I bought eight bottles of this at auction for 15 each a little while ago. I intended on holding them a bit, but with money tight, I decided to tap into one of them this week.
The name on the bottle should be enough to cause the nether regions of any Burgundy lover to tremble, as this is the personal domaine of Aubert de Villaine, one of the coowners of Domaine Romanee-Conti, considered by many to be the finest wine producer in the whole of the Cote d'Or. DRC, whose bottles regularly sell for prices in the thousands, and up to five digits per bottle for older wines that have been properly stored. That is, if you can even find them. The relative scarcity of their wines doesn't help with the price at all.
But here is something you could have for a fraction of that, made by the same hands that make one of the wine worlds treasures...
2009 A. et P. de Villaine "Les Clous" 12.5% abv.
c- very light, close to water gold with green hints.
a- white flowers, mineral, lemon zest, orange zest, nut, vanilla.
f- smooth creamy mouthfeel. mineral, peach, lemon and lemon zest. light nut. light vanilla or marshmallow in finish. M+ mouth with m finish.
90
Pretty darn good. Even at a retail of 30 (suggested by winesearcher.com), I would buy this again. And yes, my nether regions are tingling.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Hennessy Cognac tasting.
I managed to secure myself an invite to a tasting and seminar hosted by Oak Restaurant in Boulder yesterday. Though I have walked by Oak lots of times (and it always looks busy), this was my first time inside and I must say I was pretty impressed. It has a neat look to it.
The seminar was conducted by Cyrille Gautier Auriol, a Global Brand Ambassador for Hennessy. He is 8th or 9th generation from a family that has been in Cognac since the 1800's.
We started with a sidecar made with VSOP. This is the first time and will not be the last time that I have had this cocktail. It was pretty tasty.
The tasting featured Hennessy XO, Paradis, and their top of the line Richard. He spoke for a good hour, telling us about the region, how and when the blenders taste, how they make the final blend, aging, grapes, and so on. In comparing the colors of the spirits I would say it was the Richard that was the darkest and had the most concentrated color to it, but it was only a slight difference between it and the XO. All displayed the neatly running legs I would expect to see in older spirits, with the Richard again looking almost like brush strokes dropped straight down. And eventually we did get to taste...
Hennessy XO.
Blended in production 2-3 times, taking 24 months to assemble the final blend. Oldest approximately 30 years, give or take. Comprised of up to 100 eaux-de-vies.
Peppery, baking spices (cinnamon, allspice, light vanilla, clove), candied fruit, caramelized sugar. A little firey in the mouth.
Hennseey Paradis.
The name comes from the cellar where Cognac producers store their oldest spirits, "paradise". This was first produced in 1979. Contains over 100 eaux-de-vies, oldest being from late 1800's. Made only from petit and grand champagne cognacs.
Silky smooth mouth, nuts, rancio, baking spices, some floral aroma and flavor, tobacco, long finish. I could taste this one for quite awhile despite several sips of water to prepare myself for the next one...
Hennessy Richard.
As I said, this is their top of the line stuff. I thought we would just get a tiny taste, but the pour was very generous- probably close to an ounce. At 2500-3000 dollars a bottle, that means I drank a hundred or more dollars. First produced in 1996. Contains spirits dating from 1830-60 and made from Folle Blanche (Ugni Blanc is now the main grape). Minimum age is 45 years, maximum 200.
This stuff was amazing. I don't think I will ever forget drinking this. Even smoother mouth feel, rancio, fruit, baking spices, sugar, earth, dried leaves, nut, citrus, tobacco. Incredibly complex and nuanced. Long long finish. I could taste this half an hour later. My coworker sitting next to me said she got a tear in her eye, and yes, I could see how this could move you to tears.
It was a very fun and interesting event, and a great opportunity to taste and increase my knowledge. Thanks again to Brian at Oak.
The seminar was conducted by Cyrille Gautier Auriol, a Global Brand Ambassador for Hennessy. He is 8th or 9th generation from a family that has been in Cognac since the 1800's.
We started with a sidecar made with VSOP. This is the first time and will not be the last time that I have had this cocktail. It was pretty tasty.
The tasting featured Hennessy XO, Paradis, and their top of the line Richard. He spoke for a good hour, telling us about the region, how and when the blenders taste, how they make the final blend, aging, grapes, and so on. In comparing the colors of the spirits I would say it was the Richard that was the darkest and had the most concentrated color to it, but it was only a slight difference between it and the XO. All displayed the neatly running legs I would expect to see in older spirits, with the Richard again looking almost like brush strokes dropped straight down. And eventually we did get to taste...
Hennessy XO.
Blended in production 2-3 times, taking 24 months to assemble the final blend. Oldest approximately 30 years, give or take. Comprised of up to 100 eaux-de-vies.
Peppery, baking spices (cinnamon, allspice, light vanilla, clove), candied fruit, caramelized sugar. A little firey in the mouth.
Hennseey Paradis.
The name comes from the cellar where Cognac producers store their oldest spirits, "paradise". This was first produced in 1979. Contains over 100 eaux-de-vies, oldest being from late 1800's. Made only from petit and grand champagne cognacs.
Silky smooth mouth, nuts, rancio, baking spices, some floral aroma and flavor, tobacco, long finish. I could taste this one for quite awhile despite several sips of water to prepare myself for the next one...
Hennessy Richard.
As I said, this is their top of the line stuff. I thought we would just get a tiny taste, but the pour was very generous- probably close to an ounce. At 2500-3000 dollars a bottle, that means I drank a hundred or more dollars. First produced in 1996. Contains spirits dating from 1830-60 and made from Folle Blanche (Ugni Blanc is now the main grape). Minimum age is 45 years, maximum 200.
This stuff was amazing. I don't think I will ever forget drinking this. Even smoother mouth feel, rancio, fruit, baking spices, sugar, earth, dried leaves, nut, citrus, tobacco. Incredibly complex and nuanced. Long long finish. I could taste this half an hour later. My coworker sitting next to me said she got a tear in her eye, and yes, I could see how this could move you to tears.
It was a very fun and interesting event, and a great opportunity to taste and increase my knowledge. Thanks again to Brian at Oak.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
New year.
Here's what I've been up to lately...
2009 Roth Estate Pinot Noir 14.5%
c- less concentrated purple.
a- raspberry, cranberry, baked cherry.
f- above with tarry rubber and slight brambly earth. m body, m finish.
89-90
2002 Ridge Buchignani Ranch Carignane 13.7%
c- almost black center to garnet edges
a- tar/rubber, dark fruits - blackberry
f- plum, slight tar. nice acid, not much fruit. oak present. m+ body, m+ finish. past it's prime i would guess.
87
2007 Quinta do Vallado Touriga Nacional 14.5%
c- dark very concentrated purple black to thinner rim.
a- oak, rich dark fruits, depth.
f- cedary oak, deep flavor, dark fruits. almost port like in some aspects (not surprising of course.) I wanted to try this one since it is made of one of the principal grapes used in port.
92
2004 Cabidos "Les Abesses" Petit Manseng 11%
c- bronze
a- apple, lemon, cantaloupe, earth or used oak
f- apple, citrus. sweet but with balancing acid. m+ body, m+ finish with caramel, oak, earth.
I got this because I hadn't heard of the varietal. I wish I had bought more!
91
2010 KWV Pinotage 14%
c- magenta
a- tar, earth, raspberry, strawberry.
f- manure, raspberry. m body, m finish.
85
2009 JJ Prum Riesling Kabinett 9%
c- light green, almost water.
a- peach, melon, stone/slate.
f- bright acid, lemon, peach, white flowers. lightly sweet, touch melon. m- body, m- finish
89
1992 Jadot Corton-Pougets Grand Cru 13.5%
c- garnet to brown
a- older pinot, earth, tart cherry,
f- really not much. past its prime. some acid and earth still.
80
2005 Jobard Meursault Blagny 1er cru
c- straw with green hints
a- crushed rock, white flowers, nut, peach, lemon
f- rich, round. mineral, nut, steel, opulent peach. wonderful. m+ finish, full body.
this was my last of 5 bottles, 3 of which were oxidized, 1 of which was ok, and this one was great.
92
2009 E. Guigal Cotes du Rhone Blanc 13.5%
c- straw to water.
a- white flowers, melon, lemon, apricot.
f- good balancing acid, fruits confirm. marshmallowy, vanillay in the finish. m+ body, m finish.
86
2009 Roth Estate Pinot Noir 14.5%
c- less concentrated purple.
a- raspberry, cranberry, baked cherry.
f- above with tarry rubber and slight brambly earth. m body, m finish.
89-90
2002 Ridge Buchignani Ranch Carignane 13.7%
c- almost black center to garnet edges
a- tar/rubber, dark fruits - blackberry
f- plum, slight tar. nice acid, not much fruit. oak present. m+ body, m+ finish. past it's prime i would guess.
87
2007 Quinta do Vallado Touriga Nacional 14.5%
c- dark very concentrated purple black to thinner rim.
a- oak, rich dark fruits, depth.
f- cedary oak, deep flavor, dark fruits. almost port like in some aspects (not surprising of course.) I wanted to try this one since it is made of one of the principal grapes used in port.
92
2004 Cabidos "Les Abesses" Petit Manseng 11%
c- bronze
a- apple, lemon, cantaloupe, earth or used oak
f- apple, citrus. sweet but with balancing acid. m+ body, m+ finish with caramel, oak, earth.
I got this because I hadn't heard of the varietal. I wish I had bought more!
91
2010 KWV Pinotage 14%
c- magenta
a- tar, earth, raspberry, strawberry.
f- manure, raspberry. m body, m finish.
85
2009 JJ Prum Riesling Kabinett 9%
c- light green, almost water.
a- peach, melon, stone/slate.
f- bright acid, lemon, peach, white flowers. lightly sweet, touch melon. m- body, m- finish
89
1992 Jadot Corton-Pougets Grand Cru 13.5%
c- garnet to brown
a- older pinot, earth, tart cherry,
f- really not much. past its prime. some acid and earth still.
80
2005 Jobard Meursault Blagny 1er cru
c- straw with green hints
a- crushed rock, white flowers, nut, peach, lemon
f- rich, round. mineral, nut, steel, opulent peach. wonderful. m+ finish, full body.
this was my last of 5 bottles, 3 of which were oxidized, 1 of which was ok, and this one was great.
92
2009 E. Guigal Cotes du Rhone Blanc 13.5%
c- straw to water.
a- white flowers, melon, lemon, apricot.
f- good balancing acid, fruits confirm. marshmallowy, vanillay in the finish. m+ body, m finish.
86
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