By: AJ McClellan
The day started off easy enough, getting ready for our Jadot tasting. We were to taste through several Grand Crus from 1999, 2000, and 2001. Everything was ready and in place, that is until our members showed up and Simon decided to treat them to something special.
1992 Hudelot Noellat – Romanee St Vivant GC – When we first opened this bottle it was brilliant on the nose – crushed red currants and notes of nutmeg and spice with warm cinnamon, clove, spiced tea, and big red rose on the back of the nose. The palate was soft but full of spice; the fruit had faded a little but was still kicking. I was slightly disappointed by the finish; it fell off a little and was hollow on the backend. Then, after 2 hours in the glass the wine blew up in the glass filling out on the palate and finish showing duck confit, Asian spices, and a hint of soy sauce.
1999 Paul Pernot Bienvenues Batard Montrachet GC – Dry popcorn on the nose with slight vanilla bean, honeydew, and white peach. A hint of walnut on the palate with honey covered almonds. Very lively acidity with great balance of fruit and minerality. Long finish showing great subtle vanilla notes and pleasant pears.
1999 Bernard Dugat-Py Gevrey Chambertin 1er - Huge red liquorish with big clove and violets on the nose. Huge cherries and great ripe fruit with crushed rock minerality and excellent earth. This wine was a giant compared to its brother from Romanee. After a good two hours in the glass this wine filled out even more gaining weight and rustic cherry notes with a great earthy spice on the finish.
1995 Frederic Mugnier Chambolle Musigny 1er Les Amoureuses – When we opened this wine it had moderately good nose and the palate was doing ok. I knew from experience that it needed at least an hour before it started to open up so I set the glass aside. After about an hour and a half I came back to the glass and it had started to open, showing dusty cherry, tilled earth, a slight must note, and sheep’s wool. After another hour in the glass the wine came to fruition showing an animalistic note of damp hide and funk. The palate was a barnyard filled with black tea, coffee, and old sun dried red fruits. I cannot say when the finish ended because I might still be able to taste it two days later… A great bottle of wine.
Yes, I do keep all of my wines until the end of the night…
2005 Domine Francois Lamarrhe La Grande Rue GC –This wine was a giant but I am sure that the youth of the wine had something to do with it. Big black fruits with clove, violet, plums, and scorched earth. The palate was well balanced and weighty. A good bottle now but in 10 years it will be great.
1976 Remoissenet Gevrey Chambertin 1er Clos saint Jacques – Huge smoke on the nose – cigar smoke and smoked meats. Big notes of star anise and black tea with loads of coffee rubbed lamb. Surprisingly massive on the palate after more than 30 years in the bottle. Excellent balance with cedar and spice on the finish.
1997 Louis Jadot Chevalier Montrachet GC – Big honey with oxidative characteristics of almonds, walnuts, and cooked peaches. The palate was thick and waxy with notes of honeysuckles, yellow spring flowers, and crushed limestone.
1988 DRC Romanee st Vivant – This was a true treat to have opened. Although I must say that it was wishy-washy all night long. When I opened the bottle it smelt of fresh purple flowers, red roses, and violets with sweet blue and red fruits and a great earthy backdrop. After allowing the wine to sit in the bottle for almost an hour we poured it with dinner. It surprised me that the wine had gone into remission hiding the budding flowers that had shown before and exhibiting instead a pleasant fruity aroma with big coffee and wet earth notes. I held on to this glass for another 2 hours and over that time it faded in and out never reaching the grand height that I thought it could achieve. Maybe it is going through a dumb period?
1959 Camille Giroud Bonnes Mares – Now this was a spectacular wine, and my wine of the night. It poured like silk coming out of the bottle and had a complex earthy aroma surrounded by dry blue and red fruits. The nose was stunning and ever changing showing first green tea, then black tea, then dusty cherry, then tar and tobacco. The palate was amazingly rich and earthy reminding me of two beautiful women mud wrestling on my taste buds. The wine was incredibly smooth with seamless balance and an countless layers of complexity.
1996 Guigal La Landonne – Big and brawny with typically Guigal game, smoke, black and white pepper, leather, and tobacco. A great wine but for one the Guigal did not steal the show. In fact compared to all the fantastic Burgs we had open around the table it felt brutish and clumsy. I am sure the youngness of the wine had some to do with its awkwardness but it still stunned me when this bottle did not float to the top of the pack.
Look at the color difference between the Dow’s (right) and the Graham’s (left)
1961 Dow’s (low shoulder fill) –Light amber in color, almost like dirty wash water. At first the wine was very hot on the nose showing little finesse. But the palate was very impressive with almond joy and huge nutty characteristics. After some time in the glass the heat blew off and the wine exhibited some miraculous complexity with a minute plus finish.
1961 Grahams – The grams was bold where the Dows was elegant we were split 50/50 on which one was better of the two. More fruit and more forward it was astonishing how dissimilar the two wines were. Huge fruit with great spice and a raisin finish.
1996 d’Yquem – Where can you possibly go after two great bottles of Port than to d’Yquem? The Sauterne was liquid gold with honey on the nose and palate. As usual the wine was delectable with complex golden fruit, notes of soft minerality, and a long finish.
A great night indeed!