Dinner at La Corniche, Arcachon, June 27, 2012

Wednesday night we had a lovely dinner on the coast of Archachon with a couple of negotiants and Chateaux owners.  It is an amazing view and being with friends and drinking great wines only adds to the enjoyment.

Attending dinner was Ferdinand Mahler-Besse, Erwan Coz, Jean Triaud (St. Pierre and Gloria), Matthieu Cuvelier (Clos Fourtet), and Maragux Pariente (Troplong Mondot).  We knew that we would be drinking Bordeaux but I thought it would be fun to "force" 

the Bordelais to drink champagne and white burg to start.  In fairness, this is the current generation and they are very open minded about wine outside of Bordeaux so it was a very good experience for all of them and it seemed to peak curiosity.  They all have the mindset of learning from other regions.  So, here is the line up:

1988 Krug from magnum - Beautiful nose showing classic Krug notes of nuts and apple.  Perfect fine bubbles with creamed peach and minerals. Truly brilliant!

1992 Roumier Corton Charlemagne from magnum - Its been about 12 years since I last opened one of these as I was looking for the right group. Glad I waited!  Completely classic white burgundy and a brilliant 92 though Christoph's CC is rarely celebrated. Gorgeous minerality and green apple fruit. Still has lovely acidity (at least in mag) and that long ethereal finish that only white burgs can provide. It is time for this I think and I won't wait another 12+ years to open the rest. 

2007 Gloria - I've hammered the table on how beautifully the 07s are drinking and this is no exception but include the extreme value factor. This wine has expressive eucaliptis and fresh blackberry. Big mouthful of fruit and beautiful balance with tannin and acidity. I am so impressed with the return to great wine Gloria has provided. 

2004 Troplong Mondot - Extremely typical Troplong. Big expressive, explosive dark fruit and florals. This is still just huge especially for 04 in comparison to others I've had recently. This wine is by far the youngest 04 I can think of currently. Just superb length and total Troplong structure and power. Check back in 3-5 years and it should be just right. 

1999 Clos Fourtet (pre-Cuvuliers) - Eucaliptis and mint on the nose. Really big and dark (in a good way) with a spice tail. Quite a bit of tannin still which a find a bit surprising on a 99 St Emilion but they are not over powering the wine in any way. Not a bad finish but tails off a bit. All in all good and should be a nice value on a list.