Rhône for Le French Gourmay

Dinner at Ta Vie.

1999 Pol Roger Blanc de Blancs - very lovely and fragrant nose, ripe and caramelized, very soft and alluring like a beautiful woman looking at you with a mischievous smile on her face, beckoning you to come closer. Sipping it with the taste of crab and corn still on the palate drew out lots of minerals. Almost like crème caramel some 1½ hours after opening.

2009 Chave Hermitage Blanc - started drinking 30 minutes after decanting, with a huge nose of toast and flint, along with some sweet vanilla underneath. Beautiful, buttery and silky smooth. Absolutely stunning starting from 10 minutes in and remained so for the rest of the evening.

2007 Clos des Papes Rouge - served from bottle 1 hour and 15 minutes after opening. Pretty nice minty nose with a hint of sweetness, some leather, and a little farmy with ripe fruit on the palate. Very fragrant with almost a hint of floral notes, but also a hint of pungent notes. Some 30 minutes in the nose turned big and toasty. Drinking very, very nicely tonight.

2006 Jean-Michel Stephan Côte-Rôtie Côteaux de Tupin - served 1½ hours after decanting. This was soooo fucking beautiful! So floral with lavender, plenty of red fruits. Still a little grippy on the palate. Still beautiful 15 minutes in with cool fruit and eucalyptus, then we got smoke and grilled meats about 1 hour in. I would give this 96 points, but only because the higher than expected acidity detracted from how beautiful this wine was.

Full post on dinner is here.