348 replies to this topic

[Chambolle]

2001 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru. Claude Dugat.

Just prior to this wine-and-alcohol-filled dinner, we met up at the chief operating officer of food's Back Bay limestone mansion. It's a truly stupendous place. The second floor salon, with its elegant curved windows overlooking Comm Ave, is as fine as the period rooms in a museum. Shining, if not glowing, dark wood floors. Breathtaking wood paneling. Incredible scultped ceiling. Marble fireplaces. A glorious yet whimsical glass lighting fixture. Boston does not get finer than this.

Let's just say - it ain't a room to drink shitty wine in.

Our host was my best wine buddy when we spent summers on Martha's Vineyard in the late 90s and the beginning of the 00s but we hadn't seen each other in a long time. I randomly bumped into him on Nantucket last weekend when we were out and about. We chatted a bit. He asks if I have been drinking any good wine recently. During the conversation that Mazoyeres-Chambertin came up. The night ends. I mentioned that I'm having a dinner with a buddy in Boston shortly and I tell him that he should join us. He says sure, but we should swing by his place for a glass of wine prior. I say sure.

Shortly arrives. We arrive at his front door. We ring the doorbell (even the doorbell sounds amazing!). He welcomes us. He says to head upstairs while he grabs a bottle of wine. I've been here plenty, but not my friend. His jaw drops upon seeing this room. I smile.

Our host returns, Charmes in hand, and asks what I think.

"Wow, lucky us, nice choice. So you had my Mazoyeres on your mind, eh?" I respond.

He smiles.

Even if you think MF is filled with pretentious snobs and jerks ...

Adrian, what are you talking about? We're not pretentious here. Are you getting mouthfuls mixed up with some other site?




Oh yeah, the wine. Good, not great. Charmes is more feminine in the Gevrey grand cru hierarchy, but I just don't love Gevrey. So sue me.

And yes, I picked up the dinner tab.

[balex]

2004 Cote Rotie Domaine Ogier Belle Helene.
I was sorting out some bottles and found this -- way too young I thought but worth having a crack at it (I have a few other bottles).
Very powerful and intense, and the tannins till have some way to go to smooth out, a little grippy on the end, but holy fuck this is a really delicious bottle of wine.
Just starting to get that Cote Rotie bouquet, but only just, but the primary level is so good that it doesn't matter. This will be a great bottle of wine in 10 years or so.
I will try to hide my other bottles of this and the Lancement cuvee somewhere I won't stumble over them in the next couple of years.

[Sneakeater]

That's what I find is so great about off-site storage of really long-term stuff. I don't have to worry about resisting drinking it too early. Everything in my apartment is something that could conceivably be drunk now (even if much of it would benefit from a few more years).

[balex]

96 Cuvee Fred of Trimbach -- still really young, strong apple taste and really steely acidity. Just a whiff of mature Riesling but really just a touch.
A style of Riesling I like a lot.

[balex]

2005 Barbera by Giacosa. I don't like Barbera in general; I only got this wine because I wanted to buy some
of his Barolos and the wine merchants were insisting that you buy across the board. Tried a bottle a year or two ago and it was painfully young. Had half of the bottle last night with pizza and either it wasn't very good or I wasn't paying attention.
But a glass this evening from the rest of the bottle is really quite good .. some pretty fruit, slightly powdery tannins, nice balance, grip, finish etc. Quite a complete wine,
and very fresh, not heavy in the mouth at all. Nice raspberry jam bouquet with some dried fruits coming in, plums and prunes and raisins, and some spices. And none of that grossness you get with Barbera sometimes.
A real eye-opener.

[Peter Creasey]

I decided long ago I had to draw the line somewhere to limit the scope of my attempted wine (and wine cellar) knowledge; thus, Italian was one of the categories I have pretty much omitted. Along with Australian and Spanish. My less attention to Spanish wines is definitely a regret.

[Chambolle]

2009 Occhipinti Frappato tonight.

Not complex, but delish in a simple, pleasing way. Bright, clear, pure fruit. Fruit has something slightly wild going on. Then, there's that tarty, acidic tension. Light bodied, but enough matiere dedans to have you enjoying the taste of each sip.

You might like it, Peter. Why don't you take an inexpensive trip to Sicily.

Simple. Pleasurable. Flavorful. Could be good with reheated burgers. If it's too light for you and you want more structure, move towards the Siccagno - her Nero d'Avola.

[Peter Creasey]

You might like it, Peter. Why don't you take an inexpensive trip to Sicily.

C, If you mean vicariously, then I'll consider your suggestion. If you mean actually, no way as I still work full-time.

Thanks for the heads-up on this!

[Chambolle]

I mean by drinking this Sicilian wine. Wine transports.

[Sneakeater]

Arianna Occhipinti doesn't know it -- when we met, I neglected to mention it to her -- but she's in the frontrunning for my next wife.

So tonight, the program at BAM was very short. So when I walked by Franny's it was Saturday prime time. The place was mobbed. Not only wasn't there a place at the bar -- there wasn't a place to wait for a place at the bar.

Even worse, sitting at one of the bar-area seats that faces out onto Flatbush Avenue was a neighborhood woman who recently told me she was stopping speaking to me because of my concededly caddish behavior toward her. She smiled as I smiled at her through the window from the street -- but still, this risked a scene.

Better to go home and reheat some eclectic collection of restaurant leftovers. What to drink with this melange?

Well, there's this bottle of 2004 AN/2 that I've been holding till it reached maturity. That must be now. And this wine is so out-of-the-way, it can go with almost anything -- which must include an improvised combination of beef chop, unidentifiable melange of some strange grain with vegetables (where did that come from, anyway?), and Thai noodles with duck.

This AN/2 -- the younger sister of Anima Negra, the great wine from Mallorca -- is nice. People say it's too oaky -- a big problem in Spain these days -- but if you give it time to grow up, the oak integrates into the general flavor profile. These are all grapes you never heard of (with a little Syrah), and they give a flavor and aroma profile redolent of olives and other vegetables, a tiny bit of vanilla from the oak, and then some cranberry/raspberry fruit underneath -- and enough acid to cut through the beef rib fat. It certainly went well with my melange of freezer oddments.

I wish I had more of this 2004. I just bought a bunch of the 2008, but I think I'm going to let them lie for a while. I hear that the newer releases are even oakier than before.

[balex]

83 Ducru Beaucaillou -- this is from a shelf of wine that I consider basically over the hill as the last couple of bottles were terrible.
But it was lovely! Definitely a little faded, but good acidity, very clean, nice mature nose, just a touch of tannin left but quite silky.
A little thin and short of course, and it ran out of steam after a couple of hours, but a very nice surprise.

[Peter Creasey]

83 Ducru Beaucaillou ... a very nice surprise.

B, The '83 vintage was underrated due to its following the much heralded '82 vintage. Some of the '83s are probably better than their '82 counterparts.

[hollywood]

2008 Abigail Adams Cameo Pinot Noir Carneros. Great stuff with or without the turkey. Two problems: $25-$30 at retail; only about 600 cases.

[splinky]

2007 Brown Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. nice but maybe i should have held it a little longer

[hollywood]

A local spot features Brown Zin (2008) and Brown Chaos Theory (2009). Chaos Theory??