Last Night

Finally back to the floor... and some really nice stuff. I'll go through some from the last few weeks as well.

2005 Errazuriz Carmenere Don Maximiano Estate, Aconcagua, Chile - really killer Carmenere. Could be the best I've ever had from Chile. Lovely green herbaceousness with dark extracted black berrier, black pepper and mint. Awesome. The 2005 Alex Gambal Chassagne-Montrachet is butter cookies, hazelnuts and exotic tropical fruits. Really ripe, but also beautifully balanced. The 2001 Marcarini Barolo "Brunate" is a gorgeous example of this cru from the village of La Morra. La Morra tends to be more finesse than pure power (if you want power, look for a single vineyard from Serralunga d'Alba) and this wine is pure dried red fruits with baking spice, roses, violets and a long, long, dusty finish. Awesome stuff... I could drink this every night. The 2004 Domaine Henri Darnat Puligny-Montrachet is good, but not great. A glass full of pebbles and tart green apples... So stony.

Last night was the 1997 TFXT Arachon, Burgenland, Austria - one of the greatest of all Austrian vintages from the greatest red-wine producing region of Austria (50% Lemberger, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Zweigelt, 10% Merlot). This is pure dried cranberry and cloves stuffed in a cigar box and wrapped with wet tobacco leaves... Perfect maturity. Only to be topped by the 1990 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne. It's been a while since I've had this. This bottle didn't have as much fruit as the last, but the minerality and power of this 18 year old white wine is stunning... brings a tear to my eye.