WTN: Miscellaneous September notes

Philippe Alliet Chinon Vieilles Vignes 1996
Thanks to my parents, our last bottle, a wine we had not had in over four years. Medium-full ruby-black, still retains a faint purple hue. Nice oak and Cabernet Franc leafiness, mature fruit, a bit powdery though not too dry or grainy tannin. Less thick than in its youth, but not yet lean on fruit. Quite strong acidity. Fine little metal and mineral underpinning. Faint graphite on the aftertaste. Mature, smokier and more autumnal with airing – but no more complex than in its youth. Soft tobacco. Rating: 89-

Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2000
Thanks to Dani. Concentrated, sweetly ripe and nicely glyceric, nice complexity and length, mildly brown-spicy, tasty tannin. Tiny creamy-nutty used oak note. Rarely like Bonneau’s generic CdP as much as this one. Very tasty, but one to drink young rather than hold onto for too long. Rating: 89

Gantenbein Pinot Noir 2005
Ordered from a restaurant wine list the night before my mother’s birthday. Medium raspberry-ruby, some black reflections. Much better than the 2004 we had here last time, a 2005 that is wholly free from bitterness if a bit gastronomic in style, glyceric, sweetly fruity, smooth and round, with very well integrated oak and subtle terroir notes, just enough that my mother said it remains typcial enough of its appellation. Less big and superripe than the 2003, but nicely stylish. The increasing percentage in Burgundian clones versus the metallic-tasting Wädenswil clones clearly shows. Very tasty, if way too expensive for what it is. Rating: 88+/-?

Gosset Champagne brut Grande Réserve N.V.
A blend of Pinot Noir/Meunier and Chardonnay. Like the vinosity here, both the body and the fact that it tastes as if made from, well, juice that would have been good enough to be non-bubbly dry white. Grapey, a bit darkly fruity with a suggestion of sultana, brioche and soft bakery spices, even some minerality. Fine enough perlage. Nice medium-plus body and length. Not inexpensive, but I cannot say I know a less expensive bubbly I would at all care to drink. This one is very tasty. Rating: ~89

Daniel Marugg Fläscher Blauburgunder Weingut Bovel 2004
Also ordered from a restaurant wine list the night before my mother’s birthday. Darker raspberry-ruby, with more black reflections than Gantenbein’s 2005. An altogether oakier and less expressive Pinot Noir, less ripe, and “thick” on the palate, but only hinting at the metallic bitterness of Wädenswil clones. Lacks the opulence to stand up to the per se medium amount of oak. A little oak tannin makes itself felt on the back end here too. Not bad at all, but I sometimes feel that winemakers who “support” their wine in this manner lack confidence in their product, should opt to bottle earlier and simply admit their wine is no more than a gastronomic product not meant to be kept. Rating: ~84?

Nigl Riesling Privat Senftenberger Piri 1999
Yet another bottle of this thanks to my parents. Pale yellow-green, looks youthful, even retains a little CO2, but has definitely entered an ideal plateau of maturity, just as father Nigl suggested to my parents during a visit at the winery not too long ago. Soft, round mature lime, tender stone dusty minerals and herbs, nice medium-plus body and length. The finest bottle of this wine in recent months, open, tasty, best with food, pretty enough without. Personally, I would not stretch this too long. Rating: 90-

Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réservée 1998
Half litre bottle thanks to my parents. More than a year ago since we last had this. Full ruby-black, verging on pink-orange at the rim. Still youthful and in need of more bottle age (as my friend Victor told that weekend, there are apparently people who panic – of all things! – over the ageworthiness of their 1998 CdPs, not just any, but some top wines of the vintage. What are these people doing to their wines, I wonder, do they keep them in their kitchen cupboards or on the chimney piece?), but not too closed after half an hour’s to an hour’s airing. Ripe and sweet red berry fruit and jam, Kirsch liqueur, soft pepper and integrated roasted Provençal herbs, mainly dried sage, solid tannin. Still closes up with extended airing, as young wine tends to do. Rating: 92+?

Werner Stucky Conte di Luna 2000
Thanks to my parents. A blend of 50% each of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, 30-days-long maceration, aged in barrique (new) for 18 months. Nice ruby-red with a black hue. Toasted nutty oak, fresh prune, frozen black raspberry. Fruit but also charcoal and mainly oak-induced tannin on the palate. There is a freshness, brightness and almost grassy cut to the fruit that would be attractive enough, and I doubt everybody shares my stylistic reserve (I find it way too oaky). I do wonder, though, if it is because of half-concealed positive characteristics that this bottling is so popular? Got fruitier with airing for a few hours, more reminiscent of a slightly Burgundian St. Emilion, albeit still an oaky one, then again less so until the following day. As much as I would like to support a much-acclaimed Swiss product, I must say better Bordeaux can be had for the money. Rating: 86+/87?

Úri Borok (Vince Gergely) Tokaji Eszencia “Lot 2” 2000
Barrel sample (?) thanks to Fredrik. As in 2003, there are two lots of 2000 Eszencia, only that here the difference appears to be that one was aged in demijohn and the other, this one, in Gönci (used oak). What I got in the mail was obviously unfiltered, bubbly-yeasty enough I had to let it calm down for a couple of days in the fridge. Not a sample I feel comfortable to rate, the tasting note meant to acknowledge I got it (thanks!). Slightly copper-orange colour. Lightly oxidative quince, dried apricot and orange, macerated apple, all glazed by a touch of cedary honey. A bit light for a 2000 Eszencia, but that is why Fredrik likes this in the first place (must admit I am curious to retaste the demijohn version, which I expect to have remained more primary, as well as thicker and sweeter). Medium length on the finish for Eszencia. Aromatic but not especially high acidity that leaves behind an aftertaste blood orangey quince. About outstanding for Eszencia? Served Remo a sip of this (his first taste of Tokaji Eszencia), and followed it with another, this time of Márta Wille-Baumkauff’s 1999 – needless to say, he was duly impressed Rating: ~90? (or: N/R)

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
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„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réservée 1998
Half litre bottle thanks to my parents. More than a year ago since we last had this. Full ruby-black, verging on pink-orange at the rim. Still youthful and in need of more bottle age (as my friend Victor told that weekend, there are apparently people who panic – of all things! – over the ageworthiness of their 1998 CdPs, not just any, but some top wines of the vintage. What are these people doing to their wines, I wonder, do they keep them in their kitchen cupboards or on the chimney piece?), but not too closed after half an hour’s to an hour’s airing. Ripe and sweet red berry fruit and jam, Kirsch liqueur, soft pepper and integrated roasted Provençal herbs, mainly dried sage, solid tannin. Still closes up with extended airing, as young wine tends to do. Rating: 92+?
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

Yes, there is some slight concern about some of the 98's, as evidenced by this note from our fearless leader Robin Garr regarding his observations of a 1998 CdP horozontal this last August in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

"From a coldly critical wine-geek standpoint, there's some support for the early concerns that the big, happy 1998s wouldn't age as well as more classically styled Chateauneuf: Many of these are browning and showing hints of maderization before their time. But even the few more "tired" items were still very enjoyable, far from dead; and a couple are going very strong indeed."

But one of the wines that did not evidence such early aging was, in fact, the Pegau Reservee, and the Laurence was even younger. The sample was small enough that, while we are pretty confident of the storage conditions of the bottles contributed to that tasting, who knows how they were treated before acquisition... I think this should just be considered a data point, probably not normal, but just something to be aware of. I've since had a couple more 98s from my cellar (which produced both the Pegau and VT CdPs and the Pallieres Gigondas at that tasting) and both have been about where I would epect them to be at age 9.

[David M. Bueker]

David,

I'm with you on the '98 Chateauneuf du Papes. None of the bottles I have opened over the last year have been remotely ready, much less tired. Ok, the Brunel Les Cailloux (normale) was ready, but just that. My gosh it was delicious.

Can you point me to the notes of that tasting, please? I really meant to say that from our collections (mine and those of my friends here and in Germany), the Pégau is relatively speaking among the more forward and approachable (i.e. it's not, none are), whereas the bigger top bottlings all remain in the "fuggedabou'it" category - which makes me wonder (once again, see below) if storage comes into play.

I remember discussions on the old WLDG and WS boards up to ten years back about wines and vintages where it turned out in the end that wines may not have been shipped abroad in climatised containers etc.

When Victor (who attends more tastings than I do nowadays) told me about this "hearsay" as he called it, we quickly agreed that neither of us (nor any of my other friends here) has seen a single "browned" or tasted a "maderized" bottle of 1998 CdP. Of course we bought ours at release and directly from the Swiss/German importers and/or at cellar door.

The worst I can say about 1998 CdP so far is that we were served an undrinkably cork-tainted Célestins once (the quality of cork Henri Bonneau uses is maddening), but the colour and overall appearance of that wine would have been spectacular also, as usual.

So what can I say? 1) It's a mystery to me. 2) In all the years I've had this hobby, I've heard of too many panic attacks by wine collectors here and abroad to seriously bother about the latest one. 3) Time will tell.

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
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„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

Sure, here they are:
http://wineloverspage.com/mocool/

And I agree. Why panic. Time will tell.

Brunel's Les Cailloux, my friend, was ready from the get-go! That wine has been so approachable that my friend Nedster's parents have emptied all I bought for them (a minimum of 5 cases, I understand they went back to get more). I've been served that wine at dinner invitations so often it's by far the 1998 CdP I've had most often, and not one bottle showed signs of browning, tiredness etc. But true, it's a 1998 that was born sexy and early-mature (just like a 15-years-old girl from southern Italy).

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

Oh, but that's a rather small selection of 1998 CdPs tasted there! The Beaucastel tasting note alone doesn't read like anything I know. Saw my latest one? It's here (and on a half bottle, by the way!):

http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?t=7067&highlight=beaucastel

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

[David M. Bueker]

Brunel's Les Cailloux, my friend, was ready from the get-go!

Agreed, but I held onto a couple just to see how they would do & they did very well indeed. Others that showed well over the last year included La Nerthe & Pontifical. My "big guns" (Beaucastel, Donjon, Pegau, Telegraphe, etc.) are still slumbering. I am sometimes tempted to open one, but satisfy myself with a bottle of a '99 instead.

Oh, but that's a rather small selection of 1998 CdPs tasted there! Greetings from Switzerland, David.
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„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

Agreed. As I noted in my original post "The sample was small enough that, while we are pretty confident of the storage conditions of the bottles contributed to that tasting, who knows how they were treated before acquisition." Just a data point, but I will say that most of us at that tasting had some concerns about the 98 vintage after we went thru those wines.