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.