Fun Times...

Lots of amazing food and wine this past week... had dinner the other night with the higher-end Rosemount Estate wines... great wines. The 05 GSM is outstanding, the 02 Balmoral Syrah is a beauty, and the 05 is a rockstock waiting to be unleashed... the 05 Roxburgh Chardonny, though, stole the show. A great wine - clearly Australian, but not overdone in any way. Went great with my Crab Cakes.

Earlier in the week, had a nice dinner with some good friends. Had a bottle of Ruinart Brut Rosé, which was a great starter. The 2006 Gunderloch "Jean Baptiste" Riesling was a nice value, and started quenching out Riesling thirst... The 1979 Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Riesling Auslese was awesome - the wine shouldn't have been alive, but there it was. Beautiful and tasting nearly try, but with tons of petroly-extract. The 2002 Jean Grivot Echezeaux was the red of the night, and was earth, truffles, red raspberry and cranberries. Still needs time, but by the end of the evening it was OFS. Had a 2005 Fiano di Avellino (didn't write down the producer) that was a bit off... more hazelnut than it should have been, though this is not a wine to drink older 1 year past vintage. The 2006 E. Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru (forgot the vineyard...) was tight, ripe and steely. A deft hand with the oak let this one sizzle. Nice stuff. The 1998 Zind-Humbrecht Clos Windsbuhl Pinot Gris was hot, powerful, and loaded with VA. When it cooled down some, it was better, but still a bit ripe and overdone for my taste.

The next night, had an amazing night at a chef's house... great conversations - my chest hurt from laughing so much!!! Bubbles... Another bottle of Ruinart Rosé, a bottle of Ruinart Blanc de Blancs (nice and toasty!)... Still white... A magnum of 1989 Zind Himbrecht "Clos St. Urbain" Rangen Grand Cru Riesling was all Alsace and the Rangen should be. My favorite Alsace Grancd Cru vineyard, it faces south and is thick with Volcanic soil on an incredibly steep, terraced slope (too steep in fact... I climbed it one January and I thought I was going to die...). This was cheesy, with a diesel fuel finish. Powerful, but nice with some oysters. The 2001 Trimbach Cuvée Frederick Emile Riesling was a stony mess... what an amazing wine. Complete contrast to the ZH, this was racy and steely without the massive power, and this was completely dry. The 1998 Seringer Schloss Saarstein Qba (?!?) was nice, but not great. The 2006 Domaine Weinbach Gewurztraminer Réserve was too much for me... powerful, but overripe, too much RS, and too thick for the food. A great wine on its own though. The 2001 Baumard Savienierres was great... classic Chenin with a little bit of bottle age. Still a baby, but full of lanolin. The 1994 JJ Prum Wehlenuhr Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese was fabulous. Still a bit of sweetness, but underlying stone fruit and petrol sealed the deal. A great seafood wine. The 2004 Henri Boillot Meursault 1er Cru "La Crau" was nice and rich hazelnuts. On to the reds... The 2003 Macarini Barolo Brunate was unfortunately corked... The 1999 Monsanto "Il Poggio" CCR was beautiful Chianti... dried tomato sauce, twiggy earty and beautiful red berries. The 1991 Pesquera Reserva Ribera del Duero was awesome... 2nd best red of the night. Earthy with a capital "E", lovely black fruit, smoked tobacco, dried bacon. The 2000 Guigal Chateau d'Ampuis Cote Rotie was rockin' after 2 hours in the decanter. Trying to remember my exact words... like a pig ate something... ah... don't remember... it'll come to me though. The 1989 Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill had lost most of its fruit and had extremely dry tannins. Good length, but bretty... The 1987 Dominus Estate is one of my favorite California wines I've ever had. The last time I had it was back in September of 2005, out of magnum (you can find my post to back then...) The wine is timeless. Still with a decade of life left (at least), this 21 year old was amazing... Stunning length, with black tarry fruit, cocoa, and cedar. Awesome... would have been better if I didn't spill some on my pants... For dessert was the 1983 Chateau Raymond-Lafon Sauternes, which was good, but not great. A bit too much "shriveled botrytis" to this one, and not enough fruit left. The 1997 Chateau d'Yquem was on the other end of the spectrum. Even after being decanted for an hour, it had not appreciably opened. NB - if you have a great vintage of d'Yquem - it needs 20 years at least before you open it. It's going to be a great wine when it finally starts to open, but it wasn't even close on this one. Disjointed... so, I had to have a Johnny Walker Blue...

The next night was a long ride... so what better companion than numerous bottles of great Champagne & Sparkling Wine??? More Ruinart Rosé & Blanc de Blancs, but also joined by 2003 Bella Vista Rosé Franciacorta - nice stuff. Pretty with lovely bubbles... The 1996 Champagne Henriot Brut was awesome... a great wine from an amazing year. Just starting to open up, this wine is a beast and shows the breeding of the vintage. The 1990 Dom Perignon Oenoteque was, unfortunately, corked. The Bruno Paillard NV Brut was great. Nice and rich with a bit of iodine. The 2004 JM Boillot Meursault "Cerrons" was nice. Light for a Meursault, but good. The 2005 Chateau La Nerthe CdP Blanc was perfect for the beets. The 2003 Trimbach Cuvée Frederick Emile Riesling was great, but this was fat and ripe vs. the steely-intensity of the 2001 from the night before. The 1991 Gunderloch Niersteiner ?? (forgot the vineyard name... usually I'm very good, but I didn't have my notepad so these were all from memory...) Riesling Spatlese was beautiful. Nicely intense, showing good fruit and petrol. The 2000 Clos Erasmus from Priorat was corked... We had a Barolo as well, but frankly, it was in a bit of a fog at that point.

Tired of reading? Good... I'm tired of writing!