Alfert and I visit Kane (Rougeard, Beaucastel, Gonon, Juge, etc)

I drove my daughter to Fort Worth for her 2nd year at TCU (then flew home, so she could have her car there at school) and convinced Robert.A.Jr. to fly out to see his son (who lives in Dallas) while joining K John Joseph and I at dinner. A chef’s tasting menu at Petra and the Beast was where we met to open a wide array of 9 wines (for 4 people, of course). I’ll try to recall my thoughts from memory, but obviously the wines - while wonderful - paled in comparison to the company
flirtysmile

2002 Dom Ruinart Rose - lightly pink, almost peach in color, crisp acid with a rich mouthfeel, showed it’s (8 grams?) dosage but well balanced, and was a hit with probably 4 of the dishes, as several had some sort of pickling to them.

2018 Walter Scott X-Novo Chardonnay - I brought this because both KJJ and Alfert had not yet tried X-Novo, and so we mused a bit on how it could be a dead ringer for Burgundy - flinty (though less than the last bottle I had), powerful on the palate with sweet lemon and ginger, less fruit-focused than some other WS bottlings but legendary among the faithful for a reason.

1982 Chateau Le Gay - while trying to hear the 100 ways Alfert tries to pronounce this wine was enjoyable, the wine seemed to fall just a bit short of expectations for me, if only because the rest (as you’ll soon read) stood out so well. Tannins fully integrated with the fruit, sweet cherry, hint of graphite, the midpalate just seemed a tad hollow to me - palate weight was good, finish was decent, but I feel this may have peaked a few years ago.

1999 Louis Jadot Clos de la Roche - exceeded my expectations, and I thought it was in a wonderful space now. Very perfumed nose of red cherry and mint, floral, palate was silky and expressive - great wine for several pairings as well, and I went back for additional pours several times.

2010 Pierre Gonon Saint Joseph - KJJ has fallen victim to the WB push on Gonon St. Joseph and started buying recently, but his first was 2017 vintage, I believe, so I figured I’d bring the one that put Gonon on the map in terms of this community, the one discussed so often back in 2012 and many years since. I drank 2 of these bottles young, and the wine now seems younger than it did then - nowhere near at peak. Dark in color, nose full of savory character and heavy in black olive, big and brash on the palate, dark fruits and cured meats, cheek-busting structure with big round tannins - this wine needs more time, to be sure. Enjoyable now, wonder what the 1/4 bottle we left for KJJ tastes like today, if he tried it! That extra air would help, to be sure.

1989 Chateau Beaucastel - So happy KJJ brought this, as it was the star of the show for most of us. A legendary wine when it is ‘on’, this bottle was definitely so. Perfect balance of the bretty and earthy character melded with sweet bright red cherry, touch of cedar on the nose - beautiful nose overall. Palate was simply rewarding, light in weight but delivering beautiful balanced fruit dominated by sweet strawberry, raspberry, and garrigue. To me, the peak of what CdP can be, reminded me of when I owned much more than I have now and would enjoy regularly, but also literally the best ‘traditional’ CdP one could enjoy (I take Rayas out of this competition because it is so unique). Amazing wine.

2014 Marcel Juge Cornas - darker in color but light on the palate - fresh and lively, plenty of green notes on the nose, hint of VA (KJJ believed it to be far too VA-ridden for his enjoyment, I feel like the characteristics in this wine were typical of the style, the ‘new style’ of Northern Rhone producers, versus the booming behemoths like Gonon), smoky, red fruited and savory, gripping acidity

2005 Clos Rougeard Les Poyeaux - a unicorn wine, KJJ’s first time trying Rougeard, my 2nd - another spectacular wine, close tie (if not tied exactly) with the '89 Beaucastel as WOTN. Nose on this is a dead ringer for 1st growth Bordeaux, as unique an expression of Cab Franc as Rayas is in CdP, I encouraged Alfert to bring any remaining bottles he has to blind tastings with high end Bordeaux and see if anyone can peg it. This wine had a balance of elegance and strength, great fruit and acidity, balanced and rewarding, nice mineral character to it - a wine that makes you think, and think hard.

1994 Dalle Valle Cabernet Sauvignon - I was a bit turned off by the toasty oak on the nose on this wine, but nobody else at the table seemed to mind. Old school Napa cab on the nose with herbs and dark plum, weighty and silky mouthfeel with a touch of tobacco around the red and black fruit. Felt FAR younger to me than 1994, as if this wine has the ability to go 30 plus more years easily.

No photos of the handsome crew, but one of the wines:
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“Le Gay”…so…???

Looks fun…thanks for the notes!

“le gee”
“la gai”
“la gaiy”

Trust me, it was a French lesson not to forget

I’ve been waiting to see these great notes. Great line up guys. Love 1989 Beaucastel. Sounds perfect. I have the Rougeard, but have never drunk it… sounds really nice. Too bad about the VA Juge. My mind’s eye of the Dalla Valle would have been better, but I only ever read about that wine and never owned one. Glad you guys got to hang out, great company.

And what the hell, no pics of you guys… that’s weak!!

La Jhay…?

I’m Cuban, what the heck do you expect!? Hard enough to know English!

You misspelled ‘Spanish’

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In Florida, we call it Le Gaetz! [cheers.gif]

Other than it being 111 degrees everywhere I went this weekend, and learning the Ubers here drive real trucks not Deer Slayers, just a totally wonderful weekend all around. Ate and drank like Romans. Love spoiling my kid and his buddies to fancy dinners, lunches and brunches, but also so cool to have Nick join us for the wine dinner. Todd and John were not too rough on the kid! And the Le Gay was his fave, by far. So glad I pounced on this trip when Todd said he would be in town, plus my wife is in a tennis tournament running through tomorrow, so I would have been alone anyway.

Ok, to start. Wine served way too f’ng warm as in Texas-style! I’ll admit I am a #snowflake about this, but wine served off-temperature is really hard for me to appreciate fully. I generally find it diffuse and alcohol more pronounced. The champagne started that way, though eventually we had things in ice buckets but I really never circled back to it. What a shame, a special wine to be sure.

1989 Beaucastel - Served like 70+ degrees. Lost a lot of focus as a result, but definitely some gorgeously ripe wild strawberries, Kirsch liquor, dry earth, tobacco and a hint of barn. Quite aromatic. Circling back after dunking it in an ice bucket, and voila, sublime. A Provençal spice rack. Love the Mourvèdre cut in Beaucastel, always gives these wines more beef. This wine is perfectly at peak (the backside of peak), but I would definitely drink up if you got it. 94 pts.

1982 Le Gay - Perfectly mature Pomerol from such a classic vintage. Soft plums, wet earth, silky and elegant. Simple elegance of a wine so at peak. Not complex, but lovely. 90 pts.

1994 Dalla Valle - I have very fond memories of this Napa Cab in the 91-95 vintages. Been a long time. And it has barely budged! Hard to imagine this wine is 28 years old. Still dense, rich and youthful. Chewy. No tertiary characteristics at all. More about powerful dark (black and purple) fruits. Wish I had a steak with this baby. And Todd, I would not call this old school Napa. This was modern when it came out. So it’s old school modern! Rolland consults but I don’t know when he started. 92+ pts.

2014 Juge - Crazy aromatics. Wild red fruits, citrus fruits, dry earth, herbs and olive brine. Palate is a zinger, high acid, blood orange, savory, lip-smackingly delicious. Still quite primary but highly enjoyable. Kane so analytical and picky, bitch found VA in this wine. So we geeked out a bit about flaws v. Idiosyncrasies (to include the convo about brett as well). I like quirks, not perfection. This wine is a unique wine but definitely would never call it an archetype Cornas. For that, seek Clape. 94 pts.

2010 Gonon - Gorgeous St Joseph. Probably my fave Gonon since my 07 and 06 VVs. Such a structured vintage. I would say throw the 15-year rule out the window, go 25, but then I’ll be 69 and will prolly have clunkier taste buds than I do now. This is utterly classic NR Syrah. Beefy, grilled meats, black olives, black pepper, and a full red and dark color spectrum on the fruits. Muscular like Todd, but the acids keep it lifted, much like Todd’s disco dancing. I have seen that, by the way. Big chewy finish. 94+ pts.

2005 Rougeard Les Poyeaux - My favorite wine of the evening, hate that it was mine, but damn I know what I love. This is a gorgeous, complete wine in a killer vintage, and just entering prime drinking window. Rougeard attains such purity of ripe Cab Franc fruit, barely a hint of pyrazine here, giving nod to the famous Joguet quip that the sun always shines on Rougeard. Nice range of red and dark Bordeaux fruits, tilled soil and some leather tones. Excellent structure, both acids and tannins. This wine can got a very long distance, sadly my last bottle. Wanted to share it with John and Todd since we have never had a Loire CF in our tastings together. I have been remiss. 95 pts.

And boys, I’ll bring a Le Bourg next time! I so love Rougeard but do not have as much as I used to have, was plowing through it for years. It’s just so damn good.

2018 Walter Scott X-Novo - This wine is every bit as gorgeous and Burgundian as Todd, Meats and Fu have declared it to be. A wow American white wine. Rocks over fruit, but still powerful fruit, if that makes sense. A kiss more acid would put in even more in my wheelhouse, think Saul’s Chardonnays. This wine, and the champagne, really were a much better pairing with the super creative but a bit odd chef’s tasting menus. Lots of pickled stuff. Lots of dill. Not really great with our reds, and since the champagne and Chard were a bit warm early on, I did not hit this wine until I had already started with reds, which always makes it tough for me to go back and forth. So, I did not have that much of this wine, but what I did have, I loved enough to want to buy some.

Rough morning on little sleep. Went walking for several miles with some short runs interspersed throughout. Then hit a fun brunch spot for a large plate of fried chicken and some biscuits. Paired with Bloody Mary’s. A perfect way to end the trip. Well, that and the nap that followed.

Just landed back in Borelando, cleaned up these notes. My wife Chris regaled me with her tennis conquests, then quickly went to sleep, getting up early for her finals tomorrow. And I am enjoying a really lovely 2017 Irancy by Richoux. Always love the rusticity in his wines, but this 2017 has sweeter more ripe red fruits than normal, this wine is a stupid value.





Sent from my iPhone

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Kane? You mean Brad?

Brad is six foot four, full of muscle?

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Nice men at work reference!

Thanks for explaining the joke.

rolleyes

Very jealous of these notes!

Alfert, you need to start drinking some Bairradas. Love story waiting to happen.

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[wow.gif] You mean your taste buds could get worse? neener I am not quite 69, but really have to stand up for the fabulous palates of many people on this board who are 65+. Look at the board. Some great tasting notes, etc., from the post 65+ crowd. [pillow-fight.gif]

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Heidi Barrett was the winemaker at that time (and also at Screaming Eagle at the same time). Rolland started in 2004.

I did have a chuckle at referring to Dalla Valle as old school. The 91-95 vintages were much better than subsequent vintages because a large portion of the vineyard was destroyed by phylloxera in the early 90s, and it took a long time for the new vines to produce grapes as good as the old ones.

Hey Chris thanks for relaying both of those pieces of information. It is interesting that I stopped buying this wine like by the 97 vintage, and it was not price that drove me to do that, as these were not expensive at all. At that point in time I was definitely becoming a Bordeaux guy, or arguably already was. I wish I could recall whether I noticed a turning point for this winery when the vines were destroyed, I just cannot recall.

I do recall selling my cachet of Maya. I recall buying them for about 50 per, and selling them for I think 450 per, and this was back in the late 90s. The only wine I have ever sold, and I still can’t believe the flip price.

OK, 9 bottles for 4 people… who carried you guys out the door?

Plus a cocktail!

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Sigh, Ian…

You can crush the bike on a 60-mile “race” and can’t handle a couple bottles!?! You need to train more with us.

Kane did say he was “wrecked” and we have not heard from him in 56 hours. Millennials…

El Niño!