Opinionated About Dining

Six Months of Wine

                                                                       

                                                                                       

                                                                                                 

                  

I managed to drink a little bit of wine over the last six months. Don't ask to see my liver. I will say that it didn't feel like a lot, but it certainly looks like it. The following list includes wines that I drank domestically, as well as wines from my recent trip to Europe. Most of the wines were consumed at dinners. But the recent wines from the Northern Rhone were tasted at the Marche au Vin in Ampuis in January, and the later vintage Cotat's were tasted at the winery a few days before the Marche. I also attended a forty person BYO tasting in Westchester where I tasted a few dozen wines. All in all it was pretty good drinking. I hope you enjoy the notes.

                                                                                       

Loads of Wine Tasting Notes

         

                                                                               

                      

Please forgive me but I have been late in posting my wine tasting notes. Many of these notes date back to the springtime.  A number of them come from a trip to France and Spain back in April where, in spite of the bad exchange rate, I found great bargains on many of the wine lists of top restaurants. In particular, I had a good run of Clos St. Hunes, with examples from 1973, 1979, and 1982. I also had a spate of unbelievable Riojas at local tastings, including great bottles from the 1925, 1928, 1947, and 1949 vintages. Of course, let's not forget  a number of other stunning bottles from the various regions I enjoy drinking. And while I know reading about them is not the same as tasting the wines, I hope these notes convey the feeling of drinking them.

White Burgundy

1992 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne - Talk about opulence and tremendous mouthfeel. This wine out-Montracheted the Montrachets at the table. Three to five years and it will be even more perfect. A+

1996 Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet - Whooo baby! Thick, rich, ripe, balanced. Easy to drink now and will likely last another 10 years. Killer juice. A+

1989 Coche-Dury Meursault Rougeot - Astonishing. The weight of Quaker 10/40 motor oil. Just an incredible large and round mouthful of fruit. 30-second finish. Opulent like Corton-Charlie or Batard. A+

1986 Coche-Dury Meursault Perrieres - Beautiful, rich wine, good minerality, and sensual mouthfeel; everything I like about Burgundy going for it. A+

1995 Carillon Bienvenues Batard-Montrachet - Amazing and beautiful on the palate. Surprisingly thick and viscose for a Bienvenues. Montrachet-like. A

1995 Coche-Dury Meursault Perrieres - Do I hear fantastic? A showstopper. Not as good as as '89 or '96, but among the better white wines that I have ever had. A

1985 Niellon Chevalier Montrachet - Classy, classy, classy. Elegant too. What great white Burgundy drinking is all about. A

1986 Leflaive Batard Montrachet - Rose petals and violets in a white wine. Really beautiful wine and perfectly ready to drink. A

1985 Blain-Gagnard Criots Batard Montrachet - Unusual flavor. Sort of like white truffles and honeydew melon. Good volume and really delicious to drink. Difficult to find this one. A

1992 Ramonet Montrachet in magnum - Signature mint on the initial nose and palate. I didn't think that the wine had completely come together. Classy juice, and I finished my glass in record time. I've had better Montys from Ramonet. A-

2001 Ramonet Batard-Montrachet - What a beauty. Beautiful viscosity. Maybe a tad overripe. Much easier to find than the '02. A-

1986 Ramonet Batard-Montrachet - Nice and spicy, this was sort of low on acid which is surprising for Ramonet. But very pleasurable to drink. B+

1990 Carillon Puligny-Montrachet Perrieres - The most viscous example of this wine I have had. Better than the Leflaives from the same year IMO. High level of minerality. Great stuff. B+

1986 Ramonet Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet - Creamy and minty with a good long finish. A pleasure to drink, although I will always prefer the Batard. Good volume for Bienvenues. B+

1998 Leflaive Montrachet - Big, fat, and overripe. Not worth the $500 price tag. B+

1992 Sauzet Batard-Montrachet - Perfectly mature. Delicious wine. Thin in body and heavy minerality. Drink up. B+

1990 Ramonet Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet - This was good, but did not reach the greatness I expected it to reach. B

1989 Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeots - Funky and herbal out of the blocks, but with excellent clarity and freshness for this often heady vintage. B

1989 Leflaive - Puligny-Montrachet "Les Combettes" - Fully mature. Amazing intensity on the palate. Full-bodied and viscous, but without as much exotic fruit as other '89s. B

1986 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne - Never a fan of these wines. This was better than any example I remember, with much better concentration than other examples of the wine. B

1993 Leflaive-Montrachet - Nice and viscous, but without the killer finish that Montrachets can have in great vintages. Lots of petroleum on the middle palate. B

1995 Leflaive Batard-Montrachet - A lightweight for a Leflaive Batard. Didn’t have the same viscocity I’ve experienced in othe Lelfaive Batards. B-

1986 Drouhin Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche - Thin and uninteresting. Very disappointing for this wine. B-

1986 Lafon Meursault Charmes - Thin for an '86 and with a strong mineral element in the wine. Some problems resolving itself on the finish. Too acidic and too much of a bite. B-

1991 Drouhin Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche - Better extraction with this ripeness level. Good mouthfeel, but why drink this as opposed to the vintages? B-

1999 Comtes Lafon Meursault Charmes - Lots of steel and minerals here. Bare bones without much adornment. B-

1995 Roulet Meursault Perrieres - Not my favorite style. A bit steely and high in acid. Needs time. C+

1993 Coche-Dury Meursault Rougeots - Surprisingly soft for a '93. The extraction isn't there like it is for the '92, which makes it less interesting. C+

1985 Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles - Lacked complexity. Not a bad wine, just not compelling. C+

1986 Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes - A lot of exotic fruit and I detected botrytis on the nose. In fact, it smelled like a faded Sauternes to me. C+

1989 Comtes Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre - Nice weight. Not much of that over-the-top '89 fruit here. Somehow semi-opulent and lean at the same time. C+

2000 Comtes Lafon Meursault Genevrieres - An attractive bottle. Less buttery and extracted than other Lafons that I have had. Toned down stylewise. C+

1996 Carillon Puligny-Montrachet Perrieres - Shut down. Lots of citrus, especially lemon. Lacked the weight of the '95, but that could be from it being in a dormant state. C

1990 Coche-Dury Meaursault Perrieres - Surprisingly soft for the vintage, which is known for being high in acid. This was approaching flabby, which made it not as enjoyable. C

1999 Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet La Maltroye - Nice body to the wine. Good level of viscosity and excellent mid-palate. Finish was a hair short. C

1995 Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles - Didn’t turn me on. It doesn't seem to have the same punch as other top Pucelles. Possibly not ripe enough? C

1986 Latour Montrachet - Minty and uninteresting. But that’s a Latour for you. C

1995 Coche-Dury Meursault Chevalieres - Disappointing. Just better than a village wine. Vegetal and stemmy. C-

1985 Jadot Chevalier Montrachet Demoiselles - Over the hill and flabby. C-

1992 Georges Deleger Chevalier - Closed and oxidized? I never warmed up to this wine. Not for me. C-

1989 Amiot-Bonfils Puligny-Montrachet Demoiselles - This wine has gone downhill. All flabby now. D+

1991 Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet - Awful. Tasted like vodka. Drink a bloody mary instead. D

1985 R. Caillot Batard Montrachet - Oxidized. F