WTN: Colombo Guigal Jaboulet Texier

Notes from an excellent dinner with friends.

Aubry Brut nv – this bubble has chard, PN and meunier and showed a lemony nose, a very slightly off dry impression on palate, medium length, very pleasant.

2011 Cotes du Rhone Brezeme Roussanne– this Texier wine is medium colour, with a nose of citrus with hints of cloves, and some white pepper showing up after airing. Soft in the mouth but balanced and very pleasant.

2010 Condrieu Les Vins de Vienne La Chambée – Sweet floral nose, , soft lush fruit in the mouth, and good length. Hard to decide which one preferred as they were so different.

with spicy lobster salad in endive leaves
leak mousse quenelle and home-smoked wild king salmon

1991 Jean Luc Colombo Cornas Les Ruchets – the last bottle of a case I have enjoyed over the years. Still showing good colour, a nose of sweet and peppery cassis fruit, now getting almost elegant, a far cry from its hard tannic youth. Good length and still in fine shape. Wish I had more! A very good vintage in the North. The modern vintages don’t seem to be structured for quite this longevity.

with tomato and roasted fennel bisque with blue cheese garnish

1995 Guigal Cote Rotie Brune et Blonde – this wine is now becoming rather pale, although not yet really Burgundian in hue. An enticing nose of warm brambly fruit, elegant and classy with some faint thyme hints. Needs drinking but has held well. Fair bit of acidity but after airing it seemed to pick up a pleasant sweetness at the end.

1998 Guigal Cote Rotie Brune et Blonde – the dinner was a blind tasting theme and I had brought the 1995 while another participant, without any discussion between us, brought this wine. Musty nose at first, but settling down to bright raspberry syrah, and in the mouth it showed darker fruit with some spice and it had a similar length to the 95.

with mache, pansy and raw mushroom salad with porcini vinaigrette

1995 Chapoutier Hermitage La Sizeranne – this wine was also in great shape, quite dark, with a great Rhone nose of blackberry and spice, somewhat ripe, but it didn’t show overly ripe on palate, with good acidity and medium body. Good length.

2000 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle – interesting comparison. Perfumed warm raisin and rosemary nose, medium bodied with soft tannin, this seems to be on plateau now (earlier than I’d have thought).

with herb crusted roast pork over fennel bread pudding with vermouth-chive gravy and green olive gremolata


We later went on to taste a couple more bottles after the other guests headed off for home.

1994 Ch. Dauzan La Vergne Haut Montravel – having spent time in the Bergerac area, this one was fun for me, and a wine we seldom see, made from Semillon and sauv blanc. Medium amber colour, fairly sweet at first, seemingly less so with closer acquaintance, and the oak ageing was evident in the nose. Nice.

2010 Champalou Vouvray – some nice apple notes in the nose, and some lime, good flavour intensity and a balanced clean finish.

Great evening!

[David M. Bueker]

Recent vintages (say post 1997) of La Chapelle have been lighter than in older vintages, and quicker to evolve.

[Jenise]

Some comments.

Aubry Brut nv – this bubble has chard, PN and meunier and showed a lemony nose, a very slightly off dry impression on palate, medium length, very pleasant.

A bit too young, I think. Definitely a good candidate for cellar aging, though.
2011 Cotes du Rhone Brezeme Roussanne– this Texier wine is medium colour, with a nose of citrus with hints of cloves, and some white pepper showing up after airing. Soft in the mouth but balanced and very pleasant.

2010 Condrieu Les Vins de Vienne La Chambée – Sweet floral nose, , soft lush fruit in the mouth, and good length. Hard to decide which one preferred as they were so different.

I preferred the Texier, especially with the second of the two white courses. The Condrieu, which was very very good (and in fact, I own some), had a butterscotch element amid the old lady perfume, and was just a touch shy in the acidity department--better as a sipping wine than a food wine, I thought.

with spicy lobster salad in endive leaves
leak mousse quenelle and home-smoked wild king salmon

1991 Jean Luc Colombo Cornas Les Ruchets – the last bottle of a case I have enjoyed over the years. Still showing good colour, a nose of sweet and peppery cassis fruit, now getting almost elegant, a far cry from its hard tannic youth. Good length and still in fine shape. Wish I had more! A very good vintage in the North. The modern vintages don’t seem to be structured for quite this longevity.

with tomato and roasted fennel bisque with blue cheese garnish

The Colombo showed very very well indeed. And the pairing, inadvertent as it was since I didn't know what anybody else's wines were either, with the bisque was my favorite food-wine match of the evening.

1995 Guigal Cote Rotie Brune et Blonde – this wine is now becoming rather pale, although not yet really Burgundian in hue. An enticing nose of warm brambly fruit, elegant and classy with some faint thyme hints. Needs drinking but has held well. Fair bit of acidity but after airing it seemed to pick up a pleasant sweetness at the end.

1998 Guigal Cote Rotie Brune et Blonde – the dinner was a blind tasting theme and I had brought the 1995 while another participant, without any discussion between us, brought this wine. Musty nose at first, but settling down to bright raspberry syrah, and in the mouth it showed darker fruit with some spice and it had a similar length to the 95.

with mache, pansy and raw mushroom salad with porcini vinaigrette

How crazy good was it that you and John both brought Guigals? Loved how the wines showed together (initially guessed the 98 to be from the aughts, then worked my way back) and also made the case for pairing good, aged wine with a well-designed salad course, something few people realize can work so well.

1995 Chapoutier Hermitage La Sizeranne – this wine was also in great shape, quite dark, with a great Rhone nose of blackberry and spice, somewhat ripe, but it didn’t show overly ripe on palate, with good acidity and medium body. Good length.

2000 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle – interesting comparison. Perfumed warm raisin and rosemary nose, medium bodied with soft tannin, this seems to be on plateau now (earlier than I’d have thought).

with herb crusted roast pork over fennel bread pudding with vermouth-chive gravy and green olive gremolata

Enjoyed both of these wines. Would add cinnamon to your description of the Chapoutier, I loved the spice here. But in fact of the two it was the Jaboulet that won my heart--there is a warm caramel tone to some mature Rhones and when that's big, as it was on this wine, I'm a prisoner.


We later went on to taste a couple more bottles after the other guests headed off for home.

1994 Ch. Dauzan La Vergne Haut Montravel – having spent time in the Bergerac area, this one was fun for me, and a wine we seldom see, made from Semillon and sauv blanc. Medium amber colour, fairly sweet at first, seemingly less so with closer acquaintance, and the oak ageing was evident in the nose. Nice.

What I love about this wine is the way in which it's so savory for a so-called sweet wine--really shows complexity. I brought one to lunch eons ago, and it has turned a few shades darker since then.