WTN: 1999 N. Rhones at Noreetuh

After years of planning, Jay and Ira put together an event to showcase and complement a couple of ‘99 N. Rhone mags they had. Pretty spectacular way to invite folks, and 9 eager wine geeks gathered at Noreetuh on a rainy night

NV Augustin “Feu” Champagne (2021 dg)
Somewhat bready and a bit oxidative, not so long, I think others appreciated more than I did. B-

Here comes the mochiko fried chicken!

2000 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne
I was a little worried this might be getting tired (thought I had finished a few years ago) but this is going strong. Pear, citrus, an appealing light nutty note. Fine bead, elegant. Holds strong throughout night. A-

2007 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne
Delicious and complex, if a tad reticent in comparison to the 2000. But a sniff of Jay’s glass at
end was exotic and open with a ginger snap notel A-

I initially liked 2000 more but 2007 caught up

St Joseph Flight

2007 Gonon Saint-Joseph
Lovely and balanced, fresh and tangy, dark fruit with pepper and a little smoked meat, long and complex. A-

2009 Gonon Saint-Joseph
A bit riper, more amplitude, some preferred to 2007. B+

Taiwanese flat cabbage with bacon and black bean sauce, tuna tartar/poke

2000 Chave Hermitage Blanc
Didn’t love the nose- cider, honey, and a little banana, better on palate, but I’m just not a white Rhone guy. Others liked more B-/C+

Miso ribs

First Cote Rotie Flight
1999 Chapoutier “Mordoree” Cote-Rotie
Well, it was better than I expected. Ripe and anonymous. B-/C+

1999 Rostaing “ Cote Blonde“ Cote-Rotie
Quiet and a bit lifted at service, though a small pour later was meatier and more attractive. Others liked less. B/B+

1998 Gangloff “ La Serene Noire” Cote-Rotie
The Rostaing was a bit lifted, this was more heavily VAed, though some liked more. Still, some CR character shows through. B-

Dry aged steak with bok choy and mushrooms

Second Cote Rotie Flight (now we’re talking)
1999 Jasmin Cote-Rotie
Redder fruits, perfumed,a little bacon. I think I liked more than table. B+

1999 Barge "du Plessy" Cote-Rotie
Big full and powerful, some grippy tannins, black fruits and cocoa. A-/B+

1999 Gallet Cote-Rotie
Lovely, with iodine and mineral notes , long with smoked meats and campfire. A-

Calamansi Duck with duck fat rice

Cornas- the main event
1999 Verset Cornas (mag)
Young but showing great development, black cherries and raspberries, pepper, and an animal note. A-/A

1999 Allemand “Reynard” Cornas (mag)
From magnum this still has a ways to go, but still delicious now. A bit more refined, but still has that wild Cornas streak. I enjoyed now (A-/B+), but in mag this can only get better.

1999 Allemand “Chaillot” Cornas
Wow, in a great place. Black fruit, black olives, black pepper. Some grilled meat, herbs. A pointe. A-/A

Final Flight
1999 Clape Cornas
Clape was the first Cornas I bought, I enjoy, but it’s the Randy Dunn/Henri Gouges of Cornas. Powerful, tannic, stern. B

1999 Sorrel “Greal” Hermitage (corked)

Absolutely fantastic night. Food was delicious and service incredible, generosity of the attendees was off the charts.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

[David M. Bueker]

Love that Cornas flight!

That whole dinner was nuts. Food and hospitality at Noreetuh were as usual amazing, many thanks to Jin again for putting up with us there. The fried chicken was so good, and as usual I ate way too much duck fat fried rice. (I regret nothing.)

I'll post longer notes at some point, but just - wow. Yeah, the Cornas flight was ridiculous, and the two mags just put it over the top. Both wines showed remarkably young out of mag - I had the '99 Verset earlier this year (also at Noreetuh) out of 750 where it was just spectacular. This was more reticent at first, but came around with time in the glass. The Reynard needed some time to build as well, whereas the Chaillot out of 750 was in such a great place right away.

Barge and Gallet were also both terrific, I'm firmly convinced that both are in the top echelon of C-R producers these days. (A recent bottle of '21 Gallet was also spectacular, and I love the older wines from both.)

The Gonon flight was a blast - thought the 07 showed superbly, smoky and savoury but still with a lot of fruit and really so good. The 09 came across much younger and richer, I'll give those a bit more time.

Wrote up some more formal notes on CT, so sharing those here. Yeah, this really was a blast. And again, can't say enough good things about Noreetuh - Jin's hospitality is off the charts, the food there is truly amazing (both the big protein dishes and lighter side items like the Taiwanese flat cabbage), plus - even though we didn't need to go near it - they really do have an amazing wine list. Our group's been doing more and more dinners there the past year or so, and it never gets old.

Northern Rhônes at Noreetuh, this time with magnums
- (10/12/2025)

• NV Augustin Champagne Brut Feu - France, Champagne
  I think I liked this more than other people at the table. Found this lightly oxidative (some others differed on the "lightly", or extent of oxidation) - there's a savoury nutty and lightly saline component beneath the rich yellow fruit, and a polished, almost silky texture on the palate with gentle effervescence and bright acidity underneath.
• 2000 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut - France, Champagne
  Last had this about ~10 years ago and noted that I thought of it as a "good, not great CdC" - but I find myself liking it a lot more now, where there's plenty of savoury creamy and faintly nutty development around the bright citrus and pear fruit and sweeter vanilla-butter notes. Compared to the '07 that was poured alongside, this comes across a little gentler, without the same intensity to the fruit or acidity, but the whole package here feels seamless with all the flavours, acid, and effervescence coming together into a very polished whole.
• 2007 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut - France, Champagne
  Definitely one of my favorite CdCs in a while (well, until the '08). Comes across far more primary and intense compared to the '00; this one's all about piercingly bright citrus and green apple and pear fruit with a firm chalky mineral base beneath. But time brings out sweeter floral and autolytic brioche-like notes, and (unsurprisingly) it's a terrific match with Noreetuh's fried chicken.

• 2007 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
  Popped and poured, then slow-oxed for a couple of hours before serving. The first sip (right when this was opened) was enjoyable but not stellar - the fruit showed a slightly roasted quality, but by the time we actually served it at the table, that had settled down and it showed far fresher, with bright peppery and floral accents around the rich red and dark fruit, and more savoury meaty and smokiness on the back end. Awesome, as Gonon always is.
• 2009 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
  Liked this a lot, though it still gives the impression it needs more air. It doesn't show the same meaty development as the '07 - this feels more primary, and the ripeness of the fruit/vintage comes through in spades. But the overall sense of balance here is terrific, the meaty and smoky aspects here are more dialed back and play a supporting note around the rich fruit, and there's bright acidity and ample tannin underneath. Time, time.

• 1998 Mathilde et Yves Gangloff Côte-Rôtie La Serene Noire - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
  I wanted to like this wine a lot more than I actually did. The aromatics are gorgeous, high-toned with lots of bright floral and lavender scents around the olive and red fruited core. But the palate feels rougher; somewhat extracted and blocky and really tannic. Perhaps it'll come together and smooth out more on the palate with time - there's certainly plenty of richness and structure - but right now I'm not convinced. (Also, not a great sign when I'm finding this wine extracted and the two others in the flight are made by Chapoutier and Rostaing.)
• 1999 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Côte Blonde - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
  Woody and shoe polish-y. Extracted and rough. Tastes like an anonymous, heavily made up Syrah, there's nothing here that speaks to the Northern Rhône or Côte-Rôtie. I'd say disappointing, but really this is about what I expect from a lot of Rostaing.
• 1999 M. Chapoutier Côte-Rôtie La Mordorée - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
  Expected to dislike this more than I actually did, but the first couple of sips were a relatively pleasant surprise. Yes, there's oak - of course, it is Chapoutier. But around the oak there's also quite a bit of savory bacon-y meatiness and rich fruit, and it certainly feels and tastes like more of a Northern Rhône wine than the Chapoutier did. But time is not its friend. On a revisit an hour later, this feels more muted aromatically with the fruit/smoky meatiness less apparent, and the oak dominating far more, and the palate also feels rather clunky and tannic. Meh.

• 2000 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
  Liked this a lot - I find myself coming around to white Rhônes more these days, and this was lovely. A touch lower acid than I usually prefer in my whites (which is probably why I drink white Rhônes so infrequently), but I really like the flavour profile here - lots of savoury old Chenin-like lanolin and waxy notes and sweeter honeyed/butterscotch around ripe white fruit, and a texture that's full bodied and remarkably silken.

• 1999 Domaine Gallet (Henri et Philippe) Côte-Rôtie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
  Last impression with this wine a few months ago was slightly disappointing, but this time the Fat Farmer is back on form. Oh hell yeah. Rich fruit and olives and smoke and meat and everything else you could expect in old-school, classic Côte-Rôtie. Powerful and ripe, a heavier hand than many other vintages of Gallet, but still quite elegant with bright acids underneath. It's delicious now, but there's still lots of richness to the fruit and plenty of tannin underneath, so I imagine this would hold and continue to develop for quite a while longer.
• 1999 Patrick Jasmin Côte-Rôtie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
  Aromatically reticent and a little one-note; red fruit and lightly floral notes but seems monolithic and simple compared to the Barge and Gallet in the flight. But comparisons aside, continues a streak of underwhelming bottles of Jasmin C-R for me.
• 1999 Domaine Barge Côte-Rôtie Cuvée du Plessy - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
  Kaboom. This is a powerhouse. So rich and immensely structured on the palate with a firm spine of tannin beneath the intense fruit, this is years and years away from being ready. But it's still awesome now with a spectacular aromatic profile that brings together florality, smokiness, a gamey meatiness, and rich dark fruit and black olives. It really needs fat and protein of some kind - the (always amazing) duck fat rice at Noreetuh was the perfect foil for this, but the whole package is so good even though it feels very, very young.

• 1999 Noël Verset Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
  From magnum (thank you Jay!). This wine from 750 was pretty much perfect and my platonic ideal of Cornas earlier this year. From magnum, it feels far younger and initially a little tight and aromatically reticent. Time in the glass helps a lot here and with some air the flavours start to unravel; an array of smoky and savoury and increasingly meaty scents around a core of red fruit and black olives. A lot of the 99s tonight showed the ripeness and richness of the vintage in their texture or weight, but this avoids that - it's very much Verset in its presentation, the wild and sauvage side of Syrah conveyed with the master's usual finesse and lightness of touch. Tremendous wine once again, though from magnum this certainly needs a while longer to come around fully. But as Verset almost always is, a wonderous, special experience.
• 1999 Thierry Allemand Cornas Reynard - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
  From magnum (thanks Ira!). Oh man, the aromatics here are off the charts. So floral and exotic, all lilac and lavender perfume around a core of rich dark fruit and black olives that turns more meaty and saline on the back end. It's a powerhouse on the palate; from magnum this feels painfully young, almost primordial, plus the richness of the vintage and the structure of Reynard come through in spades, and it feels immensely structured and in need of time. But it's so compelling now, particularly the aromatic profile which kept me coming back to the glass over and over just to smell it.
• 1999 Thierry Allemand Cornas Chaillot - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
  Also intensely floral and perfumed, but quite the contrast with the Reynard - whereas the Reynard is more high toned and all lilac and lavender, this has that intense violet scent I usually associate with Allemand. The flavour profile here is more red fruited than the very dark fruited Reynard, and it feels much more accessible - really silky and graceful on the palate with the tannin coming across lighter and gentler than in any of the other 99s tonight. Of all the 99s, this feels the most ready to drink right now, and at least on the night I found myself preferring it to the Reynard.

• 1999 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
  I've commented before that Allemand feels like Cornas for Burgundy heads, and Clape is Cornas for Bordeaux heads. And this just reinforces that for me (especially coming after the remarkably accessible and silky Allemand Chaillot). It has all the firm tannic structure and reticence of old school Bordeaux, even a few hours after decanting. But the flavour profile here is so compelling - there's remarkable clarity to the red and dark fruit here, layers of smoky and meaty savouriness that keep emerging with time in the glass, and an intensely stony mineral base beneath. Tremendous wine and a reminder that I do not own enough Clape.
• 1999 Marc Sorrel Hermitage Le Gréal - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
  Lightly corked, I think. *Five minutes pass* No, make that really really corked.

Big shame about the Sorrel Hermitage.

-Paul W.

Yes, I would have liked to taste a sound bottle of the Greal.
Thanks Salil for the notes. Lots of great wines, though the 2 flights that stuck in my mind the most were the Verset/Allemand trio, and .....the Comtes duo!