Seeking talking points for tasting I'm conducting on Thurs.

[JimHow]

I have fifteen clerks from the Lewiston District Court and a couple lawyer friends coming over to my house tomorrow for a tasting of "The Wines of France."

I thought I would uncork the following wines, among others, from Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Chateauneuf du Pape to give them some representative samples of the different grapes and regions involved.

2007 Dauvissat Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons
2007 Les Cailloux
1995 Grand Puy Lacoste
1996 Leoville Poyferre
2007 Lafaurie Peyraguey
2002 Bouchard Pere & Fils Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Cailles

This will be a very rudimentary event, nothing too deep but if you have any talking points on the different grapes and/or regions, I'd appreciate hearing them....

The leaves are falling here in Maine, a poignant beauty as the harshness and pain of winter approach....

[stefan]

They are in for a treat!

[Jay Winton]

nice lineup. you might serve the Bordeaux first as they might not show as well after those fruitier Rhones and Burgs. Decant well ahead of time and make sure everyone cleanses their palates between wines the first go around.

[Houndsong]

Iconic red barn.

[RDD]

I would stress:
1. Grape varieties.
2.The purpose of the appellation system in France. Terroir is king and considers variety. While in USA nad other places variety comes first.
3.Point out the taste of place in French wines. Soil etc. Oyster shell in Chablsis. Also history of Clos in Burgundy versus massive estates in Bordeaux.
4.Provide suggested pairings with wines.
5.Stess the importance of vintage in France. Not every year is cellar worthy. SO drink young years and cellar great years.
6.Point out the aging curve. Especially for Bordeaux. Baby fat, ugly duckling and then glorious aged Bordeaux.
7. If you can, show a young wine and aged wine from same propertyy.
8.Explain the flaws in a heat damaged and/or corked wine.

Hope this helped you.

[mike reff]

Vintage, discuss vintage briefly...

[JimHow]

Thanks for the tips. What do I tell them about white Burgundy!?

[AlexR]

Jim,

As beautiful as Europe is, there is nothing like the blaze of colors of the leaves during a New England fall...

Talking points (off the top of my head):

2007 Dauvissat Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons : difference between Chablis and the Côte d'Or. Importance of growers in Burgundy as opposed to just vineyard location. Gastronomy: the freshness of Chablis and its suitability to oysters and seafood. How far Chablis is from fat, overblown expressions of Chardonnay.

2007 Les Cailloux: great year, very earthy producer who produces a wine in the purest tradition. Importance of choice of grape varieties made by each grower. Fact that CdP is good both young and old, largely thanks to the Grenache grape. Very old vines at Les Cailloux play an important role in quality.

1995 Grand Puy Lacoste: Fact that this 5th growth is much better today than its classification in 1855. Large production of very high quality wine typical of the great growths.

1996 Leoville Poyferre: An estate whose star is rising. Historically, the most sought-after of the 3 Léovilles.

2007 Lafaurie Peyraguey: Fact that 2007 was a so-so year for reds, but a very fine year indeed for Sauternes. Ancient château.

All the best,
Alex

[jal]

Thanks for the tips. What do I tell them about white Burgundy!?

Tell them it's 99.99% of the times Chardonnay (Aligote is the other 0.001%). How different it tastes from every Chardonnay most of them have tasted. How Chablis has very little to no oak treatment , consider that California Chardonnay are buttery and oaky while this one is floral and citrusy and a purer expression of the grape and the terroir, how a Chardonnay in cooler climate tastes compared to a warmer Napa climate where the grapes are riper.

[JimHow]

Great stuff men, I'm heading home to remove the wines in the cellar.
How long do I open the Dauvissats before serving?

[JCNorthway]

You might want to just splash decant the Chablis and then return it to the bottle a couple of hours before serving, leaving it open. My friends who are big into white Burgs swear by this approach for younger wines.

[JimHow]

Thanks for all of the advice.
A wild bash last night, those clerks are wild women. Out of control, almost like a late Saturday night BWE convention event.

Let's just say it was not a good night for Bordeaux, though. My friends Tony and Jennifer, as well as myself, liked the Bordeauxs best. All fifteen clerks, though, preferred the other wines and liked the Bordeauxs least. The Sauternes was a stunner, I'm going to NH this afternoon to pick up a case I've asked them to put on hold.

Favorites of the Night:

2007 Lafaurie Peyraguey
2007 Dauvissat Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons
2007 Les Cailloux
2002 Bouchard Pere & Fils Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Cailles
2007 Paul Autard La Cote Ronde

Least Favorite Wines of the Night:

1996 Leoville Poyferre (some of them liked this one)
1995 Grand Puy Lacoste
2000 Lynch Bages

I thought ALL of the wines were tremendous, the Sauternes was splendid.

[JCNorthway]

I think young Bordeaux (as in 95, 96, 2000) are difficult for non-wine people to understand and appreciate. They often don't work as well for sipping/tasting as they do with good hearty food. We have often commented here about how Bordeaux wines often don't show well alongside new world cabs. Could have been some of the same issue with this situation. All of those other wines probably had more noticeable and accessible fruit that the Bordeaux wines.

[JimHow]

Yes, I think that was pretty much the case Jon. I personally enjoyed every single one of the wines. That Bouchard Burgundy was to die for. I definitely need to get ahold of more Les Cailloux. My guests enjoyed Harry's book.

[Houndsong]

The 2000 Lynch we had was outrageously delicious and I thought very approachable if not at the peak of enjoyment. Plus it's marked by the vintage and so has something slightly outside the standard Bdx palate or palette even.

[JimHow]

Empty bottles....

[JimHow]

maine foliage in the backyard.

[DavidG]

Beautiful pic. Is there a correlation between turning leaves and turning corkscrews up there?

[JimHow]

It's a beautiful time of year, we gotta get you and the better half up here at some point.

[DavidG]

No kidding. We've been trying to get up there for 2-3 years now. My travel schedule this year and next is ridiculously booked. Hoping that I'll have some actual vacation time in...

...2013?