An afternoon of delicious food and Northern Rhône wines with friends. Safe travels Janice Barnes!
2009 Pierre Gonon Saint-Joseph Blanc "Les Oliviers"
Sappy, some new wood, very soft and textural, softly floral, very forward, melon and nectarine. 80 percent Marsanne, 20 percent Roussanne. Anise, licorice, marshmallow candy. From the importers website: "before it was sold as Saint Joseph, the wine from this renowned parcel was sold as Vin des Oliviers. From the Coteau des Oliviers which overlook the Oliviers stream, it enjoys a rarified southern exposure."
2008 Yves Gangloff Condrieu
(15% alcohol) heady, intense peach, apricot, some mineral. Needs a rich cream sauce and/or shell fish. Some citrus, better acidity than most Condrieu. Some sulfur showing on the nose. Fermented and matured in at least some new wood.
2008 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage
Wow! Gorgeous perfume, high percentage whole cluster, licorice, anise, paprika, stunning aromatics. Flowering Nicotiana, iron, very mineral. Complex and layered. Medium weight, long, savory finish. Graillot always uses a high percentage of stems.
2009 Domaine Combier Crozes-Hermitage Clos des Grives
An interesting contrast to Alain Graillot. Completely destemmed. Much more polished nose, less smoke, nose is much more closed than the Graillot but much more cracked black pepper. Raw walnut skin. Very well made wine, definitely more closed that the Graillot. Decanted.
1983 Jasmin Côte Rôtie
Smoky, developed but structured, very straight, focused. Long and powerful. Has developed well but for my palate needs to be consumed in the next few years. Decanted.
1998 Clape Cornas
Wine of the night! Smoky, developed but structured, very straight and focused. Very layered and complex. Alan: this vintage was produced by Pierre. Decanted.
Dinner:
Roasted cauliflower with anchovies, sautéed sugar snap peas, California bing cherries
Purée of peas and crème fraîche à la Alan Murray.
House-cured salmon, crème fraîche, chives, on Outerlands bread << Very awesome!
Braised chuck roast, roasted Japanese eggplant with balsamic vinegar.
Strawberries
