We started the week with spectacular bubbles, great friends and a flight of exceptional Champagnes. Krug is King here at Graileys and a bottle of 2000 Krug vintage brut was no doubt one of the first knockouts of the week. Krug’s signature power, weight, uber luxurious feel and multidimensional flavors never cease to amaze us. Our favorite Champagne comrades also opened up a 1996 Billecart Salmon Grande Cuvee and one of our favorite grower Champagnes Egly Ouriet Grand Cru V.P. Extra Brut.
The ’96 Billecart Salmon Grande Cuvee {Champagne Dave} was showing particularly well with gorgeous flavors intermingling together in perfect harmony. Fabulous deep minerality that showed at the beginning of the palate took a step back to let the baked apples and pears seamlessly collide with cream and soft baked bread. There were subtle hints of white flowers throughout the mid and towards the ridiculously long finish, the minerals came back for a last hurrah to give this twenty year old Champagne a breath of freshness. The acidity was perfect and the tiny tight pearls made this silky, creamy Champagne that much more seductive.
Our little grower Egly Ouriet Grand Cru V.P. Extra Brut {Aggie Julie} showed no little features against these vintage big boys- however the floral notes shot out a lot brighter than the first two. It made me think of the life in the South East spending lazy summer days eating wild honeysuckles or reading a book under the gigantic magnolia tree. With all that said, this Champagne was no light matter; it was an exuberant, fleshy and wonderfully rich Champagne driven by Pinot Noir, picked at its optimal ripeness off super old vines from the Grand Cru villages of Ambonnay, Bouzy and Verzenay. We greeted the week by catching up with great friends while sipping on a few bottles of beautiful Champagne, the only thing that was missing were two little Fox’s.
The star of the week was a bottle of 1990 Louis Jadot Beaune Clos de Ursules Premier Cru Monopole {Dr. Scott}. This was an ideal glass of red Burgundy. Killer red fruit from dried cherries to currants and kirsch with wild mushrooms, truffles, soft forest floor and sweet ripe spice. Everything about this bottle was ON. Aromatics were lifted and gorgeously expressive, flavors were expansive and ripe, texture was silky smooth, and the finish was incredibly deep. This bottle was a fantastic example of how a great Burgundy should be.
Other stunners this week….
2009 Peter Michael Ma Belle Fille
1999 Castello di Fonterutoli Siepi
2012 Robert Foley Pinot Noir
2011 Perrot Minot Chambolle Musigny Les Fuees
2006 Favia Cerro Sur
2012 Blankiet
2007 Match Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
1994 Tinto Pesquera Janus
2014 Lapierre Morgon
2008 Paolo Scavino Bric del Fiasc Reserva