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Special dinner for five to lighten up the mood of a friend about to
undergo a serious operation.
Cote Rotie 1990 Chapoutier
7/96. Bought in London March-96 for $20.
Always hard to match wine to liver dishes (goose or otherwise), this
'simple' Rhone wine proved a very successful choice.
COLOR: Dark red. Full, opaque and impressive. No clearing around the rim.
NOSE: Rich nose of black fruit, black pepper and some Bordeaux-style tar
or pencil-tip. Very pleasant aroma that is 'full of presence'.
TASTE: Lots of fruit on the palate too, again with discernible spicy
tones. Extremely tasty and mouth-filling, though maybe not endowed with
depth and complexity. Went very well with the rich goose liver course.
LENGTH: Nothing to write home about.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Full bodied though not heavy. Excellent balance between
fruit, acidity, alcohol and tannins. Not too many 'hidden qualities', but
what's wrong with up-front ones?
OVERALL: Excellent! An unpretentious wine that delivers much more than I
expected. Very drinkable now, and will stay so for a couple of years at
least.
MARK: 17/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Yes.
Clos de Vougeot 1985 Gros F&S
7/96. Bought in auction Oct-95 for $73 (imported for $84 net).
The second time we open this 'weird' wine. Made from one of the choice
sub-plots of the byzantinian Clos Vougeot vineyard, Gros F&S rendition is
surely on the Grand Cru level (something that cannot be said for most Clos
Vougeot). Grand Cru for sure, but is this a (B) Grand Cru?
The first bottle we had of this wine was obviously marked by
cold-maceration. Deep dark color very un(B)like. Concentrated, jammy nose
and taste, almost devoid of any (B) hallmarks. Will this bottle be the
same?
COLOR: Deep dark color right up to the rim. Not an iota of sediment. Yes,
very un(B)like...
NOSE: Tons of raspberries and cherries, so concentrated it reminded me of
a confiture. Almost no 'Bourgogne Nose' or 'terroir' to speak of. Very
very pleasant aroma, but could easily fooled me in blind tasting. I am not
sure I'd guess this is a (B) wine at all, let alone Clos Vougeot.
TASTE: Again, superb taste with high concentration. Both acidity and
tannins add to the statement on the palate. Nothing delicate about this
wine. It is big, bold and mouth-filling. Almost dominated the tender roast
beef in rosemary...
LENGTH: Reasonably long aftertaste. With sweetish, almost cloying finish.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Big wine in every respect. Almost out of balance in a
weird way. Flavors, acidity and tannins overshadow the wine itself! (I
know this may sound strange, but that is how I felt).
OVERALL: Extraordinary and unusual. Not sure this is what I look for in a
(B) Grand Cru, but just as a bottle of wine - it is extremely interesting
and highly recommended.
MARK: 19/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Yes.
Gevrey - Clos St. Jacques 1971 Clair-Dau
7/95. Acquired from London December-95 for $75 (Imported for $85 net).
A year ago I bought one bottle of this famous 1er Cru wine from the superb
1971 vintage, made by the (then) distinguished domaine of Clair-Dau. I
bought the bottle (for $10 less < g >) just as a curiosity. Having tasted
it a couple of months later, I was so much taken by it that I did two
things: a) I gave it 20/20 mark b) immediately order the remain of the
stock from my supplier (all of two bottles). Now let's see...
COLOR: As one would expect a 25-years (B) to look like. Pale red-brown,
significant clearing towards the rim, and massive sediments in last third
of the bottle.
NOSE: Delicate, perfumed, enticing. Can hardly find the proper words. A
great old mature grand (B) no doubt. Dried prunes, green olives(!), but
most of all - that elusive (B) scent that combines delicacy with richness
in a way no other wine in the world can.
The intensity of the nose stayed strong for only about half an hour. Then
it faded slowly together with the taste, into the final resting place of
all the great nectars of this world.
TASTE: Delicate (have I used that term already?), lacy, silky. Rich,
multi-layered, complex. Extremely tasty with surprising amount of tannins
to give the impression of a much younger wine. A wine to be had on its own
with nothing more pungent than a cracker, so as not to distract from the
myriad of nuances it offers.
LENGTH: Very very long finish, with aftertaste as complex and as ever
developing as the taste itself.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Smooth, soft, yet rich and stylish. Hard to speak of
this wine in normal terms of balance. People don't normally drink 25-years
old (B), as 99% of them are long dead at this age. This wine - fully
mature as it is of course - was anything but dead for first half hour or
so. Then nature took its course...
OVERALL: Almost divine! I say 'almost' as, compared to the bottle we had
eight months ago, this one seemed just that tiny bit over its top. Now is
the time to drink up this precious and rare nectar if you happen to have a
bottle.
MARK: 19+/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Yes.
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Introducing Yak |
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Tasting Notes Archive |
Wine & Food Adventures |