TNs: A Fun Mixed Bag: Krug, Cristal, Raveaneau, Parantoux, La Mouline, La Chapelle etc

KELVIN T’S 40TH BIRTHDAY - Imperial Treasure Teochew, Tanjong Pagar (22/11/2019)

A small group of us gathered to do a reprise of Kelvin’s legendary bachelor’s party years ago. Different wines this time, but every bit as enjoyable, and certainly befitting of the occasion.
BUBBLES 1

  • NV Tarlant Champagne Cuvée Louis - France, Champagne
    2000 base, zero dosage, no malolatic. This was a very nice NV - a sinewy, characterful champagne. I loved the nose, with its savoury earth and saline mineral aromas curled around a core of white fruit with an edge of oxidation. The palate was bone dry, with a beautiful spine of stony mineral spearing it’s way through a powerful mouthful of white fruit and citrus zest, all running into a nice, slightly spiced finish. Fine mousse and good acidity too. Sinewy and tightly-packed, with a lovely sense of strength and definition to it, this was a solid NV. (92 pts.)
  • 2008 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut - France, Champagne
    The sole baby Cristal coming before of the trio of mature Krugs - this struck a very different tone, but was absolutely lovely even in its youth. It had such a pretty nose, with cream custard, strawberries, sweet apples and perfumed florals, with a bit of brioche on the side. Beautiful. It was still really youthful on the palate, with fine mousse and lemony acidity racing through beautifully pure, focused flavours of green apples and lemons pierced by a lovely minerally spine. Primary and a bit clenched, but this was such a wonderfully pure, refined mouthful. A Champagne of incredible finesse I thought. Still a bit tight and unyielding, but this is bursting with potential. (94 pts.)

BUBBLES 2

  • 1979 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut - France, Champagne
    This was stunning - a absolutely delicious drop that put both the 1990 and 2000 Krug we had alongside in the shade. It had a crazy nose, with roasted chestnuts, brioche, caramel and sweet chantilly cream, and then a lovely tail of ripe stone fruited aromas with a lift of perfumed florals at the sides. A wonderful, kaleidoscopic bouquet. The palate was beautifully rich, yet wonderfully controlled - an iron fist in a velvet glove. Here, the wine just unfolded across the mouth in layers of sweet lemons, ripe apples and preserved stone fruit. Weighty, rich, muscular, with tons of inexorable power, yet wonderfully cut and defined, with a beautiful amount of acidity and just a tremendous amount of minerality pulling the wine into a seemingly endless finish. This was intensity and lightness, power and grace, yet all wonderful transparent at the same time - a beautiful Krug in full flight. (97 pts.)
  • 2000 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut - France, Champagne
    Drinking beautifully - this is probably the best of the 4 bottles I have had since release. This had a lovely nose too, with wafts of brioche and browned butter, caramel and spice, a touch of earth and white meat, then sweet, ripe apples and gentle florals. Lovely. The palate was great too, with a wonderful clarity and focus to its strong, powerful flavours of red apples, earth, mineral and spice, all tossed together with a lovely flow of brioche, honey and a gentle nuttiness as the wine stretched out into a long, powerful finish. There was still a good bit of juicy acidity and a fine mousse, making a nice shape in the mouth. Focused, powerful and compelling, the 2000 Krug is really coming into its own now. (94 pts.)
  • 1990 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut - France, Champagne
    One of the better bottles of 1990 I have had, this showed superbly tonight. A step ahead a very strong 2000 Krug, but a couple behind the very special 1979 on the evening I thought. The nose here was full-on, very 1990 - with layer of brioche, honey, cream and earth, along with notes of red apples, sweeter stone fruit, and then a kiss of creme caramel and coconut candy. A ripe, expressive bouquet. The palate was rich, round and powerful as well - a real mouthful; almost brutish in its punchiness compared to the other more elegant vintages on show. It was a lovely and compelling drink in its own fashion though, filling the mouth with ripe apples, sweet stone fruit, honey and caramel, all resolving into a long, super-powerful finish full of mineral and earth and spice. Excellent, even if it did not show the finesse of either the 2000 or the 1979 on the night. Not quite as fresh and ageless as the 1990 I last had in magnum, but this bottle still showed the chops to keep aging for awhile yet. (95 pts.)

BURGS

  • 2001 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parantoux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
    Served blind, this was really lovely. What a nose it had - sweet, sappy red cherries and sweeter blueberries on a bed of loamy earth, and then an absolutely lovely wafts of perfumy violets and wood spice. What a gorgeous bouquet. The palate was lovely too, with fine, velvet tannins and juicy acidity framing a wonderfully pure, transparent mouthful of dark cherries and blueberries, seasoned with lovely bits of wood spice and dried earth. The finish was decent rather than astounding, but the wine came together absolutely beautifully overall. A real charmer. Not a powerhouse, but so very compelling. After saying that though, I am glad this was served blind - coming as it did after a quartet of simply fabulous Champagnes, and amidst strict competition on the night, I am not sure this had the quality to bear either either the weight of its price or its reputation. Still though, a real treat. (93 pts.)
  • 2005 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
    Astoundingly good. 2005 has never been a favourite vintage of mine for white Burgundy, but this bottle went a long way towards rescuing the image of the vintage in my mind. It may be unfair given the quality of both the maker and the Chablis terroir, which lends itself well to warm vintages; whatever the elements though, they made for a tremendous wine that showed as well as any great Cote d’Or Grand Cru. The nose was just lovely, with classic Chablis notes of seashells and chalk dancing around and a core pf rather plump white fruit. Lovely stuff. The palate was tremendous. Ripe and rich as one would expect from a 2005, but all the while also clean, pure and minerally, unfolding in a lovely transparent mouthful of pure apple and stone fruit flavours, these resolving into a long and beautiful finish of savoury, saline mineral. The acid was lower than almost any vintage I have tried, but this was never less than properly balanced. A profound wine that was starting to show beautifully when we got to it. Bravo. (95 pts.)

BORDEAUX

  • 1967 Château Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
    A yummy, but rather uncharacteristic Haut-Brion. For all its mature charm, this lacked the voluptuous generosity of classic vintages. Still though, we all enjoyed this very much. The nose was particularly lovely, with notes of sweet cassis alongside wet earth, mineral and tobacco aromas. Really nice, and without a hint of the mustiness that sometimes haunts old bottles of Bordeaux. The palate was a few steps behind the nose unfortunately, coming across rather leaner than one would expect, with lemony acidity laced through otherwise pretty flavours of cassis and black cherries, again laced with a minerality and fragrant tobacco notes, especially towards the wine’s surprisingly persistent finish. It was impeccably balanced, and really silky. A touch skinny I thought, but such was the purity and clarity on this that it still drank beautifully well. An old treasure; different, but still a very enjoyable Haut-Brion. (93 pts.)
  • 1976 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
    An old charmer. Not the strongest Montrose, and overshadowed on the night by a charmer of a 1967 Haut-Brion, but this was nevertheless quite enjoyable. The nose clearly belonged to a very mature wine, with earth sous sous, meat, and bloody ferrous notes at the fore, before tones of cassis and hints of tobacco joined in to play. The palate was surprisingly alive after that - with bright, juicy acidity and still firm tannins forming a solid backdrop for slightly lean notes of cassis, mineral and tobacco, again wed to a good dose of dried earth and then damper sous bois tones leading into the finish. This showed a whole lot younger on the palate than on the nose. All in all, an enjoyable wine, but not the strongest. (91 pts.)

NORTHERN RHONE

  • 1996 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
    Significantly better than the last bottle I had about 8 years back, this was very enjoyable on the night. Still young, but clearly displaying a lot more of its quality tonight. It had a great nose, with little sprigs of eucalyptus littered over a core of blueberries and violets, dried earth and wet stony mineral, all tied together with a smoky, savoury waft of roasted meats. Lovely stuff. The palate was very fresh and lively, with notes of blueberries, earth and meat all led by a streak of bright, orangey acidity into a finish swirling with smoke and spice. A lovely, complete wine, with fine tannins giving the whole mouthful a really nice shape. This put a smile on my face. It does need time though - I would put any bottles away for at least 5-6 years more. (94 pts.)
  • 1990 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
    Not quite as strong as the last bottle I had, but this was still a really, really nice wine. It had a classic La Chapelle nose of dried blueberries touched with violets and garrigue - almost lending it a gentle lilt of soapy floral perfume at points - and then more savoury notes of dried earth and meat. Complex, but subtly so; this was a lot quieter and less in-you-face a bouquet than say that of the 1996 Guigal La Mouline that was served alongside. The palate felt a little less developed than the last bottle from a year ago - this was marked with super-bright, almost lemony acidity and fine tannins, which lent the wine a really clean, minerally and defined feel, with a real spine running through its flavours of blueberries seasoned with cracked pepper and sprigs of fresh mint. On the midpalate, the more savoury notes first picked up on the nose came out again, with smoked meats and mineral, and a characteristic La Chapelle twang of olive tapenade pulling away into a long finish. While there was certainly a quiet authority and depth on this though, it somehow seemed to be just a tiny shade leaner and less complete than the last bottle I had. This clearly still felt like a wine clearly in its adolescence, waiting for time to reveal its depth - I would set this aside for another decade or so at the very least; it is almost a waste to drink it now. I should also add that the last bottle was double-decanted half a day before serving, while this was popped and poured, which may have affected out it showed. That aside, this was a really solid wine - really food friendly given its freshness, but at the same time full of subtle complexities that called for slow enjoyment and contemplation. (94 pts.)

A SWEET END

  • 1979 Château Gilette Crème de Tête - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
    A sweet treat - this was a lovely way to end the night. The nose showed a touch of volatile acidity at first, with some acetone that took time to blow off; beyond that, there were lovely aromas of orange peel and dried apricots, sweet red apples, and then dollops of orange blossom honey and perfume, almost soap-like floral tones. Very nice. The palate was certainly rich and powerful, with a very honeyed botrytis character to it; but it was also really clean and fresh, with almost primary notes of apricots, gently infused with spice and stony mineral. I really liked this - it was a study in both profound depth and fresh energy, all lending it a really effortless feel in spite of its depth and power. Given its sweetness, freshness and depth, this came across as quite an ageless wine - I do feel that it will take even more time before it truly hits its stride though. I would love to try this again 10 years down the road. (94 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Wow! All in one night? How many attendees? What an epic evening, and no “off” bottles. Any one of those would have made a memorable evening on its own.
Cheers,
Warren

8 of us - it was quite a lot of wine!