Brigaldara Amarone della Valpolicella Case Vecie 1999
As noted last time, this is starting to exhibit some alcoholic heat. Exactly the same as last time, sweet and hot, nicely milk-chocolatey raisined cherry, some medium-hard tannin. It may be best to drink this up. Rating: 91-/90?
Chauvenet-Chopin Nuits-Saint-Georges Murgers 1996
Full ruby-red with a black hue. Nobly smoky marzipan and cocoa dust, sweet and round, soft but complex herbs and Nuits metals and minerals. Lightly old-viney and viscous on the mid-palate. Round tannin and acidity. Medium-plus body, quite long on the finish. A touch of charcoal on the back end and finish. Seemingly Henri Jayer-like in its youth, this has become more Piedmontese Nebbiolo-like than most. Lovely wine that my parents liked a great deal. Perhaps not one of the most ageworthy 1996s, but then, an uncomplicated yet complex one that covers up its (perhaps softer than average) acid backbone with a nicely ample and generous mid-palate. Rating: 91-/90?
Vincent Girardin Pommard Chanlins Vieilles Vignes 1995
Same as always, perfectly mature, not yet showing any negative signs of age, but without any upwards potential left, we are slowly drinking up stocks. Love the softly nutty tobacco leaf and camphor top notes to red beet-tinged cherry and raspberry, and the palate-cleansing finish, combination of cut and faint beefy sweetness. Rating: 92-/91
Jayer-Gilles Côtes de Nuits-Villages 1998
Thanks to my parents for whom I bought this at release. Not too different from last year, but like my mother said, this vintage has a tendency to “split up”, by which she does not refer to an immediate problem (this bottle was delicious!), but the fact that some components appear to be aging more quickly than others. I also noted that whiff (barely noticeable at this stage) of cold ashtray that indicates this matures more quickly aromatically than its acid backbone seems to suggest. Best to drink a bottle now and then, as it is fully open and approachable, and there is no chance that the beef juice, autumnal fallen leaves, forest floor, pepper, earthy iron and still mouthwatering and lightly sweet blood-orangey raspberry will outlive acidity and tannin. Tasty! Rating: 88
Henri Perrot Minot Chambolle-Musigny 1996
The bottling elsewhere marketed as “Vieilles Vignes” (there was no other in 1996). Thanks to my parents, for whom I bought these wines at release. Medium raspberry-ruby-black colour. Roasted meat, forest floor and tree bark. Fruit, tannin and acidity with cut, but a well-concentrated, thus well-balanced 1996 village. Still somewhat closed on the nose, but the old-viney, almost salty core and smoky minerality give this excellent intensity on the palate. Quite full-bodied for a village, not a feminine wimp of a Chambolle, quite powerful on the finish, fairly good length that is growing with airing. It is a good thing Perrot-Minot’s wines were not yet so oaky as they have become later (although it may be that they are again becoming more civilized in this regard). Rating: 89(+?)
Fattoria Valtellina Chianti Riserva Giorgio Regni 1997
Our last bottle of this beautiful wine (sadly, the 1997 normale we opened for comparison, also the last, was corked). Full ruby-red, some black reflections. Lovely burnt hay and mushroom top notes, lively minerality, red fruit and cherry and dried orange, nice little oak, lovely medium-plus body, long and subtle on the finish. Flavourful acidity and tannin, free from dustiness or dryness. What a pity these wines are all not made anymore... Rating: 91
Guy Wach Domaine des Marronniers Riesling Andlau 2006
Thanks to my parents, whom I had instructed to visit chez Wach. Very nice little generic, medium-plus concentration, refreshing, with good acidity, this even has some character, unlike most wines in this category. Soft lime, aged apple and straw fruit and minerals with perhaps a very slight hole in the middle. May never have had a better white at this price, though. Rating: 84
Guy Wach Domaine des Marronniers Riesling Kastelberg 2004
Thanks to my parents. Nicely round and full, a tasty wine with good elegance, and quite good expression of the unique Kastelberg terroir, but I have had better vintages of this wine, this could have more density and intensity on the back end, and a longer finish. Given the baby fat, there may be a little upwards potential to this – see you later! Rating: 88(+?)
Guy Wach Domaine des Marronniers Riesling Sélection de Grains Nobles Kastelberg 2000
500 ml bottle thanks to my parents. Quite deep orange-gold. Soft rancio oxidation that makes this a bit socialist era Tokaj-like. Orange, apple and bitter almond, a touch of dried tangerine blossom. Medium density on the palate, more like a lighter Muscat de Lunel liqueur. lightly bready botrytis, not as thick and sweet as some, nor as intense and complex as the best. Soft bitter note. More BA-like, oilier, sweeter, rounder but less bready botrytis, more grapefruit and lemon density on the mid-palate, a fraction fresher and more exotic, with that whiff of oxidation less prominent. Even so, we had hoped for a QPR buy in the SGN category – so far, Wach seems best in the dry and off-dry food accompaniment categories. Rating: 86+/87?
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
