I was lucky enough to be invited to a Northern Rhone dinner at Noreetuh Sunday. As we gathered and started with fried chicken, 3 Champagnes
2002 Pol Roger Brut
There’s a lot of dosage there but it handles it well. Apple, pear, pie dough, with a smoky note. Refined mousse. Works well with chicken. B+/B
2005 Philipponnat “Clos des Goisses” Brut
Crisper, chalky,less overt fruit, I may have been only one who preferred to PR. B+
1995 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill Brut
Corked! Ouch that hurt!
On to the reds. Accompanied by a steady progression of dishes - musubi (yellowtail, spicy tuna, galbi, red snapper, dried scallop), tuna poke, Taiwan cabbage with bacon,beef jerky, bok choy with mushrooms, calamansi duck on duck fat rice, porterhouse (I probably forgot something)
2016 Levet Maestria Cote-Rotie
masculine young, dark brooding fruit. Needs lots of time. B for drinking now, potential
2007 Levet Chavaroche Cote Rotie
Lovely, smoked meat and herbs on nose, red fruits with pepper and olives and a long finish on palate. A-/B+
2015 Juge Cornas
Subdued, tight, hard to get a read on/ Some were very optimistic.
2014 Juge Cornas
Lovely, minty herba notes, l exotic complete and complex A-
2011 Juge Cornas
Great nose, rough and slightly clipped finish. I liked, not as much as some others did. B/B+
2005 Benetiere Cote-Rotie
Lovely, lighter than preceding wines, raspberries with bacon and a little barnyard note. B+/A-
2001 Chave Hermitage
Black fruits, some vanilla and coffee, big but to me a little anonymous. Divisive, some liked a lot. B
2005 Sorrel Le Greal Hermitage
Big, a bulldozer of a wine, but impressive dark fruits with grilled meats and underbrush. Tannic but I rather like. B+/B
2001 Gallet Cote-Rotie
tight with a lactic note, didn’t really appeal. B-
2000 Gallet Cote-Rotie
good , open, not quite as long or deep as the 99/98 but a very nice wine that’s drinking well now. B/B+
1999 Gallet Cote-Rotie
At first I thought it was tired, and then I thought it was a bit tight but really there’s a nice core here, very long on finish. B+
1998 Gallet Cote-Rotie
Floral,feral, open, long, complex. Exotic and delicious. A-
1999 Allemand Reynard Cornas
Nice cassis and black raspberry fruit, nice body, some floral notes but they’re a bit overwhelmed by some bretty note. B
1999 Faurie Hermitage
OK, I have no clue. I wrote down the wine but no notes, and have no real memories of liking or disliking this!
1998 Jamet Cote Brune Cote-Rotie
so lovely, rich and long, dark fruit, powerful, bacon fat, black pepper, black olives, excellent and my WOTN. A-/A
1998 Barge Cote Brune Cote-Rotie
Also excellent, long with smoked meats, bonfire, a little cocoa. A-
1993 Cuchet-Beliando Cornas
Pretty , floral, lighter than the preceding wines. B+
Really fun night with great people. Was great to have more exposure to Levet and Gallet, which I’ve only tasted a couple times. Interesting how well the '98s showed.
Almost forgot there was a 2017 Selbach-Oster Rotlay at end. Big and powerful, Auslese weight/sweetness, pretty vivid acids keep it lively. B+/A-
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.