DINNER AT THE BRISTOL - The Bristol - Chicago, IL (5/10/2012)
Thrown together at the last minute, this turned into an incredible evening of food, wine and conversation. The staff at The Bristol served us well, the food was brilliantly prepared and luckily the wines showed incredibly well. It was one of those nights that the stars aligned.
- 1988 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru - France, Champagne
Incredible finesse, energy and density on the palate...exactly what I look for with Champagne. Firing on all cylinders, this is a champagne that still retains its youthful acidity while displaying elegance and grace. Wonderful. (94 pts.) - 1982 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
An incredibly beautiful and elegant wine that glides over your palate like silk sheets. The nose is rich with blood, dark fruit, ash, earth, and violets. Age has quieted some of the fruit tones, but has seemed to amplify the meatiness and ashiness of the wine. Truly remarkable wine that was intensely exotic and a great example of perfectly aged Northern Rhone syrah. (96 pts.) - 1998 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Drank this alongside the '82 - which was an absolute ying/yang experience. This had more power, fruit, and energy than the '82 and at the same time possessed its exotic meaty, earthy, floral tones. The mouthfeel was heavenly with dense, deep tones and tingly acidity on the finish. Drinking incredibly well at the moment, but should age without a hitch for a while. Brilliant stuff. (97 pts.) - 1996 Joseph Drouhin Grands-Echezeaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru
This falls squarely into the category of austere 1996 Burgundy. The nose was quiet with dark brambly fruit, subtle spice, and wet earth notes. The palate was pretty hard and acidic but did offer up dark fruit, violet tones and a subtle earthiness. Another fickle 1996 Burgundy...hard to tell if/when this one will come around. (88 pts.) - 1988 Château Figeac - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Beautiful nose of raw tobacco, some green pepper, sour cherry and rose petals. With air (we're talking 2 hours) this became really green with its cabernet franc nature taking over. Until that point, the wine was elegant, floral and deep. Beautiful claret. (91 pts.) - 1989 Château Léoville Poyferré - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
I was surprised how great this was! Mature nose of spice, cedar, graphite, red fruit and earth. Loved the weight of the palate was dense fruit, spice and earth tones yet an airiness that gave it elegance and balance. Just a rocking Bordeaux. (94 pts.) - 1996 Château Léoville Barton - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Rustic nose that was really beautiful. Tobacco, cedar, leather, dark fruit and dried floral dominated the nose. The palate was considerable harder than the nose with more acidity and primary dark fruit. Probably would have taken some time for the palate to flesh out, but this was a pop and pour. This has great composition, complexity and balance...no rush in drinking this. Great stuff. (92 pts.) - 2008 Domaine Bruno Clair Chambertin-Clos de Bèze - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru
This wine is all about the fruit purity. It's one of those wines that has big fruit but its intense minerality really rules the day. It has great balance, combined with a beautiful floral, dark fruit and earthy notes on the palate. I've drank a lot of 2008 Burgundies and you get used to somewhat reserved fruit...but here, the fruit is incredibly vivid and my sense is that it'll develop into a fantastic wine with time. (92 pts.) - 1991 Avignonesi Vin Santo di Montepulciano Occhio di Pernice - Italy, Tuscany, Montepulciano, Vin Santo di Montepulciano
Very unique wine. Had a nose of licorice, molasses, brambly red fruit and crushed stones. A freak show of a wine with dark fruit, molasses, plum, and spices on the palate. This was THICK - probably the densest wine I've ever tried. Luckily, the acidity on the finish was strong which kept the wine interesting and enjoyable. (91 pts.)
Will look for those notes.