Last night, 10 very passionate one wine drinkers got together for an evening of Old Rhones at Peter J.'s house. One got food poisoning, so that made it just 9 of us. Have no fear Keith, we still drank your Guigal after you left! Laurent brought no wine for a change, using the excuse that he is a poor Burgundy farmer.
Peter had a chef that did a tremendous job with the food. I am still trying to figure out the ravioli dish and how the egg got inside of it. Oh well, as little as I know about wine, I know less about food.
Onto the wines...
For starters, we did 2 bubblies...
1982 Salon-Man, this was a weird one. Upon first pour, this was oxidized. Only 5 minutes later, it was not. Smooth, sweet fruit, with little bubbles, this ended up being very tasty.
1996 Billecart Salmon Clos St. Hilaire- This is still much too young for me. Vibrant, and very crisp...I look forward to tasting this one down the line (Peter will have to open it though)!
Overall, the wines we had from the Rhone were excellent. Very few issues with one possible fake. As a whole, these wines stood the test of time!
First flight...
1) Blind...this was dark, rich, and minty, absolutely delicious...King Angry guessed 1970s Grange...the answer 1976 Penfolds Grange...(I am assuming Ray meant Penfolds, although he never did specify) ;)
2) Blind...for me this was a little watered down...finish was flat, I did not enjoy it...I guessed early '80s CDP...it was 1967 Mont Redon
3) Blind...I really enjoyed this wine...it had life, and a good spicey characteristic...very tasty stuff...I guessed early 90s Northern Rhone...it was 1971 Ch Fortia CDP...sign me up!
4) Not blind...1977 Chave Hermitage...one of my contributions...this had a very strange nose at first. Others liked it, I did not, after a few moments, it blew off. I actually went back to this wine hours later, and it was absolutely delicious!
Second Flight
1) 1983 Ch Beaucastel CDP...a good showing for the 1983 Beau on this night. It had good fruit...medium intensity...good pairing for the food.
2) 1989 Ch Beaucastel CDP...the 1983 overshadowed this one. Fortunately, it was not corked (as is the case with many 1989 Beaucastel CDPs).
3) 1989 Andre Brunel CDP Cuvee Centenaire...Not talked about much, but a few of us liked this wine and many others hated it (Ron complained of too much oak). It was clearly a pioneer of styles of new world CDP, but I thought it was very good, for many of the reasons that the "traditionalists" hated it.
Third Flight
1) 1989 Ch Rayas CDP...wow, this was a good wine. It would have been even better for me, if not for...
2) 1990 Ch Rayas CDP...this was absolutely stunning. Big, rich, layered with fruit, and a finish that went on and on. While some preferred the 1989 (which was really nice), this was one of my Wines of the Night!
3) 1989 Henri Bonneau CDP Cuvee Celestins...another wine with varying opinions. I found this wine to be harsh, and "too masculine." It was just not my style on this night. Especially after the silky smooth Rayas wines.
Fourth flight
1) 1989 Beaucastel CDP Hommage Jacques Perrin...I thought this flight was going to be historic, but I think the previous flight made it not so...nevertheless the 1989 Beaucastel Hommage was a very good wine, definitely softer than the 1990, which comes later. I can get into this wine.
2) 1990 Beaucastel CDP...a wine, that in the past, I have enjoyed immensely, and at one dinner, a couple of years back, showed nearly as well as the 1990 Hommage. On this night, though, this was a good wine, just not a great one.
3) 1990 Beaucastel CDP Hommage Jacques Perrin...darker in color than the 1989, this had less finesse and more muscle than the '89. I think this wine still has a long life ahead of it.
Fifth flight
1) 1989 Chave Hermitage...It was right about now when someone said, "victory for the 1989s tonight." Well, that is just opinion, but this was my WOTN (maybe a tie with 1990 Rayas)...another rich, intense wine that just had gobs and gobs of fruit coating my mouth. Man, I wish I had not just sold a mag of this last week!
2) 1989 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle...this was was a bit austere and rather unpleasant...which surprised me, because generally 89 La Chapelle is a very good wine.
3) 1990 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle...this is where it got interesting. I opened up most of the btls throughout the evening. This cork was gleaming white and clean...very strange, considering how moldy the 1989 was. The wine was more of a blueberry style (think high ratings from Jay Miller). No one really cared for the wine. The btl was etched with a number coding on the back. A rerelease from Jaboulet, perhaps? Could be, but clearly the cork was not original, and the bottle code left some doubt...and the wine sucked...makes you wonder...
4) 1989 Chapoutier Hermitage Pavillon...Another stunning btl of 1989 Chapoutier Pavillon for me. A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of drinking a magnum of this stuff with everyone's hero, Robert Parker, and it was delic. A 750ml last night did not disappoint either. While I cannot stand his white wines, Chapoutier seems to have mastered certain reds.
Sixth Flight
1) 1990 Guigal Cote Cotie La Mouline...something was not correct with this btl...a shame, as it should have been amazing stuff...but it just never came together.
2) 1990 Guigal Cote Rotie La Turque...What more can you say about this one but, WOW! In case, there was any doubt about the La Mouline being off, the La Turque confirmed it. This had everything going on...the funk, the fruit, the acidity, I loved this wine...I think I suffered from a little palate fatigue at the end of the meal, which caused me to not really appreciate what we had here!
Thank you to Peter for his generous hospitality, and everyone else who brought wine, except for Laurent, who, as usual, contributed nothing and compared everything to 1966 Drouhin Musigny!
Just kidding...Laurent!
Sixth Flight
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