Hanging out drinking with my wife over the past week or two:
1998 Domaine Brusset Gigondas Le Grand Montmirail. Smoky garnet color. This has a lovely nose of old leather, dried meat, mixed dark berries, red currants, chocoloate and campfire smoke. On the palate, it is medium-bodied, very smooth, and almost silky-textured, showing a fine layering of dark berry fruits. The tannins are nicely resolved through the mid-palate but do hang on a bit on the finish, which also shows a nice squirt of fresh acidity. This is drinking just beautifully right now and feels like it must be at or at least very near peak. Enjoy it now.
2005 Alain Jaume & Fils Lirac Clos de Sixte. This wine is grapey and primary on the nose, showing a dense sweet berry profile but little nuance and a whiff of alcoholic warmth. With a good long while in the glass and some aggressive swirling, it brings in a touch of dark earth and a healthy dose of cracked black pepper. In the mouth, it is again tight and primary, with a good amount of heat. It features blue and black fruit with a ton of black pepper. For all that, it demonstrates impressive length. Give this some time or be sure to at least try decanting.
2005 Mitolo Shiraz G.A.M. From 375 ml screwcap bottle. The magenta/purple color just coats the whole glass. The nose offers a big, immediate hit of sweet, sexy, brambly black and red raspberry, sweet smoke, herbs and rich cedar. Later, there are also stronger notes of crème de cassis. One can almost smell a deep creaminess here. In the mouth, it is indeed creamy-textured, but also sports an abundance of sticky tannins. It features pure flavors of black raspberry and blackberry coulis, with dark chocolate accents. It finishes long with bittersweet chocolate, dark espresso roast and vanilla bean notes, but also a hint of heat.
2001 Chateau Malescot St.-Exupery Margaux. This was decanted for about 2 hours prior to drinking. It is quite young-looking (which, of course, it is) with a dark opaque purple color. Vigorous swirling coaxes out dense, tight aromas of black cherry, incense, dried plums, cracked pepper, fudge, earth and graphite. There is a strong acid backbone to this wine right now, not austere but certainly sharply tuned. It is medium-bodied, with airy purple fruits sitting on top right now and a bass note needing to fill in with time. The whole package softens and unwinds a bit as the night progresses, but it remains clean and fresh throughout. This can age for a while and probably ought to be left alone to do so.
2005 Chateau Haut Charmes Sauternes. From 375. This offers up a soft, easy nose of dried powdered citrus candy, creme brulee, cocoa butter and toasted sugar. It is light and tangy in the mouth--more refreshing than super-sweet. It is not especially deep, rich or complex, but it offers some nice toasty notes and an easy-going balance.
-Michael
