BWE jet-set (short) offline in Québec City
Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2016 6:55 pm
BWE in Québec City.
I post that separately, as I did not wanted to read any comments dstgolf or jimhow could have made on that night or the wines.
Not so long ago, dstgolf send me an e-mail to say that they would be going for holidays in Charlevoix, and we would be able to do a dinner in Québec City. Since that mail, I accepted thoroughly the invitation, and told Danny that MC and me would join Danielle and him for the November 25 dinner.
Since that day, we've been poking the BD, to do the drive from Maine and join us. It was a long shot, and we couldn't beleive he would come. But BWE is BWE, and the BD is trying to attend many events. So a quick call to Jim on Thursday night, an E-mail sent to give him the info, and a mail back from Jim on Friday morning telling he was coming, the surprise would be nice for dstgolf!
We left Saguenay for Québec City, round 5:00 pm. The park in between was full winter conditions, and the drive wasn't too fun, but we made it in 2 hours 20 minutes instead of the regular 2 hours. Not bad but we would be 30 minutes late to the restaurant. I called dstgolf to inform him, and Jim staying at the same hotel as them, was already with them. We arrived at the restaurant around 8:00 pm, and were really happy to see dstgolf and ms dstgolf, and jimhow. I saw dstgolf last year at the Bordeaux BWE convention, and Jim last February, but it was like i left these close friends a week ago...
Fun and friendship took the control right away, and we discussed about lots of different things like wines, dstgolf trip to Zimbabwe for safari, the coming BWE 2017 convention, organizing an offline this summer in Ottawa, jimhow regular weekends in NYC, why Nicklasss and MC are not married yet (always a hot subject, especially that MC and me don't have the same view about that!), president Trump... name it. Discussing and fun that went to the little hours after the restaurant, with some beers, ending up around 2 am... And everyone was driving back the next day. Always fun and i enjoy 100 % each time that special relationship, that mix of proximity and distance at the same time. And at the end thinking: the jet-set of BWE, we did it again, short duration, intense relationship, great wines. Feeling like we take advantage of what is best in life, other than family.
For the wines, they showed all extremely well and really respecting truly their provenance and aoc. They were in the same perfect mindset of the BWEers attending, what a coincidence!
First the 1996 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill was just top notch. Probably in the top 5 if not top 3 of all the Champagne i had. Lightly yeasty, with bread crust, lemon zest, flowers and ligth spices on the nose. In mouth, at a very good place at age 20, with creamy mousse, the kind of mouth that convince you that you could do a no-no, and drink a bottle on your own... Balance between fruits, mineral, zest and light acidity on the final was just perfect. What a great wine. Tn: 95-96. I took a second poor...
The 1998 Chateau Pape Clément was very true and I guess it was the more perfumed nose at opening, of all the wines, and a very balance mouth. Dark red, nose of leather, smoke, barnyard, with also some currants and blackberries. I found also a nice light touch of roasted peanut scale. Really complex nose. Mouth was medium power, with good red berries and blackberries, with a touch of tobacco and leather. Finish was aristocratic, and long on more green tobacco leaves and noble oak. I liked it a lot.
The 2001 Chateau Léoville Las Cases was up for a great night, but started the party slowly. Probably the more closed wine to start with, as we expected, the wine opened up and became that great serious St-Julien that we know, but always with some qualities stealed to the neighbourg Pauillac. Nose of mineral and black prunes to start with, opened up during the night with dark rasberries, blackcurrants, wood ashes, more earthy mineral kind of lead pencil. In mouth, a masculine style, with good core of tannins, lots of blackfruits and blackberries flavors, dense, earthy. Structured finish. It was an excellent wine, but I accept dstgolf verdict, need probably 5 more years, as it is very serious wine right now.
The 1989 Chateau La Fleur de Gay, as the oldest red wine that night, decided to show problems that some older bottle can have, a cork that does not cooperate. As La Girolle is an excellent BYOW in Québec City (probably the best), the staff helped us quickly and went to filter the wine and bring it back in a decanter. But the wine made us forget the bad cork quickly as it was the more open nose from start, and easily to identify as Right Bank. Nose of sweet plums, chocolate, spicy oak, dark red berries, sweet smoky vanilla oak, and a light touch of aromatic herbs. Fragrant nose. In mouth, the wine was very tasty, but at the same time showing it age. Good core of darkberries, light milk chocolate, vanilla, some spices, and that kind of wet iron earth note. Unfortunately, i found that the final was a bit warm or alcoholic, just slightly above my own limit, giving a more rustic finish, even if 13% alcohol level on the label. But as a grandpa that have only one slight default, we accept it without problem. A plush medium body and complex wine.
The 1996 Chateau Lynch Bages was not poored that Jimhow was already describing it as the greatest wine in attendance that night. For sure, it was excellent, with it black cherries and black berries nose, also a touch of blue fruits. Mix that with light spices and light aromatic mint/cedar notes. In mouth, i got some kind of cherry kirsch flavors, blackcurrants, integrated oak, with that nice 1996 Médoc ripeness and controlled acidity that give the feeling of a dense wine light on it's feet! An excellent Lynch, but I preferred the 2000 Jim opened in Maine at the summer 2014.
Then, i wanted that everyone taste a young wine I felt in love with. So I got my white rabbit out of the hat and the 2011 Chateau Calon Ségur appeared on the table. Opened in no time, i found back my love for that traditional style Saint-Estèphe. First nose of creamy spicy oak, kinda exotic. Within minutes, add some red berries notes, herbs, earth mineral, something black, and you got a nice young vibrant nose. In mouth, delicious just after opening, a medium body or density, but very well defined on the same flavors as on the nose, with good tannins and acidity, and a long finish for that unheralded vintage. Proof that serious producers produce excellent wines years in and years out. And why you should inform yourself and try Bordeaux wine in that type of vintages. Personnally, I like a lot 2011.
Finally, the 1989 Chateau Guiraud was roaring on all cylinders, with it dark gold color, a powerful nose of crème brulée, pinneapple, apricots, peaches, and old vanilla. Also a light mandarines. In mouth, a very nice Sauternes, with just the right mix of sugar, fruit, acidity. The crème brulée was there too in mouth, with pinneaple, apricots, roasted sweet oak, roasted botritys, light bitterness to equilibrate the sweetness. Medium coating quality, tasty, very perfumed too in mouth. Final of Graham honey waffle cookies. A solid showing for that liquorous wine. Tn: 92-93.
These wines went well with what we ate as main meal, including foie gras, sweetbread, beef filet mignon or red deer. I guess the appetizer salad we had as first meal was not wine friendly, and desserts at the were good but not great. But you can't complaint as gloabally, it was an extraordinary night as it is always the case with BWE.
I did not rated the wines, and it is really tough to say which red was the best, and i'm still trying to figure out. But all of them were within the 91.5-94.5 margin, depending at what part of the dinner you had them.
Thanks to dstgolf and jimhow for making this happen. Again, can't wait for the next time, that might be in California in March 2017.
Nic
I post that separately, as I did not wanted to read any comments dstgolf or jimhow could have made on that night or the wines.
Not so long ago, dstgolf send me an e-mail to say that they would be going for holidays in Charlevoix, and we would be able to do a dinner in Québec City. Since that mail, I accepted thoroughly the invitation, and told Danny that MC and me would join Danielle and him for the November 25 dinner.
Since that day, we've been poking the BD, to do the drive from Maine and join us. It was a long shot, and we couldn't beleive he would come. But BWE is BWE, and the BD is trying to attend many events. So a quick call to Jim on Thursday night, an E-mail sent to give him the info, and a mail back from Jim on Friday morning telling he was coming, the surprise would be nice for dstgolf!
We left Saguenay for Québec City, round 5:00 pm. The park in between was full winter conditions, and the drive wasn't too fun, but we made it in 2 hours 20 minutes instead of the regular 2 hours. Not bad but we would be 30 minutes late to the restaurant. I called dstgolf to inform him, and Jim staying at the same hotel as them, was already with them. We arrived at the restaurant around 8:00 pm, and were really happy to see dstgolf and ms dstgolf, and jimhow. I saw dstgolf last year at the Bordeaux BWE convention, and Jim last February, but it was like i left these close friends a week ago...
Fun and friendship took the control right away, and we discussed about lots of different things like wines, dstgolf trip to Zimbabwe for safari, the coming BWE 2017 convention, organizing an offline this summer in Ottawa, jimhow regular weekends in NYC, why Nicklasss and MC are not married yet (always a hot subject, especially that MC and me don't have the same view about that!), president Trump... name it. Discussing and fun that went to the little hours after the restaurant, with some beers, ending up around 2 am... And everyone was driving back the next day. Always fun and i enjoy 100 % each time that special relationship, that mix of proximity and distance at the same time. And at the end thinking: the jet-set of BWE, we did it again, short duration, intense relationship, great wines. Feeling like we take advantage of what is best in life, other than family.
For the wines, they showed all extremely well and really respecting truly their provenance and aoc. They were in the same perfect mindset of the BWEers attending, what a coincidence!
First the 1996 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill was just top notch. Probably in the top 5 if not top 3 of all the Champagne i had. Lightly yeasty, with bread crust, lemon zest, flowers and ligth spices on the nose. In mouth, at a very good place at age 20, with creamy mousse, the kind of mouth that convince you that you could do a no-no, and drink a bottle on your own... Balance between fruits, mineral, zest and light acidity on the final was just perfect. What a great wine. Tn: 95-96. I took a second poor...
The 1998 Chateau Pape Clément was very true and I guess it was the more perfumed nose at opening, of all the wines, and a very balance mouth. Dark red, nose of leather, smoke, barnyard, with also some currants and blackberries. I found also a nice light touch of roasted peanut scale. Really complex nose. Mouth was medium power, with good red berries and blackberries, with a touch of tobacco and leather. Finish was aristocratic, and long on more green tobacco leaves and noble oak. I liked it a lot.
The 2001 Chateau Léoville Las Cases was up for a great night, but started the party slowly. Probably the more closed wine to start with, as we expected, the wine opened up and became that great serious St-Julien that we know, but always with some qualities stealed to the neighbourg Pauillac. Nose of mineral and black prunes to start with, opened up during the night with dark rasberries, blackcurrants, wood ashes, more earthy mineral kind of lead pencil. In mouth, a masculine style, with good core of tannins, lots of blackfruits and blackberries flavors, dense, earthy. Structured finish. It was an excellent wine, but I accept dstgolf verdict, need probably 5 more years, as it is very serious wine right now.
The 1989 Chateau La Fleur de Gay, as the oldest red wine that night, decided to show problems that some older bottle can have, a cork that does not cooperate. As La Girolle is an excellent BYOW in Québec City (probably the best), the staff helped us quickly and went to filter the wine and bring it back in a decanter. But the wine made us forget the bad cork quickly as it was the more open nose from start, and easily to identify as Right Bank. Nose of sweet plums, chocolate, spicy oak, dark red berries, sweet smoky vanilla oak, and a light touch of aromatic herbs. Fragrant nose. In mouth, the wine was very tasty, but at the same time showing it age. Good core of darkberries, light milk chocolate, vanilla, some spices, and that kind of wet iron earth note. Unfortunately, i found that the final was a bit warm or alcoholic, just slightly above my own limit, giving a more rustic finish, even if 13% alcohol level on the label. But as a grandpa that have only one slight default, we accept it without problem. A plush medium body and complex wine.
The 1996 Chateau Lynch Bages was not poored that Jimhow was already describing it as the greatest wine in attendance that night. For sure, it was excellent, with it black cherries and black berries nose, also a touch of blue fruits. Mix that with light spices and light aromatic mint/cedar notes. In mouth, i got some kind of cherry kirsch flavors, blackcurrants, integrated oak, with that nice 1996 Médoc ripeness and controlled acidity that give the feeling of a dense wine light on it's feet! An excellent Lynch, but I preferred the 2000 Jim opened in Maine at the summer 2014.
Then, i wanted that everyone taste a young wine I felt in love with. So I got my white rabbit out of the hat and the 2011 Chateau Calon Ségur appeared on the table. Opened in no time, i found back my love for that traditional style Saint-Estèphe. First nose of creamy spicy oak, kinda exotic. Within minutes, add some red berries notes, herbs, earth mineral, something black, and you got a nice young vibrant nose. In mouth, delicious just after opening, a medium body or density, but very well defined on the same flavors as on the nose, with good tannins and acidity, and a long finish for that unheralded vintage. Proof that serious producers produce excellent wines years in and years out. And why you should inform yourself and try Bordeaux wine in that type of vintages. Personnally, I like a lot 2011.
Finally, the 1989 Chateau Guiraud was roaring on all cylinders, with it dark gold color, a powerful nose of crème brulée, pinneapple, apricots, peaches, and old vanilla. Also a light mandarines. In mouth, a very nice Sauternes, with just the right mix of sugar, fruit, acidity. The crème brulée was there too in mouth, with pinneaple, apricots, roasted sweet oak, roasted botritys, light bitterness to equilibrate the sweetness. Medium coating quality, tasty, very perfumed too in mouth. Final of Graham honey waffle cookies. A solid showing for that liquorous wine. Tn: 92-93.
These wines went well with what we ate as main meal, including foie gras, sweetbread, beef filet mignon or red deer. I guess the appetizer salad we had as first meal was not wine friendly, and desserts at the were good but not great. But you can't complaint as gloabally, it was an extraordinary night as it is always the case with BWE.
I did not rated the wines, and it is really tough to say which red was the best, and i'm still trying to figure out. But all of them were within the 91.5-94.5 margin, depending at what part of the dinner you had them.
Thanks to dstgolf and jimhow for making this happen. Again, can't wait for the next time, that might be in California in March 2017.
Nic