A couple of nights in Puerto Rico....

I spent the last couple of nights in Puerto Rico – meeting up with some new and old friends at a couple of great restaurants in San Juan. 1919 in the Vanderbilt was top notch, Augusto’s was fabulous, and Jose Enrique’s place for lunch in La Placita was very good! Tropical storm Erika just missed San Juan so there was just a wee bit of rain that cooled the temps down to the low 80s mostly . I brought some wines to share and we all pitched in to make some memorable meals work……

Restaurant 1919 – the food/service/ambiance was top notch!

2000 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Grand Cellier d’Or: Served at the perfect temperature and came off as very fresh and rich on the nose. Light floral elements here and is really citrus driven. Touches of yeast, green apple, and light touches of honey and brioche. A really nice showing and great to start with!

1966 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon: A great old bottle that has been kept properly all these years - from the same case as others have come from and this showed the best of any of the ones I’ve been lucky enough to sample. Bottle stank to start , touches of sweet caramel, flashes of yeast, vanilla custard, rich mousse and citrus aromas and flavors. This one really grew and broadened in the glass like a top notch champagne should. Lovely old stuff here! My favorite of the next four champers…

1976 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon: Mousse, chalk, pear fruit, touches of yeast, lovely integrated notes of smoke and grapefruit. Nice salinity here but this one just didn’t hold up to what the '66 did in the glass - kind of fell off the cliff in the glass IMHO. Still lovely and my second favorite champers.

1979 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne: Cream cheese, butterscotch, and salty socks . Sounds good, huh? It was interesting for sure but just didn’t hold up to the DomPs!

2002 Pierre Gimonnet Champagne Special Club: Really nice levels of balanced acidity here - chalky minerality, citric cream - very young and exciting champagne. I have a note to find some of this to see what happens to it in 5-10yrs - really nice!

2002 Louis Carillon Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet: Rock star - all natural oxidation here and still very fresh. Smoky round citrus flavors which is what this BBM gives me every time - creamy notes almost like a creamsicle. This was really nice and long in the mouth with a really nice balance.

2008 Louis Carillon Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet: This was even fresher than the '02 with more floral aromatics and with really nice levels of saline laced savory flavors. I liked this one over the '02 because of the level freshness. Carillon BBM impresses again!

2008 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet: I brought this one along also to compare styles - I couldn’t find the '08 BBMs I have that are hiding somewhere . I’m again a fan of '08 D.Leflaive - more than some I know. This took some time to strut it’s stuff in the glass with notes of citrus rind and maybe a wee bit more restrained when compared to “better” young vintages of this Batard. Still nice and worth having some in the cellar.

1996 Domaine Leroy Richebourg: Why not, right? This wine is very attractive for sure - broad shouldered with decent levels of the Leroy oak signature still hanging around. I personally think that the '96 vintage is a great match for Leroy - acidity with balanced rich flavors. Still very much a Richebourg with spice and earth - loads of dark cherry. Lovely stuff that seemed to get better in the glass after a couple of hours.

1999 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg: The best potential here of all the Richebourg bottles this night - another stunning '99! Lovely and definitely the youngest showing of the bunch. Floral spice, lovely earthy salinity, black cherry, clove, earth. Complex and stacked!

2001 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg: I nice showing for thus but all my money would be on the 1999 at this point! This one at first smelled of stems that integrated more and more as the wine broadened in the glass. Still a very nice showing with touches of menthol, red berries, and a medium+ finish. Nothing to dump at all - just not as good as the '99 is now and will be in the future.

1978 Vietti Barolo Rocche: Old barolo - touches of leather, caramel, roses, sweat, dried cherries, and menthol. Tertiary for sure - not my favorite.

1985 Château Margaux: Touches of stank to start - this was decanted just before serving I believe. Dark leather and saline laced cassis here - spice box - asphalt - earthy cherry and smoke at the end. Drinking great now but could use another decade I think.

2001 DuMOL Pinot Noir Estate: Someone threw this one in at the end - actually not all that bad . Definitely a pinot here with minerality that sparkles and shines through - nice levels of spice here. Liked it…

1989 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único: I think I like the '81 and '83 better from the '80s Unicos - this '89 showed very well though! From a cellar of a friend at the dinner there. Unico – when on and a touch of age – can be as elegant and lovely as any wine in the world. Balanced black currant, touches of coffee and truffles, balanced acidity. A really nice Unico to sip on right now.

1991 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único: This one was my favorite Unico of the night by a hair. The core of this wine was full of a really nice vein of cherry and truffles that really made this bottle shine. Very balanced and friendly showing for everyone I believe.

1998 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único: Showed dark and young - just like the last time I had this maybe 2 years ago. Still young and will be a winner with time!

Notes from this past Saturday to come!

Could have at least had some heavy rain.

I’m punishing Chloe.

The pending storm was a dud for San Juan . Fun couple of nights for sure !

Had a great lunch on Saturday at Jose Enrique’s place in La Placita. The place was packed when we got there so we got them to open up the side patio - with the fans on and a light drizzle the dining outside was quite comfortable. We got a mix of most of the signature appetizers and mains which was just about perfect - the food here is very good and genuine.

1999 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre: This was expressive from the start. Lemon cream, oyster shell, chalky minerality, fresh and clean. Lovely showing and worth owning and tasting again .

2000 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux: A wee bit shy to start - maybe in need of decanting. This was decanted just like the MdTonnerre but it just never came out of it’s shell - less of a good showing than the last time I had this. Still lovely just not as good as the MdTonnerre.

Jesus man…you drank better in those days than anyone else on that island has in a year.

I think so Jorge . I want to make it out to NYC soon also!

Please do! How are Kelly & the kids?

I’m let down Jon…

That PR list puts our Saint Louis tasting to shame.

Not so…

A great dinner this past Saturday night at Augusto’s - another great set of dishes and good company!

1969 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon Oenothèque: This one was drop dead gorgeous - how do these bottles keep getting better from this source ? I’ve had the '69 P3 recently also and this Oeno (disg. in 2006 I believe) is right up there in quality. Fresh with great length - brioche + savory pear cream - expanded in the glass. Lovely stuff!

1975 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon Oenothèque: Great showing for this - seemed in the same league if not just a wee bit more advanced than the '69 believe it or not. Still lovely leather and tight orchard fruit aromatics here. Stones and minerals throughout and ample acidity to pull out a fabulous showing. Nice!

2011 Domaine François Mikulski Meursault 1er Cru Charmes 1913: To tell you the truth (someone else brought this bottle) - I didn’t realize this was the old vines until after the dinner. This was rich when compared the upcoming bottles of Meursault - still lovely and balanced. Touches of oak and citric custard frames a well endowed wine - needs time I think.

2009 Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Vireuils: I noted lots of lemon zest to start in this one. A lovely showing for a 2009 wine (and vintage) that maybe has a bad wrap as being overblown. This was AOK and showed some really nice complexity overall. Still - next to the '10 - the 2010 shined!

2010 Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Vireuils: This was savory and firing on all cylinders from the start - showed great as it sat and expanded in the glass. Very much like the '09 in complexity but the freshness and saline laced minerality was really nice in this wine. Loved it!

2011 Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Luchets: Jean-Marc served this during his theater show that was showcased during this last La Paulee event in San Francisco. It was really fun to think of this wine during that intimate show and then now during this dinner. This 2011 has really nice floral aromatics and is so true to it’s original - it’s hard to forget it. Anyway, it showed great and didn’t last long in my glass - it went well with the crudo course.

2011 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Clos des Bouchères: This was super good - I think most of the winos around me liked this the most! A star from Roulot and is worth sampling if you can!!! This had an extra layer or two of complexity that really shown through. Loved it - very fresh and inviting!

2009 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet: Grand cru quality really shows here - I think served at the perfect temp to see it blossom in the glass which it did. I personally think the BBM from PYCM (I know - to many letters ) is one of his best - just seems more complete to me when compared to the BM or Chevalier. I’ve only had the Montrachet a couple of times so can’t comment on that one. Anywho, this was fantastic toward the end and wish there had been a bit more to sample at the end of the night!

1983 Château Margaux: Nothing to sneeze at - this one showed great! Cigar box, truffles, smoke, and lots of broad blackberry aromas. Showed great - not sure if the '83 Margaux is better than the '83 Palmer on a good night though…

1966 Château Latour Grand Vin: Wowzer - definitely a Latour here - heading from secondary to closer to tertiary in aromas and flavors. Lovely leather spice, cedar, touches of bright floral red currants. Earthy and flavorful - consistent and pleasurable. Great wine in this bottle!

1982 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron: A weak vintage for the Baron I think when compared to the likes of the '89 or '90. Still nice but just didn’t hold up when compared to the other really nice bordeaux bottles on the table!!

1929 Château Beychevelle: A proper bottle for sure knowing where this bottle came from! Browning on the edges - still soooooo elegant and packed with spicy leather, dried flowers, cedar spice, cigar smoke, and touches of creamy cassis - yep - a nice mix in an old claret. Lovely!!!

To keep the 1996 Domaine Leroy theme going:
1996 Domaine Leroy Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Vignerondes: A nice showing for sure - very NSG - earthy with a tight structure. I thought the structure here was fabulous if not just barely touched by the Leroy signature oak. A value I think if Leroy 1ers could be called values by you?!?!?

1996 Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts: A step up IMHO - spicy here with a lovely softness. Savory acidity marks this wine which plumped up in the glass with further air – more spice and savory aromatics. Lovely showing!

1996 Domaine Leroy Romanée St. Vivant: I love the RSV from Leroy - I think it’s one of the truest GCs from her. Anyway, this was lovely - darker and more dense aromas of spiced cherries. Length to burn here - dense and flavorful throughout!

1999 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant: The star of the DRCs and only a wee bit better for me over the 2002. Young and packed - so much going on here - bodes soooo well for the future even though it’s very “drinkable” now. Floral aromatics here are very striking!

2000 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant: I have down that this showed a fair amount of smoke and tobacco to begin - fresh tobacco. Still lovely if not one step below the '99 in density and complexity overall. Still lovely stuff in the bottle here - drinking just fine now!

2001 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant: Better than the 2000 IMHO - just barely though. I just love tasting wines like this side-by-side to really distinguish the differences between the vintages. Another lovely wine so I’m not going to go into lots of descriptors… This had another dimension of flavors that the '00 doesn’t seem to have - just my opinion.

2002 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant: This was gorgeous - savory with just the right amount of sweetness. Sure, there’s nice levels of acidity that really shows well and I don’t think will ever dominate this wine in the near/mid term. A wine to own just like the '99 if you can!

2003 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant: All I can say is that these '03s have always bested my expectations when tasted - this RSV is no different this time. Sure, not a blockbuster balanced beast for sure but there’s lots of really good stuff going on in there. I get none of the overly roasted flavors that you’d first think you would experience. Not bad and I will not hesitate to keep cellaring these. I liked it!

Doing great Jorge - with school starting and all - you know . Can’t wait to share a glass with you again!!

LOL Tyler. I need to get the Niche dinner notes up at some point! That Rayas was nice!!!

I believe it Carlos! Going to bring the family my next visit I think and would love to meet up with you if possible. There are some really nice and knowledgeable winos there .

Looks amazing. Thank you for the great notes (especially the DPs!).

Jonathan, sure, let me know and I’ll get the winos together. You did not get to meet the hardcore ones at the Ramis dinners.

Cheers.

Guillermo is a great guy . I always bring great wine so any dinner is workable .

Nice notes Jon. I’m also still waiting on the Niche notes. I want to make sure you held up my standards.

Super wines Jon! Looks like Brad and Peter might have had some donations to the menu, seeing all that DP and DRC…

Here I was opening the thred for a bit of a travel log. Such an understated title for such an amazing line up of wines. Nice to hear that the 99 DRC RSV is humming along nicely. Thanks for posting.

Nice few nights in PR. Love those lists. Let me know when you’ll be in nyc,or if you’re in PR around christmas/nye.