By: AJ McClellan
Yesterday was a stunner! With the weather clearing up and a beautiful sun shining I thought we would be slow, but nothing could be farther from the truth. With a handful of members in we managed to open some absolutely gorgeous bottles of wine!
The fun started when Simon popped a 2012 Comte de Vogue Bourgogne Blanc. The wine was showing brilliant limestone and blue marl on the nose with lavish white summer flowers. Undertones of lemon zest with a touch of sourdough on the back end of the palate. Nice acidity but the power is lost on the back end giving you a long light finish. Nectarine pit and a waxy palate take over after a few moments in the glass giving off tons of burnt/caramelized vanilla on the back end that carries through the entire wine.
After the white it was time for pure power. The 2012 SQN Stock Syrah was HUGE with immediate big leather on nose, blueberry crumble, wild blackberries, and baking spice with black tea and violets. Some wet soil but not much. There is a predominate smoke on the front and back end that gives it that signature SQN kick. Wild flowers and dark chocolate shavings complete the finish. To match up with the new world Syrah, we popped an old world Syrah to see what was up… 2000 Jaboulet La Chapelle. A more delicate style of La Chapelle than I have had before, which was a little disappointing after the massive SQN. That being said, the wine was still beautiful, leading off with a pronounced leather nuance followed by the typical smoke and tobacco that I have come to expect from the wine. The palate is what is surprising, with soft tannins and delicate fruit that could almost fool you into thinking this a meaty style of Gevrey. With some time in the glass the wine had gained a little weight but still not as much as you would think and the Syrah characteristics that came out even more with a mouth full of wet tobacco and saddle leather.
Syrah is awesome and all but we always seem to end up in the same place at the end of the night – Bordeaux. And what a duo of Bordeaux’s it is… First, the 2000 Palmer opened up bright with big fruit and a strong earthy backbone. The wine actually tightened up some in the glass with the tannins gaining grip and power. The wine gives off tart raspberry and blackberry on the nose, some bramble and big rocky minerality. Light dried floral notes with strong stemmy tannins on the finish. There was also a touch of tar on the back end that I found very pleasant. I finished the wine before it opened back up but a great bottle and one I think has great potential. After that we opened none other than the tiger itself, the 1995 Cos d’Estournel!! This wine has a special place in my heart and it always drinks great. Beautiful purple flowers with violet and lavender on the nose. The palate showed ripe plum notes with light black berry and pleasant stony minerality. The wet soil and clean compost are prevalent on the palate guarding a fresh berry patch and soft tannins with a long mineral finish. There are some very light green notes on the finish but they are barely noticeable. Rocken bottle of wine!
As always the wines were stunning and company fantastic. Other notable wines of the night were 2012 George Noellat Vosne Romanee, 2006 Colgin IX Syrah, 2006 Revana Cabernet, 2012 Morlet Ma Princess, and 1998 Clos des Lambrays