Got together with some of the usual, and mostly vaccinated, suspects yesterday for some afternoon wines. It was a beautiful day to be outside and drink some really great wines. Couple clunkers, but the highs were high and we were blessed by some fine wines. Thanks to Brad for playing host.
Per usual, we are a social group, not buried in note-taking, but I accepted the job a while back to jot down thoughts on my phone as we go. So these are the collective thoughts of the team, with some of my own coloring in the gaps.
We did the Pinot flight blind and the 2005 Patty Green was one of the best reveals I’ve been part of in some time. We were all convinced it was real-deal, adolescent red Burgundy. Splendid wine.
NV Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs Les Crayères- France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Best Champagne I’ve had in some time. Deep Gold color. Really pretty outside on a sunny afternoon. Complex palate that is Slightly oxidative, with brioche notes, touches of sweet fruit and vibrant energy. Wonderful palate texture. Sails on and on. Just Delicious in every way.
1988 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Better than Don’s bottle from his last note in CT Aged white Burgundy is a thing. So hard to replicate when it’s right. Slight hints of a nutty, butterscotch note, the palate is slightly oxidative (in a correct way). Fully mature, but wisps of acidity play off the rounded palate. Mineral core. Can’t really ask for much more.
Two Mature LdH
1994 R. López de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia- Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Fun side by side with 94 Bosconia. Just lovely. Smells of flowers, earth, some cherry. Burgundian. So silky on the palate with tart red fruit hints of vanilla, turns earthy, and hints of leather. Still vibrant. Excellent. Bit more structured than Bosconia. Excellent wine.
1994 R. López de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Bosconia- Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Fun to taste alongside 94 Tondonia. This was more open. Floral. Clean and pure. Fruit is more background here. Leathery. Textbook aged Rioja. As it should be. Really excellent wine. LDH is tough to beat.
Blind Pinots
1991 Morgan Pinot Noir Monterey County- USA, California, Central Coast, Monterey County
This one has unfortunately seen better days. Nose was decent, and it was drinkable, just tired and didn’t survive the 30 year trip. Nothing like the amazing 91 Reserve at our Arcadian dinner a few years ago.
2005 Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir Notorious- USA, Oregon, Yamhill County
Someone had to steal the show, it might as well be this Patty Green. In a Burgundy flight, this slayed some big boys include Fourrier and Lambrays. Stunning showing. Wow nose. Burgundy. Tea, spice, cherries. Very Vosne. Etheral. Palate of silk. Clean red fruit. Beautiful balance. Guesses ranged from 02 Vosne to 99 Chambolle. Beautiful wine that absolute killed. Still vibrant. Wish I had some bottles of this to enjoy over the next few years. Thanks, Mike!
2010 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Champeaux Vieille Vigne- France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Blind. Youthful, red fruit. Very Gevrey. Powerful, but super pure red and black fruit. Clean. Crystalline is a good word here (thanks, Rob). Poised, detailed and intense without the weight. Needs years, but already showing its pedigree.
2005 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays- France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru
Perhaps we needed to decant longer. Blind this showed wrapped up tight, tight, tight. Killer nose is it’s strength right now. Clean, youthful and vibrant fruit that is cloaked by structure. Palate is steely right now. 2005s may outlive us all. See you in 2030 or so…
1983 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel #11- Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
This came late in the day and I should have paid it more attention. It was still vibrant with a deep honey-gold color. Apricot notes and great viscosity. Tasty way to end the day.
Great notes, Dennis, thanks! The Patty Green was crazy good. Also first time trying Elgy-Ouriet and loved it, really exceptional champagne.
The LdH’s were in great shape, the Tondonia seems to have legs for a longer life than the Bosconia (and still far from peak!), those wines were really constantly shapeshifting, as Lopez tend to do, glad we were able to spend some time with them despite having so many wines on the table. And, yeah, the Lambrays definitely picked up steam with additional time in the decanter as well.
Dennis, thanks for taking on the job of taking notes. It was so nice to be drinking with friends again that the beautiful weather and great wines was almost gilding the lily. Even in the pre-pandemic world, a Champagne hitting all the marks (disgorged in November 2017 and it spent 76 months on the lees), a lovely well-aged white Burgundy, a horizontal of older LdH GRs, a flight of exciting old and new world Pinot Noir, and a 1983 GKA would be a memorable afternoon.
I’m not sure which Rioja I preferred. The Tondonia, while tighter, showed incredible depth and nuance, while the Bosconia was textbook old school Rioja.
I was thrilled at how well the Notorious showed. I regret how long it took me to get into Oregon Pinot Noir, but I’m working hard to correct that oversight. The Burgundies held their own, as Fourrier’s precision was captivating and the Lambrays really blossomed in the glass to live up to its pedigree.
Thanks to Brad for hosting and to everyone for the great wines and even better companionship.
Nice notes and broad spectrum of wines- love it. Interesting move to pair Tondonia with Bosconia which to me are polar opposites. The 94`s have been so good out of the gate.
Thanks, Blake. Interesting point on the LdHs. Can you say more about seeing these as polar opposites? I ask as we talked about this yesterday and didn’t come to any conclusions that I remember.
Hopefully, folks who got a 2015 Notorious for their participation in the David Bueker’s Dakin Humane Society tasting note fund raiser are all like, “Damn…”
Dennis, I’ll address this as the house does. Historically, they have stated Bosconia is more Burgundian and Tondonia is more Bordeaux. I’ve actually preferred Bosconia and it’s probably more for that reason. And, maybe my comment about being polar opposite isn’t so right on, but for me the disparity is significant enough. I’ve even picked them out in blind formats and it’s the fruit profile and finesse in the Bosconia and the earthy character and power in the Tondonia that distinguishes it for me.
Dennis, I’ll address this as the house does. Historically, they have stated Bosconia is more Burgundian and Tondonia is more Bordeaux. I’ve actually preferred Bosconia and it’s probably more for that reason. And, maybe my comment about being polar opposite isn’t so right on, but for me the disparity is significant enough. I’ve even picked them out in blind formats and it’s the fruit profile and finesse in the Bosconia and the earthy character and power in the Tondonia that distinguishes it for me.
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Thanks, Blake, this is good info. Definitely got the more power in the Tondonia yesterday, though it felt more Burgundian than Bdx. Oh well, still more to learn. Thanks for the dialog.
I had such a good time. Great to be out and about. The wines were fun.
The one that absolutely flumoxed me was the 2005 PG Notorious. That wine had one of those noses that just takes you to another place immediately. The floral, red fruit was perfectly ripe. Just a little earthy in a great way. It had me thinking a 1999 from a great producer like Drouhin or similar that was singing. I though it might be a great Chambolle 1er cru. It had more density if I was totally analytical and that would have made me say ?new world? but that finish was all old world and captivated me. Penetrating red fruit that lingers. One of those wines you taste the next morning. Red Burgundy can do that. This is one of those stunning new world wines like that Mysterious that Mike served in the past. A truly WOW wine. It stood up to that wonderful Fourrier in a glorious way.
Lots of generosity in this group. Great to be with friends.
Thanks, Blake, this is good info. Definitely got the more power in the Tondonia yesterday, though it felt more Burgundian than Bdx. Oh well, still more to learn. Thanks for the dialog.
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More to learn for me too Dennis. Ive had many bottles of both early on and with 35-30+ years on them and the Burgundy/ Bordeaux distinction seems more apparent when they are young. As an example, that seemed to be true for the 05 and 06` Bosconia I had late 2020.
The Atlanta Wine Group drinking together! Be still, my heart .
When you’ve got Don Cornutt having soulful memories the following morning… You’ve had a gem of an afternoon! Mike Evans’ powers grow more and more every year
Notorious is a blend of barrels. It has been from 1 vineyard at times but is mostly a cross section of barrels from a small handful of sites. Also, especially back then, from wines treated and handled in a particular manner. I had to dig through the archives to find out what it was. I always thought the 2006 was the largest Notorious bottling (and maybe it is, I didn’t double check) but the 2005, at 12 total barrels, is certainly larger than any bottling of this since at least 2012. The 2005 is composed of 6 barrels from Balcombe Vineyard and 2 barrels of Eason Vineyard. Both are Dundee Hill sites that we were farming (we still farm Balcombe, Eason Vineyard was sold to Eyrie in 2011 or 2012). Three of the remaining 4 barrels come from different sections of the Estate Vineyard and there is a single barrel of Whistling Ridge (adjacent to our property) that rounds it out (that sort of surprised me).
2005 was a great vintage but is unlike most great vintages in many respects. Maybe a touch of 1993 kind of thing to the whole endeavor.
The Notorious bottling is also always 100% new barrel. At that time we only used Cadus barrels and while we do use some other cooperages now the Notorious selection almost always comes exclusively from wines in Cadus.
Aged white Burgundy is a thing. So hard to replicate when it’s right. Slight hints of a nutty, butterscotch note, the palate is slightly oxidative (in a correct way). Fully mature, but wisps of acidity play off the rounded palate. Mineral core. Can’t really ask for much more.
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