Bonneau’s Réserve des Célestins and Beaucastel’s Hommage à Jacques Perrin
One good thing about Denver hosting the Democratic National Convention is that it brings fellow winos from all over to the city. In this case, we had Eric LeVine and his lovely wife in town so a small group of denverites hooked up for a stellar meal.
We kicked off the evening with a gorgeous bottle of 1998 Heidsieck & Co. Monopole Champagne Diamant Rosé . Nary a hard edge to be found anywhere, this was lush, round and almost a still wine since the bubbles ran out after about 5 minutes in the glass. Never the less, it was firing on all cylinders and seems to be an early maturing wine.
After the champagne, we dove into a spectacular flight of distinct whites. The 2006 Dönnhoff Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese was pure sweet nectar and couldn’t have been easier to gulp down. Seriously, it’s almost like candy and despite the pure gulp ability; it showed complexity, acidity and verve. The 2000 Michel Coutoux Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Maltroie couldn’t have been more different and was a rich, regal white burg. Nutty, oaky and rich, this needed some time to open up in the glass but was a superb bottle. The 2004 Schloss Gobelsburg Grüner Veltliner Kammerner Lamm was yet another drastic stylistic change and couldn’t have been any more mineral and flint driven. Imagine yourself in a stone quarry right after a massive piece of stone was dynamited off a cliff and you’ll have an idea of what this wine smells like.
At this point, we moved on to the star bottles of the evening. I thought the 1998 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin was very similar to the 2001 and just has massive amounts of pure, clean fruit. This gained complexity and depth with air, picking up a melted licorice and meaty note on the last sip. Just absolutely stunning and it’s amazing how different this blend is from their regular bottling. The typical game and leather notes are nowhere to be found and this is a massively fruited, clean beauty.
This was my first Bonneau and I have to say, Parker’s description of throwing a bunch of Grenache vines and a shot of brandy into a blender hits the nail on the head. The 1988 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Célestins was perfumed, spicy and almost three dimensional on the palate with a thick, rich texture. I loved both of these wines and let me tell you, looking at the deep purple color of the Hommage right next to the ruby red color of the Bonneau gave me goose bumps. Thank you Eric and Thank you Michael for the chance to taste these two fantastic wines!
In hindsight, the 1995 Château Cos d’Estournel was a poor choice for this lineup and couldn’t help but come off a little unfriendly and showing more herbal notes next to the two Chateauneufs. Despite this, a superb bottle and I took this home and finished it off over the next couple of days. It’s still young with a long life ahead of it.
- 1998 Heidsieck & Co. Monopole Champagne Diamant Rosé - France, Champagne
Very rich and round with orange rind, ripe fruit and custard flavors, full body, low acidity and a smooth, long finish. Not a long term ager but stunning right now. Drink up. (93 pts.) - 2006 Dönnhoff Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Nahe
Fantastic with lychee, sweet, freshly picked cherries and mineral notes. Medium to full bodied with a perfect, gorgeous texture and nice acidity that comes out with air. Long, long finish. Not a hard edge and just begs to be gulped down. (93 pts.) - 2000 Michel Coutoux Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Maltroie - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Very rich, nutty and buttery with lots of oak that integrates with air as the fruit comes more to the forfront. Initially closed on the palate, this opens up and shows beautiful precision, edge and depth to go along with a rich, ripe texture and a long finish. (92 pts.) - 2004 Schloss Gobelsburg Grüner Veltliner Kammerner Lamm - Austria, Niederösterreich, Kamptal, Langenlois
Just packed with mineral, slate and crushed stone notes that are frammed by green grapefruit and citrus notes. Very mineral driven and just fantastic on the nose. The palate is medium bodied, rich, balanced and shows great acidity, edge and precision that leads into a long finish. (92 pts.)
- 1998 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Fruit forward with rich, sweet blackberry and cassis notes paired with melted licorice, spice, roast meat and subtle truffle and earth aromas. The palate is full bodied, perfectly balanced and with some real density and depth. Almost chewable, this is silky smooth and doesn’t show a hard edge anywhere. The blockbuster finish picks up ripe and sweet tannins. (98 pts.) - 1988 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Célestins - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Very perfumed and slightly heady, this shows tons of spiced meat, dried garrigue, cherries and cedar aromas on the nose. The palate is really something special and has a density and weight that is hard to come by in a wine. It feels thick in the mouth and is perfectly balanced, rich, and very long on the finish. (95 pts.) - 1995 Château Cos d’Estournel - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
My last bottle. The nose gives up textbook aromas of lead pencil, cassis, earth and leafy tobacco aromas. The fruit and sweetness comes out with air and lead into a medium to full bodied palate. Balanced, young and with solid underlying structure, this has a rich texture and a long finish. (93 pts.)