It’s not every dinner party you open just three reds, and every one of them is an absolute winner. So you have to celebrate it when you do:
JL CHAVE ST. JOSEPH 1999
Solid red color, a subtle nose, reminding mildly of olives, otherwise just a gentle waft of maturity. But surprising bite and fruit on the palate, plenty of gorgeous raspberry and blackberry, good acidity, copious texture. Delicious is the word that best comes to mind.
LE SANG DES CAILLOUX VACQUEYRAS CUVÉE FLOURETO 2004
Purple with a very light brick. Lots of Syrah-like meat on the nose here, suggesting more of that grape than typical in a Southern Rhône. (Perhaps not, from what I can ascertain through research, though it does have some Mourvèdre in the mix.) Very big, very fiery, full of leathery and herbal textures, plenty alcohol yet all well-balanced, still tons of life in this wine, could age much longer but equally gorgeous to drink now. Classic big cuvee Southern Rhone red.
CLOS DU MONT OLIVET Châteauneuf du Pape 1998
Quite light in color, moving towards the opaque. Plenty of that distinctively provencal mix on the nose, with the kind of “milky” palate I associate with a nicely mature Châteauneuf du Pape. That said, while it was soft as silk on the front end, the wine opened up in the mouth to reveal plenty gingerbread notes, and some leather/saddle/earth/mushroom on the back. The finish was long and luxurious, the wine fair singing. Several years left on it, but drinking like a star.
We were also fortunate enough to have a creamy, bold, sophisticated Vincent Girardin Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru 2004 up front, and a wonderfully decadent Max Ferd. Richter Mulheimer Helenen Kloster Eiswein 2001, for dessert. We were blessed.