A SMALL GATHERING AT JAILBREAK BREWING CO. - Jailbreak Brewery, Laurel, MD (8/13/2020)
Justin organized a special wine dinner at Jailbreak Brewery.
A few years back, Justin gave up his lucrative career as the CEO of a Washington DC area government contracting and IT firm to start a new and very bold chapter in his life. It seemed like a pretty risky proposition. But to Justin, who has always been a risk taker, maverick and adventurous soul, this was simply a natural progression.
He invested much of his life savings to start a craft brewery ,“Jailbreak”, expressing Justin’s desire to break out from the corporate world. Some of you may know Justin as Mr. SQN. His love and passion for SQN is quite apparent in the DNA of the Jailbreak brand and its artisan craft beers. Justin is also a closet, now not so closet, Burgundy expert which adds an additional dimension to his beer making. He makes incredibly complex unique beers, sparing neither energy nor expense. For the record, Justin has been a great friend for over a decade so I am bias.
He set up a large table at the loading dock with AC and two fans.
The dishes were bar food but elevated to the next level, like the flatbread with a copious amount of morels and the burger with a 3/4 pound ground 42 day dry NY strip patty.
Servin
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2017 Domaine Servin Chablis Cuvée Massale Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Chablis
Expressive nose displaying concentrated rich yellow and white fruit, lemon curd, fresh apple juice, honey and mineral. Excellent concentration, packed rich yellow citrus, opulent, a lot of dry extract, bright acidity, strong mineral and a medium to long rich yellow fruit driven finish. Not terribly complex but showing impressive richness and concentration. (90 pts.)
Jailbreak Sours
Justin started the sour program a couple years ago and now it is come to fruition. He poured two samples.
Lambic that was barrel aged for 12 month than with Petite Sirah for additional 8. Really complex and yeasty, lots of strawberry, very dry finish. Will get even better in a few months, gaining more mousse.
Blond Session Ale
Really fruity and complex, banana and pineapple. Very vinous.
A lot of neutral barrels, some from a couple very well known Rhone ranges.
Champagne
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2006 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut - France, Champagne
Expressive nose displaying concentrated sweet yellow fruit, lemon curd, candied lemon peel, candied ginger, honey, smoke and limestone. Exceptional concentration, layers upon layers of concentrated yellow fruit, rich and opulent, abundant fine mousse, medium acidity, good mineral presence and a long sweet yellow fruit driven finish. Just like the last bottle, it is showing the next stage of development. (95 pts.) -
NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Lieux-dits Extra Brut Ay La Côte Faron - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Very complex nose displaying slightly dry yellow fruit, apricot, a hint of orange peel, very nutty, almond butter, white chocolate, yeast, a hint of sherry and earth. Very good concentration, nicely layered slightly dry yellow fruit, rich and warm, medium fine medium abundant mousse, bright acidity, earthy mineral, and a medium to long ripe yellow fruit driven finish with sherry and almond at the end. As expected, very oxidative and very Selosse. This is not for everyone. (94 pts.)
White
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2014 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur Blanc Brézé - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur
Expressive nose displaying perfectly ripe tropical yellow fruit with a hint of white, lychee, white peach, lanoline, spicy spices, cedar, saline and limestone. Beautiful harmonious palate, nicely layered yellow fruit, very precise and detailed, bright acidity and mineral, and a seamless long sweet yellow fruit driven finish with lanoline and cedar at the end. This is drinking beautifully. (95 pts.) -
2008 Marcassin Chardonnay Three Sisters Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Nicely integrated medium expressive nose displaying rich yellow fruit, yellow and white peach, backed apple, oyster shell, light caramel, crackerjack, spicy spices, and limestone. There is a hint of heat/alcohol at the end. Excellent concentration, finely layered ripe yellow fruit, rich yet fluid, medium acidity, strong mineral and a long sweet yellow fruit driven finish with caramel and oyster shell at the end. Although there is noticeable heat, it shows a good balance. Drinking beautifully and no need to wait. (95 pts.)
Aubert
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2004 Aubert Chardonnay Quarry Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County
Medium expressive nose displaying very ripe concentrated yellow fruit, dry peach, pineapple, lemon curd, caramel, toasted oak and earth. 10W40, rich, warm, oily and concentrated, bright acidity, medium mineral and a medium to long ripe yellow fruit driven finish. It has the viscosity of TBA. I find it interesting and enjoyable. Abomination if you are an AFWE. (93 pts.) -
2014 Aubert Chardonnay CIX Estate Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Beautifully balanced nose displaying ripe yellow and white fruit, pineapple, apple, fresh lemon, beeswax and limestone. Nicely integrated palate, very finely layered ripe yellow fruit, rich yet precise and nicely detailed, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, and a seamless long ripe yellow fruit driven finish with beeswax and limestone at the end. The 14 is my favorite vintage from Aubert. Excellent showing. (96 pts.)
Rhone
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1978 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Perfectly mature complex nose displaying generous slightly dry black fruit, blackberry jam, leather, smoked meat, cedar, light caramel, sweet spices and earth. Fully integrated harmonious palate, nicely layered generous black fruit, silky, round and warm, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, and a long sweet black fruit driven finish with leather and cedar at the end. I believe the fruit source for the Brune et Blonde was exceptional back then. This is a beautiful mature Cote Rotie. (96 pts.) -
1994 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Fully mature medium expressive nose displaying subtle red fruit, dry cherry, cherry liqueur, a hint of licorice, garrigue, pepper and leather, tapenade, mint, strangely Sprite and earth. Fully integrated palate, finely layered subtle red fruit, warm and soft, silky and fluid, medium acidity and mineral, and a long subtle red fruit driven finish with mint and white pepper at the end. I had two bottles from the same batch in 2012 which were superb. This seems to thin out a bit. Still enjoyable but no need to wait. (94 pts.) -
1998 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Pop and pour, very youthful nose displaying ripe red and black fruit, cherry liqueur, black cherry and blackberry. With air, strong tobacco and white pepper, leather, garrigue, ash, grilled fat, licorice and crushed rock. Beautifully integrated palate, finely layered sweet cherry fruit, exceptional balance and detail, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, nicely integrated tannins and a long sweet red fruit driven finish with leather and tobacco at the end. This is drinking incredibly well but can improve for another decade, becoming more Burgundian. (97 pts.)
Chateau Margaux
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1990 Château Margaux - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Expressive nose displaying intense ripe black fruit, blackberry liqueur, crème de cassis, blueberry pie, caramel, lactic, ink, lead pencil and earth. Justin finds the green note a bit bothersome. Exceptional concentration, layers upon layers of intense black fruit, unctuous, rich and silky, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, nicely masked tannins due to the concentrated fruit, and a long intense black fruit driven finish with caramel and ink at the end. RJ finds it not as enjoyable compared to a few years ago. It is morphing into the next stage of development, i.e. slowly becoming like the 82 but not showing enough tertiary notes to compensate the loss of intensity and expressiveness. I firmly believe this will become perfect again in a few years. (97 pts.) -
1996 Château Margaux - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Perfectly harmonious yet incredibly expressive nose displaying perfectly ripe intense black fruit, crème de cassis, blackberry concentrate, ink, licorice, perfume, lead pencil and crushed rocks. Exceptional concentration, layers upon layers of intense opulent black fruit, incredibly density, silky, polished and detailed, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, very fine tannins and a seamless intense black fruit driven finish that easily lasts over a minute. It seems to gain weight without losing the perfect precision, which is hard to believe. The resemblance to the older brethren is uncanny. Although it remains very youthful, simply perfect! (100 pts.)
Burgundy and CDP
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2010 Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
Youthful expressive nose displaying opulent generous red and black fruit, raspberry preserve, fresh blackberry, light caramel, lactic, sweet spices, a slight hint of sous bois, grilled cep and limestone. Exquisite balance and harmony, finely layered opulent black fruit, beautifully detailed, pure, silky, and weightless, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, nicely integrated tannins and a seamless long opulent red and black fruit driven finish with caramel and cep at the end. I wrote “young cab like intensity” in 2014. This is moving slowly but clearly improving. Very young but drinking magnificently. (97 pts.) -
2001 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Incredibly youthful nose displaying ripe black fruit with a hint of red, black cherry, blackberry liqueur, a hint of dry cherry, fruitcake, tobacco, garrigue, dark spices and earth. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of intense dark fruit, big scale, unctuous, bright acidity, earthy mineral, and a long concentrated black fruit driven finish with tobacco at the end. It remains incredibly youthful and still needs time. I am not sure how this will evolve. (95 pts.)
Quintarelli
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2006 Giuseppe Quintarelli Amabile del Cerè Veneto IGT - Italy, Veneto, Veneto IGT
Bonus wine. Simply delicious! As usual, intense fruit yet weightless palate. Mostly apricot but some red fruit as well. (97 pts.)
A great time was had by all!
Posted from CellarTracker