Wine Tasting Notes 2003

[dlc]

I had a great pinot noir weekend with one real suprise. The first was fri nite and a bottle of 1997 Wm Selyem Rochioli Y'yards. It was full of ripe fruit and had a great finish, what a treat to drink. The suprise was a 1987 Jadot Bonnes Mares. In what is I think an off to spotty vintage Jadot has a winner in this wine. It was possibly the best pinot noir I have tasted this year.

[MartyL]

Welcome to e-gullet, dlc. Always nice to see another wine drinker around here.

Interesting note on the Jadot. As it happens I saw someone post another (less complimentary) note on that wine today on another board:

http://groups.msn.com/BordeauxWineEnthusia...404305559503670

Sounds like you had a better bottle.

I find that Jadot's non-negociant bottlings like the Bonnes Mares and Clos St. Jacques reliably deliver pretty darned good quality. Jadot seems to have done very well with these in 98 too. Its also nice that while being far from cheap, the Jadots are more accessible price-wise than some of the more hoity-toity producers in those vineyards.

[Beachfan]

I'm a big W&S fan. I had a 95 Russian River Valley (i.e the village wine) and it was exceptional.

After jacking up the prices initially, the new owners have held the line on the regular bottlings (RRV, Sonoma Coast, Mendocino) and they are great values (if you get them at regular prices).

[Craig Camp]

Domaine de La Pousse d'Or, Volnay, 1er Cru, Les Caillerets, Clos des 60 Ouvrees, Monopole, 1981

Very bright scarlet with a brickish tone. Extremely fragrant and somewhat lean on the nose at the same time. A light hint of dark fruit aromas, but more a earthy, pungent yet refined aromas dominate. Almost Barolo like without the power. Broad delicate fruit flavors in the mouth give way quickly to the earthy, leather flavors in the nose. Past its prime but still a rewarding experience. Gerard Potel was making wines to age in those days and this wine from a less than great vintage is still showing quite well. Not great but very good.

[GordonCooks]

I popped a 99 Cinq Cepages last night for the first time. A friend had some 96 kicking around and I wanted to do a little side by side. I also contributed a 1997 Lewis Reserve to pair with a different food course and mix it up a little.

The 99’s nose was ripe with Bing cherries & DiNobli cigars. Tasting showed a surprisingly smooth texture for a 99 (I expected firmer tannins). The 1996 was a little more muscular than the 1999 (little more leather and fudge.) If I was blindfolded – I would not be able to distinguish the 96 from a 1990 Ch.Figeac enjoyed the week previous (I’m far from the expert many of you people are)

I prefer the 96 to the 99 – the 99 seems a little lighter in style. I’m curious to see how these wines will age. I paid a little under 60.00 for the wine and got my money's worth but not much more. I don't believe I'd order off a restaurant list at a probable 125.00 - 150.00

PS - The 97 Lewis was very concentrated with spicy cedar and tart berries. This powerhouse will only get better.

Edited January 17, 2003 by GordonCooks (log)

[Beachfan]

I loved the 96, and still have some.

I thought the 97 wasn't nearly as good (even though the ratings were) and actually returned the bottles to Costco.

I'm curious to try the 99.

[La Niña]

I have a bottle of the '95 - anybody had any of that?

[helenas]

I have a bottle of the '95 - anybody had any of that?

Evidently Parker did, and scored it at 92.

[awbrig]

I was at a Chateau St Jean tasting Dinner about 4 years ago at Smith and Wollensky. Steve Reeder, Chateau's Winemaker hosted the event.

We sampled many of their wines and the highlight was the main course paired with Cinq Cepages 1995 and 1996. Although the 95 was excellent, it paled in comparison to the 96 which was a very full-bodied and rich wine. Both are excellent but the 96 is the better of the two, according to our tastings and Steve Reeder...

here's their website BTW

http://www.chateaustjean.com/jump.jsp?item...789&wineID=8503

Edited January 17, 2003 by awbrig (log)

[Really Nice!]

I have a total of 26 bottles spread out over 1995 - 1998.

I'll probably get several of the '99 as that year is looking pretty good for the region.

I don't plan to start opening these until around 2005. I'll be sacrificing some of the fruity nuances, but I like my wines a little more mature.

I had my hands on a bottle of the '94 that I found at a wine shop in downtown Seattle. The store bought it from a private collector who was liquidating his inventory. One of the workers there had one bottle of '95 and one of '96 and he really wanted to make a vertical so I let him have it.

For $55-60 I would have waited a few years before tasting to get some of that bottle bouquet going.

[GordonCooks]

I remember reading somewhere that 1996 was the last vintage Don Van Staaveren had a hand in (Steve Reeder did the final tweak) and it was aged in new oak barrels. Maybe this explains the difference. As someone who is starting to prefer some heavier wines, I'd like to get my hands on some 90-95 Cing Cepages.

[helenas]

As someone who is starting to prefer some heavier wines...

interesting, not only we have look-alike dogs (btw, do you know if they exchanged emails eventually?), we also have similar development of taste in wines...

They claim that once one develops her wine appreciation, one moves towards more elegant, subtle wines, leaving Parker behind in the process. Are we against the flow?

[GordonCooks]

As someone who is starting to prefer some heavier wines...

interesting, not only we have look-alike dogs (btw, do you know if they exchanged emails eventually?), we also have similar development of taste in wines...

They claim that once one develops her wine appreciation, one moves towards more elegant, subtle wines, leaving Parker behind in the process. Are we against the flow?

I'll have to ask Dooley about the emails - he's been putting in a lot of hours at work (He's a greeter at PetCo) and the last I knew, he was seeing some bitch from Syracuse.

Wines - I know a few winemakers and just about all of them prefer Burgundy as their wine of choice for collecting and celebrating. My taste has changed significantly over the past five years, Pinots to Zins to Cabs to Bordeaux to Rhones......I'm curious as to how this progression will end

[tighe]

I have a bottle of the '95 - anybody had any of that?

I had a bottle of '95 that I drank a couple of years ago that I thought was excellent. Haven't had the luxury of trying all of the other vintages however....

[Steve Plotnicki]

I was fortunate to be able to spend a few hours on Saturday morning at the Marche au Vin in Ampuis. I had heard the 2001 vintage was in the same style as the 1991 vintage so I was looking forward to tasting them. Fortunately a number of producers were pouring them (which I have to say I found surprising.) The highlights were Henri Gallet's absolutely scrumptious 2001 which he was selling for 16 euros. That's right 16 euros! And then Jean-Michel Stephan's delicious 2001, which was a larger and brawnier wine then the Gallet. That weighed in at 22 euros. Formidable. I found the 2001 Ogier a little disappointing. Slightly bretty, I found it more in the style of their '88 then their classic 2001. Others we tasted was a barrel sample of the 2001 Clusel-Roch which went on my to-buy list and the Pierre Gaiilard 'normale" was pretty tasty as well (plus I got to place an order for a 1/2 case of 2001 Rose Pourpre.) But by far the best wine we drank was the 2001 Ogier Belle Helene. Absolutely monumental and IMO the best Belle Helene since they began that bottling.

Disappointments were the 2000 Jamet Cote Rotie. Since 1988, I can't recall a vintage of Jamet I didn't like other then 1990 and 1994. Another disappointment was the 2000 Marcel Voge Cornas Vielles Fontaines which I thought was a major step down from the regal 1999. And despite so many different people telling me how good the Domaine de Tunnel Cornas was, it didn't do it for me.

[Yaacov]

Steve:

Thanks for this report. Your brief notes seem to echo the early reports on 2001 in the Northern Rhone, especially for Cote-Rotie. Nice to hear about the Gallet, always a nice wine, though I think it will be considerably more than the equivalent of 16 Euros here -- wow, what a price!!

I have a single bottle of Jamet 1990 -- what specifically didn't you like about it? I recently had the Ogier 1990 and thought it was excellent, not quite fully mature, and also a half-step behind the glorious 1991.

Re: Belle Helene 2001. Is the case production up on this wine?

Also, I recently read in the most recent Tanzer that Ogier has 2 new bottlings (a negotiant wine and a Cote Blonde Lancement). Did you get to taste these?

Best,

y

[Steve Plotnicki]

Let's see. Yeah the Gallet will be closer to $50 won't it? If you calculate the shipping back to the states in the price, you pay for the price of a ticket to the Marche by buying appx. 3 cases of wine. As for the 1990 Jamet's, I find all the 1990 Cote Roties lighter in style then 1988, 1989, 1991 and that includes my experiences with both Jamet and Ogier. Finally, I didn't get to taste Stephane's two new bottlings. He invited me to the cave on Saturday evening to taste them but I didn't want to schlep back down to Ampuis from Lyon so on my next visit. But he also made a Condreiu for the first time that I didn't get to taste. And I don't know what the case production is on the BH but I will email Stephane about it.

[Ron Johnson]

Yaacov,

Are you referring to the "La Rosine" bottling by Ogier? This is a great QPR wine. The grapes come from a vineyard immediately adjacent to the Cote Rotie grapes.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Ron - No there are two brand new bottlings that haven't been released to the market before. Stephane told me their names but I forget them.

[jaybee]

Slightly bretty

Translation please.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Here try this

Brett in wine

[Yaacov]

Gee, I hope 2001 Gallet won't be $50 (got the 99 for $35).

If it were not for my impending wedding, I'd have been at the Marche this year -- maybe next...?

As for the BH, I doubt i'll find any for a decent price ($50 for the 1997 -- Man, those were the days...)

I'm interested in the other 2 new cuvees, but Tanzer's remark re: the Lancement's potential affect on the regular cuvee's quality is troublesome. I'd hate to think that Ogier is spredding himself too thin...

best,

-yb

Edited January 20, 2003 by Yaacov (log)

[Steve Plotnicki]

The BH direct from the winery is up to 90 euros I believe. That should bring the US price in at about $100-$110 a bottle. As for the Gallet, that was when the $/euro exchange rate was .87. Now it is 1.07. That brings the price to $42.50 before any price hikes.

[SFJoe]

Oh, well. Gallet finally makes a good wine....

[Steve Plotnicki]

The '99 Gallet was a terrific wine as well. According to one of the wine shops in town, Henri's son has taken over the winemaking chores and that is the reason for the improvement.