VOLUME
22 , NO. 3 21st YEAR
THREE
SUPERB CRU CLASS ’09
2009
MORGON, CHATEAU des JACQUES, Estate Btld. Jadot
2009 BROUILLY,
Estate Btld. Jean Claude Lapalu
2009 COTE De BROUILLY, Estate Btld. Chateau
Thivin
The remarkable, sensational quality of the
2009 vintage in both
MORGON, CHATEAU des JACQUES
($16.95). As you would expect from a Morgon,
it is the most Burgundian of the three.
A characteristic of Morgon, that I mentioned a few issues ago about
another wine from this township. This is
a medium to full-bodied red with aromas and tastes of fresh raspberries (a
descriptor I often use for Pinot Noir based wines), currants and hints of
truffles and fresh herbs and vanilla oak.
In a blind tasting, I might have guessed this ’09 as being a young wine
from possibly Volnay or Santenay.
Chateau des
Jaqcques owns several top cru classe
COTE de BROUILLY,
CHATEAU THIVIN ($19.95)
and by a hair’s width my favorite of these three really fine wines. I have tasted Chateau Thivin Cote de
Brouillys for dozens of vintages going back to when I represented them in the
1960’s and 1970’s when I was an importer for the wines selected by the number
one U.S. wine expert at that time Frank Schoonmaker.
Moreover, of all those Chateau Thevin’s this ’09 is
the best yet in my opinion.
The aging in cask given
this wine is evident from the get-go with its lovely vanilla overtones,
accompanied by appealing aromas of fresh lilacs and sautéed in butter wild
mushrooms on the palate there’s blueberries and cassis
with hints of mint and wild thyme.
BROUILLY, CUVEE VIEILLES VIGNES (OLD VINES), Estate bottled JEAN-CLAUDE
LAPALU ($18.99). The fact that this wine come from “old vine
Gamay” I maintain is a significant reason for its complexity and its long
appealing finish. The wine comes from
vines so old that the present owner reports that they were old when his
grandfather started the winery in the early 1940’s. This is the most complex of all three wines.
In the bouquet and in
the tastes you’ll fine ripe red berries and
pomegranates plus interesting overtones of dark olives and anise along with a
charming minerality and that seldom used by me positive descriptor of pencil
lead graphite.
RATINGS, PRICE & WHERE TO FINE THEM
Chateau
Jacques – Morgon, 90/91, $16.95 – L.A. WINE CO.
Chateau
Thivin–Cote de Brouilly, 92/93, $19.95 – L.A. WINE CO.
Jean-Claude Lapalu – Brouilly 91/92,$18.99,Beverage Warehouse
===================
ADORED THIS $14.99
RIOJA RED – A WINNING SURPRISE FROM
2008 COLINA VERDI RIOJA – ORGANIC GROWN
What a flavorful, delightful pleasant
surprise this Rioja wine turned out to be from what I was expecting. For I thought that here was going to be
another, nice, but on the too-light, side, one-dimensional Rioja made from the
Tempranillo grape, a grape that produces a range from very light wines to some,
hearty, complex world class releases. At
$14.99, I expected the former. Then I
removed the cork, noticed the wines darker then usual color and the
cassis-laden nose and finally I tasted a wine more charming and fascinating
then I had hoped. A sturdy wine that
exhibited more body then I was expecting.
I would be hard pressed to think of another
Rioja wine, at under $30, let alone this wines bargain $14.99 price tag—that
has anything near this quality.
One finds in this ’08 aromas and flavors of
cherries, currants and raspberries along with hints of
This Colina Verde comes from a large roughly
150 acre vineyard where all the grapes, vineyard activity and the wine making
are certified Organic (which does not impress me that much, but there are many
that it does). The wine is a blend of
80% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha (Grenache) and 10% Mazuelo
(the local name for
Carignan). Aging occurs for at least six
months in a combination of equal number of French and American Oak
barrels.
RATING: 90/91
PRICE: $14.99,
**bargain
WHERE: Beverage Warehouse ==========
2008 TERMES, Est. Btld. Bodegas Numanthia, $21.95
In this years January 18 issue of the guide,
I gave a very hearty endorsement to the $47.95, 2007 Numanthia. Rating it a
prestigious 93/94. Well, at less then
half that price I am delighted to recommended the lower priced kissing cousin
of that wine the 2008 Termes. Though not
as mouth filling or complex as its costly cousin it is certainly a winner and
well worth its $21.95 price tag (regular price is around $28).
In the production of the Termes, the major
difference from the Numanthia is the use of younger vines and less barrel
ageing and a stronger emphasis on fruitiness, hence the vivacious charm of this
’08 Termes.
The medium to full-bodied Termes like
Numanthia is 100% Tempranillo, called in the Toro area, where this wine comes
from, as Tinto do Toro. Where the Tinto
do Toro produces usually a heartier, complex wine with more fruit forwardness
then the usual Tempranillo of the Rioja area.
The 2008 Termes has a deep purple color and a nose reminiscent of roses,
jasmine with a hint or herbs like rosemary.
Taste wise, you’ll find a succulent and
concentrated blackberry character, along with hints of licorice and black
tea.
This ’08 is at its height or will be within
a year or so and will continue to offer fine drinking until mid-late 2010’s.
RATING: 91
PRICE:
21.95 ***bargain
WHERE: Los Angeles Wine Co. ============
MORDOREE COTES DU
2009 COTES-DU-RHONE, “LA DAME ROUSSE” – Estate Btld.
Domaine de la Mordoree
For nearly two decades I have been a fan of
the southern Rhone wines of the Domaine de la Mordoree, be it their Rene de
Bois Chateauneuf, their Lirac, their Tavel and for the money their winning Cotes du Rhones, of
witch this ’09 belongs in their Pantheon of real bargain winners. At its normal price of $20 /$22, it’s a value, and certainly a super one at its discount
offering of $15.99.
I agree fully with Robert Parker when he
write of this wine that, “Another good value from Domaine de la Mordoree (which
has made many great Chateauneuf du Papes since the mid-90s) is their 2009 Cotes
du Rhone La Dame Rousse red. Made from an intriguing blend of 40% Grenache, 30%
Syrah, 15% Cinsault, 10% Carignan, and 5% Counoise, it exhibits copious aromas
of new saddle leather, meat juices, black currants, cherries, spice box, and garrigue. This dark ruby-hued, medium-bodied 2009 is not as
stunning as its 2007 counterpart, but it is a very good wine to drink over the
next 3 years.”
RATING:
89/90
PRICE: $15.99 ** bargain
WHERE: Beverage Warehouse ===============
YES, THERE IS AT LEAST
ONE GOOD MEURSAULT FOR UNDER $40
2008 MEURSAULT CLOS des TESSONS, Est., Btld, VINCENT
SAUVESTRE
In my visits to many of
The ’08 exhibits a classic Chardonnay nose of
ripe pears, banana oil and hints of vanilla oak. The taste is quite sprightly with an
appealing thirst quenching acid balance that adds to the charm of this
wine. One also fines in the taste ripe
green apples, peaches and hints of gooseberries with a nice minerally/flinty
finish. As it is a village appellation
vineyard (as opposed to a more expensive Premier Cru site) the wines only
slight fault is that it does not remain on the palate and has a slightly shorter
finish then some of its premier cru neighbors.
Yet when the costs considered, this ’08 is one of the best Chardonnay
values around in its $39.95 range and then some.
RATING: 90+
PRICE:
$39.95
WHERE: Beverage
Warehouse ============
APPEALING $23.95
SPANISH DRY WHITE THAT MARCHES TO ITS OWN DRUMMER-$23.95
2008 SHAYA HABAS, from Old vine Verdejo.
Besides a high quality, fine white dry
dinner wine, this is one of those intriguing wines to bring to a blind tasting,
not only to be proud of what you bought but also to enjoy the comments of the
tasters (as to where the wine is from and what grape variety). Oh, and if there ever was a non-sparkling
white table wine to serve with quality tapas, this is
it.
Among relatively unknown white grapes
waiting for technology to revive it and bring it to new heights, stands the
Verdejo. Today, the finest wines makers
of the Rudea area of
The Vinedos Shaya winery that made this
wine produces two wines of which this Shaya Habis is a special selection that
is barrel fermented and aged on its lees, under the protective inert gas
coating, in large oak casks, resulting in wines where you can notice touches of
vanilla and recognizable hints of nutmeg and allspice. The wine is now at or near
its height and will keep well for another five to 7 years.
The regular price is over $30, with L.A.
Wine. Company having it on special for under $24.
RATING:
91/93
PRICE: $23.95 ***bargain
WHERE: Los Angeles Wine Co. ==============
GIVE THIS CALIF. $21.99
SYRAH SOME AGE & YOU’LL BE REWARDED
2008 FALCONE PASO ROBLES SYRAH – Estate Bottling
Before I tried this
wine, I let it breath for several hours and then even decanted it, then poured
my self a glass and it still tasted disturbingly young. The kind of wine that at this stage is like
a gangly teenager of modest King Kong proportions and I almost dismissed the
wine as a possible inclusion in the Guide.
Then I sipped it oh so slowly (at least by my standards) that it had
time to aerate in the glass and the subsequent glasses. About a half hour or more later, the beast in
the wine had calmed down enough to start bringing out some subtle flavors and
aromas and within an hour, the beauty of
time had slain enough of the almost obscene fruit and tannin level that a wine
of many enjoyable facets appeared.
(Pardon my analogies to Kind Kong, the originally version was my fathers
favorite movie, so I’ve had a soft spot for it in my
heart).
The conclusion I’ve come to is that long aeration will certainly make the
wine more enjoyable for present consumption.
However, you gain more by letting it age for another 2 to 4 years and
this relatively brief span will markedly make the wine a more plesent companion
and one worth the wait. I must admit
that of the Falcone wines I’ve had in the past I would not be so positive
about, possibly this improvement comes from the fact that the grapes now come
from the “family vineyard” in Paso Robles.
The color of this ’08
is an inky purple, followed by a nose of black currants, cedar and
cherries. The cherry character continues
in the taste along with that of licorice, fresh ground black pepper and
appealing earthy wild mushrooms.
RATING:
90/91
PRICE:
$21.99 **bargain
WHERE: Beverage Warehouse ===========
MODEST
PRICED $21.95 CALVADOS FOR
HEARTY DRINK OR PERFECT FOR COOKING
CALVADOS ROBLE-DAME at
BEVERAGE WAREHOUSE
Calvados is
one of my favorite spirits, be it of the subtle long aged complex style or like
this one from Roble Dame with its hearty, zesty,
non-subtle, touch of fiery character. In
addition, Calvados is an almost ideal spirit to add a few tablespoons (or more)
to many receipts—which need not all come from
As whisky is distilled beer, as brandy and
cognac is distilled wine, Calvados is distilled cider usually made from apples
thought a certain percent is allowed to come from pear cider.
=================
INCOMPARABLE GRAND CRU CHAMBERTIN’S
versus MAGNIFICENT LA TACHE & RICHEBOURGS (1976-2006) FRIDAY,
What follows is the result of the tasting of
the nearly two dozen wines served at this tasting/dinner. The wines were part of a representational
tasting, competing
the Grand Cru’s of Gevrey-Chambertin (i.e.
Chambertin and its adjoining Grand Cru vineyards) to those of Vosne-Romanee’s two great Grand Cru vineyards Richebourg and La
Tache. Except for one mystery bottle of
a 1990 Gevrey-Chambertin premier cru that was oxidized, all the wines were in
excellent shape and that includes the magnificent 1976 Richebourg of DRC.
THE WINNERS: For both the
tasters and me the last three wines served vied for first place. However, first choice winner for both the
tasters and myself was the 1999
Richebourg of DRC, which I rated a 100 (something I rarely do for a
MYSTERY
WINES: Because one of the mystery
wines was an oxidized premier cru of Gevrey, the only mystery compared was a
very good Premier Cru Vosne Roamnee 2002 Beaumonts of
Jean Grivot. Every one felt it was a
INDIVIDUAL WINE RATINGS
M = My
rating (Martin Weiner)
T = Tasters Average Rating
BH = Burghound (Alan Meadows
Ratings)
The prices listed are
from Wine Seach.com,
The percent of persons
actually voting was smaller then usual and equaled only a little less then half
those present.
WINES LISTED
IN ORDER SERVED
2006
RICHEBOURG, Est. Btld. THIBAULT LIGER-BELAIR: M = 94/95, T = 92, BH 94 ($310) – Obviously quite young, but powerful
with a solid structure. A keeper.
1995
CHAMBERTIN
1996 MAZIS-CHAMBERTIN, Btld. DOMINIQUE LAURENT: M = 94, T =
92.3, ($200+): A
sound, firm wine, that may still improve.
1996 GRIOTTES-CHAMBERTIN (MAGNUM), Est. Btld. FREDERIC ESMONIN: M = 92/93, T = 91.4, ($300/Magnum) – Certainly on the mature side. Better then I had hoped because of the then
mediocre reputation of this estate bottler.
2003
CHAMBERTIN, Btld. JOSEPH DROUHIN: M = 96, T = 92.4, ($240) – Big, rich, full-flavored wine that even
got better as it breather in the glass.
I liked the wine better then many tasters and was surprised at the
Drouhin quality.
2004 CHAMBERTIN, Est.
Btld. DOMAINE PONSOT:
M = 90, T = 90.4, BH =
91 ($315 in
2005 MAZIS-CHAMBERTIN, Est. Btld. FAIVELEY:
M = 91/92, T = 91.6,
BH 93/95 ($220):
That steamy hint I
find in Faiveley wines was present and detracted from
what otherwise was a sound wine. I hear
under a new wine maker the quality factor in Faiveley
has increased markedly since ’06 or ’07.
Still the Burghound gave this wine good marks.
2005
CHARMES-CHAMBERTIN “AUX MAZOYERES” Est. Btld. Christophe ROUMIER for
JEAN-PIERRE MARTHIEU: M = 94/96, T = 94.3, Parker 91,
($320) – A delicate but
classic structured
2003 RICHEBOURG, Est.
Btld. GROS FRERE et SOEUR: M = 95, T = 93, BH 91/93
($414)
- A wonderful bouquet
greets you in the glass, followed by a rich, suave and balanced wine.
2002 CHAPPELLE-CHAMBERTIN, Vinified LOUIS JADOT: M = 93, T = 92,
P = 97/99, ($420):
Though a decent
sound
2006 MAZOYERES-CHAMBERTIN, Est. Btld. DUGAT-PY:
M = 96, T = 93, BH = 95, ($260+): Needs a decade to
reach its potential, still I found it now a rich, complex winner. Possibly its youth led a few tasters to rate
it less then I felt it deserves.
2003
RICHEBOURG, Est. Btld. ALAIN HUDELOT-NOELLAT: M = 94,
T = 92.6, BH = 91/94 ($300): A
balanced, subtle wine, elegant, if not a touch too light for a Richebourg.
2000 RICHEBOURG, Est.
Btld. GROS FRERE et SOEUR: M = 95/96, T = 94.3, BH
= 91, COATES 15/20 ($300 in
2002 VOSNE-ROMANEE,
LES BEAUX MONTS, PREMIER CRU, Est. Btld. JEAN GRIVOT:
M = 94/95, T = 94, BH 92, COATES = 17.5/20 ($130+) (MYSTERY WINE) Impressive wine in the understated,
firm Jean Grivot style (see Mystery note in the intro).
1976 RICHEBOURG Est.
Btld. DRC: M = 96/97, T = 95.7, BH = 94 ($1100 in England, $2500 at U.S.
Auction):
Stupendous
remarkable sound wine for a 34 year old Burgundy, A perfect example of how important good
storage is, as shown in this one owner wine from Wynn Gillette. Received a 99 and a 100
vote.
2002
CHARMES-CHAMBERTIN, “TRES VIEILLES VIGNES,” Est.
Btld. JOSEPH ROTY: M = 95/97, T = 94.7, BH 95 ($450): A
big beefy fellow, quite young. Long finish.
2005
CHARMES-CHAMBERTIN, “TRES VIEILLES VIGNES,” Est.
Btld. JOSEPH ROTY: M = 96/98, T = 94.6, BH = 95, PARKER 97+ ($650): Very
rich, youthful, tannic wine, needing a decade at least. Even now, the multi-tiers of complexity are
evident.
1999
RICHEBOURG, Est. Btld. DRC: M = 100, T = 97.5, BH = 95, COATES 18.5/20, PARKER
= 100, ($1,600):
1990 CHAMBERTIN CLOS
DE BEZE, Est. Btld. ARMAND ROUSSEAU: M = 98/99, T = 97, BH = 93, COATES =
19.5/20 ($1,800): At
21 years still perfect and one of Rousseaus greatest
wines ever. See Inro.
2000 LA
TACHE, Est. Btld. DRC: M = 98/99, T = 96.9, BH 94, COATES 19.5/20 ($1400/$1600): Elegance
personified and an incredible nose that filled the glass with a gorgeous
bouquet of Herculean proportions. Richard Jennings favorite of the night. See intro. winner
notes.
===============
THE GUIDE’S ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE NEW SPRING 2011
MAGNIFICENT
CHATEAU LATOURS (1934-2002) plus THE BEST OF ITS
GRAND CRU NEIGHBORS LEOVILLE-LAS-CASES & PICHONS
(1959-2000)
(Includes 4 Parker
100’s, the LATOUR 1996, 2000 and LEOVILLE-LAS-CASES 1982 & 2000. Plus 1934 & 1964 LATOUR and 1959 PICHON
BARON and all from bottles with perfect fills.
Also Magnum of LATOUR 2001 & 2002 LATOUR. A total of 11 LATOURS and 8 incomparable PICHONS
& LAS CASES from great vintages.
Over $14,000 in Wines.
$575.00
including dinner & cheese course
(Filled but phone or e-mail about the waiting list).
=================
8
MONTRACHETS & OTHER GRAND CRU WHITE BURGUNDIES plus 3 LEROY 2005 GRAND
& PREMIER CRU REDS
(Includes
MONTRACHET’S from Sauzet,
J. Prieur, Potel, Jadot, Thenard & CORTON-CHARLEMANGE
’04 of Leroy. Plus
other CORTON CHARL. Of Henri Boillot & du Martray and
GRAND CRU CHEVALIERS & BATARDS from Niellon, Jadot, Potel, etc.
And 3 fantastic red 2005 estate bottled gems from
LEROY, including their $1,300 2005 CORTON-RENARDES)
$498.00
including dinner & cheese course
(There are still
about 5 or 6 openings) ==============
GREATEST
WINES OF
(Featuring
the 2001 MASSETO a Parker 99 wine going for $1,300+ and 2007 MASSETO (Parker
96, $500) plus SOLAI'S, SASSICIA’S
((like the 06, Parker rated 97), ORNEILLAIA’S & a
few rare BRUNELLOS.
To be compared to
$398.00
including dinner & cheese course
(There are still
four openings) ==========
THE GREATEST
RHONES OF HERMITAGE, COTE-ROTIE & CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE (A CORNUCOPIA of PARKER 98, 99 AND 100 RATED WINES)
(Featuring all three Parker 98 of 1994 Guigal Turque, Mouline & Landonne plus ’05 Landonne ($550 Parker 100), and red & white single
vineyard Ermitages of Chapoutier
& Chave and such Chateauneuf as the (Parker
100’s) 2000 Pegau Capo ($745) & ’98 Caillous Cent. ($500) etc
$398.00
including dinner and cheese course
(Contact us about availability)
HOW TO
ENROLL or FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION
All events are
limited to 21/22 persons so early enrollment is advised.
We accept VISA,
Master Card, American Express & Discover
weiner@VintageWineEnterprises.com
Phone (310) 474-7773
WEB SITE: www.VintageWineEnterprises.com
THE DINNER TASTINGS ARE
HELD NEAR
.