First dinner with wine friends in a year - CdC, Ramonet, Moreau, Truchot(s), Selbach, Schloss Lieser

Got together with some friends Saturday night and had lots of wine. It was our first get together in over a year and was occasioned by the last of these people getting two doses of vaccine and two weeks.
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We started with a 2007 Taittinger CdC to get the night started. Excellent Champagne, but not as complex as the 2006. May still be young, but I think the 2006 is just a better wine.

Then, we did the two white Burgs blind. Thought it would be interesting since they were both 2014 Morgeot. It was not blind to me as I could not get the wax off the Moreau bottle so I knew which was which. Most people got the wines confused, thinking the Bernard Moreau was the Ramonet and vice-versa. Only my wife got them right. To be fair, at this time on this night the Moreau was the better wine. It was richer and just had more to it. The Ramonet was outstanding and likely was just closed when we were doing this blind. It opened up some later, but I still preferred the Moreau. If we compared these again in a few years, not sure which would be better. The key was that these both were outstanding white Burgundies with plenty of life left. No sign of premox in either.

The next flight was a comparison (not blind) of the 2002 vs. the 2003 Truchot Charmes Chambertin. The 2003 was clearly the best wine at the gitgo. I love Truchot’s 2003s and this was an excellent example. The 2002 got better over time and was quite good, but never caught the outstanding 2003 IMHO.

We then compared the 1999 Charmes and Clos de la Roche. The Charmes was a bit musty upon opening and, while it improved, never seemed quite right. The 1999 Clos de la Roche, on the other hand, was outstanding from the beginning and just kept getting better and better. It was quite clearly the WOTN, and it will likely be my WOTY. If I rated wines, this would be what 100 points would look like. I have had this wine a number of times and have always loved it, but this may be the best it has ever showed - I think it was the first time I have had it that it has been fully mature. The stuff dreams are made of.

Should not have paired the Selbach 1990 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr *** Auslese with the younger more exuberant and much sweeter Schloss Lieser 2010 Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Goldkapsel Auslese. The Schloss Lieser was just too showy for the Selbach. With the acidity of a 2010, the Lieser really tasted like an Eiswein, and a wonderful one at that. The Selbach was a joy to drink but in a more cerebral, more mature way. It had a lot of richness, but lost some of its sweetness. However, what it lost in sweetness it had gained in complexity. Just what a 30 year old Auslese from a great vintage like 1990 should taste like. I loved this also, but should have opened it on its own, away from the more showy 2010.

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I went through so many of those 1999 Clos de la Roches a few years ago. (Before the incredible runup in price) Truchot really nailed that one. Great notes.

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I’ve probably told this Truchot story before. I was visiting my parents in Fairfax and went in Arrowine and Doug had cases of 99 Truchot. Didn’t know him or the wine. Never been there before. To be nice I bought just one b of CdlR. Didn’t taste it for years. Of course by then he didn’t have it and I missed what could have been a lifetime coup buying cheap. Have some 05 but missed 99 at cheap price and easy availability.

Yes. The run up in prices is really a shame - I would love for these wines to still be obscure and available at the prices we paid for them - I think all were bought years ago, I know I paid $100 or less for the 1999 Clos de la Roche (I bought some twice at two different prices, the higher of which was about $100). Not sure what others in the group paid for their bottles of Truchot, but my guess is that the wine that was the most expensive in terms of prices actually paid was the Taittinger.

That was where I bought my first several bottles and a few years later I found and bought some more at the higher price from a store in NYC. I think it was Astors, but am not sure.

I will say this, however, based on what little you have told me about your wine cellar, you have had quite a number of lifetime coups so I don’t feel sorry for you. You have done quite a good job over the years. [cheers.gif]

hahah. I tell the story because it’s funny. As is when I sold my cases of 90 Rousseau CdB and Chambertin when I thought price had peaked at $250/b (now almost $6000/) and the wine was a bit thin. Don’t mean to thread drift.

Lovely notes. Nice to rejoin humanity.

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I’ve had similar experiences opening older Rieslings next to younger ones (even by the same producer); sometimes the power of the younger ones overshadows the nuance of the older ones when side by side.

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lol. I did the same thing with my 90’s.

I haven’t been dumb enough to buy them back! We can cry on each other’s shoulder.

Howard
Good to see you partying with the gang again. Think I will have to pull a 99 CdlR. By the way my price was~ $30 at the cellar door. The first Truchot I tasted was 1988 CdlR and CC with David S at Obelisk pre release (got a mag of CdlR 88 left can’t even think what the price would be now)
Mike

Not surprised about the pricing, except that I would have thought it would be lower. My first visit to Truchot was in 2002, before I met you or most of the people in the wine group. I bought premier crus (every bottle they had on a shelf 1999 CM Sentiers) for 12 euros and they sold me a couple of 2000 Grand Crus for 22 euros. I also bought my first Truchots from David Schildknecht (as did pretty much all the local Truchot lovers I know) - when he was at Mayflower. My first one was a 1985 CM Sentiers.

Very envious of all those Truchots. Thanks for the notes

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Very nice! I can’t wait for my first wine dinner in over a year.

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Thanks for the notes on the Truchots. It is good to see how they are doing. I am still sitting on most of mine and wondering if some should be sold to finance my children’s college education. I don’t like when I start thinking that way. Most of mine have the labels taped to the bottles, since they were always loosely attached and the humidity in my house caused them to fall off. I really wish I had more of the 99s, but I only got introduced to them by Doug with the 2001 vintage. All I have from 99 is the MSD Blanchards.

lol that’s ok. I rarely look back. But it did teach me a valuable lesson. When you sell make sure you are satisfied with the price.

I opened a 2007 Taittinger CdC this weekend, and I had the nearly-identical impression as you did on its own and in comparison to the 2006. I much preferred the 2006, at least for current consumption.

Howard
You are correct of course. The 90’s wines were teens for the 1er’s and twenties for GC’s didn’t hit the thirties till the last few vintages (village and bourgogne under 10 … those were the days). Jacky only sold to two restaurants in France as he disliked the prices they charged for his wine(not many with that view). The two he sold to were owned by relatives.
Mike

Howard,

Way to get back into the game with a big bang! Nicely done.

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Sounds familiar.

I have a similar story but I never bought. When I lived in or visited Ann Arbor in the late 90s and early oughts, Big Ten (and I believe its successor early on) had stacks of Clos Sorbe and more modest stacks of the Grand Crus. They would just sit there. Prices in the $55-80 range. I didn’t know from Truchot, so I always balked at price tags at the time. It was fairly early in my buying days, and back then as we all know, you could buy Roumier and others for those prices. So I passed.

Live and learn.

Sounds like a great night back tasting again. I’ve been lucky to have a few small ones over the last year but hope to be able to start doing more this summer.

I felt the same about the 07 comtes, so I loaded up on 06 and 08 instead when I found deals. Although I did grab an 07 comtes rose.

The Truchot’s sound amazing although I’m sure I’ll never buy any at the current tariffs. Fun finishing with an old selbach. Had a 96 spatlese that was amazing last summer. Can’t wait for some Old riesling nights, on an ice bucket outside when it warm and less allergies.