Offline in Denver
Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 10:52 pm
Jill and I met yesterday with blanquito and two of his friends at a small Denver eatery. We all brought a bunch of wines very surreptitiously into the establishment and enjoyed a wonderful evening full of laughs, friendship, great food and delicious wines.
We started with a champagne off the list. A Pinot Noir extra brut from Ay that was great as an aperitif, I can't remember the name of the producer (help me out here, Patrick) but that was an excellent opening.
We then had with the appetizers a 2014 Michel Niellon Chassagne Montrachet 1er les Champgains, nose is a little subdued and doesn't have the typical tropical notes of the last Niellons I drank, but the wine is clean, focused and vibrant with a strong core of fruit.
We continued with a 2004 Weingut Knoll Riesling Smaragd Ried Loibenberg Loibner. Quite a mouthful both to pronounce and taste, and one of my rare forays into Austrian wines. Very nice, quite dry and fruity but I have very little experience with these and can't really judge it except to say that it was very enjoyable.
We then opened a 1989 Grattamacco along with a 1998 Figeac, the Italian wine was quite ready, and even advanced, I wouldn't wait too long on it, it had a good balance of fruit and acidity but ended with a strong metallic finish. The Figeac was excellent, still quite young, a but rustic, strong Cabernet element with very good core of fruit. Not surprising, it is quite restrained compared to other st emilions from that year, old school and delicious.
With entrées, we drank a 1995 Duhart Milon and a 1983 Lynch Bages.
The Duhart though much younger than the Lynch was a lot more advanced, tannins completely resolved, smooth texture, a good entry but finishes very abruptly, a little lighter weight than expected, I would drink them sooner rather than later.
The Lynch was textbook Pauillac with earth, cedar and tobacco notes, a great structure, excellent fruit, a long finish, it probably has years ahead, my favorite wine of the evening. Thanks Patrick for bringing it, it had been too long since I last drank one of these.
With dessert, we finished with a 1986 Rieussec, dark color, fully resolved, caramel and botrytis, very nice but we ended on a high with a 1990 Schoffit Pinot Gris Rangen Clos Saint-Theobald Selection de Grains Nobles, one of the better dessert wines I've had these last few months. With layers of flavors, impeccable balance and a fantastic finish.
Thanks to Patrick for organizing and bringing delicious wines, hope to see you again soon. We enjoyed meeting Steve and Tim and I can't say enough good things about the restaurant as well, we had a splendid meal and were very impressed by the Denver food scene.
We started with a champagne off the list. A Pinot Noir extra brut from Ay that was great as an aperitif, I can't remember the name of the producer (help me out here, Patrick) but that was an excellent opening.
We then had with the appetizers a 2014 Michel Niellon Chassagne Montrachet 1er les Champgains, nose is a little subdued and doesn't have the typical tropical notes of the last Niellons I drank, but the wine is clean, focused and vibrant with a strong core of fruit.
We continued with a 2004 Weingut Knoll Riesling Smaragd Ried Loibenberg Loibner. Quite a mouthful both to pronounce and taste, and one of my rare forays into Austrian wines. Very nice, quite dry and fruity but I have very little experience with these and can't really judge it except to say that it was very enjoyable.
We then opened a 1989 Grattamacco along with a 1998 Figeac, the Italian wine was quite ready, and even advanced, I wouldn't wait too long on it, it had a good balance of fruit and acidity but ended with a strong metallic finish. The Figeac was excellent, still quite young, a but rustic, strong Cabernet element with very good core of fruit. Not surprising, it is quite restrained compared to other st emilions from that year, old school and delicious.
With entrées, we drank a 1995 Duhart Milon and a 1983 Lynch Bages.
The Duhart though much younger than the Lynch was a lot more advanced, tannins completely resolved, smooth texture, a good entry but finishes very abruptly, a little lighter weight than expected, I would drink them sooner rather than later.
The Lynch was textbook Pauillac with earth, cedar and tobacco notes, a great structure, excellent fruit, a long finish, it probably has years ahead, my favorite wine of the evening. Thanks Patrick for bringing it, it had been too long since I last drank one of these.
With dessert, we finished with a 1986 Rieussec, dark color, fully resolved, caramel and botrytis, very nice but we ended on a high with a 1990 Schoffit Pinot Gris Rangen Clos Saint-Theobald Selection de Grains Nobles, one of the better dessert wines I've had these last few months. With layers of flavors, impeccable balance and a fantastic finish.
Thanks to Patrick for organizing and bringing delicious wines, hope to see you again soon. We enjoyed meeting Steve and Tim and I can't say enough good things about the restaurant as well, we had a splendid meal and were very impressed by the Denver food scene.