TN: Henriot Billiot Vouvray Macon Gruaud Larose 75, 85

Notes from a dinner:

Please see https://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/vi ... 1&t=184728 for pictures.

We started with a couple of Champagnes,served with Endive Boats with Smoked Salmon and Leek Parmesan Phyllo Tartlets:

Henriot Champagne Brut Souverain – this was an nv wine picked up at the sales following the end of millennium celebrations so it was probably made around 1995/96 or so. It turned out to be in fine shape with good mousse and nose and clean flavours.


Billiot Fils Champagne Grand Cru Reserve – this much more recent wine showed slightly darker colour and some nice citrus elements in the nose along with some baked bread notes. Excellent fruit and clean mineral with medium length finish.


2016 Foreau Dom. Du Clos Naudin Vouvray Sec – served with Butternut Squash and Saffron Soup. Clean fresh nose with some sweetness but crisp on palate and good length. Worked well against the soup.


2018 Eve et Michel Rey Macon-Villages La Roche Macon Vergisson – with Chanterelles in Tarragon Cream Sauce en croute. A nice apple and spice nose, light gold in colour, with a clen citrus finish.


1975 Ch. Gruaud Larose – both of these were tasted without food and then served with a braised oxtail stew. Fascinating complex nose with fruit and smoke, along with an intriguing herbal component. Good garnet colour to the rim, mellow flavours and slightly high acidity. This wine tayed balanced and drank well for over 60 minutes after decanting.

1985 Ch. Gruaud Larose – Sweet fruit, rich nose of dark fruit and some nuttiness, long smooth finish. To our surprise, we all preferred the 75 to this very presentable 85.


1977 Warres Port still very dark with a sweet nose of dark fruit and not much heat, the sweet fruit a delight and tith a long smooth finish. Very good showing of a Port nearing or at peak and with many years to go.

[Jenise]

Sounds like a great dinner. Btw, I can't believe you haven't run out of millenium champagnes yet. Did you really think you were buying enough to last the next 20 years?

I'm running low but as I like Champagne that is mature I didn't have too much concern about keeping it this long. I did wonder about the age of the Henriot but we were all pleasantly surprised at how alive it was. I still have some 1990 vintage bubbly that is excellent.

BTW, on a more negative note, I opened a 1982 du Tertre today - it was corked!!

BTW, the sauce for the mushroom dish required fresh tarragon. I picked up some great looking tarragon...and it was totally tasteless. I used the fresh as a garnish but flavoured the dish with dried. Have you come across that before?

[Jenise]

I love mature wines, too, but am more hesitant to hang onto bubbly since there is a non-immortal textural element. Tired fizz is no fun.

Re the tarragon, yes and no. Growing my own, the second year (after winter, in which it dies back) it came back strange and had no flavor. I thought for sure it was a goner and these were tasteless suckers. But I didn't tear it out, and as it got into the season the flavor came in bright and strong as desired. Never ran into that from a grocery store purchase, though.

Our plant outside is almost over now but we tasted a leaf and it was still excellent. Never had a tasteless one before!

[David M. Bueker]

Glad the Billiot showed well. That’s a grower that experienced some difficulties during the generational handover. I last tasted the range in 2019, and things seemed back on track after a tough stretch.

BTW, on a more negative note, I opened a 1982 du Tertre today - it was corked!!

Just a follow up on the corky du Tertre. My friend (Jenise, you may recall him - Charlie - now 91 years old!) called me to do a tune up one one of their antique long case clocks and as I felt bad about the dead, corky bottle I had brought to lunch, I took my only other bottle of the 82 - but I decanted it right before we left and put it back into the rinsed bottle for travel.

Now his clock is running (and modified to run 3 days instead of 30 hours) and we enjoyed a really good bottle of mature claret - figured that I owed him that after the great bottles he brought when I had him to our Gavroche lunches in the old days. I don't have specific notes on what he brought (you might have).

[Jenise]

Bill, I didn't save notes back then, and of course CT didn't exist either. I do remember Charlie bringing a full bottle of '75 Y'Quem, once--an absolutely amazing bottle. I recall a Lafite, too, but not which vintage. He was always very generous.