Friday, August 19, 2022

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

@ledomduvin  #lesphotosadom, #krug, #bouchardpereetfils, #maisonlouislatour, #ledomduvin,  #wine, #vin, #champagne, #burgundy, #wein, #vino, #bordeaux, #chateaulaconseillante, #tastingnotes



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Thursday, August 18, 2022

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. 

Santé! Cheers!

LeDomduVin (aka Dominique Noel) 


@ledomduvin #ledomduvin #lesphotosadom #portrait #memyselfandi #yourhumbleservant 
@chateau_paviemacquin #wine #vin #vino #wein #blackandwhite #dominiquenoel



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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 

@ledomduvin #ledomduvin #lesphotosadom #menageatrois #winetrio #trio #wine #vin #vino #wein #champagnesalon #bouchardpereetfils #chateauchevalblanc #sommelier #sommelierlife #sommlife #ilovemyjob


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Wednesday, August 17, 2022

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

#ledomduvin @ledomduvin #lesphotosadom #tastingnotes #wineoftheday #wine #vin #vino #wein @krugchampagne #krug @ramonet0117 #jeanclauderamonet @chateauhautbailly #hautbailly @chateaulamissionhautbrion #lamissionhautbrion #sommelier #sommelierlife #sommlife #ilovemyjob



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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

@ledomduvin #ledomduvin #lesmemesadom #innerpeace #sharing #share #friends #family #moment #memories #wine #vin #vino #wein #peace 



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