Hosted by my great CEO friend, I was honored to be appointed to be the sommelier for the luncheon which included our happy group and a few local winemakers. I met with Bouchon's sommelier prior to the luncheon to pick out the wines and had a great time doing so.
Krug Grande Cuvee NV WS96 AG97
In the 1999 movie "The Thomas Crown Affair" Pierce Brosnan takes Rene Russo to Cipriani's for dinner (without a reservation) and says to the waiter "The lady actually likes Champagne" to which the waiter responds "We have Krug Grande Cuvee " and Rene Says "Sounds great". I love that scene and we started with that Champagne to begin a great lunch at Bouchon. Antonio Galloni has this to say about this wine: "Krug's NV Grand Cuvée 164 Edition is a total knockout. Based on the 2008 vintage, the 164th Edition shows all the crystalline tension and energy that is such a signature of the year. At times, the 164 reminds me of the 2008 vins clairs I tasted after harvest. The flavors are brisk, delineated, and pulsing with energy. No Champagne lover will want to be without this spectacular, captivating wine. Hey, it worked with Rene Russo! This continues to be a top-shelf Champagne.
2015 Puligny Montrachet La Garenne Etienne Sauzet
The La Garenne Vineyard in Puligny is one of my favorites and I knew it would contrast well with the Konsgaard. The Sauzet house is also one of the oldest and best in Burgundy. La Garenne (not to be confused with the similarly named Clos de la Garenne) is a Premier Cru vineyard in Puligny-Montrachet, a prime white wine-producing commune of the Cote de Beaune. La Garenne is located just west of Puligny-Montrachet village, above the scrubby Mont-Rachet hillside and beside the Saint-Aubin commune boundary...Recent ratings including Robert Parker are here:
88-91 points Allen Meadows - Burghound
A discreet application of wood sets off very ripe notes of pear liqueur, petrol and floral hints. There is exceptionally good richness to the very round and highly seductive medium weight flavors that brim with dry extract and minerality though I find that the finish lacks the same vibrancy and refreshing dryness as the best of these 1ers. To be sure this is perfectly good but it's not distinguished.
88-90 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru la Garenne has an elegant bouquet with hints of white flower permeating the citrus fruit, certainly a level up from the village cru in terms of complexity. The palate is balanced with light peachy notes on the entry. There is good depth and a fine line of acidity, hints of almond developing towards the satisfying if slightly conservative finish. (NM) (12/2016)
Vinous
(from vines at the top of the slope): Pale straw-yellow. Musky, expressive aromas and flavors of apple and spices lifted by a mineral topnote. Plush and sweet in the mouth, conveying an impression of high-altitude energy if not particularly elevated acidity. Finishes spicy and slightly phenolic, with lingering fruit and mineral flavors enlivened by a note of white flowers. (ST) (9/2017)
2015 Konsgaard Chardonnay RP98 AG95
As far as Clark and I are concerned this hands down is the greatest of all California Chardonnay's. It is difficult to obtain and in the past few months even going to California we have only been able to find 4 bottles for our cellar. So Bouchon having it on the menu was a real treat and to be able to compare it to La Garenne was a bonus. We felt it tasted great and offered a clear understanding of the subtle difference between a great California and the best French Chardonnay To oversimplify the Konsgaard was fruit-forward the La Garenne was mineral forward. Here is what Antonio Galloni and Robert Parker had to say:
Galloni 95
The 2015 Chardonnay is super-polished, refined, and delicate. Even though the wine was sulfured about a month before this tasting, the flavors are remarkably pure. On the palate, the 2015 feels a bit linear, but that is almost certainly attributable to the sulfur. Candied lemon peel, white flowers, and mint grace the exquisite, nuanced finish. John Kongsgaard adds that the fermentations were very slow in 2015 for this wine.
Wine Advocate 98
This Chardonnay gives up peach blossoms, apricot preserves, honeycomb and croissant with touches of cashews and jasmine. Full-bodied, rich, opulent and seductive, it has a gorgeous creamy texture and very long, very spicy finish
2009 Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Rhone WS96
Friends are getting ready to visit the Southern Rhone next year so I picked this one as a great example of a great Southern Rhone Red Wine. Chateau Beaucastel has been around for years and consistently makes some of the best Rhone Reds that serve as a model for other winemakers to copy. The winery takes its name from the Beaucastel family which lived in Courthézon in the middle of the 16th century. Records show a Pierre de Beaucastel buying a barn and some associated land at Coudoulet in 1549, and this land is still part of Château de Beaucastel's holdings.[4] However, at this time it was an agricultural property. In 1792, the owner was called Etienne Gontard, and the first certain mentioning of vines on the property are from his inheritance 40 years later. In 1990 Jean-Pierre and François Perrin in collaboration with wine importer Robert Haas founded Tablas Creek Vineyard within the California viticultural area of Paso Robles.[5] In 2006, the Perrin family and Château de Beaucastel joined Primum Familiae Vini, an association of a limited number of high-end family-owned wineries.[6] Beaucastel generally vinfies the components for its wines in large, old barrels (foudres), with only Syrah exposed to some new oak. The different grape varieties are vinified separately and later blended. A somewhat contentious aspect of Beaucastel winemaking is that the wines often show Brettanomyces character, which in most cases are considered a defect, but which is also typical for wines high in Mourvèdre.[1]
Wine Spectator 96
"It's packed with dark smoldering cocoa, mesquite, tobacco and roasted fig notes, all inlaid with pure cassis and plum preserves fruit flavors. Long and authoritative on the finish, with singed vanilla bean and tar notes adding length and dimension."
2015 Chateau D'yquem Sauterns WS98 RP100
Who doesn't like D'Yquem? Thank our hosts again for providing this spiritual experience for us. Clark and I had just tasted this in NYC in October and felt it was one of the best and approached a spiritual experience. Here are Wine Spectator and Parker's comments:
Wine Spectator 98
"Fresh-cut orange, peach, and nectarine notes lead the way, followed by lightly singed almond and warm piecrust notes. Then another wave of green fig warmed pear and coconut takes over on the finish. Rich and honeyed in feel, with obvious power."
Wine Advocate 100
Following a very long harvest stretching nearly two months, the 2015 Château d'Yquem came in at 13.9% alcohol and 144 grams per liter of residual sugar, sporting a pH of 3.65 and six grams per liter of tartaric acid. None of these numbers, however, even remotely begin to tell you how profound this wine is. The nose opens with electric notes of ripe pineapples, green mango, orange blossoms and lemon tart with hints of fungi, lime zest, crushed rocks and jasmine. The freshness on the palate is just astonishing, permeating and lifting layer upon layer of tropical fruits and earthy notions, all encased in a sumptuous texture and culminating in a very, very long, mineral-tinged finish. Truly, this is a legendary vintage for d'Yquem. I've been conservative with my drinking window here, and I would not be at all surprised if our descendants are drinking this vintage well into the next century.
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