Tasty

A different sort of night last night... a private wine tasting. Staring at the crashing waves as pelicans fly by as if floating on air... been very windy (but cool) the last few days. First, the whites yesterday. 2002 Trimbach Pinot Gris Reserve is classic - spicy with power. Apricots, pears, minerals, and green apples. Nice stuff. The 2003 Guigal Condrieu La Doriane is massive - for a Condrieu. This is classic viognier - with a creamy, leesy finish and tons of new oak. I think a little less oak and a touch less malo on this wine might have helped. Very ripe, stewed tropical fruits with loads of classic honeysuckle and caramel. The 2004 Rudi Pichler Smaragd Hochstein Gruner Veltliner, Wachau, Austria was textbook Gruner. I pray for this wine on my competition or Master exam. All white pepper, Bosc pears and green apples. A great dry Gruner. The 2005 Coldstream Hills Sauvignon Blanc, Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia was fantastic. Not quite as pungent and acidic as the New Zealand Sauvignons can sometimes be. A touch creamy, but with loads of lemongrass, gooseberry, and grapefruit. Wonderful and refreshing. On to the reds... The 2002 Penfold's RWT Shiraz, Barossa Valley, South Australia is amazing wine. In 4 or 5 years this will be killer. Raspberry, black pepper, plums, and sweet cherries. This is massive without being overpowering. A very concentrated, but balanced Shiraz in the style I like. The 1999 Gaja Sugarille Brunello di Montalcino could be one of the best young Brunellos I've ever tasted. Classic dried cranberries, strawberries, rhubarb, and clove spice. More fruit-forward than most other Brunello. A long, long finish. A nice effort for Gaja. I had read a good bit about the 2002 Vale de Penas Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina, but I was quite dissapointed. A beautiful nose with loads of violets, black plums, and jammy sweet fruit. So balanced and made me happy to taste it... only to find slightly green tannins and a slight off-balance of fruit and alcohol. Good, but not great. Maybe in time it will come around a little bit, but you can't get green tannins back... The 1999 Cims Priorato, Spain was a monster. I've tasted it before, but this wine has started to evolve. The fruit is all stewed (this wine is roughly 70% Carignan, 20% Grenache, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Syrah) and dirty - like a great Spanish wine should be. The tannins are incredible - ripe, but firm. The fruit is dark and powerful. A great effort... A nice evening of good wine.

Slow...

Not an awful lot to write about lately... tomorrow I'll write about glassware and the awesome 2001 Clos Mogodor Priorat...

All Around This World...

Listeneing to a killer show right now... GD 5-1-1981, Hampton Coliseaum. Good luck to R, B & A. Dubai? Napa? Wow... Anyway... back to business. From the last 2 nights...

First, my first taste of the 2005 German Rieslings. I tasted a 2005 Schaefer Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett, Mosel Saar-Ruwer, and wow was it good. I'll reserve judgement on the vintage until I taste quite a few more, but if the first one is any indication, I know what will be showing up a great deal in my personal cella... The 2002 Opus One is a deep purple, anise, black plum, clove, cocoa, and black currant blockbuster. A great Opus One, but not my favorite wine. I am not generally a big Opus One fan as most every wine I've had from them has been good - just not great. With enough resources, I think most wineries can make good wine. To make great wine is something special. I think this blows away the 2001 and is more on par with a young 1997. Nice effort. Compared to the 2002 Joseph Phelps Insignia, the Opus was water. This was the first time I've tasted it since the fall, and wow. It's mellowed somewhat (which is a good thing), and is starting to come together nicely. I think it might be closing a little bit, but I don't know that it will ever really go "dumb". It's just got so much in it. An extraordinary Insiginia, and rightly so that WS called it WOTY. Expensive, sure. But wow - it's worth it. Cedar, black plums, grapite, clove, cinnamon, licorice in a deep purple shell. Amazing wine, this should live for a long time and is up there with the great Insignia's of all time. I think the best Insignia certainly since the legendary trio of 1994, 1995, and 1997 and may be better than the 1976... The 1983 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Echezeaux was a magnificent bottle... While it didn't stick around long (maybe got 45 minutes out of it), the nose was gorgeous and youthful. Classic DRC clove with ripe cherry, and lovely layers of rustic earth. Just the slightest barnyard hint, but not really offensive. This wine seemed like it was just a baby it was so fresh and vibrant. Awesome stuff. A long finish and a smile. The 1997 Gaja Costa Russi (Barbaresco, but not), Langhe DOC was stunning. A wine of power and elegance, like all the great Gaja wines are. This blows away the 1995 Sori San Lorenzo. Still light purple to ruby red in color, this wine was earthy, with smoke, cinnamon, and dried black plums and cranberries. So silky and elegant in the mouth. A long, powerful, tannic finish - as all great nebbiolo is when it's young. All of those are great, but the wine of the week was the 1955 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild. My second experience with this wine (the first was not the best). This was an entirely different ballgame. All violets, cherries, and black fruits, with tons of classic Lafite cedar, tobacco, and dried leaves. Very elegant, the way the Grand Dame of Pauillac should be. The nose on Lafite is just so fragrant - so much going on. It's a wine I love to smell, but seldom enjoy drinking. I've had great Lafites, but the problem is, when I taste them side-by-side with other Premier Crus, I'm less than impressed. It could be that Lafite needs to be taken on it's own, as it is far less powerful than any of the other 4 when mature. This bottle was amazing. A long, long silky finish to this wine. It was just so pretty and stayed around for a good 2 hours before fading away. Cheers, so I'm caught up.

Notes tomorrow... promise...

2002 Insignia & 1997 Gaja Costa Russi

And Now On Stage...

A little more to the title than it seems... but an inside joke nonetheless.... I'll write tomorrow... a stunning 1955 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, a beautiful (and youthful) 1983 DRC Echezeux, the classic 2002 Opus One nose, and my first taste of the 2005 German Rieslings...

Back to reality

Off tonight... slow times ahead... the 2002 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Duvault-Blochet is closing down - and fast. A good bit of stewed tomatoes followed by some wild strawberry and cherry. Nice, just wouldn't open another one for a while...

Finally (the actual reviews)

Ok... after a good nights sleep, I'm feeling a little better, and ready to write!!! Unfortunately, I was a little stuffed up and didn't get the best tastes of the wines (as was R), but it was still good enough to get into the meat of the wines. The 1955 Chateau Haut Brion continues to blow me away... a simply mind-blowing experience. Bacon fat combined with leather, black plums (still has tons of fruit!!!), and loads of gravelly power. This is an amazing wine and should still be good in 30 years. While not the best bottle we've tried (had it 4 times in the last month and a half), this was the second best. Amazing. The 2000 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti La Tache was first very tightly closed... finally took about 4 hours to open to the point of really getting into it. Stewed tomatoes, classic DRC note of clove spice, dried leaves. This was the first time I noticed that the finish has a bit of astringency - I do not think that this is going to go away. While it's not a huge negative with this wine, I do think that over time this wine will become overly acidic and die after a relatively short life of 15-20 years. How good will it get? I'm not sure... Could just be this bottle, but come to think of it... all of these 2000 DRCs have the similar note. Wouldn't bet the farm on these. I would however bet the farm on the 1999 Guigal Cote-Rotie La Turque. RP gives all three La-La's 100 Points and I certainly would agree. The smokey, bacon-fat, coffee-bean, mocha, beefy massive Cote-Rotie. Could be the best I've ever had. This wine is immense, but incredibly delicate at the same time. I always think of these wines as having the beauty of La Tache with the boldness of Chateau Latour - this is certainly no different. If you've never had the immense pleasure of tasting one of these amazing wines, you must do so. Young, old - doesn't matter. These wines are the stuff of legends.

Finally!!!

Somethings interesting... too sick and too tired to write about them tonight, except the 1955 Haut Brion rocks, the 2000 DRC La Tache is showing hints of astringency and the 1999 Guigal Cote Rotie La Turque is amazing... All tonight. Cheers!

On another note, does anyone know how to recover a lost e-mail address book in Outlook Express?

Not much...

but something is better than nothing, right? The 1995 Louis Latour Corton-Grancy Grand Cru was classic LL. Cloven cherry. Sweet, not overly earthy, this wine was decent, just not "wow" stuff. Perhaps it needs more time? The 1999 Marchesi di Barolo "Cannubi" Barolo was beautiful, if not a bit tight right now. This wine was all dried cranberry, cherries, and strawberries. Very nice, with round tannins. Great Nebbiolo. The 1999 Alex Gambal Chambertin-Clos de Beze Grand Cru was mediocre. I was certainly expecting more (as I always do with this wine), but it never gives it up. It appears to be over-oaked, which is killing what should be powerful fruit. Oh well.... that's it. Really.

WOTY

Wine Spectator Wine Of The Year a few years ago... the 1995 Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou, St.-Julien is slightly closed... the nose is giving violets, graphite, and black currants with turned earth and tobacco on the palate. This wine is sweet... so soft and velvety (not unlike a great Margaux). A great wine, but it needs another 10 years.

Not much... but it's something.

The 2000 de Ladoucette "Baron de L" Pouilly-Fume is one of the great Sauvignons of the world. Steely with loads of minerals, ripe grapefruit, lemongrass, and orange blossom. A great wine with a long, long finish. My second favorite Pouilly-Fume behind Didier Dagueneau's Silex and Pur Sang, but they are all equal in terms of rarity. Very pure forms of Sauvignon.

From B's Party

A few wines from B's going away party on Monday night... The 2004 Chateau du Sancerre was wonderful - crisp, minerally, grapefruity Sauvignon Blanc. A nice bottle and an even better price. The 1996 Michel Chiarelo Barolo was unfortunately corked. Thought it would blow off, but no... The 2003 Pride Syrah was spicy and rich. Full of black plums, blueberries, and black pepper. This needs a little time, but was drinking a little better than the last bottle I opened. The 1999 Jim Barry McCrae Woods Shiraz was nice. At first, I thought it was a little flat, but it turned out it just needed a little air. Very raspberry, with black pepper and plums. A nice Shiraz that was peaking. The 1997 Chateau Suduiraut, Sauternes was a baby. Not a huge botrytis nose like you get with d'Yquem, but a pretty wine. Apricots, honey, baked pears. A nice finish, but was overpowered by the Roaring 40's cheese... Better with it was the 2004 Patz & Hall Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir... these 04's rock. I'm trying to put a few bottles of these Somona 04s in my cellar to sit for a while. They are luscious, big, rich Pinots. I'm usually more a fan of finesse vs. power, but these wines are just so seductive.

A fun night

The first table brought some excitement (wine wise) with a bottle of 1991 Ridge Monte Bello, stored at the estate until this year. The label is slightly different than regular labels, having a gold finish vs the classic black on ivory. The wine was just as elegant as always. I love Ridge Monte Bello. I always have. It has the classic Ridge nose - slightly bretty, slightly cedary, with lovely plums. Very powerful, but this wine is showing restraint right now as well. This still has a decade left in it. Great wine. This was topped at the last minute by one of the great Champagnes I've ever tasted - the 1985 Louis Roederer Cristal en Magnum. This wine is yeasty, but not in Krug/Bollinger kind of way. It's delicate... this is Champagne at it's most refined - not it's most decadent. The finish on this was unlike any other Champagne I've ever had (including 85 Cristal out of 750ml). It's just so perfect... made us speechless.

Boring Start... Exciting Finish

Sloooowwww night... ah.. it's ok. The 2001 Carrillion de l'Angelus, 2nd wine of Chateau l'Angelus was pretty - completely St.-Emilion with it's smokey, cocoa, huckleberry nose. Nice and soft. Still needs some time. The 2003 Lewis Cabernet Sauvignon continues to impress. Big and chocolatey, this is serious stuff. While I think it needs some time to sort itself out, I think that this probably should be peaking in 3-4 years. Great stuff. On to the "real" wines... The 1999 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Echezeaux is exquisite. Powerful on the nose, with notes of finely turned dry earth, clove, wild strawberry, tobacco, leaves, and cinnamon. This is structured for a long life. The acid, tannins, and fruit are so finely balanced, it's awesome. Lay it down for at least another 5, as this was showing slightly closed (decanted 3 hours) at the beginning and end of the decanting period. One of the great old Burgundies I've ever had the pleasure of tasting was the 1976 Leroy Romanee-Saint-Vivant. It came out of the bottle looking like Kool-aid (a bright red, clear, vibrant wine). But the nose and palate were complete blockbusters. Horse manure, black earth, dried decaying leaves, beautiful, elegant cedar and hints of wild strawberries and plums. This wine is classic RSV, and after tasting the 2001 DRC RSV yesterday, this Leroy is clearly superior. Needed a full 15-20 minutes to really open up, and the guests were thrilled. Simply tremendous experience. So fragrant and powerful, yet such beauty and grace. This is what great Burgundy is all about. Hard not to cry... I doubt it will continue to improve, but this is showing no signs of decline. This wine is incredible and would be an experience for any lover of Burgundy.

Just one... but it's a good one...

The 2001 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-St.-Vivant Morey Monge as decanted roughly 3 hours. It's supreme floral, robust cherry-cola and clove-spiced nose was intense. Awesome stuff. On the palate, the usual sweet fruit was much darker and earthier at this stage than the last bottles of this I tasted. These 2001's show more true terroir than the 2002s do. Perhaps this will change, but for right now these 2001s are babies and need a good bit of time. They blow away the 2003s... give this one at least another 5 years, then try it again.

A few other wines

Tasted a few other wines the last few days. Domaine Laroche has now gone completely screwcap. While I certainly am all for it in the Chablis village wines, I do question it some in the Premier Cru and the Grand Cru wines which really need to lay down for a while. Time will tell. The 2003 Domaine Laroche 1er Cru Vaudevey is big, fat and ripe. Very tropical with steely minerality underneath. Good, but certainly not classic, Chablis. The 2003 Domaine Laroche Grand Cru Les Clos is a powerful monster. It drinks more like California Chardonnay than Chablis - though at the end you do get a good bit of minerals. Les Clos is the powerhouse of the 7 Chablis Grand Crus, but it usually has a little elegance. This does not.

On to Dr. Burklin-Wolf from the Pfalz. A unique estate, he generally only makes dry whites. Interesting choice... the 2001 Dr. Burklin Wolf Kirchenstuck (or literally, next to the church) is awesome. Mindblowing even... One of the most intense dry German rieslings I've ever tasted. Almost Zind-Humbrecht or Trimbach's Clos Ste-Hune in intensity, with seering minerality. This needs a good 10-15 years to come around and it will be a beauty. Not even starting to show any hints of oiliness. Need to find a bottle.

A Light Lunch...

ok... sure... if you want to call it that. I'm not really sure what to call it - a grouping of several of the greatest wines I've ever tasted put together in one afternoon? Amazing stuff... I'll go in order. The 1990 Krug Brut Champagne is magnificent as always. Certainly the finest Champagne I've ever tasted and continues to be so. Next month when we do this again, we'll try the 1990 Bollinger RD and see how it compares or perhaps the 1992 Krug Clos du Mesnil. It's just so yeasty, rich, honeyed - beautiful. The 2003 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fume Silex is awesome. I do still think I like the Pur Sang a touch better, but I believe over time that the massive amounts of minerals will come out a little richer in this wine. Spearmint, grapefruit, grass, oak-spice and fat creaminess. It's like Haut-Brion Blanc on steroids... The 1990 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne is what really hooked me on wine. I have not to this day tasted any other chardonnay (including any Montrachet) that brings chills to my spine that this wine does. While not as powerful as many Montrachets or fat as many Batard-Montrachet, this wine just has the special character that I've found in very few wines. It's nutty, butterscotch, pears, apples, intense minerals and powerful. Was great after about 30 minutes, and continued to open for another 2 hours. Still vibrant and youthful. On to the reds (though, how do you top those whites???... here's how). The 1995 Gaja Sori San Lorenzo (Barolo - but not) is a smokey, meaty, leathery, pencil-lead filled mass of dried blueberries, black plums, and cedar. It's immense and is just beginning to show. While not the best Gaja I've ever tasted, this wine is silky-smooth and has the classic elegance that the greatest producers coax from their wines in every vintage. Angelo Gaja uses some Barbera to soften some of his single-vineyard wines, so they can not legally be called Barolo/Barbaresco, as I understand it. More Italian? The 1999 Antinori Solaia is just starting to open. Tasted 8 hours(!) later, this wine was still closed and not ready to give up much. This is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, with a little Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc. Licorice, graphite, dried blackberries, plums, and blackcurrant. Classic Italian acid structure, but larger than life. Awesome. No more Italian... 1994 Penfold's Grange is just a baby... it's so pretty and gives so much, but it is too young. Put it away for another 10 years and try it again. Just starting to show the classic raspberry notes that will then pave the way for the intense earth that mature Grange is known for. Spicy and peppery with very exotic asian spices showing through. Nice, round, ripe, sweet tannins. Such a mammoth wine. Now, the big one. The 1955 Chateau Haut Brion simply rocks. While not as good as the bottle I tasted last month, we actually opened 2 bottles. The first was OK, but not great so we didn't serve it (tasted it with the staff). The second was awesome. The nose is classic - black plums, saddle leather, cedar, ground stones and a finish that goes on forever. Not as massive as last month, this is still incredible. Just awesome. For desert, the 2003 Inniskillin Vidal Sparkling Icewine is decadent. It's crisp acidity balanced the sweetness so well. It's a unique sensation - sparkling Icewine. Great stuff. The 1998 Von Buhl Forster Ungeheuer Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese, Pfalz is incredible. The botrytis comes right at you, then the striking minerality shines through. It's so sweet, but so great. Apricots, pears, apples, peaches, lemon, pineapple, mango - you name it, it's in here. Just amazing stuff... Well, cheers. 9 wines. One afternoon. I'm tired and ready for bed.

Gone Fishing...

Sorry... went fishing yesterday. Had a few Anchor Steams and some Tsing Tao. Love them both. Caught a Kingfish. Not bad... anyway, nothing tonight. I'll get back tomorrow with some Domaine Laroche Chablis... and look out for Thursday night!

Just a few

From Saturday... The 1995 Chateau Leoville Las-Cases, St. Julien, 2nd Growth is a tremendous effort. This wine is beauty from a bottle. Very soft, round and loads of sweet fruit. I have read many comparisons to the 1996, but I have never tried that bottle so I can't compare. However, to other Las Cases I've tasted, this is certainly up there. While not the 1982 (and I dont' even think the 1983), this is so pretty. Very classic St. Julien style. A very, very young wine with many years ahead of it. I made the comment that this will be good in about 20 years... I should have said, this will be great in 20 years, it's very good now. Oh yeah... Tattinger La Francaise is NOT Brut Champagne, despite what it says on the label...

Comes a time...

A great opportunity last night to taste Bordeaux from similar vintages from different communes. The 1995 Chateau Gruaud-Larose, St.-Julien was so pretty. The nose was slightly closed, and I think this wine was maybe just beginning to emerge from it's dormant stage. Had notes of cedar with black plums, cigar box, and oddly - mint?!? This is immense - tannic, but soft St.-Julien fruit. This wine has a great future to it. The 1995 Chateau Pape-Clement, Pessac-Leognan was rustic, dirty and gravely. It's so elegant in the mouth with tobacco and black cherries. A long, round mouthfeel. The 1994 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron, Pauillac was nice - not great - but nice. Very dirty and powerful, this is a heck of a wine from an off vintage. The Cabernet charachter is really showing right now, and the tannins are huge. I think this wine has maybe 5 years left in it.

On to non-Bordeaux... the 2000 Banfi Brunello di Montalcino was a very nice, young example of this usually excellent, if not slightly Americanized, Brunello. Loads of Slovinean oak, but the fruit is so ripe and present. Just a little bit of the classic hints of dried cranberries with very heft tannins. Nice wine.