Deciding on a wine for a friend

[David M. Bueker]

So I am having dinner with a good freind next week in Long Beach (Jenise gets one guess who it is...) and I am toying around with several ideas.

One thought is Savennieres, and I have a bottle of that I picked out already, but my other thought is Chablis. I only have 2002s, so that's my quandry. Are any of the wines I have even worth drinking now. I don't know because all I know about Chablis is that I was drinking one at the moment the Red Sox won the series in 2004. (That's me blubbering into my Chablis...)

So here's the options (all 2002s): Fevre Grenouilles, Fevre Bougros Cote de Blah-blah-blah (can't spell it), Fevre Montmains, Brocard Clos, and 2 Vergets, Montee de Tonerre and Vaillons Vieilles Vignes des Minots.

Thoughts? Anyone?

I'm a savennieres fanatic, so I'm biased in that direction. A well aged sav. can be a mind-blowing experience to those that haven't tried one before - if s/he hasn't had that experience, it might be worth a re-think. Of course, the thing with aged savennieres is you never know if it is going to be in some wierd oxidized phase or not...

If you go with a chablis (another favourite of mine!), I wouldn't open a 2002 grand cru for another 4-6 years. They would still be so young and tight, there might not be very much pleasure to be had right now. Better to have a 2002 premier cru, and even that you should probably decanter it for a few hours before drinking. The 2002 Fevre Montmains is a very nice wine.

Riesling isn't an option?!?!?

[David M. Bueker]

Riesling is always an option, but I thought I would do something different for a change. And my freind, well he likes somewhat more offbeat wines, so Savennieres may just be the trick.

I'm really dying to get into my Chablis stock though...

David,
Do you have any village Chablis? The 02 Dauvissat is wonderful drinking right now and it does not break the bank - IOW, you could take two!
Best, Jim

[David M. Bueker]

David,
Do you have any village Chablis? The 02 Dauvissat is wonderful drinking right now and it does not break the bank - IOW, you could take two!
Best, Jim

I have one bottle of Dauvissat, and it's a premier cru. I'm cellaring that one.

2004 Roussanne grown at Tablas Creek Vineyards, bottled by that hippie folksinger from Berkeley, what's his name...

[David M. Bueker]

2004 Roussanne grown at Tablas Creek Vineyards, bottled by that hippie folksinger from Berkeley, what's his name...

Can I get it in Long Beach? If I can I will give it a try. If not it will have to wait for cooler weather to get shipped to Connecticut.

[Jenise]

You're right about your friend and offbeat wines. And I know he loves Savennieres. But the cool thing is he has almost no prejudices--if it's well-made, he'll 'get' it.

Hello David - sorry to add a dissenting opinion. tastes have changed and certainly winemakeing methods have changed. they used to add a lot more sulphur to white wines than they do now - so they stayed fresh a lot longer and in fact were not entirely pleasant for a few years. what i'm trying to point out is that not everyone is convinced that chablis of any stature should be aged. i finished all my 2002's at least a year ago; and frankly, the last bottles were more mature than i care for - and yes, i have a good cellar. unless you know your friend like mature white wines, i'd go with the savenniers - chenin takes the age much better IMO. in general, i think the taste today is for fresher wines than in the past - i know mine is.

[David M. Bueker]

I have had one or two of my 2002 Chablis over the last year, and they all were very fresh except for one bottle with an obviously faulty cork.

Another data point: I opened a Louis Michel 2002 Montmain 1er a month ago to go with a dinner of Berkshire pork that my brother prepared. The wine was open and quite good (nice mix of fruit and minerality on the nose and palate, tasty finish, crisp acidity), though I plan to hold my other bottle for a few more years to see where it goes. Don't know the wines you have, though.