2008 Dönnhoff Norheimer Dellchen Riesling Großes Gewächs (Nahe)
A stunner from the first sip. There's incredible depth here with layers of ripe citrus and white fruited flavours, fresh floral and faintly herbal notes, smoke and savoury earthy nuances in a package that's incredibly polished and seamless with typical Dönnhoff elegance. The '08 acid spine keeps it really fresh and lively and this finishes incredibly long and savoury. Fantastic, and another reminder that I really should budget more for Dönnhoff's dry wines
2008 Van Volxem Scharzhofberger Riesling Pergentsknopp (Saar)
Initially dull aromatics, but this began to open up nicely with some air and show a lovely scent of spices, warm earth, rich, faintly honeyed fruit and smoke. Unfortunately it was served too warm to do it any justice, with the temperature overwhelming any sense of acidity or precision this may have had. Hopefully leftovers in the fridge show better.
1998 René-Henri Coutier Champagne Brut Millésimé Grand Cru
Great stuff, full of bright white fruits overlaid with biscuit, nutty and creamy notes with a faint oxidative element. There's a rich, almost velvety texture to this that makes it very easy to drink, with nice acids and good effervescence still keeping it fresh and nicely balanced.
2007 Edmond Vatan Sancerre Clos la Néore
Tightly wound initially, but this opens out with some air to show a lovely scent of pale white fruits and grapefruit flecked with minerals and light herbal accents. Very light, gentle and understated, the flavours don't hit you at once but slowly unravel with time with really good precision and a long, expansive finish. Well outside my frame of reference for Sauvignon Blanc but lovely stuff - while this didn't make an impression immediately, I enjoyed this more and more as I kept revisiting it.
1984 B.R. Cohn Cabernet Sauvignon Olive Hill Estate Vineyards (Sonoma Valley)
Corked. Darn.
1996 Tom Eddy Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)
I wish I could find more Cabernet that tasted like this. Wonderful wine with a core of deep dark fruit and cassis accented by fresh minty and herbal notes (that remind me of a Wynn's) and the start of developed leathery flavours. There's a sense of restrained power here with fantastic balance and really good acidity that keeps the flavours fresh and precise. Delicious.
1999 Nicolas Potel Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains
Hard to move beyond the scent here which is really gorgeous, combining fresh red fruits with all sorts of spices, mushrooms, leather and floral elements. In the mouth it's still very primary and doesn't quite show the same depth of flavour as it does aromatically, but it's still really enjoyable with the flavours feeling really fresh and precise and a finessed, silky texture.
2003 Stonier Reserve Pinot Noir (Mornington Peninsula)
Served blind alongside the Burg, quite a few people guessed a New World Pinot, or something else Aussie fairly quickly. Really ripe scent of cherries and cloves, rich but nicely balanced in the mouth with deep fruit and bright spicy notes. Quite enjoyable (though completely blown away by the Vaucrains).
1994 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas
Funky, rustic aromatics full of leather, raw meat, autumnal earthy scents and touches of red fruits - but it tastes nowhere near as good as it smells with the flavours feeling quite tart and shrill, and spiky acidity on the back end.
1986 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Nothing particularly memorable here; the fruit's faded and long past it and all that's left is a generic, old wine dustiness.
1985 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage
Holy crap - birthyear Chave!
Gorgeous aromatics that just keep getting better with time, starts out smelling as if this came from equal parts fruit and pork and then gets more meaty and funky with air, adding leather, iodine and touches of spice. In the mouth it doesn't quite live up to the raised expectations from the aromatics; the fruit feels a little tired and light in the mouth with autumnal forestal notes amidst the leather and pork-broth flavours but it's still incredibly enjoyable with fantastic balance and finesse. A real treat, thanks Jed!2003 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée
Massive; a powerhouse of ripe red and dark fruits with a faintly roasted tinge to the flavours and accents of pepper and rosemary. Incredibly dense and heavy in the mouth to the point that it's a challenge to drink much of this, there's very little acidity and the texture's almost syrupy.
2000 Château Branaire (Duluc-Ducru) (St. Julien)
Great aromatics; one of the most vivid expressions of graphite I've ever smelled in a wine with cassis, cigar smoke and cedary accents. Right in my zone as far as young Bordeaux goes with a great combination of fruit and other savoury graphite, tobacco and earthy flavours on a frame that's medium bodied, nicely structured with a spine of grainy tannins and bright acids and really well balanced.
1998 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon
Really disappointing; there's a core of bold blueberry and blackcurrant fruit but it's smothered with a ton of oak that dominates the fruit and any other nuances here.
2001 Mount Horrocks Riesling Cordon Cut (Clare Valley)
A huge change from the last time I had this; much deeper in colour - almost dark amber now - with a blast of paint and other volatile components on the aromatics straight away. The spice, honey, apricot and orange flavours follow, but this doesn't seem to be aging too gracefully compared to how it tasted 3 years ago.
2006 Argyle Riesling Minus Five Cryo Cluster (Willamette Valley)
Canned apricots, peaches and banana flavours in a package that's incredibly dense and ripe, almost syrupy with the barely apparent acidity here. (A couple of guys were joking about blending in some of the Clape which was all acid by this point).
