LeDomduVin: A Charming Meursault

A charming Meursault 

I opened this bottle for an afternoon drink, and it was perfect! 

Michel Bouzereau Meursault-Charmes 1er Cru "Les Charmes Dessus" 2019

Fresh, crisp, pleasant, easy, gentle, and charming, with a good vibrancy. Medium-bodied, layered, and well-balanced between the yellow fruits, the chalky minerality, the zesty acidity, and the light butteriness. Nothing too extravagant or over the top, just a really well-crafted, quaffable Meursault-Charmes. It is a steal at this price compared to its peers. Highly recommended. 

I loved it on its own, as it is so crisp and easy to drink. Yet, it will pair well with appetizers, white fish, and white meat. 

Cheers! Santé! 

Dom

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LeDomduVin: 3 better than 2...

3 better than 2…

For certain things in life, it is said, “One is not enough, and three is too many!” 😉😄😅

However, 3 bottles may not be enough when it comes to wine.

Cheval Blanc Saint Emilion 2018

A blend of 54% Merlot, 40% Cab Franc, and 6% Cab Sauv, lovely scents emanate at the opening, filling the air with ripe red and black berries aromas, complemented with floral, autumnal, and tobacco notes. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is rich, ample, graceful, generous, and layered, with ripe fruit and silky texture. The present but integrated tannins provide excellent structure. It expands nicely from the attack to the long finish. Its welcomed freshness and seamless profile help to compensate for its ripeness and 14.5% alcohol. Complex, elegant, charming, and already enjoyable now, it will reward those who wait for it a little.

Mouton Rothschild Pauillac 2016

Served after the fuller and richer Cheval Blanc 2018, Mouton 2016 appeared relatively flat and inexpressive. Was it its regular 13.5% alcohol, compared to the overwhelming 14.5% of the Saint Emilion? It showed better after a while, boasting dark berries aromas mixed with floral and herbal scents and forest floor, earthy nuances. A blend of 83% Cab Sauv, 15% Merlot, 1% Cab Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, this is an elegant, vibrant, fresh, medium-bodied, and earthy wine with a delicate and aromatic profile, a lovely mineral, silky texture, and a good (if light) overall structure. Still, it lacks length on the finish, as it vanishes too quickly for such a good vintage and pedigree. Will it develop? Time will tell!  

Vieux Chateau Certan Pomerol 2016

A blend of 85% Merlot, 14% Cab Sauv, and 1% Cab Franc, VCC 2016 is a beautiful wine. Boasting attractive crushed red berries, licorice, graphite, and mineral aromas with gentle earthy and oaky nuances. The palate combines elegance, richness, complexity, ripeness, freshness, texture, and structure, framed by chewable tannins, providing excellent substance and subsistence, greatly expanding from the lovely attack to the long finish. It is focused, profound, complex, layered, and sophisticated; with this tastefully enjoyable impression, you could masticate it like one of your favorite steak cuts. I love the chewiness of this wine. Then again, VCC is one of my favorite wines ever! 

Cheers! Santé!

Dom  

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LeDomduVin: Artadi Viñas de Gaín 2020

Artadi Viñas de Gaín Vineyard Selection 2020 

con Jamón Ibérico, queso, huevos and patatas fritas.

The other day, I was at “Bayfare Social”, a cozy, vibrant, and welcoming Spanish restaurant in Rosewood (HK), to do the wine service for a private dinner. After the service, as it was my first time coming to this venue, I decided to taste some of their food with one of their wines by the glass.

With the suggestions of Cillian (the restaurant manager) and Yann (the assistant restaurant manager), I went for the “HUEVOS ROTOS” (Ibérico Ham, Fried Potato, Spanish Egg, and Aioli – see picture) and the “TXIPIRONES” (Baby Squid, Spanish Egg, Padrón Peppers), and chose the Artadi Vinas de Gain 2020 to go with it.

Pairing the wine of a great Rioja producer like Artadi with some Spanish comfort food was a wise decision, as it was a great match!

More especially a wine I know pretty well as I visited Artadi a few times in the mid-2000s and love their wines (I bought and sold a lot during my “New York” years).

ARTADI VIÑAS DE GAIN 2020

A beautifully crafted wine with a dark red color. It boasts aromas of ripe plums, black fruits, and berries intertwined with chocolate, licorice, earthy and toasted notes. The palate is medium-bodied, fruity, ripe, rich, dense, complex, yet fresh, vibrant, and youthful, with present and persistent yet integrated tannins, providing this attractive wine with a gentle texture and solid structure. Well balanced, it expands nicely until the long finish. Still a bit young (IMO) and yet so approachable now, too. Loved it.

The wine paired better with the HUEVOS ROTOS (in the picture) combination of ham, egg, and potatoes, echoing in harmony in a festival of flavors on the palate. 

I also like the cozy, comfortable, cheerful, and accessible restaurant atmosphere, where people were smiling joyfully and chatting while sipping a glass of wine with some Spanish fare. The restaurant felt good and alive. Loved it. Highly recommended. 

Cheers! Santé!

Dom

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LeDomduVin: 3 to Tango!

3 to Tango!

Another night with some excellent wines.

Juyondai Harima Yamada Nishiki Junmai Daiginjo (Nakadori)

Made from Harima Yamada Nishiki rice, Nakadori sake is considered the finest of the batch for its clarity, expressive aromas, well-balanced structure, purity of flavor, smooth texture, and versatility. One of Juyondai’s premium, it boasts fresh aromas of lychee, white peach, and hints of green melon. Medium to full-bodied, but not heavy or too rich, the palate is complex and layered. It offers an elegant, soft, velvety texture with fruity flavors, making it an ideal aperitif or a perfect companion to seafood like sashimi. Beautifully crafted. Loved it.

Dugat-Py Moyzeres Chambertin Grand Cru 2018

Beyond its clear, bright, hypnotizing crimson color, the Dugat-Py Moyzeres Chambertin 2018 reveals attractive, freshly crushed red cherries and berries mixed with earthy, spicy, and floral notes on the nose. The palate combines freshness, elegance, refinement, balance, and length with sexiness, richness, complexity, and juiciness. The mid-palate is luxurious and concentrated, with integrated tannins, remarkable acidity, and a long-lasting aftertaste. It is a perfect blend of grace and equilibrium, showcasing the extraordinary quality of the 2018 vintage. Although open and easy to drink now, it will undoubtedly benefit from a few years of cellaring. Delightful wine! Loved it.

Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion 2005

La Mission Haut-Brion 2005 is a stunning wine! The opening displays enticing blackberry, cedar, and tobacco aromas, mingling with earthy notes and menthol nuances. Medium-bodied, the palate is refined, elegant, ample, supple, generous, and incredibly well-balanced between the ripeness of the fruit, the refreshing acidity, and the fine tannins, providing respectively juiciness, freshness, elegance, complexity, texture, and structure to this splendid example of this great vintage. Loved it.

Cheers! Santé!

Dom

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LeDomduVin: Some lineup!

Some lineup!

The other day, I enjoyed opening some great bottles again. 

Raifuku Junmai Daiginjo Ultra 8 Sake

Light and easy-going, a bit short for my taste. I like my sake with a bit more weight and length. 

Juyondai Akaiwa Omachi Junmai Ginjo (1800ml) 

Brewed with 'Omachi' (often referred to as the ancestor of sake rice) from Akaiwa in the Okayama prefecture, this sake is rich, smooth, medium to full-bodied, and delightfully layered. It boasts distinctive cantaloupe aromas and a rich umami finish.

Louis Latour Meursault 2017

Overall, it is an elegant, light to medium-bodied, well-balanced wine with notes of citrus, honey, and oak and a reasonably long finish.

Jean-Noel Gagnard Batard-Montrachet 2018

I love JN Gagnard's wines, and this Batard is delightful. It boasts fresh and enticing stone fruits, white flowers, and zesty aromas. The palate is crisp, refreshing, and mineral, with a good density and outstanding balance, and the glycerine coating the palate and layered flavors expand till the seamless finish. Now, that's a great wine! 

Denis Mortet Clos de Vougeot 2019

I love Denis Mortet's wines, and this "Clos de Vougeot", although still too young, is another excellent example of this talented and skilled winemaker. Refined, elegant, complex, rich, long, and extremely satisfying. 

Chateau Latour Pauillac 2015

Deep garnet-purple color, it offers lovely aromas of ripe black and red berries, mingling with notes of licorice, red roses, and cigar box. The palate combines red and black fruits with freshness and ripeness, gentle texture, and integrated tannins. It is expressive, generous, ample, layered, structured, balanced, and surprisingly drinkable. 

Mouton Rothschild Pauillac 2005

So open and easy to drink right now, aromatic, complex, smooth, and layered, with a long finish. Loved it. 

Cheers! Santé!

Dom 

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LeDomduVin: Bigger and taller bottles don’t always have the biggest corks!

Size does matter… 

but bigger and taller bottles don’t always have the biggest corks! 😉😄🤣👍🍷

Sorry, I couldn’t resist. That’s the first thing that came to my mind when I served these bottles the other day, and put their corks side by side. 😉😄🤣

Cheers! Santé! 

Dom 

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LeDomduVin: Nice Combo!

Nice Combo! 

That night was a lucky night! I had planned only on a Champagne (Cristal 2012) and a red (Pichon Lalande 2015), as requested by the host.

Yet, one of the guests brought more bottles of wine, amongst which I chose the Armand Rousseau Charmes 2012 and Gruaud Larose 1982.

Never miss an opportunity to indulge in and taste rare and expensive wines when it presents itself, right? And they were terrific. It was really a lucky night. 

Louis Roederer Cristal 2012

A blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, first vintage produced from 100% organically farmed fruit, vinified without malolactic fermentation and disgorged with 7.5 grams per liter dosage, Cristal 2012 is a masterpiece! It displays enticing aromas of stone fruit, peach, lemon, and honey, mingling with floral, mineral, and toasted nuances. The refined palate is rich, full, concentrated, structured, and textured, nicely expanding from the attack to the long finish. Loved it.

Armand Rousseau Charmes Chambertin 2012

This is a stellar wine! Combining freshness, richness, and complexity with elegance and sophistication, refined structure, superb acidity, seamless texture, and outstanding balance. It is a perfect example of luxury, refinement, and elegance all in one bottle. Very impressed!

Pichon Lalande 2015

Served after the stunningly expressive Rousseau, it, unfortunately, appeared shy and tight, almost faded and lacking. Fortunately, 2 hours of decanting helped it to open up and show its potential. Nice, even if a bit young. Give it a few more years.

Gruaud Larose 1982

This was the cherry on the cake! Some 82s I tasted in recent years showed signs of weakness and decline. But, despite its old and cloudy appearance and advanced tertiary aromas and flavors, it was in perfect condition, alive and kicking, amazingly youthful, and still with plenty of balance, texture & structure. Wow!

Cheers! Santé!

Dom

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LeDomduVin: I love my job!

I love my job! 

Who wouldn’t when you get to open so many excellent bottles on a regular basis, meaning nearly daily? 

Philippe Colin Chevalier-Montrachet 2019

Philippe Colin Chevalier-Montrachet 2019 has been one of my go-to “Chevalier-Montrachet” for the past 6-8 months already, and I have already described it many times, but I will do it again with pleasure as it is so good!  It is voluptuous, ample, generous, rich, buttery, so well-rounded and silky that it feels almost “sweet” with yellow and exotic fruit nuances, mingling with oaky, toasted nuances. It is virtually "New World" in a Burgundian way, thanks to good acidity and enough minerality to keep it balanced and vibrant. It is a lush, curvy, yet elegant, charming wine with much to give. Decanting it is a must. Loved it.

Chateau Latour Pauillac 2005

Chateau Latour is one of my favorite wines of all time, as it is, with Chateau Haut-Brion (my favorite), always very consistent and delivering high quality, complexity, and depth, especially to those who are patient enough to wait for it to reach its ideal window of drinkability.  This is the case for 2005, which is very open and approachable now. The nose is already promising, boasting dark, ripe fruits and berries mixed with earthy, oaky, secondary, and tertiary aromas (e.g., leather, truffle, cigar box, tobacco, cedar, mushroom, and graphite). Focus and precise, the palate is rich, intense, powerful, well-balanced, bold, and structured, with a grip of earthy tannins and the same type of flavors as the nose expanding through until the long finish. It showed wonderfully after 2 hours of decanting. Loved it. 

Cheers! Santé! 

Dom

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LeDomduVin: An excellent start to 2024

An excellent start to 2024

The new year had barely started, yet I was already back to work, opening great bottles of wine on the second day of what seemed to be the beginning of a promising year. 

😄👍🥂🍾🍷

Dom Perignon 2013

The 2013 vintage is very dry, crisp, and light compared to 2012, which is richer, more full-bodied, and more complex (IMO). On the nose, the 2013 displays white flowers, lemon zest, and stone fruit aromas mingling with light toasted brioche nuances. The palate is light to medium-bodied, well-balanced, fresh, and zesty, with high acidity. It is an excellent champagne as an aperitif with light appetizers and oysters. 

Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru “Les Folatieres” 2017

Pierre-Yves Colin and his wife Caroline Morey Premier Cru 'Les Folatières' is typically focused and mineral with nutty and stone fruit overtones. This 2017 vintage is no exception; it possesses excellent minerality and freshness, stone fruit, and zesty flavors flirting with light, oaky, buttery nuances. Nice. 

Château Palmer Margaux 2016

2016 in Bordeaux is a beautiful vintage combining liveliness and richness, generosity, ampleness, and complexity in an exquisite and refined way. This Palmer 2016 is a perfect example of it! It exhibits a deep, dark color. Fresh, fragrant, and inviting, the nose boasts rich and enticing aromas of blackberries mingling with floral and earthy notes. The palate is rich, dense, intense, yet elegant and lively, with a good balance between the ripeness of the fruit, the acidity, and the present yet well-integrated tannins, providing excellent structure and a smooth, almost creamy texture. The long finish immediately calls for another glass. Although it is still young, I highly recommend it as it is incredibly drinkable now. 

Cheers! Santé! 

Dom

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LeDomduVin: Jean Vesselle Oeil de Perdrix Blanc de Noirs Brut Champagne 1999 & NV

Jean Vesselle Oeil de Perdrix Blanc de Noirs Brut Champagne 1999 & NV 

I had these two bottles for a while and finally opened them with some colleagues to celebrate the new year. As I had been eager to open the 1999 for some time (without committing myself to doing so before), I opened it first. 

Jean Vesselle Oeil de Perdrix Blanc de Noirs Vintage Champagne 1999

(Dégorgé March 1st, 2019 – only 2300 bottles produced)

Intriguing yet beautifully attractive color, between salmon and onion skin nuances, with copper reflects and delicate bubbles. The nose displayed discreet floral scents mingling with light red berries and orange zest notes. The palate was fresh, crisp, light to medium-bodied, elegant, silky, and balanced, with an enticing mix of flavors of red berries and stone fruits. The finish was light to medium yet seductive. The overall palate was rather delicate, refined, and subtle. I found it lovely and pleasantly fresh and alive for a 1999 vintage. Although a bit light for my taste, it still had plenty of aromas, flavors, and freshness. I was very agreeably surprised! 

Jean Vesselle Oeil de Perdrix Blanc de Noirs Brut Champagne NV

(Dégorgé October 23rd, 2019 – 6.5g/l)

It was my mistake to have opened 1999 first, as it appeared insipid, relatively light and lacked substance, texture, structure, and flavors compared to the 1999 one. Shame, as I would have loved to like it as much as its older sibling, but I did not. Don’t get me wrong, it is not a bad champagne, just too light and thin for my taste, especially after the 1999. 

It reminded me of a quintessential tasting rule (that I have learned repeatedly in the past 33 years of my career as a Sommelier and Wine Buyer): when it comes to tasting wine or champagne, always go from youngest to oldest, lighter to full-bodied, white to red, etc.… 

Next time, I will definitely apply the rule rather than listen to my personal desire, as, in a way, it was unfair for this poor young NV to be served after 1999. 

Cheers! Santé! 

Dom 

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LeDomduVin: Marques de Riscal Elciego (Alava) Vino de Crianza 1922

Marques de Riscal Elciego (Alava) 

Vino de Crianza 1922

I'm always humbled when in the presence of such a piece of history. 

I mean, it's not every day that I come across such an old and rare bottle, especially one from Marques de Riscal. 

The cellars I am inventorying are usually primarily stocked with French wines. Some Italian and American wines are occasionally found, but Spanish wines are a rare discovery.

Marques de Riscal is one of my favorite Rioja wineries, and I had the chance to visit it a few times and drink and sell a fair amount of their wines over the past 20 years. 

Being able to hold this bottle of Marques de Riscal 1922 brought back a lot of great memories. 

Back in the early to mid-2000s, when I was working in New York, at @pjwine, I had the chance, every year, to organize and participate in the PJ Wine owner's wine-buying trip to France and Spain. 

A trip of 15 to 18 days, usually occurring at the end of March and beginning of April, focused mainly on tasting Bordeaux Futures and visiting wineries around Rioja, Priorat, and Ribera del Duero.

This is how, at the time, Peter Yi (wine lover and owner of PJWine.com), Justin Berlin (a Spanish wine aficionado extraordinaire), Sam Nelom (a wine amateur and blind-tasting legend), and I ended up eating in some of the best restaurants in the southwest of France and the northern part of Spain had to offer.

That's how, in 2006, we got to experience chef Ferran Adrià's "El Bulli" and eat at Marques de Riscal's restaurant after tasting some of their wines. 

We were also among the first guests to spend the night in some of the best suites of the newly finished Frank Gehry-designed Marques de Riscal hotel. It was a tremendous experience. 

And for those who may wonder, no, I did not open this bottle as it is part of a private cellar. 

Cheers! Santé!

Dom 

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