We kicked off the weekend with a lineup that’s larger than life last Friday! Our lovely friend from LVMH kicked off 5 o’clock for us with bottles of Krug Grande Cuvee and Krug Rose in honor of National Champagne Day, Krug Appreciation Day and hell, because it was Friday! Krug is truly King when it comes to fine Champagne and the Grande Cuvee was showing at its finest with seductive flair. Warm spices and toasty brioche dominated the palate through its sensational coating texture while notes of golden pear, almonds, white peach and preserved lemons added a wonderful lift. Krug Rose was beautifully elegant with light rose, raspberries, strawberry and citrus prickling the tongue.
To follow up such a grand start to the evening, our dear friends from a Bordeaux negociant we work closely with droppped by to taste our valued members on a ridiculous lineup of amazing Bordeaux! From Second Growth Chateau Leoville las Cases from the Left Bank to a vertical of the Right Bank’s Grand Cru Classe A icon, Cheval Blanc and much more in between, our Graileys members reveled in a tremendous flight of wines Friday evening!
Of the Left Bank, the 2010 Leoville Las Cases was the winner and the wine of the night! This baby has hit its apex with ripe, beautiful black and red currants, rich forest floor, leather, dense spice, mocha, dark cocoa and explosive wild violets. This multidimensional Second Growth was absolutely dynamic from the nose to the extensive finish and the palate was flawless. I highly recommend you grab as much as you can of this stunner! If this stunner was that much impressive last Friday, I cannot wait to see how it develops in decades to come!
We tasted through four vintages of one of the Right Bank’s most revered estates: Cheval Blanc, vintages 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2012. Each wine was impressive in its own stature but the vintage that blew our minds; dropped our jaws and knocked our socks off was the magnificent 2009 Cheval Blanc!! With insane power, yet seductive grace the 2009 Cheval Blanc was mystical, magical as holy a bottle of fine wine can get. The black and blue fruit was concentrated and ripe; the earth was dense and utterly profound; the floral notes were sweet and alluring; the texture was opulent, mouth-coating and velvety smooth; and the finish lingered for what seemed like forever. This wine has definitely reached one of my top experiences of youthful Bordeaux that has been had within the Graileys walls.