2013 Phelps Insignia and 2003 Gruaud Larose
Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2017 2:45 pm
I’ve sampled plenty of wines this past week thanks to Vinexpo. For instance there was an evening tasting of the wines of Spain with 110 bodegas represented. For goodness sakes, there was even an Albanian stand at Vinexpo, not that I made a point of trying wines from that country (OK, maybe I should have, but I had other priorities).
Last night some friends visiting from the Napa Valley (working for Domaine Chandon and Newton) came over to my place for dinner. We had a number of wines, including 3 for the aperitif (I might add that there were 9 of us). The 2010 Sancerre "La Bourgeoise" from Henri Bourgeois was aromatic and clean, but not very impressive. 2010 white Château Simone (AOC Palette) was interesting, with waxy, honeyed aromas and a unique kind of minerality, but was a little musty and old-fashioned in style. 2011 Schloss Vollrads spätlese comes in a unique bottle with a glass stopper rather than a cork. I unfortunately found it rather insipid.
We had a Bordeaux Clairet (halfway between rosé and red) from the négociant Pierre Chenau with the first course (tomato, mozzarella, basil, and olive oil) because this wine is not very well-known outside Bordeaux and also because it was a very hot day, close to 37°C. At a retail price of under 3 euros a bottle, no one could complain.
Four red wines were served blind with the main course, entrecôte à la bordelaise (cooked over vine cuttings with a sauce of bone marrow, shallot, and parsley). The first wine confused most of us, except for one person who correctly guessed the grape variety (Grenache). This was a 2001 Santa Cruz de Artazu from Navarra (Spain) bottled by Lorrein. This was a very classy wine we all liked. This was followed by 2013 Joseph Phelps Insignia. We all thought it was a California Cab, and a very refined one at that. This wine has quite a reputation and we felt that it largely lived up to it. The question with such wines is: if it’s so good less than 4 years after the vintage, how will it age – not that this is necessarily a benchmark of quality… The last red wine was a 2003 Gruaud Larose. My young friend guessed 2001 Saint Julien, which I thought was pretty good. In any event, this was neither top-heavy, nor fat, nor low in acidity. Indeed, I thought the acidity was rather high. In any event, this 2003 Gruaud had good Cabernet Sauvignon fruit and graphite nuances on the nose. It was slightly less appealing on the palate and suffered from being served after the Insignia, which made it seem thin in comparison… Still a good wine that is best enjoyed sooner rather than later.
We had a bottle each of Lanson white and pink Champagne with a strawberry and mascarpone tart. A good time was had by all .
Best regards,
Alex R.
Last night some friends visiting from the Napa Valley (working for Domaine Chandon and Newton) came over to my place for dinner. We had a number of wines, including 3 for the aperitif (I might add that there were 9 of us). The 2010 Sancerre "La Bourgeoise" from Henri Bourgeois was aromatic and clean, but not very impressive. 2010 white Château Simone (AOC Palette) was interesting, with waxy, honeyed aromas and a unique kind of minerality, but was a little musty and old-fashioned in style. 2011 Schloss Vollrads spätlese comes in a unique bottle with a glass stopper rather than a cork. I unfortunately found it rather insipid.
We had a Bordeaux Clairet (halfway between rosé and red) from the négociant Pierre Chenau with the first course (tomato, mozzarella, basil, and olive oil) because this wine is not very well-known outside Bordeaux and also because it was a very hot day, close to 37°C. At a retail price of under 3 euros a bottle, no one could complain.
Four red wines were served blind with the main course, entrecôte à la bordelaise (cooked over vine cuttings with a sauce of bone marrow, shallot, and parsley). The first wine confused most of us, except for one person who correctly guessed the grape variety (Grenache). This was a 2001 Santa Cruz de Artazu from Navarra (Spain) bottled by Lorrein. This was a very classy wine we all liked. This was followed by 2013 Joseph Phelps Insignia. We all thought it was a California Cab, and a very refined one at that. This wine has quite a reputation and we felt that it largely lived up to it. The question with such wines is: if it’s so good less than 4 years after the vintage, how will it age – not that this is necessarily a benchmark of quality… The last red wine was a 2003 Gruaud Larose. My young friend guessed 2001 Saint Julien, which I thought was pretty good. In any event, this was neither top-heavy, nor fat, nor low in acidity. Indeed, I thought the acidity was rather high. In any event, this 2003 Gruaud had good Cabernet Sauvignon fruit and graphite nuances on the nose. It was slightly less appealing on the palate and suffered from being served after the Insignia, which made it seem thin in comparison… Still a good wine that is best enjoyed sooner rather than later.
We had a bottle each of Lanson white and pink Champagne with a strawberry and mascarpone tart. A good time was had by all .
Best regards,
Alex R.