Dinner with Mike, Jay Miller and Jeff Grossman at Soul Flavors in Jersey City last night - as usual wonderful (and quite inexpensive) food and some tremendous wines with some great company.
2006 Marie-Noelle Ledru Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée du Goulté
Another fantastic bottle. Layers of pure white and red fruits, fresh baked brioche and chalky mineral notes that keep unravelling and evolving with air, becoming more savoury, doughy and complex with time. There's remarkable purity, focus and depth here, and it's just an incredible wine that I'm glad I bought a few of.
1984 Noël Verset Cornas
Bought and opened as a gamble considering the vintage - the colour's remarkably deep, there's certainly a bit of fruit, olive and meat here, but it's ruined by that $*%$*! (@$%# TCA. Gaaaaah!
2007 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux
Quite a contrast to the '07 Le Bourg enjoyed a week ago; this comes across rather reticent at first (even after being double decanted a couple of hours ahead of time) but really opens aromatically after a lot of air as a remarkably smoky and floral-scented fragrance develops around a core of blackcurrants and olives. There's a sense of remarkable purity and freshness to the flavours, though texturally it comes across a little firmer and more powerful than the more finessed Le Bourg. An outstanding wine that I'm glad to have a few bottles of in the cellar.
2007 Thierry Allemand Cornas Chaillot
Double decanted a few hours in advance, and again this really opened up aromatically with air to show an incredible perfume combining all sort of vividly peppery, smoky, meaty and floral elements. Great depth and balance on the palate with all the flavour and structural elements combining together into one seamless, polished whole.
2008 Roblet-Monnot Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds
Initially comes across much riper and more fruit-forward than my other recent experiences with this wine with a pure, sappy black cherry flavour dominating and much more richness than I recollect. With some air the fruit takes a step back as the stony minerality and fresh herbal elements emerge, and it becomes much more interesting.
2009 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Franc de Pied
Nothing new to add to my previous comments. This is a stunner not only for its incredible depth and purity of flavour, but its finessed, seamless and silken palate presence - flavour conveyed with barely any sense of weight, and a texture that's all about elegance.
1995 Cappellano Barolo Otin Fiorin (Gabutti)
Incredible wine that's still very young, but already showing amazing complexity and depth and just kept getting better and better with air. Layers of red fruits combining seamlessly with all sorts of savoury earthy, smoky, tarry, and floral notes in a package that's medium weight, still rather tannic and structured but so compelling to drink.
1982 Château La Dominique
Another visit from that Portuguese menace. Bah!
1978 Tenuta Greppo (Biondi-Santi) Brunello di Montalcino (Jay or Jeff will have to confirm the designation/vineyard here)
After the Portuguese menace showed up again, Jay Miller went to the trouble of walking back to his place and returning 15 minutes later with a bottle of this, which was really lovely with some time in a decanter, showing mature savoury earthy, leathery, tobacco and herbal flavours around a core of black cherries and red fruited flavours. Still quite youthful, getting better and more aromatic with time, lovely.
Thanks all!