Last month, my wife and I were invited by friends to attend a wine dinner for 8 at their home. We all brought some bottles and had a wonderful dinner, with some outstanding wines.
Starting sparklers:
1988 Pol Roger Champagne Brut Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill. Served from magnum, the bubbles here are so tiny that they look more like dust particles rising through the wine. The nose displays a biscuity character, along with notes of light caramel, lemon, yeast, chalk and slate. It’s very creamy, with a mouth-filling mid-palate mousse, full body and a vibrantly balancing backbone. Flavors of biscuits, citrus oils and minerals follow through to a very dry finish of moderate length. This was quite a way to start the night. 95 pts.
1985 Krug Champagne Brut. The Krug has a fine, gentle, rather slow bead. The nose opens a bit shy--showing some caramel, old-style ginger ale and copper--but gains in aromatic complexity and oomph with time in the glass. In the mouth, it is very pretty, with fine layering and complexity, and is starting to show some lovely aged qualities. It is mellow, yet seductive, with flavors of candied ginger, brown spice and lemon and lime pith. The finish is layered and fine, with a dry edge. 93 pts.
1996 A.R. Lenoble Champagne Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru. This is showing a very persistent bead. Aromatically, it shows some crisp apple and powdered minerality, along with some peachy accents. In the mouth, it displays an acidic edge much more so than do either of the two previous wines. It is bright, fresh, young and tangy, with some precise lemon-lime and spice flavors. It has a fun, tingly finish with good length. It should benefit from a bit more time in the cellar. 91 pts.
Chardonnay flight:
2003 Peter Michael Chardonnay Belle Cote Knights Valley. Cloudy green-yellow in color, this wine shows a lot of leesy character on the nose, along with supporting aromas of white peach, bosc pear, cream, nutmeg and melon. In the mouth, it is medium-bodied, with a very smooth texture and beautiful, ethereal flavors that show sneaky intensity. There are plenty of smoky wood accents and leesy notes all the way through, as well as a nice acidity that holds even as the wine expands and warms. 93 pts.
2005 Radio-Coteau Chardonnay Savoy Vineyard Anderson Valley. The nose of the Radio-Coteau shows more effusiveness than that of the Peter Michael--featuring aromas of smoke, toasty oak, forest ferns, nectarine, lemon tea and candy cigarettes. In the mouth, it shows a good amount of glycerin, as the wine coats the mouth with flavors of lemon oil, golden apples and vanilla oak accents. Some tingly acidity keeps it fresh, but it feels like it needs another year or so of seasoning to show its best. 91 pts.
Palate cleanser:
1998 Yalumba Sparkling Red Cuvee D Black. Upon pouring, the mousse on this sparkler foams up like a head on a glass of beer. It settles down, though, and one can soon sniff its aromas of cherries, mulberries, gamey smoke and bacon fat. It is quite dry on the palate, and rather more vinous than sparkling, showing just a soft spritz. Flavors of dark chocolate, black cherry and something like quinine are clean and fun. A small taste is enough, though. 87 pts.
Red wine flight #1:
1983 Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac. Wow, what a fascinating bouquet offered up by this wine. It is a complex mélange of old leather, dried tobacco leaf, pencil shavings, old dusty earth and smoky creosote notes, complemented by soft red berry and currant aromas. It is elegant and complex, yet also flaunts its masculine side. I could sniff this all night. In the mouth, though, it never really reaches these same heights. There is plenty of surface pleasure to the tangy but gently fading red currant fruit, but there isn’t much of a bass note to provide a feeling of depth and the acidity comes across as too forward and drying for my palate. The finish has good length, though. Also, it should be said that later tastes of this wine had a bit more stuffing and better all-around balance on the palate. 92 pts.
1983 Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac. Compared to the Mouton served alongside it, the nose on the Pichon Lalande feels brighter and more red-fruited with cassis, dark cherries and red currants. It also features distinctive herbal, jalepeno and bell pepper aromas that seem to fit in just right with the other notes of spicy cedar, soft spice cake and forest ferns. In the mouth, it is lush and creamy and nicely layered—feeling like a more complete wine than the Mouton. It is nicely mouth-filling and dense, yet elegantly structured and fresh, and featuring soft tannins throughout. If offers fantastic drinking right now. My Wine of the Night. 95 pts.
1996 Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac. This wine is taut on the nose, with aromas of earth, creosote, freshly-cut bell pepper and new leather. In the mouth, it has fine creamy texture, with loads of black currant and blackberry fruits. It is sneakily tannic around the edges of the tongue and shows plenty of sinewy muscle. It is full-bodied and already showing layers of flavors and texture before finishing with some mouth-coating tannins. Very enjoyable now, this shows lots of future promise. 94 pts.
1995 Dominus Estate Napa Valley. I was interested to try my first Dominus and looked forward to its placement between the Bordeaux and California Cabernet flights. Indeed, the nose offers some Bordeaux characteristics, but it comes across as somewhat sweeter and more high-toned than any of the previous wines—featuring aromatics of currants, fresh flower greens, soft green pepper and menthol. In the mouth, it shows good vibrancy and freshness, and actually seems a bit linear on the entry before fanning out in the mid-palate with spice and chocolate flavors. It provides a long finish with tingly acidity, but also a bit of soft, grainy alcoholic warmth and some chewy tannins. In the end, I am not so sure the placement of the wine in this flight did it any favors, actually seeming more out of place with both worlds than necessarily a transition from one to the other. 91 pts.
Red wine flight #2:
1993 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley. This older Silver Oak offers alluring notes of eucalyptus, sandalwood, soft dill weed, cocoa powder, clover, persimmon and red currant fruit on the nose. It is also solid on the palate, with red currant and minty, cedary flavors that are elegant and not overly dense clinging to a medium to full-bodied frame. It is very smooth and easy-drinking with good balance and pretty decent length. It also holds up well over the next few days—a pleasant surprise! 92 pts.
1999 Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Reserve Napa Valley. There are lots of leafy notes on the nose here, along with herbs, skunky forest greens and blackberry fruit. It is not especially my cup of tea. It is firm and classically-structured in the mouth, with a hard backbone. It is tight and solidly tannic, and comes across as a bit austere. It is cool-fruited, with some herbal overtones and licorice, but the fruit is playing second fiddle to the structure right now. I wouldn’t revisit for at least another 5 years. 88 pts.
Red wine flight #3:
1997 Peter Michael Les Pavots Knights Valley. An inky black color leads to a gorgeous and sensual bouquet of pure blackberries, blueberries, rich chocolate, spice cake and exotic incense aromas that seem unctuous, deep and rich. It is soft, finely layered and somewhat sweet-edged. This is a real pleasure. In the mouth, it still feels young, with absolutely intense black fruit flavors that just punch you right in the kisser. Yes, there are lots of dark tannins and a faint whisper of heat, but also the beginnings of secondary development and plenty of creamy layering of pure fruit. For all the intensity of fruit and flavor, it does not feel overblown and feels finely balanced, though on the lower end of the acidity spectrum. I’d love to try this again in 5 years. My runner-up for Wine of the Night. 95 pts.
2000 Joseph Phelps Insignia Napa Valley. The Insignia presents an aromatic profile that includes scents of warm red fruits, spice cake, tootsie roll, and brambly stems. It is not especially heavy in the mouth, and feels juicy and dark, with fine linearity and structure supporting dense chocolate and tootsie roll flavors. There is a fine graininess to the texture that ought to smooth out with time in the cellar. The finish is very long and persistent. 92 pts.
Red wine flight #4:
1995 Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Napa Valley. Meaty and plummy notes dominate the nose, which also shows some dark earth, black currant, incense and road tar aromas. In the mouth, it has some flamboyant notes, but also shows some restraint. Cool dark fruits and chocolate flavors show good density and are nicely framed by the acidity and structure of the wine. There are also savory notes of toasted wood and stems, and plenty of plush tannins still hanging around. It finishes with good length and cool, black fruit flavors. 90 pts.
1996 Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Napa Valley. The 1996 has a very similar aromatic profile to the 1995, but veers a bit more red-fruited and leafier. In the mouth, it is equally well-structured but shows more power than its flight-mate. Nice acidity carries along juicy red currant and savory smoked herb flavors, that turn more toward leafy black currant on the fresh finish. The tannins seem in check through the mid-palate, but come back with a chalky coating on the finish. I’d give this one another 3-5 years before trying again. 91 pts.
Sweet wines:
2001 Chateau Climens Barsac. The nose takes a while to open up, but when it finally does, it takes off like a rocket—with soaring aromas of pineapple, candied apricot, caramel and graham cracker crust. It is incredibly unctuous in the mouth, with a ton of viscosity and the acidity way in the background. It is extremely wide and round through the mid-palate and has an unbelievably long and lasting finish. The acidity makes a cameo appearance toward the back of the palate, where some grainy oak also resides. I’d like it to be a bit fresher, but there is no arguing with the rich, thick texture, lovely flavors and endless finish. Come back to this in 5-10 years. 94+ pts.
2001 Chateau Suduiraut Sauternes. On this night, I actually preferred the Suduiraut, though it is not hard to see that the Climens will surpass it down the (long) road. For now, though, the Suduiraut is drinking gorgeously. The nose jumps out of the glass right away with its creamy botrytis notes and complex aromatics of crème brulee topping, sugar cube, lime zest and caramel apple. It is unctuous, yet well-balanced in the mouth. Flavors of light caramel, crème brulee and deep honey carry through to another very long finish. There are some nice spicy accents to the sweetness, as well. At times, the texture feels leesy and at other times it almost finely sugary, which will hopefully integrate with some more time in the cellar. Overall, though, this is rather easy to enjoy right now. 96 pts.
Well, the night came to a close with that. Six people voted on favorite wines of the night:
Wines of the Night:
’88 Pol Roger Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill 12 pts (4 first place votes)
’83 Pichon Lalande 11 pts (2 firsts, 1 second, 3 thirds)
’85 Krug Brut 8 pts (4 second place votes)
’97 Les Pavots 3 pts (1 second, 1 third)
’03 Peter Michael Chardonnay 1 pt (1 third)
’01 Suduiraut 1 pt (1 third)
By flight (with 7 voters this time):
’88 Pol Roger 6 firsts vs. 1 for ’85 Krug
’03 Peter Michael Chard 5 firsts, 1 tie, 1 for ’05 Radio Coteau
’83 Pichon Lalande 6 firsts vs. 1 for ’83 Mouton
’93 Silver Oak Cabernet 5 firsts vs. 2 for ’99 Anderson’s Conn Valley
’97 Les Pavots 5 firsts vs. 2 for ’00 Insignia
’96 Beringer 3 firsts vs. 4 ties with the ’95 Beringer
’01 Climens 4 firsts vs. 2 for ’01 Suduiraut and 1 tie
-Michael