WTN: Haart, Harlan, Hudelot & a non-H wine for Thanksgiving

[David M. Bueker]

Thanksgiving dinner with my folks & Salil. Lots of good fun and delicious food. The wines did not suck.

2001 Reinhold Haart Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Spätlese
Developing nicely with the classic honey drenched peaches being accompanied by prominent minerals and a smoky edge. Very fine right now but can hold for a long time.

1996 Alain Hudelot-Noellat Clos Vougeot
Showing very much as a mature (but not over the hill) wine, with evolved perfume. No browning or any muddied signs, so I guess it's just matured. It's medium weight (especially compared to the other 2 reds), and long on the finish. Very nice accompaniment to our completely savory feast.

2001 Harlan Cabernet Sauvignon 'The Maiden'
Biggest wine on the table (no shock), but not even remotely overblown. This carries cassis and black cherry fruit alongside dark, bitter chocolate and more oak than I prefer but certainly still well within acceptable range. This is not in any way a caricature of Cabernet, but a well-balanced expression of what the grape can do in Napa Valley.

2009 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Needs some air to open up a bit - it seemed hot at first, but with some open time it really fleshed out and the wine came into its own. Lots of ripe red cherry, and some back end spice. Simple after the Hudelot, but very drinkable, and perhaps more appropriate than the intellectual Burgundy when the wine is not the focus.

Thanks for your work in the kitchen, and for having me over again. That was a fantastic dinner - excellent turkey, great potatoes, gravy, stuffing, etc. Surprised I was able to move at the end of it all! (Even the cats seemed stuffed by the end of the night. )

Pretty much echo your thoughts on the wines, that was a wonderful lineup. All very different wines, but all excellent and wonderful alongside the food and company.

Next year I'll dig up the 02 Harlan Maiden...

1996 Alain Hudelot-Noellat Clos Vougeot
Showing very much as a mature (but not over the hill) wine, with evolved perfume. No browning or any muddied signs, so I guess it's just matured.

I was very close to buying a bottle of this a few weeks ago. But then I decided that the combination of 1996 and CV meant that it probably needed a lot more time. However your bottle sounds like it was right in the zone. And this from the glacial Bueker cellar?!?!

[David M. Bueker]

1996 Alain Hudelot-Noellat Clos Vougeot
Showing very much as a mature (but not over the hill) wine, with evolved perfume. No browning or any muddied signs, so I guess it's just matured.

I was very close to buying a bottle of this a few weeks ago. But then I decided that the combination of 1996 and CV meant that it probably needed a lot more time. However your bottle sounds like it was right in the zone. And this from the glacial Bueker cellar?!?!

And bought on release.

Rahsaan, Hudelot-Noellat's wines are made in what I call a "lacey" style that makes them approachable much sooner than one might otherwise expect. Never miss the opportunity to buy well-priced examples.

[James Roscoe]

David is a saint! Great notes. I knew this was the dinner to crash, especially with ten nephews and nieces under ten at my place plus the gaggle of teens and college age kids suddenly "discovering" wine.

Rahsaan, Hudelot-Noellat's wines are made in what I call a "lacey" style that makes them approachable much sooner than one might otherwise expect. Never miss the opportunity to buy well-priced examples.

Yes, I remember you told me something to that effect when I was debating the purchase. But I ended up getting sidetracked into a mixed case of 02 and 99 Savigny/PV, which has its own virtues.