By AJ McClellan
This weekend Graileys was a great stop for Champagne! We opened some great bottles to share around the table, covering all the bases from Rose, to Blanc de Blanc. At first the Krug was my favorite but after leaving the wines open for an hour or two the Dom Ruinart really started to strut its stuff making it a photo finish for the wine of the night.
1998 Dom Ruinart – The Dom Ruinart was great out of the bottle with a basket of brioche followed by lemon peel and a pleasant limestone minerality. After leaving the wine open for a few hours the minerality exploded leaving shards of limestone all over the palate. The fruit swelled as well taking over the nose and pushing the yeasty notes back to the finish. This was a fun bottle to watch open up.
NV Krug Rose – Right off the back the wine was fresh strawberries and searing minerality. Light and fresh on the palate, it was a little aggressive with the effervescence but nothing a few swirls of the glass couldn’t fix. All in all this was a very good bottle of wine.
2005 Lilbert – I have been very impressed with this bottle each time it has been opened. Very unique minerality that reminds me of a great Chablis. The fruit is up front and bold in the glass showing lime zest, white peach rind, and freshly sliced Asian pear.
NV Bruno Paillard Blanc de Blanc – An old favorite. It was great to taste this next to all of the other fantastic Champagnes we had open. Similar qualities to the Dom Ruinart with great yeasty notes followed by fresh citrus and a mineral backbone.
2011 Merriman Pinot Noir – A great Pinot out of Oregon made by Mike Merriman. The pinot was fresh on the palate with ripe red cherry and a pleasant acidity that balanced out the moderate tannins.