice bead with floral notes making this very attractive.
NV Blanc de Noirs “Cuvee les Cles” Brut – excellent, red fruited strawberry profile with some crisp red apple, really danced around the palate and very light on its feet.
Georges Vernay Condrieu and Rhones
09 Condrieu Terrases de l’Empire – super creamy, fragrant, honeysuckle? Almost a vanilla note in there, pretty damn good.
08 Condrieu Chaillees de l’Enfer – tart ripe fruit, masculine with some stone fruit peach pit.
07 Condrieu Coteau de Vernon – very tight and still very young. There was a little alcohol on the nose and heat on finish that detracted a bit from what otherwise was a nice wine.
09 Syrah de Miebaudie – little roasted meat, white pepper, nice florals – really good.
08 Syrah Fleurs de Mai – really stole the show in this flight, excellent QPR. Bright and fresh, funky nose.
08 Cotes du Rhone Ste. Agatha – violets, white pepper, earthy and meaty
07 St Joseph – tough one for me, just wasnt giving up as much – good but way outclassed by the other two in this flight
08 Cote Rotie La Blonde du Seigneur – great aromatics, peppery with a bit of spice, iron and meat. Really good.
07 Cote Rotie Maison Rouge – was just killer, big brute of a wine but yet very balanced with no noticeable heat. Great floral aromas, bacon, roasted meat, pretty much stole the show and one of those wow wines around the table.
A great variety of geographies and character to drink and a super educational tasting.
Other wines we had:
07 Mugnier Clos de la Marechale – still tight and just a baby, red fruited profile, nice drink
89 Leoville Las Cases – gorgeous bottle of wine and drinking perfectly right now. Structured, plenty of fruit, beautiful
94 Diamond Creek Red Rock Terraces – still holding plenty of fruit but the tannin has receded and is a rather plush soft wine, I’d be drinking these up.
90 Montelena Estate – this was drinking nicely pop and pour, still structured and balanced, cedar and dark berries.
1997 Castello di Verduno Barbaresco Faset – this would have been very good with food, but pop and pour it was drinking nicely with still a fair amount of acidity.
89 Chateau Rayas – had to have been a slightly off bottle with a touch of tomato and missing that great strawberry profile I associate with Rayas.
Probably missed a few others but a really fun evening drinking with friends….
Thanks for the tasting notes Phil.