Dinner with Dom P Rose, Pavie, Troplong Mondot and Krug

Had dinner last night with a small crew of friends and between the 4 of us we shared some excellent wines. Started the night with Champagne Krug Grande Cuvee NV (I did not take a note of the ID sadly as Olivier Krug pointed to me early in the morning on Instagram) that is fresh and intense, showcasing great craftsmanship. It sports smoky citrus fruit, Granny Smith apple and fine pastry on the nose, and cleanse the mouth with razor sharp acidity and great freshness. Weightless on the palate in spite of its good intensity, it fades quickly from the glass. (94/100)

First red wine, 2001 Chateau Pavie, was decanted and aerated for about 2 h before being poured and it just got better with time in the glass. Very dark red garnet color. Initially a bit heady but quickly recovered and showed a complex and maturing but youthful nose filled with clean aromas of ink, plums, mint and cedar, later shifting to truffles. Beautiful nose. On the palate it is full and supple, gravely tannin still assertive on the finish, with good richness of texture, layers of blue fruit and mineral freshness. Long finish that lingers. This is superb today. (94-95/100)

A big surprise for me was Contador 2011, a Spanish red wine from Rioja that sells at super premium prices. It might have been too young today but I do not see the hype for it. The color is purple opaque. Nose is intense but today is too much oak influence. Rich aromas of dolce de lecce and Christmas cake cover any other aromas. It is smooth on the palate, with plenty of rich black fruit, and there is more focus here. Fairly long finish with dark chocolate and blueberry fruit. (91-92/100)

Popped and decanted on site with very little time to breath was the spectacular 2010 Chateau Troplong Mondot, a 99 points wine according to Robert Parker. The wine deserves it. This has a deep dark red garnet color. Nose is complex, youthful and so rich and intense. The wine states 16% alcohol on the back label but this is so well hidden and balanced under its rich layers of black fruit, fresh minerality and a skyscraper structure of smooth tannin, and every sip is like a revelation. Rich, heady, lavish sweet fruit, chocolate and ink on the palate, this is really good. Long finish. This might very well become a 100 points wine on the 10 years tasting from the vintage. (98/100)

There was a 2006 Chateau d’Yquem served from a half bottle but somehow it did not manage to find my glass. So last wine was Champagne Dom Perignon Rose 2003, a wine that I am personally worried how often I tasted this year. The inconvenient side is that every time it usually ends a long line of great wines and I cannot get the full grip of it. However, its vinosity is unquestionable, this is a wine especially designed for fine gastronomy. And considering its high price, how could that be different ? (96/100)

Ended the night sooner than other times but the two red Bordeaux wines were stunning and I am still thinking about them the second day.

French themed dinner June 2015

There are dinners and there are exceptional dinners. Sometimes life can play tricks on you. It happened to me this week when it seemed I was the victim of my own luck. I had two wine dinners that I attended in two consecutive days and that seemed to be a bit too much. First one was a Romanian wines themed dinner that ended too late in the night and as a result the next morning was very slow, during the day it was more of a gradual recovery and by the time dinner was getting ready to start it finally felt more normal, but not fully recovered.

This was a very intimate dinner for 4 people where I acted as an organizer and tasting and enjoying the wines was one of the perks of the job. Absolutely outstanding experience, where some of the biggest and most interesting wines from France were served.

Champagne Krug Grande Cuvee NV has a golden color with rich and tiny bubbles. A very expressive nose with flint, citrus peel, saline sea shell, it opens up with sweet caramel and lactic notes. Very tight on the palate, focused, with citrus and white peach fruit, it is a Champagne that needs at least 45 minutes to breath to open. Long finish with rich citrus fruit freshness. (94/100)

There was a great match with the oysters as both shared the saline and sea shell aromas.

2011 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc is one of the grandest dry whites from Bordeaux I tasted. Before this, Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc 2009 was my favorite, but that is history now. Medium yellow color. This has an intense and impressive nose, but simply put is Wow. There is a rich yellow melon aroma that gradually leaves room to tropical fruits: tangerine, mango, papaya, very exotic and exuberant nose all sustained by very smart oak, some flint and smoke but always the exuberant sweet fresh tropical fruit holds the center stage. Lots of vibrant yellow fruit, ‎tropical fruits, very fresh palate with almonds, still tight but very promising. Long, long finish. What strikes the most in this wine is that in spite of its rich extract and abundance of fruit, the wine has an almost weightless texture that I find it as a common denominator in some of the grandest wines. I could drink this everyday. (96/100)

It was a great match with Sea Bass and Tuna Tartar but again this wine is good with anything.

1993 Chateau d’Yquem comes from a difficult vintage for all of Bordeaux wines. However tasting this wine you can understand why this is a Premier Grand Cru Classe. It has a light amber color. Very expressive and sweet nose of orange marmalade, saffron, peach, ginger and honey comb. This is certainly not the richest or the most opulent Yquem, but it is a very elegant wine that delivers a lot of pleasure today. There is still some richness on the palate, with vibrant orange marmalade, ginger spice and honey, unctuous and lovely. Long finish. (93-94/100)

2005 Vosne Romanee 1er Cru ‘Les Suchots’ Bouchard P&F needs about 4 h to breath in order to start to open up. It has a medium ruby red color. The nose is all about fresh pine needles, sweet red berry fruit, coffee bean and sous bois, a nose of profound subtleties. Medium to full body, there is texture and layers of vibrant sweet fresh red fruits, aromatic tea leaves, sappy tannins. It still feels tight and points to a good development in the next few years. Medium to long finish, red currant and black tea flavors. (93/100)

2003 Chateau Leoville Poyferre is a wine I tasted several times in the last 4 years and it was always a great wine. The color is red garnet almost opaque. The aromatic profile feels to be the best of two worlds: the ripe and sunny fruit you can find in the finest Super Tuscan’s and the freshness and complexity from the best red Bordeaux. Complex and intense aromas of cassis, blackberry, red paprika, coffee bean, mineral pencil shavings, all make a very expressive nose today. Rich and opulent on the palate, it has ripe and velvety sweet tannins that give balance and freshness to all this dense texture and abundance of flavors. Long finish, sweet lingering fruit. An impressive wine for the vintage. (97/100)

An absolutely outstanding wine dinner experience.