WTN: Dagueneau, Jaboulet, La Lagune, Paleo, Grahams

Lunch notes:

2005 Voge Fleur de Crussol St. Peray – this Northern Rhone white showed citrus nose with an almost but not quite menthol element, nice flavours and good acidity. Good.

2004 Dagueneau Pur Sang – a nice treat. Clean gooseberry aromas, sweet entry on palate and a ton of acidity. Some ripe cantaloupe.

1990 Jean Bourdy Cotes de Jura Blanc– some colour, and an interesting nose with some oxidation, but lots of complexity –a ton of old chard flavour and reasonable length. Interesting curiosity.

1982 Bourdy Cotes de Jura Rouge – a Pinot, Poulsard and Trousseau blend that looked like an old faded pinot noir. No fruit left, some sweetness in the nose and only acidity in the finish.

1982 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle – I brought this because some of the attendees hadn’t been at my La Chapelle dinner, and the ones that had tasted a 1982 I thought was inferior. This turned out to be far better, showing a Rhone nose, good colour, smooth sweet entry and excellent length.

1982 Ch. La Lagune – also my wine – after all, it is Christmas soon. Nice sweet fruit in the nose, sweet in the mouth with some tannin, and good length. No rush, in excellent shape. A fun pair to choose between.

1989 Ch. Pichon Baron – a sadly corked wine that nonetheless still showed good body and fruit. For some reason I skipped this and my cellar brackets it with 1988 and 1990.

1998 Le Machiole Paleo Rosso – a blend of 85% cab sauv, 10% cab franc and 5% sangiovese. Big fruit in the nose with lots of cherry, seemed so much like a California cabernet!

1997 Poggio Salvi Brunello – I’m not familiar with this producer, but liked the wine a lot. Real vitamin tablet nose, and some up front tannins that hit you before you got far into it. Sweet entry, very good length, good acidity.

1986 Grahams Malvedos Port – obviously Port, but seemed so young and unevolved. Not as sweet as Grahams often is, but hot. Needs time. Pleased to see I have a half case. Not in any hurry about this one!

Nice December lunch. And to all a good night!

All those wines with one lunch!!?

BTW I don't think that I've ever had a Saint-Peray. I sounds as if I should remedy this. Shame about the Pichon-Baron.

All those wines with one lunch!!?

BTW I don't think that I've ever had a Saint-Peray. I sounds as if I should remedy this. Shame about the Pichon-Baron.

Well, there were more than just me in attendance, Tim!

Yes, the Pichon should have been very good. Luck of the draw. Corked wines are a fact of life.

[Jenise]

2005 Voge Fleur de Crussol St. Peray – Lovely wine. Menthol-and white flower nose with a hint of lime blossom. Intriguingly different (was very easy to decide what it wasn't, and much harder to decide what it was) and showing very very well right now.

2004 Dagueneau Pur Sang – I have to admit I did not love this. Nose was obviously sauvignon blanc, but it had a vegetal funk on the nose. Where someone else initially guessed NZ, I thought it was more Touraine-like. On the palate, it was like sucking on a lemon. I kept my glass through the entire lunch and though it improved somewhat, it never gained the complexity of depth I associate with Pur Sang.

1990 Jean Bourdy Cotes de Jura Blanc– deep gold. Interesting oxidative flavors though not objectionable--more like what a Lopez de Heredia would taste like 20 years out if LdH made chardonnay. My wine--purchased from Garagiste who got this shipment direct from this old old winery's 16th century mountainside caves for a special dinner last year at Stone Barns in NY. I liked it a lot.

1982 Bourdy Cotes de Jura Rouge – purchased from the same source at the same time. Per the vigneron this was supposedly at peak though it could hold through 2025, but it was clearly way past that. A shame--$90 down the drain.

1982 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle – Classic, outstanding.

1982 Ch. La Lagune – This wine showed so much better than many 82's I've had recently from higher tier estates. An astute purchase on your part, all those years ago. Excellent.

1989 Ch. Pichon Baron – What a wine we missed! This was a pristeen, doesn't-get-any-better bottle but for the TCA.

1998 Le Machiole Paleo Rosso – Sweet black cherry fruit with a superripe strawberry core. As you say, seemed like a Cal Cab but for the acidity which no Cal Cab that ripe would have had. Excellent, my first experience with this producer.

1997 Poggio Salvi Brunello – What you said.

1986 Grahams Malvedos Port – Delicious, you should be pleased. And, much as I appreciate mature port, I sometimes like drinking them young and this one provided a lot of pleasure--youthful, but developed.

1982 Bourdy Cotes de Jura Rouge – purchased from the same source at the same time. Per the vigneron this was supposedly at peak though it could hold through 2025, but it was clearly way past that...

According to the vigneron or according to Garagiste's representation of the vigneron's words?

Also, there is of course always the case of bottle variation?

Otherwise, sounds like a nice selection of wines.

It's nice to see a note on the Poggio Salvi - I have a few in the cellar, one of which I'm going to open as soon as a fellow Italophile and I can pin down a date for dinner. Though I haven't had the 1997 yet, I was lucky enough to be offered a taste of the 1998 (a solid though much lesser vintage) from the "private stash" at a big store tasting once. That was a wonderful wine, and highly underrated.