by | March 29, 2011

Bordeaux and Burgundy

By: AJ McClellan

1955 Cos d’Estournel – The nose was like a fresh handful of mint sandwiched between chocolate and cherries with subtle old leather and a backdrop of freshly baked brownies. Exquisite! Mind boggling notes of forest floor and old earth jumped from the glass bathing your senses in old trees covered with moss stirring quietly in the wind. The back end showed a well used cobblestone road leading to the remnants of a smoldering bonfire. The palate was one of pure silk with a slight leather note followed by tar and firewood. Amazing finish of tobacco smoke and animal fur. Unfortunately after an hour in the glass this wine started to fall off, losing its illustrious spark, and faded to an old dusty shoe box…

1961 Pichon Baron – Black liquorish with big funk, dirty wet earth, clove, star anise, cedar, and coriander up front. Black cherries followed by plums and big barnyard with notes of subtle forest floor and a very animalistic finish on the nose. The palate is very smooth with surprisingly well structured fruit for a bottle with 50 years of age on it. Smooth tannins that have had all the rough edges worn off by time. Huge spice box with a light note of steminess is on the back end. The finish was spicy hot with something that might resemble a spoonful of cinnamon or Red Hots.

1982 Cos d’Estournel – Bright red cherries with Honey Nut Cheerios and milk chocolate. There was an interesting note of melon rind and S’mores. The palate was incredibly smoother but after drinking the ‘55 and ’61, it still seemed rough by comparison. Notes of chocolate and spice box followed by smoke and leather on a long finish.

1969 Remoissenet Vosne Romanee 1er Les Malconsorts – I tried this wine last week and was not overly impressed with it, but this bottle rated an elusive 100 points when I tried it on Saturday. This is the blessing and the curse of Burgundy… The nose spilled from the glass showing an intense bramble berry, cherry cough syrup, and hot chocolate with a small thorny rose bud surrounded by soft red flowers. On the second breath the nose tempts you with more liquid chocolate, roasted blueberry pie, and amazing earth notes that end in a briar patch finish that left your mouth watering. The wine sung silky notes of brilliant bright cherry and sultry soft earth which softly caressed the palate and finished with a soft blanket of dark chocolate which tucked you neatly into a long complex finish.

1978 Remoissenet Chambertin Clos de Beze GC – An amazing wine that made a good run to keep up with the ’69, showing warm toffee, mocha, chocolate covered raisins, smoke, and some forest floor on the nose. The palate was excellent, soft as a kiss and as clean and crisp as a breath of country air. Elegant black fruits mingled with coffee beans in a cheerful dance over a cloud of delicate earth.


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by | March 23, 2011

Chateau Guiraud

By: AJ McClellan

My first expo into the world of Sauternes started with Chateau Guiraud, pouring it by the glass at the Mansion. I have always had an affinity for this wine and yesterday it was my pleasure to meet the Brand Ambassador to Chateau Guiraud, Augustin Lacaille. We tasted through the 2002, 2005, and 1998 vintages of this wine and they were superb.

Brand Ambassador for Chateau Guiraud, Augustin Lacaille

Guiraud’s vineyard lies just south of the prestigious Chateau d’Yquem and you can see the reflection of quality that this vineyard receives from such a great terrior. One thing that Guiraud does that I particularly enjoy is the more balanced sugar levels the wine displays. Some Sauternes have a problem with being cloyingly sweet, especially when they are younger making them impossible to drink. Like chateau d’Yquem, Guiraud keeps their wine in balance from day one allowing them to show the more subtle flavors at a younger age.

Also, Guiraud uses an unusually high amount of Sauvignon Blanc in their field blend, 35% vs the more standard 15%. This allows for more aromatics in their wines as well as a more unique mouth feel. The unique varietal blend combined with the balanced sugar levels and a great price point make Chateau Guiraud my go-to Sauterne for an everyday night cap and the perfect desert wine to stock your cellar.

 

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by | March 14, 2011

By: AJ McClellan

This past Friday we had a great night of brilliant wines. This could possibly be one of the best nights we have had at Graileys. Every wine on the table was exceptional and incredibly unique.

1999 Bize Leroy Puigny Montrachet en la Richarde – This wine was a real treat to drink, as there were only 1,224 bottles made for the world. Very pleasant on the nose with notes of honeysuckle, white pepper, hay, and a great minerality. The palate was honeyed with a great layer of white peaches and limestone. Complex and long on the finish.

2006 Pape Clement Blanc – Crushed candied pineapples all day on the nose and palate.  A brilliant bottle of wine, very heavy on the palate with layers of hay, petrol, pineapples, and rocky minerality. The longer this wine sat in the glass the more it developed becoming richer and denser and putting more tropical notes.


1949 Remoissenet Vosne Romanee 1er Clos Des Reas – This was a very interesting bottle with the color of old rust moving out to burnt orange on the age. The nose faded in and out with an almost overwhelming musk, but once you got into the glass you could pull out notes of burnt match, dry dusty cherry, red currants, and raspberries. The palate was incredible expressive changing every time I took a sip of the wine. Loads of earth with dried tar, dry lavender, potpourri, purple flowers, black liquorish, big spice, scorched earth, brown bark, and some light cedar. There were also notes of wet Labrador and burnt blueberries. The word “magical” comes to mind when drinking this wine. Forest floor and dusty copper on the back end with big iron notes and more black earth. After more time in the glass the wine miraculously moved to show ripe sweet fruit from the old dry fruit that it was exhibiting earlier as well as tanned hide and clove spiced tea. The wine has a never ending finish that refuses to leave my palate. Wow!

1966 Remoissenet Volnay 1er Clos des Chenes – Another amazing bottle of wine. This Burgundy is leaner showing big red roses, burnt toast, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean, chi tea, burnt orange peel, mocha, red liquorish, soft red cherries, and a very floral back end with a lot of blooming red and purple flowers. The palate showed great mineral notes of white stone, amazingly complex with thousands of layers. Amazingly this bottle is showing very little signs of age; the fruit is still crisp and bright with a very clean palate and a beautiful finish.

1955 Remoissenet clos Vougeot GC - Big earth with huge must and a great dusty red cherry on the nose. The longer I left this wine in the glass the bigger it became. The palate showed velvety tannins that were a treat to drink with a chewy sour cherry, chamomile tea, leather strips, and big smoke. There was a touch of white pepper and some nice spice on the back end. Big cinnamon with a lingering finish.

1976 Henri Jayer Nuits Meurgers – Another wine that was a real treat to drink. When we first poured the wine you would think you had mushroom tea in your glass. All I could taste or smell was a handful of wild mushrooms… I left the wine alone for a good hour or so coming back every once in a while to find more mushrooms.  Just when I thought this wine would not go anywhere, it totally changed with dark ripe fruits emerging from the mushroom compost surrounded by small summer flowers sandwiched between a soft limestone and crumbled clay. After that the wine grew exponentially more complex and broad of shoulder.

1989 Pichon Baron – Big earthy tones with dark dry fruit on the nose. The palate was classic Bordeaux with graphite, moss, forest floor, subtle spice, and dusty black fruits.


 

 

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by | March 10, 2011

Penfolds Tasting

By: AJ McClellan

We had Matt Lane, the ambassador to Penfolds, come in to taste us through a great lineup of Penfolds labels. Matt was a character larger than life with a warm welcoming personality that made you want to sit down and have a bottle of wine with him. The tasting was fantastic with a few great surprises from the lower end labels and, of course, the Grange was drinking like a champ.

2008 Penfolds Bin 407 – A great example of Australian Cabernet, plush and massive with velvety tannins. Surprisingly easy drinking for a young Aussie cab. Black cherries, big plums, and blackberries on the nose with notes of tobacco and big spice on the palate.

2005 Penfolds RWT – This is Penfolds new up-and-coming wine, Matt suggested that in 10 more years this wine will be on par with the highly sought after Grange label. I can see how this might grow up to be a world class bottle; the nose was complex with notes of cedar and big mint, black fruits, and huge spice box. The palate was massive but with well integrated tannins and a great potential to age.

2005 Penfolds St Henri – A cult wine from Penfolds. I am suspect of the 05, the nose was muted and the palate did not have a lot going on for me. That being said, this wine takes some time to come around so there is no telling how this will be drinking in another 10-15 years.

1991 Penfolds St Henri – I was very impressed with this wine. Out of magnum this wine was a pleasure to drink with a nose of mint, lavender, jasmine, and jammy dark fruits. The palate was in perfect sync showing great fruit with subtle earth and nice mellow spice. The tannins were soft as silk and the wine was drinking like a champ.

2004 Penfolds Grange – This is a monster wine. The nose was bellowing out of the glass sowing blueberry, blackberry, plum, black liquorish, and a chocolate dusting. The palate was huge with black inky tannins and massive blue and black fruits. This wine was surprisingly drinkable now but really needs 30 years in the bottle to reach its prime.

2002 Penfolds Grange – Out of Magnum the 02 was very tight as well. Tobacco, dark chocolate, black ripe fruits and compost soil on the nose. The palate was full bodied with huge teeth staining tannins and a massive fruit backing.

1982 Penfolds Grange – When I first opened the bottle I had some doubts, the wine seamed slightly cooked with roasted notes. After sitting in the glass for an hour, the wine opened to show burnt plums, roasted blueberries, and a handful of pencil shavings covered with mint jelly. This wine is in its prime and should be drunk soon.

1972 Penfolds Grange – I felt this bottle was tired and on its way out, coming from a year that was less than perfect I am surprised at how well the wine was hanging on almost 40 years later. There was still a remnant of fruit with old dusty wood flavors and hints of spice.

1968 Penfolds Bin 707 – Old and dried out but there was still some nice fruit lingering in the background with a woody spice and layers of old dusty leather and barnyard.

1996 Guigal La Turque – Smoke, meat, bacon, earth, leather, tobacco…. Classic Guigal…

1996 Guigal La Landonne – the La Turque and la Landonne were close competitors but I felt that the La Landonne was drinking slightly better with a minutia more complexity…

2000 Groffier Bonnes Mares GC – This bottle was fantastic. The more I drink Bonnes Mares the faster it becomes one of my favorite Grand Cru’s. The Groffier jumped out of the glass to attack the nose with supple red cherries and big earthy tones. The palate was broad and complex with crisp cherry cola, warm spices, and a finish of a recently used pair of gardening gloves.

2000 Nicolas Potel Clos de la Roche GC – I was very impressed with this wine as well. Bright and lively on the nose with seductive fruits and a great backing of limestone minerality. The palate was complex and well integrated with the tannins and acidity.

 

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by | March 9, 2011

Thibault Liger-Belair

By: AJ McClellan

We had Thibault Liger-Belair in to taste us on his wines yesterday and all I can say is, “Wow!”. Every single wine that I tried was superb; I have not been this impressed with a winemaker’s new releases since I tried through Perrot Minot’s wines. Not only were the wines outstanding but Thibault’s wines were surprisingly well priced for the prestige of the vineyards and the high quality of the wine making.

2008 Thibault Liger Belair Aloxe Corton 1er La Toppe au Vert – Big spice with clove, black cherry, and big black tea on the nose. The palate was good old Texas tea with some cinnamon sticks and clove poured over a dirt floor. Very smooth on the palate with soft tannins and excellent structure.

2007 Thibault Liger Belair Corton GC – I was very impressed with this wine! Bright on the nose and palate with red cherry, red currant, chamomile tea, light vanilla bean, big cooking spice, and a hint of wheat on the back end. The palate had smokiness to it with a long finish and superb balance. A little heavy for a Corton but very well structured with a minute plus finish. Great wine.

2008 Thibault Liger Belair Nuits Saint Georges la Charmotte – For a village level wine, this bottle knocked my socks off, beautiful nose of bright red cherries and subtle spice. The palate showed a dusting of vanilla over freshly turned soil and forest floor. Excellent balance with great fruit and acid.

2008 Thibault Liger Belair Clos Vougeot GC – Bright red fruits with a huge floral notes of red roses and churned black soil. Great minerality with notes of tobacco on the palate. Very chewy with big tannins. I think this wine will be stunning but it needs a good 5-7 years in the bottle before it starts to mellow out.

2008 Thibault Liger Belair Nuits Saint Georges 1er Les Saint Georges – Scorched earth on the nose with plums, cloves, and notes of brown stems. The palate was big and round in the mouth with huge earthy notes and very subdued fruit.

2008 Thibault Liger Belair Richebourg GC – A montage of teas with earl grey, chamomile, and Oolong mixed with black liquorish, sweet leaf tobacco, and crushed rocks. The palate was massive with tight tannins and big tobacco and dark earthy notes.


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by | March 5, 2011

Epic Burgundy Night

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!

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by | March 3, 2011

Scholium Project Tasting with Abe Schoener

By: AJ McClellan

Last night we had the winemaker and owner of Scholium Project, Abe Schoener, in to taste us through a lineup of his newly released wines. Abe was once a College professor at St. John’s and he shows it well with a great ability to eloquently talk about his wines and the processes they have gone through allowing them to reveal such great quality. Abe’s wines are all very small production with some labels having as little as 45 cases produced. There has been a lot of talk going around about these wines and for good reason, we tasted 5 of his 11 labels and they were all great.

Winemaker Abe Schoene (Left) and member Scott Ryan (Right)

I love that these wines are all labeled as either white or red, none of them have the actual varietals on the label. While you might be thinking “that’s crazy, how will I know what I am getting if I don’t know the grapes that went into the bottle??” Well, I can tell you this – even if you did know what grapes went into the bottling you would still have no idea what to expect as you go from bottle to bottle. Abe has done something with Sauvignon Blanc and Petite Sirah that I have never seen out of California. My advice to you is to buy them all and just taste through them; the beautiful thing is they are all so good you will be hard pressed to pick a favorite.

2009 Naucratic – This was a brilliantly crisp bottle of wine with subtle white summer flowers and a big Asian pear note. The palate was weighty and round but with a great acidity that made it very lively. Notes of warm peach, pear and a slight mineral backing made this wine a pleasure to drink.

2008 La Severita di Bruto – A brilliant expression of Sauvignon Blanc. The wine was tropical on the nose with pineapple, green apple peal, schist, straw, and a dollop of caramel. The palate had a surprising fullness to it for the grape varietal. Full and plump with white peaches, honeydew, tropical fruits, and a great mineral backing and long finish. This was a killer bottle of wine for the price point.

2008 Gardens of Babylon – This is a kitchen blend of several grape varietals that would make most people scratch their head, wondering why… However, Abe has done a wonderful job constructing a fresh, powerful bottling with rich dark fruits and a great silky tannin structure. This is more of a ‘drink now’ wine.

2008 Babylon – I thought this was a great wine. The complexities came in wave after wave with dark brooding plums and black cherries, forest floor, truffles, notes of soy sauce, saddle leather, barnyard, and wild game. I know that you are thinking that sounds much more like a Cote Rotie than a Cali Petite Sirah, but this is a serious wine that has a wonderful potential to age and will be a stunner in years to come.

2007 Androckteinos – I was also very impressed with this wine. Jammy on the nose and palate with amazing complexity and a soft tannin structure that made the wine melt in your mouth. Rich in flavor and big in body this is a great wine to age for 5-10 years.

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by | February 25, 2011

Chablis Tasting With Patrick Piuze

By: AJ McClellan

We had Patrick Piuze in to taste us on his 2009 lineup of Chablis. The wines were fantastic! 2009 was Patrick’s second vintage but his time at Verget, Oliver Leflaive, and Jean Marc Brocard paid off in spades. Patrick does not believe in manipulating his wines, immediately making him a great producer in my book. He says making wine is like raising a child; “you don’t want them to grow up to be an exact replica of you. You can guide them but you want them to take on their own personality and eventually their own goals, then over time their goals become your goals.”

From left to right: Winemaker Patrick Piuze, Importer Todd Mathis, and member Matt Johnson.

2009 Patrick Piuze Chablis Terroir de Chichee - Big limestone with lemon zest and key lime, loads of citrus on the nose. The palate is broader than expected with wet stone, flint and steel. Some summer flowers underline the backend with a crisp zing on the palate. Classic Chablis.

2009 Patrick Piuze Chablis Terroir de Fye - Slight toast on the nose with big melon, tropical pineapple, lime zest, and green apple. The Palate was a little fatter with less minerality than the Chichee showing what can only be described as Granny Smith apple smeared over limestone.

2009 Patrick Piuze Chablis 1er Fourchaume – The nose was pleasant with slices of white peach and peach stone mixed with bananas and summer flowers, the backend showed hints of steel but the nose overall was slightly muted. The Palate was fat and creamy with tropical fruits and a slab of limestone but the finish was flat, falling off very quickly.

Patrick Showing us where in Chablis his wines are from.

2009 Patrick Piuze Chablis 1er Vaucoupin – Big schist on the nose with green apple. Steely on the palate with a hollow middle, notes of red and green apples with a touch of pear. Round body with a mild finish.

2009 Patrick Piuze Chablis 1er Montee de Tonnerre – A perfumed yellow flower nose with a slight caramel note and hints of toast backed by cooked yellow pear and blanched apples. The palate is full and complex with a laser like acidity showing fresh lemons, lemonade, and green apples with a hint of pineapple. Great finish of schist and limestone.

2009 Patrick Piuze Chablis 1er Butteaux – I was very impressed with this wine. Yellow roses with caramel green apples, pear wax, and under ripe pears on the nose. The palate is a splash of cool water after a hot day. Screeching acidity with a mouthful of white peach and crumbled white rock in the front with a backing of banana fosters and a hint of small wild strawberries. Great bottle of Chablis.

2009 Patrick Piuze Chablis Grand Cru Bougros - Huge array of white fruits with a great backing of flint and steel and a great minerality on the nose. The palate showed pear wax, thin butterscotch, and big steel. A stunning acidity reminds me of sitting on a steep limestone hillside biting into a fresh frosty lemon picked from a nearby tree. Hints of vanilla with lemon meringue pie with a weighty complex palate. The finish shows cooked Granny apples, white summer flowers and a shaving razor of acidity.

2009 Patrick Piuze Chablis Grand Cru Bougros cote de Bouqueyreaux – Once you stick your nose in this wine you know it is going to be brilliant. Big peach, pear, yellow spring flowers, huge schist, blue rock, notes of bubblegum, and limestone. Layer after layer of great fruit and minerality. The palate is long and complex with white summer flowers, big white peach, flint and steel, and a great finish. Excellent bottle of wine.

 

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by | February 22, 2011

2009 Bouchard Tasting

By: AJ McClellan

Last night we had Morgan Delacloche, the export manager for Bouchard, in to taste us through a lineup of 09 Burgundies. 2009 has been heralded as possibly being the best vintage of the decade, competing with 2005 and 2002. Last night was my first opportunity to dive into the 09 vintage and see what all the fuss is about. Wow, all of the 09’s that I tasted were superb… Now it could be that Bouchard is such an excellent producer all of his wines were above and beyond what you might expect, but I must say that every wine from the low Bourgogne Blanc and Rouge to the Grand Cru’s were exceptional.

2009 was a slightly warmer vintage which showed in the wine, all the bottles I tried were slightly softer and more round than I remember the previous vintages being at this stage. Also, many of the wines showed excellent fruit and a slightly lower acidity. Will the 2009 vintage beat 2005? Who knows, but I can tell you that if yesterdays wines were any indication of how the rest of Burgundy went you don’t want to be the guy without any 09’s in your cellar…

2009 Bouchard Monthelie 1er Les Duresses – Fresh cherries on the nose with a slight woody backing. The palate is powerful, still with a wood ting, nice earthy notes and a long finish.

2009 Bouchard Beaune 1er Clos de la Mousse – Little hot on the nose but with excellent fruit and nice Bing Cherry, raspberry, and notes of spice. The palate had a dash of earth and a hint of barnyard.

2009 Bouchard Volnay 1er Caillerets Cuvee Carnot – Very nice nose, excellent balance, heavy toast with vanilla backing and excellent fruit. The palate has great balance with a long popcorn finish.

2009 Bouchard Pommard 1er – Very Bright on the nose with fresh red fruits, light on the palate but with great aging potential. Finish of dark cherry and barnyard.

2009 Bouchard Le Corton Grand Cru – Surprisingly heavy for a Corton with big funk and dark fruit. The palate shows pleasant forest floor with a crushed rock minerality.

2009 Bouchard Beaune 1er Greves Vigne de L’enfant Jesus – Amazing fruit on the nose with liquorish and black cherries. Mellow on the palate with soft tannins and a long plumy finish.

2009 Bouchard Chambolle Musigny – Fresh and light with a toasty backdrop and lively fruit. Very elegant on the palate with a earth driven rocky finish.

2009 Bouchard Gevrey Chambertin – I was very pleased with this wine, great fruit with powerful black cherries and lively acidity. Excellent earth tones with a subtle tobacco mixed in with great minerality.

2009 Bouchard Nuits Saint Georges 1er Les Cailles – Big cherry cola on the nose with a hint of leather and subtle spice. The palate was powerful and full in body with excellent earth and minerality. Long finish.

2009 Bouchard Echezeaux Grand Cru – This wine was drinking great with a focused nose of earth, dark fruit, spice, and a hint of toast. The palate was broad and soft with layers of earth and fruit. This wine will grow up to be a killer.

2009 Bouchard Meursault Les Clous – For the price point I thought this was a steal, very tropical on the nose and round in the mouth. A pleasant limestone and melon palate with a creamy finish.

2009 Bouchard Beaune 1er Clos Saint Landry – Key lime pie with big minerality and a note of tangerine on the back coupled with lemon/lime zest. Brilliant acidity.

2009 Bouchard Meursault 1er Genevrieres – Bubblegum and bananas with ripe pineapple on the palate. Fat in the mouth with plump fruits and a cleansing acidity that makes me think this wine will be a champ in 5 years.

2009 Bouchard Chevalier Montrachet Grand Cru – Wow. Zebra Stripe Bubblegum with huge tropical fruits and ripe peach. Big limestone with a mellow toast and an easy going vanilla beans. Very complex on the palate with luscious ripe cantaloupe, honeydew, peaches, and pears. Notes of white rock, popcorn, and caramel are intermingled in the complex palate and long finish. Great balance, this wine is a stud.

2009 Bouchard Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru – Big lemon/lime with fresh pineapple and green apple. The palate was rich with excellent minerality and a note of butter.

2009 William Fevre Chablis 1er Vaillons – A touch of flint with a very clean palate. Great mineral notes, classic Chablis.

2009 William Fevre Chablis 1er Vaulorent –Very tropical on the nose with excellent acidity, nice tropical melon notes with a long finish.

2009 William Fevre Chablis Bougros Grand Cru – Great flint and green apple notes on the nose with lime zest. The palate was very crisp with a long finish of schist, crushed white rock, and a note of pineapple.

2009 William Fevre Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru – Excellent wine with a slight toast, unbuttered popcorn with lemon/lime and brilliant flint and steel. Very complex with a lean palate of crisp acidity and classic Chablis Notes.

 

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by | February 21, 2011

Another Night at Graileys

By: AJ McClellan

I have had the pleasure to try several superb 1974 Napa wines in the past month, and I must say, if you see them, buy them. The Mondavi that was opened stole the show, and while it fell off early, for the four hours that is was on, the bottle was a monster….

2004 Francois Gaunoux Meursault 1er La Goutte d’Or – Honey comb on the nose with tropical fruits and showing slight oxidative notes. The palate is thick and heavy with peaches, apricots, walnuts, vanilla, and big honey.

1985 Taurino Salice Salentino Riserva Rosso – This wine was pure earth, the wine even looked muddy pouring from the bottle with a rusty brown color. Wood floor, gym sock, must, big funk, loads of barnyard and forest floor on the nose. The palate showed musty gym locker with wet earth and a note of dusty cherry. The finish showed a particular note that reminds me of the north end of a south bound camel.

1979 Pichon Lalande – This wine is always a pleasure to drink. The nose showed clean earth with damp forest floor and dried blue and black fruits. The palate was broad and chocolaty with plums and blueberries coupled with dry leaves and cigar box.

1974 Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet – Christmas in a glass. Expansive and rich with big pine tree, spearmint, eucalyptus, mint jelly, faded old dusty red cherries and raspberries, intoxicating on the nose. The palate was surprisingly fresh but with an old ting on it. Fresh red fruits and a long finish of tobacco and dark chocolate evolved into sweet black currants and an old world Funk with some forest floor. After an hour in the glass the wine totally changed to show more funk and forest floor with notes of graphite; shedding the fruit and showing a great backing of earth and tar. After another hour and a half the wine started to fade quickly loosing the soft texture and electric nose. Four hours after the bottle was opened the wine had totally fallen off. A remarkable bottle, but not one to open and decant before service.

1978 Silver Oak Alexander Cabernet – This wine pleasantly surprised me, the nose still held some fruit and was mildly complex. The palate had the old familiar wood spice but the splinters were softened by old red fruit, not much to the wine but more than I expected.

1988 La Mission Haut Brion – This wine started off with a worrying nose of old cardboard and colored  pencils. After an hour or so in the glass the wine blossomed showing  graphite, tar, leather, smoke, and black cherries. Strong on the palate with a great funk of old forest floor and moist earth. The finish was not as long as I would have liked but the notes of soft earth still held on for 20 seconds or so.

1999 Bernard Amiot Chambolle Musigny 1er Les Chatelots – Slightly muted upon opening but after some time in the glass the nose opened to show bright red cherries, currants, pencil lead, black earth, purple flowers, and muddy earth. The palate was full of potpurri and red liquorish with juicy red fruits and an earthy finish.

2001 San Felice Poggio Rosso Chianti Classico – An excellent bottle of wine for the price. Dusty red cherries with earthy overtones on the nose. The palate was still fresh showing excellent fruit and a background of earth and spice. 

1998 Mouton – Another wine that was not overly impressive out of the bottle but grew with time in the glass to show blueberries, raspberries, black cherries, big forest floor, and tar on the nose. The palate was a bushel of blueberries with classic graphite, hints of beef blood, and iron shavings. After another hour in the glass the wine started to show notes of liquorish and black currants. This wine needed almost two hours in the decanter before it was ready to drink but once it was on, the wine was on fire. 

 

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