TN: A small gathering - 02 Lignier MSD VV, 82 and 86 Mouton, 96 Giacosa Asili

A SMALL GATHERING - 02 LIGNIER MSD VV, 82 AND 86 MOUTON, 96 GIACOSA ASILI - Undisclosed location in McLean, VA (1/14/2022)

Five of us got together to drink a lot of nice bottles. This was a potluck and we ended up with a lot of great dishes. All the wines showed incredibly well.

Selosse

  • NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Lieux-dits Extra Brut Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Les Carelles - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
    Beautifully mature complex nose displaying succulent dry yellow fruit, baked apple, apple cider, a hint of sherry, brioche, marzipan, cinnamon, lanoline and limestone. Perfectly integrated palate, finely layered slightly dry yellow fruit, fine medium generous mousse, good precision and detail, bright acidity, strong limestone mineral, ad a long dry yellow fruit driven finish with marzipan and limestone at the end. This is oxidative without losing freshness. Excellent showing. (96 pts.)

Blind Chardonnay flight
Both bottles showed well. The 00 was Chevalier like initially.

  • 2002 Coche-Dury Bourgogne Blanc - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc
    Served blind. Beautiful fully mature nose displaying concentrated yellow fruit, peach, a hint of lemon curd, burnt sugar, smoke, spicy spices and limestone. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of rich yellow fruit, dense and rich but also good balance and precision, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, and a long rich yellow fruit driven finish with smoke and burnt sugar at the end. Initially my guess is a top producer 1996 1er cru Puligny. It is fatter than the 96 hindsight. This perfectly mature BB is drinking like a top 1er crus. I only find it a bit straightforward at the end. (94 pts.)
  • 2017 00 Wines Chardonnay EGW - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
    Served blind. Initially really elegant, delicate yet expressive, my guess is a top Chevalier. With air, expressive nose displaying succulent concentrated yellow fruit, bubble yum, banana, peach, pear, lemon curd, spicy spices and mineral. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of rich yellow fruit, rich and deeply toned, bright acidity and strong mineral, and a long ripe yellow fruit driven finish. With air, it gets a bit heavy and starts to show a hint of heat. This is really well made Chardonnay. (94 pts.)

Piedmont
The 96 Asili is a great wine. It was interesting to taste the 96 and 00 together. The 67 Aldo Conterno showed well.

  • 1996 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Asili - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
    Explosive nose displaying unbelievably concentrated black fruit with a hint of red, blackberry, black cherry, dry cherry, strawberry, fruitcake, licorice, caramel, liquid smoke and iron. Exceptional concentration, layers upon layers of intense black and red fruit, rich yet precise and beautifully detailed, bright acidity, strong iron mineral and an incredibly long concentrated black fruit driven finish with licorice and iron at the end. The iron note is really strong, reminding me the 89 Collina Rionda a bit. Although this is drinking incredibly well, this remains very youthful and can improve for another decade or two. This is more focused and concentrated than the 00 Asili. (98 pts.)
  • 2000 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Asili - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
    Expressive nose displaying very ripe sweet red and black fruit, strawberry jam, dry cherry, cherry pie, fruit cake, cola, licorice, sweet spices and mineral. There is a mature Zinfandel like expression of strawberry. Very good concentration, nicely layered very ripe red and black fruit, ripe, warm and round, medium acidity, strong mineral and a long very ripe red fruit driven finish with sweet spices at the end. This is decisively riper and less concentrated that the 96 Asili. Drinking beautifully. (96 pts.)
  • 1967 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
    Initially showing a lot of VA. Fully mature nose displaying subtle but concentrate sweet dry red fruit, strawberry, dry cherry, caramel, cep, cedar, leather, licorice and mineral. Fully integrated palate, nicely layered concentrated dry red fruit, unctuous, warm and round, bright acidity and mineral, and a long ripe red fruit driven finish with caramel and cedar at the end. IMO, Aldo Conterno’s wines from the 60s and 70s are exceptional. It certainly improves with air. Really enjoyable but the last drop was the best. (95 pts.)

Mouton

  • 1982 Château Mouton Rothschild - France, Bordeaux, MĂ©doc, Pauillac
    This was double decanted ahead. Beautifully mature nose displaying perfectly ripe black fruit, blackberry, crème de cassis, plum, flowers, caramel, lead pencil, ash, tobacco, cedar and earth. Perfectly integrated palate, very finely layered concentrated black fruit, silky and polished, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, very fine tannins, and a long concentrated black fruit driven finish with strong lead pencil at the end. The 82 Mouton typically displays opulent fruit when popped and poured. This shows more precision and detail. Excellent showing. (98 pts.)
  • 1986 Château Mouton Rothschild - France, Bordeaux, MĂ©doc, Pauillac
    Expressive youthful nose displaying intense concentrated black fruit, strong crème de cassis, blackberry, liquid smoke, ink, caramel, lead pencil, dark spices and earthy mineral. Exceptional concentration, layers upon layers of intense concentrated black fruit, unctuous but also silky and fluid, bright acidity and mineral, noticeably but fine tannins and a long concentrate cassis fruit driven finish with lead pencil at the end. This is bigger than the 82 but not as detailed. It is also decisively younger than the 82. I seem to prefer the 86 over the 82 in the past few years. (99 pts.)

Potinet-Ampeau Pommard 1er Cru Les Pèzerolles
This is an incredible wine. Perhaps due to the insane prices, we are drinking red burgundies too young.

  • 1971 Domaine Potinet-Ampeau Pommard 1er Cru Les Pèzerolles - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Beaune, Pommard 1er Cru
    Absolutely gorgeous youthful nose displaying generous sweet rich red fruit, strawberry, raspberry jam, smoke, sous bois, light caramel, cep and earth. Perfectly mature palate, layers upon layers of sweet red fruit, rich and oily but also very precise, bright acidity, strong mineral, and a seamless long sweet red fruit driven finish with caramel at the end. This shows how great mature Burgundy can be. In lieu of the current insane demands, most Burgundies are drunk way too you. (97 pts.)

Morey St. Denis
The 02 Lignier MSD VV showed incredibly well.

  • 2002 Hubert Lignier Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Nuits, Morey St. Denis 1er Cru
    Gorgeous expressive nose displaying perfectly ripe rich red fruit, strawberry concentrate, strawberry and rhubarb tart, a hint of tapenade, rose, sweet spices and earth. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of rich red fruit, dense and oily but also beautifully balance, bright acidity and earthy mineral, and a long sweet concentrated red fruit driven finish with rose and sweet spices at the end. Totally exceeding my expectation, totally delicious. (95 pts.)
  • 2002 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Clos de La Bussière - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Nuits, Morey St. Denis 1er Cru
    Expressive nose displaying polished candied fruit, strawberry candy, cherry soda, iron, sweet spice and earth. Beautifully mature palate, finely layered sweet red fruit, silky and fluid, medium acidity, earthy mineral, and a long sweet red fruit driven finish with iron and sweet spices at the end. This is drinking well but I prefer the H. Lignier MSD VV. (93 pts.)

As usual, a great time was had by all and the dinner lasted seven hours.
Posted from CellarTracker

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Wonderful notes, thanks for sharing. Some great wines!

Yes, thank you for the notes. For the 1982 Mouton would you say it’s as good as it’s going to get, or is there more upside from holding further?

Great tasting - thanks!

From my experience I don´t think Mouton 82 will further improve … I doubt if ANY 1982 Bx will (Lafleur?) … maybe if you prepare a bottle M82 over a longer time, not double decanting, but slow-oxing and only decanting once it even might show better still … but however, I do think that M86 is slightly superior but also has some potential left …

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It will start to gain more tertiary notes and get sweeter like the 61s.

You mentioned decanting the 1982 Mouton, but said nothing about the 1986. Was the 1986 decanted at all? Most of the recent notes say that it tastes either hard or very young.

Great notes as always. I know how tough a grader you are, so this looks like it was a really special evening.

Salud

Mike

It was decanted as well but I am not sure how long. I also read that the 86 Mouton is still closed. I have not had any bottles that were not enjoyable in the past ten years.