Domaine Amiot Servelle, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru, 2013
Somehow, in a period of less than two weeks, I managed to open two Grand Crus a few years before their peak. Unlike the Domaine Julien Echezeaux 2013, this is approachable, actually drinking very good, if not excellently. The nose shows the direct power of a young Grand Cru: smoke, iron, pine needles. The palate exhibits an elegant surface, but beneath that surface are tannins in need of time. The real drawback is a lack of complexity.
Rotem & Mounir Saouma, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Arioso, 2013
I did find complexity the same evening in a wine from a region I'd written off years ago. This Chateauneuf is made of 100% Grenache and its makers are an Israeli-Lebanese couple who'd made their name in Burgundy. Also, their fortunes, as you'd expect when American critics favor you as much as their did their négociant-éléveur enterprise, Lucien Le Moine. Those American scores, and my experience with their reds, would have shied me away from this Southern Rhone wine, but this is surprising and quite tasty. The palate shows good acidity with no sign of over-extraction. The wine is not aged in the usual barrels but rather in a combination of large wooden foudres, 500-liter barrels and cement tanks, including some eggs. The nose is riper than the palate (but then I don't have to drink the nose), showing red fruit, minerals and pepper. My issues with Chateauneufs was never about the aromatics, anyway.
Jamet, Cote Rotie, 2013
Opened at least five years too early, maybe as many as ten. The nose courts with olive tapenade and pepper, the fine tannins provide a rough-hewn elegance.
Vilmart, Couer de Cuvée, 1999
Very lively, still. The nose shows power rather than nuances and complexity: ripe, baked apples and chalk. The acidity has gracefully survived the long years, enough to support the ripeness of the fruit. I don't think I'd have ever guessed its age.
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