Back towards the beginning of the month, we had some fairly notable wines:
- Raveneau Montee de Tonnere 1997 Chablis (this was terrific, with great acidity and an almost licorice concentration)
- Leroy 1978 Meursault AOC (fascinating and well-stored but more interesting than terrific)
- Raveneau Montmains 1995 Chablis (superb, still very youthful but drinking very well)
- Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 2001 (many of us thought it was Loire sav blanc, were fooled. Is on the crisper, rather than lusher, end of white Bordeaux. Excellent wine)
- Georges Deleger 1996 Chevalier-Montrachet (superb, spicy, terrific body)
- D’Armilhac/Mouton Baronne 1982 (superb bottle, well extracted, sweet and juicy but a nice maturity)
- Palmer 1982 (not nearly as good as the D’Armilhac but a good bottle of mature Bordeaux)
- Gouges 2000 Clos de Porrets St. Georges (excellent Pinot, fairly subtle but forward and lush)
- Jaboulet 1995 Les Cedres Chateauneuf (my contribution – spicy, sweet, peppery, not ready but coming along nicely)
- Prum 1990 GK Auslese (incredible bottle of Prum – honeyed bruised apples, hint of petrol, plenty of acid)
- Renou 1997 Cuvee Anne Bonnezeaux (not my style – this seemed weird and funky, not clean, but I’m told this is what the Renou is supposed to be like. Glad I focused on Pierre-Bise and Baumard)
- Schloss Johannisberg 1976 Auslese “blue cap” (gorgeous Riesling, definitely 1970′s but youthful. Thick “bruised apple” sweetness, great acid)
- Gouges 1971 Vaucrains (Chuck pulled this out after the desserts while we were playing pool. Spicy, very much alive, but at the edge. Not much body left)
There were a couple of other wines there, but not as notable, including my Kunstler 2001 Hoch Reich Kabinett — good but not noteworthy.
Tuesday night I had dinner at Cafe Campagne with the usual suspects — Bryan Loufbourrow was in town so we had a good excuse. We began with a decent but forgettable Tavel (Aqueria 2003), while we waited for everyone to arrive. Wines included:
- Colin Deleger Chassagne Vergers 1996 (creamy and excellent, improved greatly with air)
- Jadot 1996 Gevrey Clos St. Jacques (superb, still very youthful but great fruit and depth)
- Dujac 1998 Gevrey Combottes (amazingly extracted with too much new oak for my tastes right now, but I think it’ll integrate later)
- Dom. de Lambrays 2003 Clos de Lambrays (herbal, great concentration, light sweet oak. Nice.)
- Tempier 1992 Cabassaou (bottle was very slightly off, the smells were right but muted. Oh well. Might have been my only 92 Cab)
- Beaucastel 1981 (wine of the night — this was a terrific bottle of the 1981, with no drying out. Parker is still right about this wine — “Mourvedre cotton candy” describes it beautifully)
- J.B. Becker 1989 Wallufer Walkenberg TBA (holy shit – intense peach/apricot, great acid. Wow.)
- Ridge Zinfandel 1993 “Essence” (intense blackberry pie, with some brown sugar. A “discussion” ensued about maturity in this wine, but it’s safe to say it’s maybe no less than 1/2 way to full maturity. Amazing stuff)
I suspect that’s probably it for wines in August, it’s a busy month.
