Berserkerfest dinner at Barbetta last night - an incredible, noisy and very fun evening with great friends, wonderful to see a lot of good friends again and meet some new faces, and many thanks to Leo for organizing the dinner. Mark Golodetz put together a table of Chambertins (surprisingly Leo only visited our table once, despite all the Jadot!) and we drank very, very well.
N.V. Tarlant Champagne Brut Zéro
Very light and refreshing with fresh pear and green apple fruit framed by yeasty and chalky notes; there's bright acidity and effervescence here but it feels a little thin in the middle.
1988 Louis Jadot Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
Wonderful aromatics, a lovely fragrance combining all sorts of developed leathery, savoury earthy and truffled scents with bright red fruits. It doesn't show quite the same depth of the flavour in the mouth, but there's a sense of real polish and finesse with the tannins mostly resolved, bright acids giving it lift and a silken texture.
1993 Louis Jadot Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
The same beautiful aromatic profile as the '88 with a beautiful scent showing all sorts of leathery, slightly meaty, earthy and truffled flavours, but there's more depth and power here with the fruit richer and deeper complexioned. Superb balance, conveying power with a sense of restraint and moderate weight, a really stunning wine.
1998 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne
From a magnum that Steve Saxon/Suzanne Camhi's table sent over, and a wow from the first sip, with layers of freshly baked bread, chalky minerality, bright pear, citrus and apple fruit and incredible depth and power. Spectacular stuff.
1996 Louis Jadot Chambertin
Flat out wow. This is incredible; layers of bright red fruited flavours framed by floral and spicy accents, developing leathery and savoury earthy notes and a surprising saline mineral element. Still very young, but drinking so well right now with amazing depth and complexity and a sense of real polish and elegance to the flavours.
1997 Louis Jadot Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
Not on the level of the other Jadot CdBs and rather disappointing. There's a strong roasted tinge to the fruit, it's quite ripe and not showing the same sense of finesse or polish that the other wines at the table had.
1998 Joseph Drouhin Chambertin
Not as great a showing as my last experience with this, but still very pleasant with a core of pure red fruited flavours framed by leathery and spicy notes. Still very young with the structure and fruit suggesting there's lots of time ahead.
1996 Joseph Drouhin Chambertin
Much more open and accessible than the '98 with a beautiful aromatic profile - bright floral, spicy and leathery elements framing bright red fruited flavours conveyed with a sense of real purity and freshness. It's light on its feet with bright acids and a very polished, finessed texture. Great stuff.
1998 Case Basse (Soldera) Brunello di Montalcino
Another generous pour from Suzanne; beautiful aromatics; a bright fragrance of pure red berried fruit seasoned with baking spices, florality and more savoury earthy elements. Incredibly polished and elegant, conveying remarkable depth of flavour with barely any sense of weight. Tremendous.
1998 Louis Jadot Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
More primary in its flavour profile than the '93 with denser, richer fruit, but it's already showing a great deal of aromatic complexity with lots of spice, savoury earthiness and developing leathery notes. It's quite structured with bright acids and fine grained tannins, but there's still a silkiness and polish to the texture that makes it very enjoyable to drink.
1995 Domaine Jean et Jean-Louis Trapet Chambertin
Nice to have a chance to revisit this, another fine showing - this is in a great place right now with the fruit still very bright and primary, but augmented by layers of developed sous bois and leathery flavours. It's a little more rustic than the Jadots with the texture not quite as polished and finessed, but still a lovely drink.
1996 Louis Jadot Charmes-Chambertin
Not on the level of the other Jadot '96s - the flavours here are a little more simple; red fruits and earth seasoned with some spicy and floral elements but without the leathery/savoury complexity of the other wines, and it comes across a little blocky and four square in the mouth.
1996 Louis Jadot Chapelle-Chambertin
Comes across a little lighter and leaner than the Chambertins or Clos de Bezes; there's a similar flavour profile with that developed leathery savouriness and florality framing fresh red fruits, but it doesn't have quite the same degree of complexity or presence.
Lots of other wines going around that I didn't record details/impressions on, such as the lovely 89 Bert Simon Auslese that Steve was sending around, or the Monfortino Barolo from the Nebbiolo table, or the Mollydooker Velvet Glove that almost sent me into catatonic shock and the 1875 Madeira Jay Hack poured to help me recover... again, an incredibly fun night, many thanks to Leo for organizing the dinner and to all for their company and generosity.