Dinner at home

Simple... a bottle of 2005 Carl Roy Sauvignon Blanc... really pretty stuff here. Not overdone, not overly grassy. Just a really nice bottle of Sauvignon Blanc to go with the Sweet Corn Risotto and Scallops...

Yum

Good wines this week... 1990 Dr. Burklin Wolf "BB" Riesling Auslese Trocken, 2005 Robert Weil Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken, 2004 Franz Hirtzberger Rotes Tor Gruner Veltliner Smaragd, 2004 Morgadio Albarino, 2002 Mommessin "La Forge" Morey-St.-Denis 1er Cru, 2001 Hugel Pinot Blanc, 2001 Liverno (Super-Tuscan), a beautiful 2005 Puligny-Montrachet Foliatieres (I'll have to look up the producer... didn't write it down) and a 1999 Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes that I'll also have to look up the producer, 2004 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir, 2004 Eroica, 1998 Iron Horse Fairy Tale Cuvee, 2004 Poets Leap Riesling, Sokol Blosser Evolution 9, and a few others that I'll have to look up.

Not Much

To write about... very busy teaching and then away for a few days this week so I probably won't post again until Friday or Saturday...

Ho Hum

Another bottle of the exceptional 2004 Lewis Cellars Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon... this is a rock-star. The 2003 ZD Reserve Chardonnay is pretty - if you like oaky, rich, creamy chards. The 1996 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon was ok... there was just no depth of flavor - no punch, no "wow". It was completely lacking...

Ughhhh

So it feels like I drank ALL of the liquor in the house last night (not really...), but the 2004 Robert Foley Vineyards Charbono was delicious... ripe, but not overdone. Lovely cassis, pencil lead, black currants and black cherries. Not overly complex, but very, very good. Also had some Johnny Walker Blue... love the stuff. So smooth with just a bit of smokiness. A great blended Scotch.

Christmas in August

Is it August or February? Great wines last night... and they just kept on coming. The 1998 Alvario Palacios "L'Ermita", Priorat is a beautiful wine. Tasted once before, at the uber-lunch at the end of March. Tasted 3 different bottles of this yesterday - one right after opening, and two other bottles about 6 hours later. Loads of anise, cocoa, wild raspberry, exotic spice box, jasmine, and leather... this wine is an earth monster, but clearly still needs a few years to show its full potential. The wine got more and more earthy as the night progressed. The 2001 Marquis de Grinon "Gaudium" Gran Reserva Rioja was ok - not great. In the classicly-light MdG style, this wine had a moderate finish and I don't really have a lot of other positive things to say about the wine. Would I turn town a bottle? No. Would I order one off a list? No. That sums it up. The 1999 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-St.-Vivant "Morey Monge", bottles 00121 and 00123, was excellent. Bottle 00121 was opened and tasted first. This bottle was slightly closed, but a beautiful example of very young great Burgundy. Classic DRC nose of clove, cinnamon, spicy rhubarb, and strawberries came together in the soft elegance that defines RSV. A long, unevolved finish. Bottle 00123 was much more open on the nose, with roses, spice box, clove, cinnamon, strawberries, rhubarb and ripe fruit. This bottle was superior to the first - more expressive in every nuance. Unfortunately, both bottles closed slightly as the night went on. It took a lot of working the wine in the mouth after being opened for 3 hours to really bring out its subtelties. Very, very nice.

The 2003 Masseto was a huge disappointment... I've never loved this wine, and the cocoa-powder and overripe cassis and black cherries were slightly off-balance, and then the elevated alcohol just threw it over the edge. It's often called the "Italian Petrus", but I don't think Petrus would ever make a wine like this. Another bottle of the 1996 Gaja Sperss was identical to the one from the previous night. Outstanding wine. Shows the Serralunga d'Alba power.... Rediculously good... saw one on a wine list in Roma for 125 Euro... kicking myself for not drinking it. The 2000 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande (2 different bottles, but both were identical) was the most open and expressive of any 1st or 2nd Growth Bordeaux I've had in a long, long time. The wine is pure cocoa, toast, chocolate, coffee grounds, cassis, black cherries with a lots of black olive (?! - unusual for this wine). Loads of pencil lead on the palate, and wow. What an incredibly long finish. One of the best Lalande's I've had in a long time. Give it at least another 5 years - preferably another 10 - before opening if you have some. Great wine. For me, the wine of the night was the 1999 Tirecul la Gravieres "Cuvee Madame" Monbazilliac (Sauternes-style from Bergerac in SW France). Tasted against the 1997 Chateau Suduiraut (which was good, but had nothing on the Tirecul), the wine was complete caramel popcorn, honeysuckle, honey, toffee, brown-sugared baked apricots, and orange blossom. The nose was powerful and extraordinarily complex, leaving you breathless. I could smell the wine for hours. On the palate, the wine coats your palate, leaving every tastebud searching for another layer. Incredible length. The wine is a baby, but appears much more evolved than it truly is. Give it a few years and drink this incredible wine from this legendary estate. I need a bottle for my own cellar, and I'd put it against Chateau d'Yquem in all but the greatest of vintages....

Forgot

Can't believe I forgot this one!!! The 1994 Vega Sicilia Unico is another one of those stunning wines that gets overlooked in favor of the Bordeaux first growths, the cults from California, and the Burgundies of producers such as Leroy and DRC. In a time when Spain is quickly being equated with "value-wines", the poor Vega is often forgotten. Perhaps its the long aging before release (the Spanish used to (I say used to because while some still do it, the new wave of winemakers releases wines far younger) age your wine for you. It was released when it was ready to drink), or perhaps its because it is so earthy and leathery that it doesn't have a huge appeal, but this is without question the greatest wine estate in Spain, and certainly one of the greatest in the world. The tasting notes haven't changed much, except these two bottles seemed to be more expressive on the nose than just a few months ago... give it time.

Beautiful

Tasted the 2004 Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montipulciano... if I haven't said it, the 2004 Tuscan's are fabulous... best in years, at least since 1997. This was full of earth, leather - and power! For a Vino Nobile! But it was simply no match for the 1996 Gaja Sperss... This was the best bottle of this wine that I've had. When I initially smelled it, I was a bit disappointed as the nose seemed closed. 15 minutes took care of that issue... Leathery with roses, spice box, cinnamon, black cherry, red cherries... amazing length and tremendous power. This is a 50 year wine, and we're only on year 11. Give it another 5 at least, or as I did, taste it over the course of 3 or 4 hours, because the last taste was the best... simply beautiful. Could be one of the top 5 wines I've had this year so far.

Good Times

Will post notes, but the 2002 BV Georges de Latour Cabernet Sauvignon, 1996 Chateau Lagrange, and the 2003 Harlan Estate (completely underwhelmed, by the way...)

Dinner with Friends

had dinner with 2 other Master Sommeliers last evening and was a lot of fun. Started off with a Campari, Soda, and White Wine (the wine brings a hint of sweetness to the otherwise bitter drink). Had the 1985 Charles Heidseick "Champagne Charlie" and wow was this a good bottle. Nice and rich with hazelnuts, roasted almonds, peach, Granny Smith Apples and hints of brioche. Nice. Moved on to the 2004 Domaine Weinbach Tokay Pinot Gris Altenbourg Cuvee Laurence. High RS in this one (thinking 25-30 gl/rs) with super-ripe apricots, orange blossom, and honeysuckle. Very floral and nice and rich. Needs about 15 years. The 1989 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage "La Chapelle" took a while to open, but when it finally did, wow! Very meaty, leathery and dusty with raspberries and clove. Not as good as the bottle I had last summer, but still very nice. For dessert, Banyuls.

Custom

Nice night... The 2001 Guigal Cote-Rotie "Brune et Blonde" is awesome... so earthy with notes of wet red meat, black pepper, dried saddle leather and tobacco with black cherries, black berries and raspberry. Very earthy and beautiful. The 2003 D'Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz is really, really good. Loads of black pepper, baking spices and black fruit. Nice and jammy - like warm raspberry jam. Nicely balanced. The 2003 Guyon Chambolle-Musigny was terribly upsetting... this is not Chambolle. Chambolle is elegance, refinement - the Queen to Vosne-Romanee's King... seductive fruit, elegance tannins, and a silky mouthfeel. This example was hot (high-alcohol), over-ripe and didn't even shed a drop of elegance. Awful. The 2004 Jadot Vosne-Romanee "Les Suchots" on the other hand, was gorgeous. Always one of my favorite Premier Cru Burgundy vineyards (the other being Les Amouresses in Chambolle, Les Brulees in Vosne-Romanee, and Clos St. Jacques in Gevry-Chambertin), this was structured power. Very young, with oak that needs time to integrate (but it's not over-bearing) - the wine is velvet with an incredibly long finish for a 2004. Proves that great winemakers make great wine in any vintage.

Late Night

Had fun though... Henriot Brut is really good... nice and toasty with brioche, pears, apples, and while peach. Beautiful. The Henriot Brut Rose rocks... lovely strawberry, raspberry, anise and a hint of rose petal. Nice and dry, not overly powerful. An elegant rose. The 2006 Pavi Pinot Grigio, Napa Valley was really good... a hint of gold with stale beer. Ripe and rich. The 2003 Nickel & Nickel John Sellinger Cabernet Sauvignon was good, but I've never loved these wines. Lots of cocoa and mulch with anise and mint. And Patron Silver on the rocks with lime is a lovely drink...

No Excuse

No, I haven't written. And, no, I don't have an excuse. Tasted the 2003 Fisher Vineyards "Cameron" Red, Napa Valley today... lots of cocoa powder and anise, with lots of black currant. Nice tannins, but not overpowering. Not 100% sure of the blend, but it tastes like a lot of Merlot. Tasted a few killer German Rieslings yesterday... I'll post later... off to a cocktail party.