We all descended on Blair’s place for a game of poker back at the end of July. All wines were served double blind, except the sweet wines, which were not blind at all.
Starters:
2004 Gilbert Picq Chablis 1er Cru Vosgros. This wine throws out aromas of chalk dust, seashells, gravel, soft pear flesh, melon, green apple skin and white pepper that are prickly yet rounded. It is rather dry in the mouth, with a lot of herbal tones to go with chalky limestone, white pepper, grapefruit and pineapple flavors. It is not particularly creamy in texture, but the acids are soft and easy-going. It is lighter-bodied, with an airy finish turning more to flavors of green apple. It does give an overt bite of flavor to the taster, but is otherwise gentle and approachable. Honestly, I was rather surprised to find that it was a Chablis when the bottle was revealed, as my guess was vaguely leaning toward Gruner.
2007 Arnot-Roberts Chardonnay Green Island Vineyard Napa Valley. This is a very aromatic wine, with a fun mélange of candied pineapple cubes, grapefruit, mixed spices and some skunky fern and undergrowth notes. There is also a strong fermenting streak that a bunch of us seem to have trouble identifying and which my best descriptor for is rice wine vinegar (though Tom’s suggestion is still-fermenting kimchi). It definitely detracts from the nicer notes. In any event, in the mouth, it has a lot of vibrancy and tons of sharply-defined yet luscious fruit. The combination of the tingly acidity, the fine-grained oak seasoning and the judicious spices really tickle the tongue but also leave a long, lasting impression. It is really intense, with a chalky texture, but that tight vibrancy is its hallmark. Young Napa Chard was my guess, and I am right for once.
1988 E. Guigal Cotes du Rhone. This wine is a very pale, browning garnet color. It offers up interesting aromas of cola syrup, birch beer, cranberry mince, black cherries, sous bois earth tones, suede, Chinese 5 spice powder, persimmon and dried tea leaves. The light and crisp earth tones and spices are at the fore early, but over time the fruit that seems hidden at first starts to come forward and make for a more complete bouquet. In the mouth, the wine tastes dusty and aged, but it also has a surprisingly big squirt of citrus acidity to hold it together and give it some drive. Flavors of dried cranberries, cherries and an inner mouth perfume of old pressed flower petals are nice and gentle and offer pleasantly resolved drinking. However, the wine does start to dry out later on, eventually turning a bit tougher. My guess was an old Mt. Eden Pinot from the Santa Cruz Mountains or something like that. I was impressed when it was revealed—I would not have expected this kind of performance.
Flight One:
1993 Domaine Bruno Clair Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru La Dominode. This wine is a bit murky in comparison to its flight-mate. Initially, it features fine creamy aromas of dark cherry, rich cocoa, tangy sour cherry and clean wet earth. It then begins to fold in plush yet aged notes of old pounded leather, dusty furniture, charred wood embers and a hint of horse sweat. I really like the layered and creamy complexity this wine shows. In the mouth, it is on the lighter side, with tingly crisp acidity throughout. Flavors of cherries, dried cranberries and dusty earth seem finely-aged at times, but then seem too austere and angular at other times due to the cutting nature of the acids and the feel of the matted tannins. Still, it is driven and lively and has those lovely aromatics. It just seems like it might be on the wrong side of the aging curve at this point. In the back of my mind, this was reminding me of the very first wine Blair ever served at our first poker game back in April 2007, and sure enough it was indeed the exact wine! I really liked it then, and it still has a lot of the same characteristics now. However, the tougher side of the acidity is gaining dominance at this point, and it just re-iterates my feeling that it is time to drink this up.
1993 Louis Jadot Beaune 1er Cru Les Boucherottes. Aromas of stripped evergreen branch, persimmon, melted milk chocolate, charcoal and brown stems ride above a deeper pocket of pure sweet cherry fruit. The wine also has a lovely inner mouth perfume and a fine overall mouthfeel to it. Cool blackberry, black currant, black bean and spice cake flavors flow smoothly along on a glossy texture, ending in a lively finish hinting at notes of ash. A second glass later on shows a bit more tannic presence and a rising acidity, so again my advice would probably be to drink soon.
Flight Two:
2001 Jean-Jacques Confuron Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts. This wine smells of mixed Pinot berries, cherry pie, cola nut, sassafras and milky chocolate in a relatively bright package. In the mouth, this is very red-fruited and tangy, but with bigger, rounder tannins than the wines in the previous flight. There is also a strong acidic backbone here, perhaps even a bit too firm for the fine red berry fruits. It has some zing to it, especially toward the finish, but it feels a touch disjointed or un-unified at times. It has a lot of verve and personality, but needs some short term cellaring. My guess was a young Sonoma Coast Pinot.
2001 Domaine Arlaud Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Les Millandes. The bouquet here is strong and direct—giving off aromas of baked plums, earth, grape stems, pepper, ash and jalapeno. In the mouth, it is much denser and more smoothed out and creamy in texture than its flight-mate. It feels fully-integrated and holistic, with a heavy-bottomed richness and a big bushel of fruit stuffing. A tiny hint of alcoholic warmth pokes out from time to time, but the wine finishes on a nice even keel. My guess was a Russian River Pinot from any recent ripe vintage.
Flight Three:
2005 Domaine Joblot Givry 1er Cru Clos du Cellier Aux Moines. Notes of super-bright cherries, kirsch liqueur, powdery white pepper and ash combine in a lifted aromatic profile. It is smooth on the palate, with no hard edges, but some definite mouth-puckering acidity. As on the nose, it feels lifted and high-toned--with a big burst of pure raspberry and cherry fruit accented by ash and pepper notes. It has good length and persistence. Despite the fruity focus, it feels like it can go for a good while. My guess was a young, lighter-styled Grenache-dominated Chateauneuf du Pape.
2005 Domaine Pavelot Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru La Dominode. The other wine in this flight is a whole different beast on the nose—veering more toward the earthy and dark-fruited side of things. Aromas of black currant, blackberry, forest greens, cool earth and something like smoky garrigue combine in a nice package. In the mouth, it is smooth and glossy in feel, with a satiny texture despite plenty of body. It is fully-fruited but not really heavy. The alcohol seems to be a factor, but it plays its tune mostly in the background. It is a driven wine with a pretty big presence and dimensionality, but without feeling heavy or over-done.
Flight Four:
2007 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso Guardiola. Flight four represents a big stylistic shift. Here we have a warm, leathery nose—with aromas of sweet fuzzy raspberries, tomato leaf, peanut dust, baked cherry tart and an odd sort of nylon note. It is sweet-fruited in the mouth, with a lot of power and a ton of spice, but at times too much warmth from the alcohol. The cherry and raspberry fruit is voluminous and mouth-coating. Despite what sometimes feels like excess, the tannins and also the acidity are soft and well-integrated. It turns distinctly tangy on the finish, which also features a soft dusting of cocoa flavor.
2007 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Calderara Sottana. The nose of this wine veers more to candied notes of cherry roll-up, lemon sour ball and orange peel, but also background notes of fireplace cinders and jalapeno pepper. In the mouth, it is again rich and large-framed, with a big blast of raspberry and candied cherry fruit filling the mouth. There is also a strong cocoa and mocha-tinged streak here. It features more of a chalky texture, but otherwise it is just as mouth-coating as its flight-mate. It is juicy, intense and immediate, but honestly both wines just feel like too much work to drink at this stage of the day.
Sweet wines:
1996 Muller-Catoir Rieslaner Haardter Burgergarten Auslese Pfalz. This is a lovely wine with a pretty bouquet featuring aromas of musk melon, ripe mango, quince paste, kiwi, lanolin, wool and white pepper. In the mouth, it feels very balanced in body, sweetness, fruit and acidity. Persistent and lingering flavors of baked apricot, nectarine, blood orange and honey are buoyed by fine acids and limpid body. It is not too heavy or cloying—just sweetly balanced and easy-drinking.
2001 Les Cypres de Climens Barsac. Served from 500 ml. Aromas of dark caramel apple, fleshy dark tropical fruit, dark botrytis spices and toffee fudge seem kind of overly-serious. In the mouth, it tastes like heavily-toasted wood and ashy cinders atop smoky apricots and dark peaches. It feels rough to me even though it has a smooth, viscous texture to it. The aromatic and flavor profiles just don’t seem elegant or engaging to me at this point. Frankly, I don’t care for this, at least at this stage of its development.
-Michael
