TN: Juge Vertical in NYC (June 3, 2018)

For a couple years I had been thinking about organizing a Juge Cornas vertical, hoping to find wine geeks in the NYC area with older wines to contribute and with whom to open my last bottle of 1995 Cuvée C, among others. For about a year I had known that 2015 was likely to be Marcel Juge’s last vintage, retiring from his retirement, so a vertical would be an apt celebration of wines I had admired for two decades. As far as I can tell based on a long history on the wine interwebs, no one in the U.S. has previously done an organized Juge vertical.

The email first went out late last year to hold a tasting lunch, but the task of gathering wines and people proved more difficult than I had anticipated, especially considering that in the late-1990s and early 2000s, Cuvée C had been available without much difficulty. Vintages such as 1996 to 1999 were excellent to my palate on release, very much in the style of his post retirement wines but also taking advantage of his higher slope Cayret and Champelrose vines, later leased to Stephane Robert at Domaine du Tunnel. Unfortunately (and stupidly) I did not cellar Juge’s beauties from the late 90s, and then they were gone. Apparently no one else in New York cellared them either, at least no one that I could find. Such is life. And maybe this report will reach those folks.

The cast of characters and wines for the tasting evolved as we lost some of our initial participants to circumstance, and I failed to entice a few others from afar to join us. Everyone, however, was generous with their potential vinous contributions. The date evolved too – first late February/March, then late April, and as these things go, we were suddenly planning for June. But we finally set the date for Sunday, June 3, at 1 p.m. And the venue evolved as well – first in the City, then outside of the City at the home of a generous participant and fine cook, then back in the City when our putative host could not host after all.


The day arrived.

Seven of us gathered at a large round table at Bite of Hong Kong in the LES/Chinatown for a four hour lunch. Participants were both old and new friends, professionals and amateurs, all Northern Rhône wine lovers: Matt Conway, John Gilman, Dmitry Gritsayenko, Greg Kahn, Marty Lebwohl, and Pascaline Lepeltier. John waltzed in almost an hour late (fashionably of course), the victim of jet lag, but he caught up quickly as the bottles coagulated in front of him. Pascaline told me she had to leave at 3; she left with the rest of us at 5. We were all glad she stayed.

The food at BOHK is very high quality and (somewhat surprisingly) very Syrah friendly. The signature squab dish, perfect for Northern Rhône Syrah, was not yet available. (I found this out the hard way when I tried to order it. The squab is apparently only a dinner menu item and was still being prepped as we ate lunch.) But we enjoyed some wonderful dishes that (again surprisingly) all went well with the wines – cucumber with black fungus (skeptics at the table when I ordered this now understand), steamed shrimp dumplings, the squid special, Peking duck, simple but well done fried rice dishes, sautéed pea shoots, among others.

We started with a bottle of Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle that I bought on release in 2002. It was the 88-90-93 bottling and my last bottle of Grand Siècle. L-P releases Grand Siècle, made from Grand Cru vineyards, after eight years on the lees. Grand Siècle used to be widely available in New York, but I have not looked for it in many years, as I tend to prefer vintage champagnes at that level. This bottle was very good in a creamy, nutty style with vibrant fine mousse and perhaps a touch too much dosage, but it did not have as much red fruit/citrus as it did in youth, even on the palate. (It held up well in the bottle for Day 2, drinking on a plateau.) I would call it a solid tête de cuvée, although it doesn’t hold as much interest for me anymore as other Champagnes. And 88-90-93 was always less compelling than the somewhat special, electric 88-89-90 bottling that preceded its release.

Now, to the main event. The Juge wines from 2010 and older were double-decanted by their contributors prior to arrival. They all showed sediment, from very light on the 2010 to significant on the 1995. The wines from 2012 and younger were opened at the table on arrival at the restaurant. (Unfortunately we were missing the (wonderful) 2011 Cornas due to a late cancellation.) The slow afternoon and relatively small number of people allowed us to track the wines and to revisit bottles as needed.


Flight 1 – 2015 Northern Rhône Mini-Horizontal.

To start, I thought it would be interesting to taste two other “traditionally”-made 2015 wines side-by-side with the 2015 Juge.

2015 Guillaume Gilles Cornas. What a beauty. Not as high toned as the wines to follow, it is still a classic Cornas that walks the edge of nascent violet aromatics, blueberry fruit, midpalate solidity with stony minerality, well integrated acidity, and relatively fine tannins. It is more polished and less rustic in the mouth than any Juge wine we drank, and therefore a very different style, but packed full of flavor. I took half of this bottle home with me and tracked it for five days. It was even better on Days 2 and 3, and it was still drinking very well without significant oxidation on Friday night. Compared to the 2013 Guillaume Gilles Cornas, it is less red fruity and feels denser (but not heavy). The 2013 and 2015 will be a fascinating pair to track side-by-side starting in about fifteen years. This should be very long lived.

2015 Bernard Levet Côte-Rôtie La Chavroche. This is one funky Côte-Rôtie – showing very stemmy and musky with much more citrus on the nose than any other wine we drank, and acid-driven structurally but hiding some ripe tannins. The aromatics and flavors here suggest slightly shrill under-ripe plum and stove-boiled cranberry reduction to go with musky white grapefruit and hints of iron and blood. A number of people did not care for this wine. I find it challenging now but I had already been expecting (and we received) the full force of young Levet funk. It is not lacking palate impact. It is not short. In 10 to 15 years, it will be interesting to see if this Chavroche is actually an ugly duckling. History may be on Levet’s side on that bet.

2015 Marcel Juge Cornas. I heard a story that I will not repeat about the process of making this wine, but suffice it say, the Sesame Street song, “One of These Things,” came to my mind as we tried this. Where is the Juge-ness? The nose is smoothed out and flattened and doesn’t show the effect of the stems and acidity that one gets in the other wines. There is no explosion of high-toned floral, red and blue fruity, olive, and peppery aromatics, and air doesn’t change that, at least over the course of about 3 hours. The aromatics are muted. The palate is smoother, thicker, and cleaner than one expects in a Juge Cornas, and this bottle lacked the tensile energy and grittiness of all of the other Juge wines at lunch. It seems to have good material underneath, but, “Hmmmmm.” It is all rather . . . “something” . . . but I am not sure what. It is not at all clear where this is going, and I understand this bottle may be typical. (Can anyone with Day 2 experience with this wine comment?)


Interlude.

With the 2015 mini-horizontal flight completed (but retasted as needed), we moved on to a number of Juge wines in flights as follows.

The understanding among the group, in part gleaned from conversations with Marcel, was that by the 2008 vintage, Juge had continued entering into rental agreements for his vines on the steeper slopes, and that his wines last benefited from some of the steeper sloped fruit in 2009 or 2010. This history, however, is not 100% clear. By 2010 or 2011 at the latest, the vines that Marcel continued to work in his retirement were lower down on the flatter part of the slope, perhaps at least partially in the lower portion of the Champelrose lieu dit. (Maybe someone knows more and will add content or will correct any inaccurate details.)

All of the Juge wines below, except the 2004 Cuvée C with its lactic nose, presented as variations on a theme. They all show a signature aromatic and flavor profile that is Juge. The very similar high-toned noses lean toward violets, and mulberry and red raspberry fruit, with degrees of boysenberry, white pepper, olive puree, and grapefruity citrus. Violets became more prominent, and the white pepper receded, with air and with bottle age. I find any whole cluster steminess subsumed into the whole. Flavors on the palate echo the nose but also add more overt tangy acidity and brine that integrate with bottle age but remained critical. Firm but seamless extract adds weight without any heaviness. In addition, I am almost certain there was a small amount of VA in all of these wines, enough to bind the elements in the nose and palate and add lift. This is not a flaw in my view and probably contributes to inner mouth perfume (borrowing from Tanzer), which is particularly prominent in the 2008 to 2010 flight. Fine tannins play a background supportive role, buffered by the acidity. These are not tannic wines. Age tempers the wildness of the fruit and the boldness of the acidity, but age also brings integration and textural complexity. The wines’ palate impressions are long but whimsical, even in more structured vintages such as 1995, 2010, and 2013, which were still wines of elegance.


Flight 2 – 2014, 2013, 2012 Marcel Juge Cornas.

Flight 2 showcases youthful exuberance leading to teenage angst.

2014 Marcel Juge Cornas. This bottle of 2014 was firing on all cylinders. It is a gorgeous, elegant, and transparent young wine, and it has been since release in the U.S. in the spring/summer of 2017. The nose and palate are bursting with nervous energy and joy, but the wine works as a whole. I would call this the most purple-fruited Juge on the day, but one cannot help but be entranced. I love this wine now and find it to be structured and weighted along the lines of the 2008 (and the 1996 and 1997 Cuvée C from days past). If, in six-plus years, it arrives where the 2008 has, I will be happy.

2013 Marcel Juge Cornas. The 2013 is the most structured Juge Cornas since the 2010 and likely displaying the most potential for very long term cellaring among Juge’s final five vintages, if conventional wisdom on aging holds. It is deeper and slower to unfurl than the 2014. The tannins are more present in this wine than any of the other Juge wines on the day, but that trait is relative, and 2013 is not a particularly tannic wine. After about an hour of air, it was really open for (early) business – exploding on the nose and just packed full of intense flavor. This was an awesome bottle, so good it made me see stars a bit and lose focus as I drank it. (I kid you not.) I was lucky enough to take the bottle home and drink the last glass on Day 2. It was even better. I probably could have stretched it to Day 3, but then, oops – it was gone.

2012 Marcel Juge Cornas. The 2012 was the most awkward wine of the day. It is more muddled and less precise, and its various elements along the same lines as the other wines are poking out, rather than engagingly youthful or integrated. Still it is certainly very tasty and shows intensity and perfume. I fault myself for not returning at the end of lunch to see if this bottle had pulled itself together. We may just have hit this wine in a teenage moment although I did not try it on release in the U.S. in 2016, so I don’t know how it showed last year or the year before.


Virtual Flight – 2011 Marcel Juge Cornas.

2011 Marcel Juge Cornas. Absent in all but spirit. In absentia it’s brilliant.


Flight 3 – 2010, 2009, 2008 Marcel Juge Cornas.

This entire flight was fantastic, each wine showcasing its vintage. The balance of each wine is spot on in its context, and the evolution and integration of this trio compared to the preceding flight are plain. For those who do not like their wines old, these three are in a perfect place for drinking, particularly 2008 and 2009. For those who – queue up The Outfield – like their wines a little bit older, there is no hurry.

2010 Marcel Juge Cornas. This was the full 2010 package on display – a complete wine with plenty of structure on which to age. I loved the 2010 on release, and Marty opened a youthful but spectacular bottle of this in January 2017 that seemed like infanticide. (I think Marty significantly undersold last year’s bottle in his note on CT.) This bottle was perhaps even more forthcoming aromatically and texturally than last year’s bottle but with slightly less tension. Each was equally awesome and surprisingly open given its apparent structure to age gracefully. For my taste I find the 2010 is the Juge Vintage of the Century. It has intensity, amazing somewhat surprisingly coolish fruit (coolish especially compared to 2009), perfectly integrated acidity, and just the right density and tension on the palate. It is by no means a big wine but it hits all the right spots. Whoever snuck the bottle home for a second look on Day 2 must have had a treat. Or did we drain it?

2009 Marcel Juge Cornas. The 2009 is a slightly rounder, slightly jammier, slightly less acid-driven version of the 2010. It is drinking spectacularly now, fruit front and center. If forced to choose, I like the tension and Burgundian balance of the 2008 and 2010, but this is a wonderful wine. It is the type of wine where you say – it is so good now, it can’t possibly get better. But there is excellent structure hidden underneath the fruit, and I expect this wine will still evolve brilliantly in bottle. One could say that John Gilman started the current craze for Juge with his note on this wine several years ago, and the 2009 didn’t disappoint on this day against its stellar older and younger siblings.

2008 Marcel Juge Cornas. If one wasn’t paying attention, this smaller-scaled beauty could have gotten lost in the trio. But Pascaline and I (at least) were paying attention. This is truly a Volnay-lover’s or a VCC-lover’s Cornas. It is more piquant and red-fruited and overtly stony mineral than its siblings, with the energy of its youth still plainly present but integrated. It is playful but not delicate or fragile. It calls you back for another sip. It provides waves of tangy flavor in a deceptively long finish, deceptive because it starts smaller but keeps going. The balance is impeccable, and it could age on its balance for many years. What a contrast from 2009 and 2010, but again this is clearly cut from the same mold as its younger siblings. As I suggested above, I suspect this is where the 2014 is going as it mellows in bottle, and that would be a fine path to take.


Flight 4.

Unfortunately this flight was a mixed bag, full of hope but subject to the forces of history and nature.

2004 Olga Juge Cornas Cuvée C. Matt, whose wine passion is the Northern Rhône (as is apparent from his wine list at Marc Forgione), had never seen a bottle of the 2004 labeled under Olga’s name, as opposed to Marcel’s. The table dubbed it a Unicorn-Black Swan, doubly rare. We discussed that Marcel generally did not bottle all at once, and hence he has a certain reputation for variability. My belief is that Marcel and Olga likely first bottled the 2004 Cuvée C under her label, as she had initially decided to take over the domaine from Dad starting in the 2004 vintage, but then they either ran out of Olga labels and started using Marcel’s or the bottles of 2004 that have Marcel’s label were bottled after Olga changed her mind and decided the vigneron’s life was not for her. Or it is possible that they used up Marcel’s labels first and then switched to Olga’s labels when his ran out, but I suspect not because my recollection is that the Olga-labeled wines were released first. In any case it is also believed that Olga made the 2004 Cuvée C (with an unknown level of assistance from Marcel).

As has been reported by others, the nose is dominated by a disturbing lactic note, which I did not detect when I first decanted the wine, and I do not know if whoever took this home afterward found that it blew off. I found the wine underneath, however, intact in the palate, but difficult to taste given the persistence of the lactic aroma. It was hard to get past, even after tasting the wine. On the palate the wine showed more density than the 2008 but not quite as dense as the 2010, with the same flavor profile. Age had brought velvety richness to the mouthfeel but no sense of decline. Still, this was very hard to taste. I am somewhat hopeful for my two other bottles as I have seen lactic notes blow off or absorb before. Unfortunately this lunch did not leave us time to explore that possibility for this bottle.

1995 Marcel Juge Cornas Cuvée C. I bought this bottle in 1998 at Village Corner in Ann Arbor, one of the first bottles of (Northern Rhône) wine I ever bought. The $19.99 price tag was still on the bottle at our lunch. For the tasting I carefully double-decanted it off of a considerable amount of thick sediment, leaving more than an inch in the bottle. Alas, this was not a perfect bottle. And so it goes. This had an added layer of complexity compared to the previous wines in the mouth but was somewhat dulled by what I thought was some maderization evidenced by the hint of menthol/forest floor in the nose and mouth. This element could have been from age but it also could mean the wine was slightly cooked when I bought it twenty years ago. It was still delicious and mineral on the palate I thought, and definitely had a bottle sweetness that was missing from the younger wines, but to me it was dulled, and therefore missing that fantastic Juge perfume and energy. I also brought the last glass in the bottle home. There was perhaps some improvement when I drank it later that night that makes me think it is possible we should have given it more time to air out at lunch, but I am not certain. The sense of maderization was masked somewhat by the emerging fruit but still obtrusive. In any case I am glad I could bookend this vertical with a wine that has been with me since the beginning of my own wine journey.


Flight 5 – the Mystery Flight.

Motivated by a suggestion from one of the participants, who offered a prized bottle for the tasting, I had planned since the beginning to have a three-wine mystery flight at the end, which included the offered bottle. Three of us chipped in, and the wines were presented blind (and previously double decanted). Each bottle was wrapped in aluminum foil. Only I knew the identity of all three wines. We served them side by-side. And then the games began, people trying to guess with no hints. Folks were all over the map with their guesses. It was tremendous fun.

Mystery Wine No. 1. After pinning down that it was red wine, guesses ranged from Burgundy to Côte-Rôtie and Cornas. While still blind, all tasters agreed that Mystery Wine No. 1 was elegant and Burgundian. The wine is firmly but caressingly present on the palate, long, and drinking extremely well in a medium-bodied but full-flavored package of brambleberries and black raspberries, juicy acidity, and a suave velvety textured midpalate and finish. The palate echoes the nose. Perhaps the velvety nature of the experience led people to the Cote d’Or. One comment from an early Burgundy proponent at the table was, “it tastes like Burgundy but why would we have Burgundy at a Syrah tasting?” The only guess on a grower was that this might be an older Juge wine.

Mystery Wine No. 2. Here there was more diversity of opinion. Some thought this somewhat clunky and Chateauneuf-like and Grenache-y, perhaps by contrast to Mystery Wine No. 1 and the preceding Juge wines. It was clearly from a riper vintage, with richer darker fruit – black raspberry still, but also blueberry and veering toward black fruit – and more firm tannins. The fruit was strong, but the wine showed a certain adolescent gawkiness, the pieces not yet knit together. I liked the bold flavors and vein of acidity that wasn’t quite integrated. No one attempted a guess at the grower.

Mystery Wine No. 3. The wine was poured, swirled, and sniffed. The table fell silent after a long afternoon of tasting and eating as folks sank back in their chairs to sigh and enjoy. Now we were seemingly at another level. Blind comments were that this wine exuded a sense of the natural. Here there is a clean purity of raspberry / cranberry fruit, a hint of citrus, wonderful freshness on the nose and echoed in the palate, and perfect integration of tannin, acid, and extract. Inner-mouth perfume. Length. Weightless weight. Harmony. Zen. It was pegged as Northern Rhône Syrah, but beyond that, no one other than me and the donor had any clue what this wine was.


I unwrapped the bottles.


Mystery Wine No. 1. 2004 Allemand Cornas Chaillot.


Mystery Wine No. 2. 2006 Allemand Cornas Reynard.


Mystery Wine No. 3. 1999 Allemand Cornas Reynard Sans Soufre.


Marty then told the story about how the two of us visited a slightly disheveled wine shop / bar in the Fifth Arrondissement together in 2004, while our wives did anything else but. I recall that Marty had heard about this shop, one that no longer exists, and we were eager to check it out. We were the only people in the shop just before closing. We noticed a couple bottlings of Allemand on the shelf (I can still picture it), and Marty asked the proprietor, who was wearing a sleeveless white T shirt, about them. It turns out he was the best man at Thierry Allemand’s wedding and chatty, and we had hit a personal chord. He proceeded to pull up bottles from the basement for Marty to fill a case of Allemand from the late 90s/early 2000s. Prices were on the order of $25-30 a bottle. I believe that Marty still has wines left from that case.


The seven of us then went back and retasted small pours of our favorite wines before packing up as the restaurant staff readied themselves for the dinner crowd.

Smiles were wide. Bellies were full. Heads were light. Folks were chatty.

We ventured out onto the busy and anonymizing streets of Chinatown, happy.

Nice!!

Awesome. Sad to have missed out. Opened a 2011 this past Saturday and it was smoking good!

Too bad on those 04 Olga. I have a bottle left but the prior one was butter city as well. I don’t think lacto gets better, only worse :frowning:

Super jealous about that 99 allemand SS! Every SS has basically stopped me in my tracks

What a fantastic lunch. Really great data points. Thank you for the notes. And next time you need a 2011…

Thanks to Charlie gracing a recent offline, the 2010 Juge was my first Cornas experience. It is, I’m increasingly learning, a terrifyingly high peak to start from

Thank you Jayson for the notes [cheers.gif]

Phenomenal write-up. Really enjoyed this read and comparative.

Ugh about the 15, especially on the heals of the excellent 14 from a reputedly more challenged vintage.

Fu is right, the 2011 is also excellent, but I happen to love this vintage in Northern Rhone.

Flip those '15’s Bobby…Make it rain!!


Great notes Jayson

So sorry to have missed this, truly and guiltily - that 2011 hole was mine to fill. What a great event, so glad you had such a good time. Super notes as well.

My one bottle of 2004 Cuvée C that I opened years ago had an Olga Juge label. It was marred by the same lactic note you describe. I found the same lactic issue with the “normal” 2005 Cornas, to a slightly lesser extent.

We missed having you. I think Olga made the 2005s too before she bailed. I’ve never seen or tasted a 2005.

Thanks. I don’t know if 2015 is hopeless or just uncharted territory.

2011 is excellent. For Juge I find it perhaps a cross between 2009 and 2014, among the bottles we had at this lunch.

Yes. It’s really good, but you have to like the (somewhat atypical) Juge style. Not everybody does.

Thanks.

1999 SS is definitely an amazing wine. (It doesn’t actually say Reynard on the label, as I know you know.). Anyway I suspect you own all of the other bottles on the planet. Well you and Ryan. Along with all of the remaining bottles of 1980s Juge. 90s too.

I had a 05 with Tburklow late last year. Nick gangas and Jon Favre were there too so maybe they could opine. Looking at my note on Instagram I really enjoyed it. Lots of that sweet bretty earth.

Tyler mentioned to me on Friday he thought it was flawed. Shrug. I reminder me a lot of the 10

Fu have you popped the 2015 Juge?

Ya. It needs a lot of air to coax out the juge. Even then it’s not as obvious as prior years as Jayson noted. But after about 3-4 hours of air it comes out a little.

Similar to 15 levet. The wines are so dense and compact right now

Good notes! Although I have zero Juge, the TNs and underlying stories are fun read. I’m bummed I couldn’t fill in and make the date.

That’s an interesting take on the 2006 Allemand Reynard. I bought/stored a few and haven’t tasted since around release. The CdP/Grenache descriptors didn’t impress and I hope your comments on not “yet” knit together and “not” integrated means some positive potential over time.

I’m also being pressed by a friend to help with their ordering a “reasonably-priced” bottle at their coming dinner at EMP and I was leaning on suggesting 2015 Juge, which I thought is good at $180. But, given your not-so upbeat thoughts, I may have to steer her elsewhere.

Now, if you ever do an all (or mostly) Rougeard gig … [cheers.gif]

Thanks for writing these up Jayson and thanks for organizing. That’s why you’re on the other side of the law - my descriptions would be short and boring. This also suggests I should really take better notes at tastings!

I thought the third flight was absolutely fantastic - the nose on the 2009 was fabulous, even if the palate didn’t quite match it and I thought the 2010 was the best of the Juge we had, and will be for a long time. I think we did drain that one [cheers.gif]


I think the 15 Levet was the most “controversial” wine of the afternoon - some people just did not like it. I took it home and I don’t think it improved all that much over the next few days. One person (I forget who) described it as very “grapey”, which wasn’t necessarily wrong. It’s not a huge pleasure to drink at the moment.
The tendency is to trust the producer - I’ve had a bunch of older Levets (back to around 2002) and while I’ve really liked most of them and the Levet funk, some of them were just too funky for me (insert your George Michael jokes here). I have a bunch more 2015 Levets, but I don’t think I’ll be opening these for a while.

To somewhat set your mind at ease Ramon, a number of people (including one person who said he had gone through close to a case of the 06 Reynard) were surprised by this bottle and thought it was a bit of an unusual showing. I didn’t think it was very grenachey, just a slightly hotter bottle. I certainly wouldn’t have pegged it as anything other than a Northern Rhone.

I actually like the 2006 Reynard and think it will come together. Fifteen-year rule suggests waiting a few more years. I didn’t personally find anything Grenachey about it. Just still knitting itself together over time.