Ledomduvin: The usual suspects...

The usual suspects...

... as, once again, I had the chance to serve them, again, last night.

Krug Grande Cuvée 170ème Édition Champagne Brut NV 

Bright, crisp, fresh, gentle, extremely approachable and exquisitely refreshing. Love it. Fresher and lighter than the 169ème Édition in my opinion. Crafted out of 195 wines from 12 different years, of which the youngest is 2014... amazing, isn't it? And that's just Krug's entry level champagne!!! Mind-boggling if you ask me.

Bouchard Père et fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru "Champ Gain" 2018

Clean, pale yellow colour. Light, fresh and delicate nose with lemon and yellow fruits and floral notes mingling with chalky stones and mineral nuances. Harmonious and integrated, very balanced, good structure and texture, yet light and gracious on its feet like a  ballerina. I just opened it about 30 minutes prior to serving it, left it in the bottle, no decanting, and it showed wonderfully.

Maison Louis Latour Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2008

Tasted a few months ago, I was left perplexed as it was not as good as expected. Last night was a good opportunity to revisit it. Intense golden yellow colour, (âge or oxidation ?). Muted nose at the opening, with oxidative and reductive notes, slightly "sherry-esk", nutty notes. I decanted it to aerate it. The nose opened up, the oxidative notes gave way to melon and peach aromas mingling with dry yellow apple and hay notes, slight buttery and woody nuances. After about 1 hour, despite slightly oxidative notes, it was quite good: rich, ample, coating, layered, long-lasting and overall fairly complex and refined.

Chateau La Conseillante Pomerol 2004

I was a bit sceptical at first due to the vintage, as 2004 was not a great vintage in Bordeaux, overall, rather light, tight and tannic. Yet, some Châteaux did well, more especially on the right bank, where the early ripening Merlot and Cabernet Franc did much better than the Cabernet Sauvignon of the left bank. La Conseillante is one of them. On the light side, yet, showing elegance and character, with dark fruits, cassis, earth, floral, spice, sandalwood and graphite notes, expanding through the light-weight, yet consistent and balanced palate.

Cheers! Santé! 

Dom

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LeDomduVin: Portrait - LeDomduVin

Portrait: Ledomduvin 

Your humble servant and a bottle of Château Pavie Macquin Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé B, 2005 vintage, in black and white. 

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@chateau_paviemacquin #wine #vin #vino #wein #blackandwhite

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LeDomduVin: Ménage à trois...

Ménage à trois... 

A Sommelier's wine norm is to try to sell at least 1 bottle per table. If not possible, at least 1 or 2 glasses, for a table of 2. And, when it comes to a table of 4 (and above), at least 1 bottle or more. 

Yet, my personal norm (or target, if you prefer), for a table of 4, (as a Sommelier and Head Sommelier/Wine Buyer, with 30 years of experience working in high-end French restaurants), consists of upselling by suggesting a wine trio composed of: 

1 Champagne (vintage preferably), 

1 white Burgundy (or a white Loire, Rhone or Alsace), and either 

1 red Bordeaux or Burgundy or Rhone  

It does not work all the time, yet, it usually works when you know how to approach your patrons with convincing words, a charming attitude and witty remarks. 

😉 😁👍🍷

More especially, if they chose the tasting menu, usually consisting of at least 4 dishes or more. 

I selected and served this wine trio to a table of 4 last night. 

@maisonchampagnesalon Cuvée 'S' Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne 1999

Believe me or not, I did not get the chance to try it, last night. I opened it and smelled it, and a little bit remained in the bottle at the end, but some of my colleagues beat me to it. From memories of previous experiences, it is a delightful and sophisticated Champagne, that I would have loved to refresh my memory with. 😀 😄 😁👍🍾🥂

@bouchardpereetfils Montrachet Grand Cru Cote de Beaune 2002

I decanted it roughly about 40 minutes prior to serving it (I opened it right after I first served the Champagne). Found it a bit shy, light, delicate and restrained at first, yet, it developed into a charming, seductive, captivating wine showing elegance, character and class. 

@chevalblancofficial Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé A 1998

I decanted it about 1 hour and a half prior to serving it and it showed wonderfully well. That said, 1998 was a great vintage for Cheval Blanc and it exceeded my expectations. Delicious, racy, classy, powerful and plentiful, yet in an elegant, refined and focused way. 

Santé! Cheers! 

Dom 

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LeDomduVin: Today's wines - July 17th 2022

Today's wines: July 17th 2022

Krug Grande Cuvée 170ème Édition NV

Bright, crisp, fresh, light, mineral, good zest of acidity, great balance, love it. 

Jean-Claude Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru "Les Vergers" 2018

White and yellow flowers and fruits, with mineral and discreet wood ageing buttery, toasted notes. Glycerine sensation coating the palate, which gives it amplitude, texture and substance, yet without being heavy nor flabby as balanced by great acidity. Layered and complex in an elegant and gentle way. What a lovely wine! 

Château Haut-Bailly Grand Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan 2010

A very solar wine, full, ripe, generous, ample, layered, earthy, with dark fruits and berries mingling with oak nuances, nice balance overall and still a good grip of tannins, that could still use a few more years to round up. Still very young, and even a bit rough after 2 hours of decanting and cooling by leaving the decanter on ice for a short while to serve it at the right temperature. Quite long finish. A touch of alcohol somehow. Enjoyable, yet too young in my opinion, needs a bit of time to mellow some of the rough edges. 

Château La Mission Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan 2005

I'm a bit biased on this one, as Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion are two of my favourite wines in the world. And yet again, this wine is so good, refined and elegant, that it would be difficult for anyone not to like it. Layered, textured, structured, balanced, complex, aromatic and seductive with a long finish. Great after two hours of decanting. Love it. 

Cheers! Santé! 

Dom

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LeDomduVin: How to find inner peace?

How to find inner peace? 

How about sharing a good bottle of wine with friends? (*)

(*) One will probably not be enough... but drink responsibly 😁👍🍷🍷🍷

The good thing about sharing a glass of wine with friends and/or family, is that it lifts up the mood and makes you feel good and relaxed, while enjoying the wine, the moment and the people. 

It is also a good way to forget a little about the worries and difficulties you might have in your life. And it makes for great memories too. 

So, have another glass of wine! 😁👍🍷

Santé! Cheers! 

Dom

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LeDomduVin: Joyeux 14 Juillet

Joyeux 14 Juillet 

La Fête Nationale Française,

Fêtez la avec du Vin. 

Happy 14th of July 

The French National Day, 

Celebrate it with Wine.

Original picture of France with wine labels inside courtesy of 

https://atelier-vauvenargues.com/products/affiches-carte-des-vins

#ledomduvin @ledomduvin #lesmemesadom #quatorzejuillet #14juillet #july14 #fetenationale #nationalfrenchday #frenchday #wine #vin #vino #wein #france

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LeDomduVin: Alter Ego de Château Palmer 2017

Alter Ego de Château Palmer 2017

Last night, we had a gathering with a few ex-colleagues and friends, as a remembering in the memory of our dear colleague, mentor and friend, Bernard de Laage de Meux, who passed away recently.

Ken Man brought this bottle of Alter Ego, the second wine of Château Palmer, where Bernard worked for 15 years (1999 - 2014). It was a way to have a bit of Bernard with us.

A bottle of Château Le Bon Pasteur would also have been a nice touch, as Bernard was the President of LBP until his passing. We will definitely find one for our next gathering.

As I always like to say: People who passed away only die if/when we stop thinking and talking about them like they were still there. Otherwise, they live on forever in our memories, thoughts, dreams, prayers and discussions.

So, that what we did, we revived our memories of Bernard, while eating some Chinese food and drinking a wine he was related to at some point in his life.

Despite being very young, this Alter Ego 2017 was really opened and approchable, generous, opulent and surprisingly good, for a vintage that is considered to be difficult mostly due to a severe frost in April, which considerably impacted some  producers in some areas. In short, a very  heterogeneous vintage resulting in average to good, bad and ugly wines.

That said, the growing conditions were not so bad after all. As per Jancice Robinson "rain end of June, dry summer, hot August, damp start to September, fine finish", allowing some producers to make some good wines. And, this Alter Ego is definitely a very good example of it.

Dark, inky color. Youthful nose boasting aromas of ripe dark fruits and berries, mingling with integrated oaky, toasted, smoky and earthy notes. Smooth and ample in the palate, without being heavy, generous and textured, focused and well crafted, with a good balance between the fruit, the acity and the tannins. Nicely expanding from the attack to the finish. What a very pleasant surprise! Loved it.

We did several toasts last night, yet, once again, with this post, I'd like to raise my glass to you Bernard. We miss you.

Dom

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LeDomduVin: Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso 2020

Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso 

2020 Sicily, Italy

Enjoying a nice glass of red with Leonardo Degli'Innocenti, Operations Director at "Tuber" and "Cannubi" (*), while eating a delicious dish prepared by talented executive chef Keith Yam Ka-lok.

It was my first time at "Tuber". Very nice and cosy place, "Art Deco" style, comfortable and relaxed atmosphere, with a great wine list boasting a very interesting selection of Italian wines mingling with some from the rest of the world, at competitive prices.

I came that day to assist with the wine service for a private lunch. Once the lunch was over and the patrons were gone, pastry chef Tommaso Gaudino, Leonardo and myself sat down and enjoyed some pasta and wine (as we did not eat prior to the service). It was a brief, yet tasty, comforting and enjoyable experience.

Terre Nere Etna Rosso is one of my favourite red wines from Sicily. I used to buy and sell a lot of this wine during my New York years.

This Etna Rosso is a blend of 95% Nerello Mascalese, and 5% Nerello cappuccio, from 5 to 50-year-old vines, planted on volcanic soil, on the northern slope of Mount Etna, at an altitude between 600  and 900 meters. It is aged in large French oak barrels (10-30 hl) for 16 months, plus one month in steel tanks, then bottled unfiltered, with an average annual production of 11,000 cases.

Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso 2020 Sicily, Italy

This 2020 vintage visually presents an attractive clear, bright and youthful ruby colour. The nose is very incentive, boasting fresh aromas of red cherries and berries mingling with floral, earthy and mineral notes and smokey nuances. The palate is clean, precise and sharp, medium-bodied yet generously coating, offering plenty of subtle flavours, harmoniously balanced between the fruit, the zesty acidity and the present yet integrated tannins, providing this wine with great structure and texture, opulence and charm, with a good grip on the persistent finish. Love it.

Thank you for this enjoyable moment in your company Leonardo, it was really nice. Thanks to Chef Keith too.

Sante! Cheers! 

Dom

(*) Umberto Bombana new restaurants in K11 Musea, Hong Kong.

@ledomduvin #ledomduvin @etrusco_9

@tuber_umberto_bombana @tenutadelleterre #etnarosso #wine #vin  #vino #wein

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LeDomduVin: Twins - Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jacques 2008

Twins:  Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jacques 2008

It is not every day that I can open and taste some bottles from Armand Rousseau.

This particular producer is so in demand that it is difficult to find some bottles, and when you find some, they are so expensive, nowadays, that nobody drinks them anymore.

Instead, they use them as products of speculation, by putting them in their cellars, prior to reselling them a few years later via auction houses or private sales. 

Yet, on some rare occasions, like today, some of these bottles end up being served, rather than being stored. 

The first bottle was delicate, silky and elegant, not to say light, faded and thin. The nose timidly offered aromas of red, almost slightly underriped cherry and griottes, herbs, minerals and earthy notes. The palate was light bodied, a bit thin in my opinion, delivering nice and gentle cherry fruit, backed up by a great acidity, but not really substantial, lacking of texture and structure. It was good and overall balanced and harmonious, but lacked the layers, complexity and wow factor somewhat expected at HKD 14,500 (€1800) a bottle. Good, not great. 

The 2nd bottle showed much better features and quality: more expressive on the nose and on the palate, it seemed fresher, more opulent, ample and generous, and had a more persistent finish. Ever the color seemed darker and younger than the previous bottle. Loved it . 

Which made me ponder and ask myself why? This is a great example of bottle variations which, once again, proved the importance of being aware of the provenance and storage conditions, as well as anthenticy and genuineness of the bottles. Both real? One fake? Or one that already traveled the world over many times in auctions? Who knows... All I can say is that the difference was obvious... yet, so many factors might come to play to explain this difference. Hard to say. 

Cheers! Santé! 

Dom 

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LeDomduVin: The Usual Trio - Champagne, Burgundy & Bordeaux

The Usual Trio: 

Champagne, Burgundy & Bordeaux 

Over 

Dom Perignon 2010

Perrot-Minot Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru 2017

Mouton Rothschild 2014

Full description soon on my blog at www.ledomduvin.com 

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