WTN: white wines by Jacques and Jill's pool

So Saturday was Jacques' Annual Pool Party. I didn't even bother to bring a swimsuit as it was monsoon day in Westchester. Miraculously, suddenly the rain stopped, and we went down to pool, and wiser people went for a swim. The afternoon "appetizers" (enough food to feed an army) included hummus (maybe the best I've ever had), guacamole, shrimp, scallops, crab, lobster, fish, and 4 sauces for the seafood (mayo, saffron mayo, chili mayo, and cocktail sauce). Unbelievable spread, and a (mostly) great lineup of whites (hope I noted these correctly):

1997 JL Chave Hermitage Blanc
Waxy, oily, mature fruit flavors of apple, apricot, and citrus zest. This is pretty good, though Mark worries that it shows much more mature than it should (I don't drink enough white Rhone to comment). B+/B

1999 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne (mag)
This, however, I can say is definitely PremOxed. Not totally undrinkable, but this tastes 25 years old not 10. C+

1992 Drouhin "Folatieres" Puligny-Montrachet 1er
Mine, this is also oxidized, though nothing really premature about it. I had a recent bottle that showed fully mature, but this is way over the hill. Both had slightly dark color, but this one got cloudy when chilled (don't remember that on other), and this quickly got very dark after opening. Undrinkable. I've only had these a couple years, don't know about previous storage. This bottle, F

2005 Pernot "Folatieres" Puligny-Montrachet 1er
What a contrast, so fresh and young. Full-bodied with pear and a hint of hazelnut, good acids, great length. A-

2000 Domaine Leflaive "Pucelles" Puligny-Montrachet 1er
I thought I got a little corkiness at first, but whatever it was blew off. Classic Chardonnay pear/apple fruit, a pleasant little funkiness, good length. B+

2006 Matrot (I believe Pierre, but the Matrots are the one Burgundy family where I don't think it matters) Meursault
Really lively and young, rounder than the Pulignys, solid village level Meursault. B+

2000 Raveneau Montee de Tonnerre Chablis 1er
Pretty tightly wound, more about potential than current pleasure, good acidity, coiled fruit, chalky minerality. B for now

2001 Raveneau Butteaux Chablis 1er
Way more pleasurable now, gorgeous bottle of Chablis, bright crisp fruit, loads of chalk, a little hint of gunflint on finish. A-

2001 Raveneau Montee de Tonnerre Chablis 1er
Tasted later, not side by side with others. Apples, melon, minerals. Very good. B+

1996 Ch. d'Epire "Cuvee Speciale" Savennieres
Very young, I'm a little surprised not to get much wooly/waxy Chenin Blanc aromas, but otherwise a beautiful wine. Green apples, flowers, great acids, pure and linear. A-

2008 Joshua Starry Night Viognier
I think I got name right. I'm not a big Viognier guy, but this is pretty nice. Medium bodied, good acids for Viognier, floral honeysuckle and tropical aromas. B

Whew. I'll have to take a break before reporting on reds.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

[David M. Bueker]

Nice line up (the food and the wine). All of the monsoon storms stayed just west of us, so it was really hot and brutally humid. Instead of wine and food we hit the movies (Julie & Julia), and opted for popcorn and diet pepsi.

Interesting mix of Raveneau wines that didn't really knock your socks off. Wrong time to open them? Too much heat/humidity in the weather? Or are there actually weak points in the Raveneau lineup

David, did you enjoy movie (we did)?

Rahsaan, while I say I'm an easy grader, that's because it's easy to get some form of B, I don't really give out many As. The Butteaux was a lovely wine, tied for my favorite among a strong field. Both Montee de Tonnerres seemed to need some time for me, but both were very solid Chablis.

The Butteaux was a lovely wine, tied for my favorite among a strong field. Both Montee de Tonnerres seemed to need some time for me, but both were very solid Chablis.

Ok, that makes sense.

Also, did you have that 96 Epiré when it was younger and did it show any of the waxy wooly notes then? I think the Epiré wines have joined the trend towards riper styles in the past few vintages but my memories of late 90s/early 2000s vintages was that they were in the steely light flower register as opposed to the richer wax. That said, I have never tasted the 96.

Also, did you have that 96 Epiré when it was younger and did it show any of the waxy wooly notes then? I think the Epiré wines have joined the trend towards riper styles in the past few vintages but my memories of late 90s/early 2000s vintages was that they were in the steely light flower register as opposed to the richer wax. That said, I have never tasted the 96.

Although, a recent note on Disorder describes this 96 as: "Along with all the usual honey, wax and bee related aromas there is a fascinating forest floor quality..."

So who knows!

I don't think I ever had the 96 Speciale before, though I did have the regular. I didn't get the waxy notes your poster did, but not sure if that is because of bottle differences or limitations of my palate.

Nice notes Dale, it was fun to see everyone again, especially the little kids around the pool who were absolutely adorable. I think you only missed one white wine: the 1998 Beaucastel Blanc V.V. that we had with the cheese course, apart from that I think you nailed them all!

I can't even use the excuse of not having pen, the great cheese course came after I was writing notes. But (somehow) my memories of the Beaucastel are dim, I just remember saying I don't drink many Rhone whites, but would drink more if they were like that.