It's Alive!!!

Two great wines last night... first was the 1983 Faiveley "Clos des Myglands" Mercury... this wine should have been dead long ago, but it was beautiful! A wonderful underbrush and funk. Awesome stuff, with a bit of cherry fruit still left. Still stunned it was this good... but, as good as it was, it wasn't even close to the 2001 Gaja Sperss... one of my all-time favorite Gaja's (and it's not even begun to age yet!), this "Barolo" from Serralunga d'Alba is powerful, hedonistic Barolo... Dried saddle leather, bright sweet cranberries, violets, underbrush, dried plums... a stunning example of this wine... the texture is what gets me though. Like a great Musigny... the silky smooth texture just coats your palate... amazing, amazing wine.

Last week was the 2005 Lewis Cabernet Sauvignon - which, as usual, was really good - but not as good as the 2003 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon which just overpowered it (!!!)... See several previous tasting notes on the 03 Hillside. The 2002 Bonneau de Martray Corton-Charlemagne was fabulous... honeysuckle, hazelnuts, and liquid Granny Smith apples... still a baby with tons of minerals... needs to come together a bit more, but the wine rocks.

Also tried the 1999 Chateau Pontet-Canet and was happier with this bottle than the last one. Good, but not great. The 1995 Domaine Louis Latour Corton-Grancy rocks... a bit tighter and more tannic than the 1996, this shows beautiful underbrush, bright ripe cherry, strawberry and raspberry. Still a while to go on this one. Great texture...

Muller...

Egon Muller... and his 2002 Scharzhofberger Kabinett... stunning stuff. Egon is the stuff of legend and even at the "basic" kabinett, the wine is rich, oily, and full on length with amazing balance... killer wine.

The Name is Bond...

Two bottles of the 2003 Bond Vecina tasted the same... loads of anise, black plum, black currant and a nice dustiness. This wine has finally blossomed...

V

Mouton's seem to be falling out of the sky lately... the 1988 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild was faily light, but still the classis graphite & cocoa bean nose. Not very intense, certainly more to the elegant side. A bit tannic? While it had the typical Mouton notes, the power was not there - but clearly from the 1988 vintage. The 1999 Louis Jadot Chambertin-Clos de Beze had finally opened and was an incredible wine... lovely clove and earth with exotic spices - lovely cherry and wild strawberry fruit as well.

Stellar Lineup...

A nice lineup last night... the Krug Rose MV (more recent bottling) is so beautiful... strawberry, toasted brioche, anise and hay on a long, clean, crisp finish. I do think that the Rose is the least appealing of Krug Champagnes, if only because their other wines set the bar so high, and whereas I have a hard time finding a better Champagne than their Vintage, Multi-Vintage and single-vineyard offerings, I can name a few other Roses that I think are better than this... The color is lighter than most Roses (which has been my experience with this wine over time). Still, an awesome bottle. For me, the wine of the night was the 2004 Didier Dagueneau Silex Blanc Fume de Pouilly (that's fancy for Pouilly-Fume). Along with Haut-Brion Blanc, this is the purest expression of Sauvignon on the planet... amazing concentrated nose of bell pepper, grapefruit, gooseberry, wet polished rock, and tart green apple. The wine is stunning... the finish so clean and pure - like a razor blade. Absolutely mind-boggling... The 2004 Drouhin Clos des Mouches Blanc is still a baby and mostly primary at this point. Lots of toasty new oak with a crisp mineral backbone. Hazelnuts, almonds and tart Granny Smith Apple dominate this one with a sharp lemon-curd finish. Give it time, give it time... The 1989 (?) Charmes-Chambertin was old, tired and after holding in the glass for 10 minutes, finally died... nothing noteworthy here. The 1989 Olivier Leflaive Pommard Epenots 1er Cru was still holding on - barely. Lots of toast, coffee, and dried, dusty leaves. As I described it at the table - it was "really cool" as the wine still had outstanding structure, but didn't appear as if it would open. It did open, barely, then slowly faded over the next two hours. The 1989 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild took a long, long time to open up. The 89s are tough... some are great, some are faded. I first thought this was not going anywhere, but opened after 1 hour and was still getting better when I last tasted it 4 hours later. Cocoa, graphite, anise and leather (my Mouton signatures) with a powerful finish. This one kept adding length and mid-palate depth as the night went on. Still very dark, could go for a few more years ;-)... the 1983 Chateau Margaux had a touch of TCA on it (I've now had 2 corked bottles of this legend) and was not as good as the last bottle I'd had of this. Cedary black violet and a long, silky finish. Nice wine, but there are better bottles of this around. The 2006 Inniskillin Riesling Icewine is good, a bit cloying, but still beautiful. Tons of orange blossom, apricots, honeysuckle, (did I say orange blossom?), petrol and minerals. Nice, but not great. Also had a 1971 Pedro-Ximinez (PX) Sherry (I'll have to get the producer... I actually have a bottle of this in my cellar)... amazing, amazing wine. Black earth, toasted prunes, roasted walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds. What length... almost syrup in its texture. The 2005 Faust was good, not great. A bit too much anise for me on this one, but lots of dusty earth as well. Too concentrated.

Different Styles...

Three great red wines - three completely different styles. The first - the 1986 Vieux Chateau Certan was cedary with tons of fruit... I almost can't believe this is 22 years old. An amazing wine, still dark ruby red with hints of purple. Long, long, enticing, elegant finish. Great wine. The 2004 Antinori Tignanello (my last bottle!) is a blockbuster. To me, the best Tig since 1997 or even 1990. Full of black, dusty earthiness with lots of black cherry, red berries and anise. A beautiful wine. The 2005 Lewis Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon is still so concentrated but is such a joy to drink now. Powerful stuff - mint, black plum, and black currant. Nice.

Had lunch with a fellow MS the other day... tasted through Betts & Scholl (produce wine on 3 continents)... The 2007 Eden Valley Riesling is so dry, clean and crisp... a great glass. The 2004 Hermitage Blanc is fabulous. Loads of honeysuckle, burnt caramel, orange blossom, acacia and nectarines. Long, rich finish. The 2001 Hermitage Rouge was showing so well... Black Olive Tapenade on lardon being cooked on a rock... so beautiful. Continued to open over the course of 1 1/2 hours. The 2005 Barossa Valley Grenache gives credence to this as an up-and-coming varietal outside of the Southern Rhone. Sweet cherry, black spice and bramble. The 2005 Chronique Grenache was even more powerful, stunning wine. One of the best new world Grenache's I've had. The 2005 Cali Syrah was good, classic California Syrah. The 2005 Black Betty Shiraz from Australia was all brown sugar and molasses with minty-eucalyptus and black plum. Intense wine, but not overdone. Bravo!

Been a while since...

I've tasted the 1982 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild and wow has it changed... I think it's been at least a year and a half. The last time I had this wine it was impenetrable for hours, only to slowly open. This bottle showed what a bit of time has really done... Pure pencil lead on the nose immediately after opening - slowly revealed the beauty that can only be Mouton. The wine is at once elegant and powerful - full of grace and finesse and still able to pack a punch. Notes of cassis, pencil shavings, graphite, leather and cedar were perfectly in sync. The tannins, though present, are well integrated. This wine is still a baby at 26 years of age. Certainly the greatest Mouton I've ever had (though anyone who wants to donate a '66, '45, or '47, I'd gladly cook you a steak or lamb chops...) Incredible length that goes on forever. The scary thing is I think this wine is only getting better - will not reach maturity for another 15-20 years and will age for a century easily. The 1994 (producer not noted, but I will find out this week) Niersteiner Spiegelberg Grauburgunder Beerenauslese was very cool... (Grauburgunder = Pinot Gris). So youthful and showing so much RS, the pinkish-sweet wine was incredibly viscous (as one would expect with a BA). Honeyed caramel, baked apricots, ginger and Asian spices... nice stuff, especially for a Grosslagen wine.

Had a drink with a few friends at a newer restaurant after work last night... Forte di Asprinio. Very cool atmosphere - almost art-deco, but not. Perfect for Clematis Street. Great wine list (some really rare gems here... DRCs, 34 Lafite, etc), nice drinks (ok, anyone who has Anchor Steam is good in my book...), great food (had a few bites of this and that). Started with a glass (or two) of Duval-Leroy Brut Rose... pretty stuff. Bit of raspberry, strawberry and brioche. To stick with the "Leroy" theme... had a bottle of 1999 Leroy Bourgogne (rouge). Pretty, pretty stuff. Amazing how structured this 9 year old "basic" Bourgogne was. Not powerful, needs food, but a great, great bottle. Took 45 minutes to open up. The mid-palate was enrapturing though... I wish more producers could make Grand Cru Burgundy as well as Lalou Bize-Leroy makes her Bourgogne. A steal... Of course finished with an Anchor Steam. I'll definitely be going back time and time again... if you're in the area, check it out. I'm having lunch there on Wednesday and needless to say, I'm excited.

Ja! Ja! Ja!

Riesling!!! After a long period of relatively non-overly-exciting wines, a glass of 1976 Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Riesling Auslese was handed to me... my guess (I tasted it vintage blind - I knew the producer, just not the vintage) was 1983 (!). The wine was so fresh I could not believe my eyes when I looked at the label and saw 1976... The wine is still so young, so fresh with vibrant petrol, orange blossom, honeysuckle, stony-slate, mouth-coating minerality. Amazing, amazing wine. One of the great Rieslings I've ever tasted, and better than the 1964 Beerenauslese I had from this winery a year and 1/2 ago. I can not believe it... tasting almost bone dry, the wine didn't appear to have darkened at all in color yet (!!!!!). This is why Riesling is the greatest white grape varietal on the planet. The 2003 Joseph Phelps Insignia Magnum was beautiful as well... lots of dusty cocoa, black plum... very Phelps. Better than the pre-release of the 2005 a few weeks ago. The 1996 Diamond Creek Red Rock Terrace was Pauillac - California style. Tons of cedar, cassis, black cherry and dusty earth. Almost Lafite-like in its elegance.