Weekend Drinking 20-22 May

With a nice bottle of DP 2012 at a wine bar waiting for the restaurant to open. Then

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Fine showings from all Champagnes.
For most Egly 2008 was the wine of the dinner, the best Egly ever. I perhaps loved the 2019 disgorged Roises more. Selosse (also 2019 disgorgement) was Selosse: lovely depth and creamy length, but with a bit of bottle age a touch oxidative. The Cramant is the rarest of the single vineyard bottlings. A fascinating brilliant trio of grower Champagnes.

Raveneau Butteaux 2017 was a slight disappointment, not quite as focused as one would hope. Someone (not me for once!) suggested it was too advanced for a 2017.

Comando G … lovely. The restaurant had already been stripped of its small allocation of recently released Rumbo al Norte, but this Il Tamboril 2019, was beautifully rounded and balanced, and didn’t show the heat of the year at all.

The bill seemed very reasonable indeed. But alas - for those of us who live in London - this was in Madrid at Angelita (a place that has two parts: a wine bar / restaurant upstairs, cocktail bar downstairs).
 
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Dinner at my wife’s (and probably my) favourite restaurant, Lorne, tonight. Impeccable, food, wine, but most prominent the service which is so well judged, understanding and knowledgeable. Alice is a real star.

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After a very good white lady and some pea and pecorino bites, I ordered a PYCM 2012 BB off the “single bottle list” (£72). Initially advised they’d moved onto the ‘13 and when the bottle came it was actually the ‘14. No hardship there. Served at a tantalisingly perfect temperature of at least 12c, the wine showed brilliantly, everyone at the table cooing. Stone fruits, toasty straw, aniseed and lovely line of lemon acidity. So complex for this level. Embarrassed to say I’ve already drunk my 2018s! Must acquire some patience…

With this amber nectar, I had a sort of ham and egg Caesar-ish salad with the most amazing green herb dressing. Others had a seabass tartare with a beer batter crust which was a complete knockout. Elsewhere a whipped ricotta and bbq radicchio dish blew minds like no other vegetarian dish has before.

For the main courses I ordered an old favourite from Envinate, their 2019 Lousas (£56). A mencia from Ribeira Sacra. Another excellent bit of wine waiting, Alice discreetly told me the wine was corked and she was going to fetch another one. I appreciated not being made to confirm it at the table. The second bottle was a treat and went so well with the lamb, the red fruited acidity cutting through the fatty lamb perfectly. Delicious, moreish wine.

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With an inventive tiramisu a Chambers Rosewood Rutherglen Muscat was a blast from the past. Delicious with the cheese too.

All in all a stunning dinner with the most amazing cooking and service. Those attending the Dauvissat offline in a few weeks are in for a real treat!
 
‘19 Meo Camuzet Les Chaumes

PnP. ABV 14.5%. Took delivery today. Killing baby for sure but I love young Burgundy. The back label is very interesting with a map of plots surrounding Les Chaumes, woah, I didn’t know that Les Chaumes is sitting just below Les Malconsorts and La Tache, what an interesting plot. Lightly floral nose, quite clean. Note of dark fruits, Vosne spices, and cedar. Fine tannins, decent length, and finished with slight chocolate bitterness. Rich and ripe. Could use a little bit more acidity. Despite the high ABV, alcohol wasn’t showing on the palate, at least not now. This wasn’t as good as ‘16 Meo Boudots tasted last year. A couple of hours later, tannins became too sweet, almost milk chocolate like, now I could appreciate why previous taster mentioned this tasted like merlot from right bank Bordeaux in a warm vintage, maybe a young Tetre Roteboeuf ? Ouch! Should I rate this as a Burgundy or as a St Emilion? Burgundy nose with St Emilion palate, so this was a Burgmilion!
 

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Last night, with a Northumberland crab followed by a baked ham - two of my favourite items of food I think.

Bachelet-Monnot St. Aubin 1er Cru en Remilly '14 - lovely showing also confirming a bottle in January must have been a bit advanced/poxed. Pale, fresh, clean and pure. Lemon, stone, salt, touch of fennel and a hint of spice. It manages to be quite gentle yet balanced and intense. Dances and lingers on the palate. Superb.

Dupont-Tisserandot Marsannay Les Echezeaux '10 - This bottle, fully mature, sweet red fruit nose, tannins resolved and a seamless pure feel, still fresh with energy, some sous bois and a sense of prettiness throughout. Really a joy to drink with a baked ham.

A random orphan find in the cellar of a wine I thought long gone. In fact, I have no record in my database of purchase or consumption but I do know I only paid a tenner a bottle and the wine was so delicious in youth I did a Tom B method of drinking them rapidly as they were so good at that point. It also made me realise that while i've been drinking plenty of wine that is 'ready' this was actually fully mature and just a joy.
 
Really a joy to drink with a baked ham.
A wonderful companion to burgundy of either colour. There are very many ham dishes in the French repertoire-I wonder how current they are?
You have inspired me-next week I shall make a dish of asparagus wrapped in ham and quickly baked in a wine and mustard enriched sauce Mornay. I shall drink a smart burgundy.
Why does time seem to go so fast now? when I started buying wine the wait for maturity seemed interminable( until I worked out that I could buy them ready to go) but now they are ready before I blink and need chasing before they lose their vigour.
 
I notice Kumeu has come under some (minor) criticism of late on this forum… on the basis of this bottle i can maybe understand why… this does seem a little muddled and the oak treatment clumsy.
2017 was called out as a very good vintage on release, so I’ll give this the benefit of the doubt. I think/hope this needs another 5 years to come together - I still believe this is a great Chardonnay producer. Hold.

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‘19 Meo Camuzet Les Chaumes

PnP. ABV 14.5%. Took delivery today. Killing baby for sure but I love young Burgundy. The back label is very interesting with a map of plots surrounding Les Chaumes, woah, I didn’t know that Les Chaumes is sitting just below Les Malconsorts and La Tache, what an interesting plot. Lightly floral nose, quite clean. Note of dark fruits, Vosne spices, and cedar. Fine tannins, decent length, and finished with slight chocolate bitterness. Rich and ripe. Could use a little bit more acidity. Despite the high ABV, alcohol wasn’t showing on the palate, at least not now. This wasn’t as good as ‘16 Meo Boudots tasted last year. A couple of hours later, tannins became too sweet, almost milk chocolate like, now I could appreciate why previous taster mentioned this tasted like merlot from right bank Bordeaux in a warm vintage, maybe a young Tetre Roteboeuf ? Ouch! Should I rate this as a Burgundy or as a St Emilion? Burgundy nose with St Emilion palate, so this was a Burgmilion!
Chaumes was always considered the least interesting 1er in Vosne(and certainly not as auspicious a site as Boudots) but everything in Vosne is now gold dust. I was told the other day that the Mugneret-Gibourg village wine now goes for £400 a bottle, which is tedious.
 
I notice Kumeu has come under some (minor) criticism of late on this forum… on the basis of this bottle i can maybe understand why… this does seem a little muddled and the oak treatment clumsy.
2017 was called out as a very good vintage on release, so I’ll give this the benefit of the doubt. I think/hope this needs another 5 years to come together - I still believe this is a great Chardonnay producer. Hold.

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I had the Hunting Hill 17 last weekend from a half bottle and thought it was fantastic.
 
We exchanged contracts on our new house in Tunbridge Wells on Friday (I’m looking forward to becoming disgusted) so we celebrated with a bottle of Jacquesson 744. Based on the 2016 vintage. A lively pour, quite rich and mouthfilling. Very classy.
Then I had to get into a couple of recent arrivals from the US. I’ve been trying to get hold of some Sandlands wine for a while now. I got allocated some just before COVID struck and my wife’s trip to New York was canned. She eventually got back out there the other week and retrieved a six pack from her office. Sandlands is the personal project of Tegan and Olivia Passalacqua. Tegan is the winemaker at Turley Vineyards.
Lodi White Table Wine 2020. This is a blend of Semillon and Chenin Blanc. Initially quite shy, but once the temp comes up a bit this has loads of interest. Waxy, textural wine that really opens up and delivers plenty of pleasure.
Lodi Red Table Wine 2020. This is an equal parts blend of Cinsault, Carignan and Zinfandel. Deliciously light and bright. Plenty of sappy crunch and a lovely 12.6%
Hugely impressed with these wines and looking forward to getting into the single variety bottles that I’ve got left.
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With a nice bottle of DP 2012 at a wine bar waiting for the restaurant to open. Then

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Fine showings from all Champagnes.
For most Egly 2008 was the wine of the dinner, the best Egly ever. I perhaps loved the 2019 disgorged Roises more. Selosse (also 2019 disgorgement) was Selosse: lovely depth and creamy length, but with a bit of bottle age a touch oxidative. The Cramant is the rarest of the single vineyard bottlings. A fascinating brilliant trio of grower Champagnes.

Raveneau Butteaux 2017 was a slight disappointment, not quite as focused as one would hope. Someone (not me for once!) suggested it was too advanced for a 2017.

Comando G … lovely. The restaurant had already been stripped of its small allocation of recently released Rumbo al Norte, but this Il Tamboril 2019, was beautifully rounded and balanced, and didn’t show the heat of the year at all.

The bill seemed very reasonable indeed. But alas - for those of us who live in London - this was in Madrid at Angelita (a place that has two parts: a wine bar / restaurant upstairs, cocktail bar downstairs).
Had a great meal there in 2019. Great place with a retail price wine list!
 
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A red fruited attack moving towards blue, and whilst the RS isn't labelled it tastes late harvest to me. In contrast to Mr Hemming, I'm not at burgfest but an 11 year old girl's roller disco birthday party. Living well is the best revenge, I've read.

Last night a 2011 Pommard, 1er cru Jarollières, J-M Boillot was arrestingly good, with filigree red fruit of its own and an utterly grown up weightlessness. Compelling, and once the music stops tonight I rather fancy another one.
 
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A red fruited attack moving towards blue, and whilst the RS isn't labelled it tastes late harvest to me. In contrast to Mr Hemming, I'm not at burgfest but an 11 year old girl's roller disco birthday party. Living well is the best revenge, I've read.

Last night a 2011 Pommard, 1er cru Jarollières, J-M Boillot was arrestingly good, with filigree red fruit of its own and an utterly grown up weightlessness. Compelling, and once the music stops tonight I rather fancy another one.
You need to chug this in one, inducing brain freeze, to really understand the terroir, Druin.
 
A favourite chez Reilly. My first of the ‘17s and it’s much more sophisticated than the ‘15 which I also loved but it was a loveable bruiser. I missed the 16s sadly. This has Burgundian aniseed mixed with charred peaches and a lovely smokiness. Delicious and a perfect accompaniment to paprika, garlicky spanish prawns a la the Hairy Bikers.

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This wines was firing on all cylinders last night. I really do think the 2010 is the real deal, they seem to have that depth and concentrated fruit matched with lively balancing acidity.

initially all blueberries and blackcurrants before settling into a musk of iodine,infused red berries and kaleidoscope of savoury aromas. It remained to a point all evening, simply Jackpot 988D5B80-9F2A-4C73-ACA3-6937B4862044.jpeg
 
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