WTN: ESJ Rosé, 4 Chenin & 4 Bordeaux

[David M. Bueker]

Quick hits from a tasting I hosted last night:

2006 Edmunds St. John Gamay Bone-Jolly Rosé Witters Vineyard
Fresh strawberry sunshine on a cold winter night. Delish! Anybody who doesn't like this needs to have their head examined.

2005 François Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Les Choisilles
Fresh pears and a little lanolin. The fruit is quite sweet in its expression. Opened up over time. Good value.

2005 Huët Vouvray Sec Le Mont
Richer than the Chidaine, even to the point of being just a touch fat, but there's underlying structure. Best white of the evening purely on huge potential. Better value.

1997 Domaine des Baumard Savennières Clos du Papillon
Some wet wool Chenin funk with lots of fruit and great minerality. Drinking really well now. Best value.

1997 Domaine des Baumard Savennières Trie Spéciale
Funkier than the Papillon. Less obvious minerality. Still really nice, but pales in comparison. Not so great value.

2000 Château La Fleur de Boüard (Lalande de Pomerol)
Freshly ground coffee and dark plummy fruit. Still very young, but quite open and easy to enjoy. Otto would hate this.

2001 Clos Les Lunelles (Cotes de Castillon)
Minty, red and black fruit and just loaded with flavor and extract but still balanced. Otto would really hate this.

2000 Château Cantenac Brown (Margaux)
Wonderful, floral nose - classic Margaux. Still tight on the palate. Grumpy - give it time. Otto would like this.

2001 Château Smith Haut Lafitte (Pessac-Leognan)
Tons of red fruit with chocolate and coffee, but not like the Lunelles. Slightly more elegant in expression. Otto would still hate this.

And a bonus sweet red that was for the gorgonzola:

2003 Bodegas Olivares Jumilla Dulce Monastrell
Black tea and confected red fruits. Not too sweet, but not too balanced either. It has already been proven that Joe Perry hates this.

David,
I like your new Bordeaux rating system.
BP

David,

chapeau, your selection shows you´re the true Connaisseur! I would have loved to take part on such a tasting. These
Loire-wines are great and 2000 La Fleur de Bouard is one of the best value in Bordeaux and such a hedonistic-style.

Thanks for the notes, David. I happen to have a bottle of the '97 Baumard Papillon stashed in my cellar but I also have little experience aging Loire CBs. I was glad to see it's drinking really well now; do you think it's at peak or that it might have room to get even better with some additional age?

[David M. Bueker]

I happen to have a bottle of the '97 Baumard Papillon stashed in my cellar but I also have little experience aging Loire CBs. I was glad to see it's drinking really well now; do you think it's at peak or that it might have room to get even better with some additional age?

It could (maybe), but it's so delicious now I don't see any reason not to drink it. For current drinking it really was the wine of the night.

It could (maybe), but it's so delicious now I don't see any reason not to drink it. For current drinking it really was the wine of the night.

Thanks! I think I'll be moving the bottle to the top of my white wine queue.

[Jenise]

David,
I like your new Bordeaux rating system.
BP

I do too, I think we should all adopt it!

[David M. Bueker]

Poor Otto - what have I done?!?

David,
I like your new Bordeaux rating system.
BP

I do too, I think we should all adopt it!

We could call it WWOL.

Mark Lipton

Lol! For some strange reason I find it easy to relate to your Bordeaux views. FWIW, the only one of those Bxs I've had is the Cantenac-Brown '00 which I was almost enthusiastic about, except that I found a slight raisiny hint on the nose. But otherwise I thought it lovely: not overly oaky, refreshing. Classic Claret.

[David M. Bueker]

Nothing at all raisiny about this bottle of Cantenac Brown Otto. It was exatly the opposite.

I am glad to hear that what I perceived as slightly too ripe (but still very palatable) has calmed down. Or maybe, horror of horrors, my ideal in Bordeaux is even more austere than you thought!

[David M. Bueker]

I am glad to hear that what I perceived as slightly too ripe (but still very palatable) has calmed down. Or maybe, horror of horrors, my ideal in Bordeaux is even more austere than you thought!

I was in a room with 6 people who like big, fruity wines & they all questioned the quality of the Cantenac. So if that means anything to you...I asked the group what they thought a Parker score wold have been for the wine, and the average was around 82. Parker actually gave it a 90, and we could not figure out how.

This wine is not austere, but rather an elegant expression of Margaux that is in no way over the top.

Thanks, David, for these notes. I shared a bottle of the 2001 Smith Haut Laffite with my brother after a day of tasting California wines, and he found it a revelation. Even if it is a newer style, it still doesn't taste much like California! Happy to hear it is open for business!