Last month, Andy had five of us over on a Friday night for an informal evening of home cooking and Texas Hold ‘Em poker. He cooked up his usual amazing fare for us, and then took all of my money at the table. A fair trade-off in my book. We all supplied wines, none of which were served blind (although I initially blinded the La Rioja Alta for a while). No planning whatsoever went into it, but we ended up with some interesting pairings nonetheless.
NV J. Lassalle Champagne Brut Reserve Cachet d’Or. The Champagne that we started off with is a bit dark yellow in color but has a very expressive bouquet of honey, beeswax, lemon peel, plantain, nuts and chalk dust aromas. In the mouth, it is very creamy and surprisingly weighty, with a big bottom bass note to the ginger ale, Fuji apple and tropical fruit flavors. It is fuller-bodied and mouthcoating—with the fizz way in the background. It seems fairly advanced but is rich and packed with flavor—an interesting wine all around, if not necessarily as cleansing as one might like.
1999 Maurice Ecard Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru Narbantons. This is just as good as I remember from the last bottle Peter shared. It has an old-fashioned, classic-styled bouquet that I find quite appealing—with slightly rustic aromas of autumn leaves, black tea, tree bark, persimmon, caramel apple, dried cherries, pomegranate, dried red flowers, funky sweat and old worn leather. In the mouth, it is light to medium-weighted, with an earthy, pleasantly rustic quality to the tangy flavors of sour cherries, cranberries, leather and turned earth notes. There are no real tannins to worry about and the wine is perfectly ready to drink right now. A really pleasing wine to my palate.
2004 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Bousselots. I like the big, muscular nose of this wine, with its black and blue berry fruit aromas and its dense earthy scents that go quite nicely with the little tendrils of toasted citrus peel, mulling spices, damson and shaved wood scents. Of course, all of us were looking for signs of green meanies as the night went along, but there’s nothing to worry about tonight, thankfully. In the mouth, it is cool and earthy and grounded, with a wiry structure and fine-honed acidic backbone. Yet the fruit is generally forward and fills the mouth quite nicely with flavors of black cherry, espresso bean, green peppercorn and dark earth. Again, it is quite clean, and the whole thing is extremely enjoyable even at this tender young age.
1999 R. Lopez de Heredia Rioja Reserva Vina Tondonia. This wine presents a bright and very pretty bouquet full of fine aromatics like crushed red cherries, strawberry roll-ups, balsamic notes, dried rose petals, light leather, soft spices, balsa wood and lavender. I really like it. It’s medium-weighted in the mouth, with a grippy texture and fine balance between the twangy acidity and the cherry, raspberry and soft spice flavors. It finishes with a nice long pull to it and surely seems like it can continue to evolve, but it offers very nice drinking today, as well.
2001 La Rioja Alta Rioja Vina Ardanza Reserva Especial. Here we find a fun, slightly exotic bouquet full of shaved balsa wood, menthol and blue and purple berry fruit aromas, tinged with a little bit of dried dillweed. The fruit seems fresh and bright and the whole thing has a pleasant distinctiveness to it that in no way seems overdone. It is quite nice, in fact. In the mouth, there is a bit of vanilla and American oak evident on the top layer, but underneath that is a lovely stream of cool yet gently sweet blueberry and black cherry fruit that is nice and creamy-textured but flows along without effort due to the bright acids. Again, nothing seems overblown and the oak, while evident, never even comes close to overwhelming the lovely fruit and spice flavors. This was enjoyed by all of us and there was no controversy to be had.
2002 Etude Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. This was a classic Etude Cabernet showing, in my experience. It features a rich, ripe and sweet nose that has a lot going on-- like aromas of black currants, blackberry jam and cassis supported by notes of coffee, mulled cider spices, pencil shavings, tobacco, green pepper and scorched earth. In the mouth, it is a bit warmer-fruited in personality, with plenty of dark pasty fruit, brownie batter, menthol and forest notes to it. I really like the soft glycerin-aided mouthfeel and also the sweet core of spiced plum and fruitcake flavors that take a while to bubble up from beneath. Some late tannins sneak in as the evening goes on and it is clear this can hold a while, but I think it is also drinking very well right now.
1996 Lewelling Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. This was a great showing for this wine. I really dig the bouquet that feels carressing and sweet-toned, yet alive, bold and energetic—with outstanding aromas of lead pencil, creosote, blackberries, cigar wrapper and fine dusty earth. It is nice and fresh on the palate, too, with a big bolt of tangy acidity running all the way through it and lending excellent flow to the cashmere-textured flavors of dark chocolate, black currant and blackberry fruit. It is well-structured but totally approachable, with an almost elegant tonality despite the big fruit stuffing.
2002 Chateau Langoa Barton St. Julien. This is still young, but it can certainly be enjoyed now, in my opinion. It offers up a cool, slinky nose of black leather, cigar ash, tobacco wrapper, gypsum, talc, white pepper, black currants and plum aromas that have plenty of oomph but in a cool, wiry framing. In the mouth, it is a bit more compacted, with the sweet-tinged black currant, black cherry and dark leather elements pure and promising but contained within a somewhat narrow beam just now. I’m liking it, but would suggest holding another 3 to 4 years to help it fan out some more.
2002 Chateau Leoville Barton St. Julien. This is more serious and smoldering on the nose, with a blacker profile that features aromas of black currants, charcoal, toasted herbs, vanilla bean and dark earth. On the palate, it’s not as nascently charming as the Langoa, but it shows class and breeding, with excellent balance and poise to go with fine-grained tannins and solid lift. It is taut and slick, getting a bit softer-textured as the night goes on, but generally needing more time in the cellar than the Langoa, I suspect.
-Michael