With Steve Edmunds in the area, Tse Wei hosted a bunch of us at his home in Cambridge for dinner. Very fun evening with some old friends and new faces I'd been looking forward to meeting; was great to finally meet Steve and MarkS from the WLDG. An excess of wine, there were a good number I didn't end up taking notes on and a handful I didn't even get around to tasting - hopefully others who were at the dinner can fill in notes where I've missed out.
1989 J. Lassalle Champagne Brut 1er Cru Blanc de Blancs
From magnum, but feels a bit tired and over the hill with the flavours lacking precision and freshness - there's a baked quality to the apple/peach flavours here, with faintly oxidative notes on the back end and this finishes a little short.
2007 Azienda Agricola Durin Pigato Riviera Ligure di Ponente
Fresh pear and citrus fruit and herbs over a bed of minerals; very light, streamlined and polished with bright acids and a sense of precision, lovely.
2008 Anthill Farms Pinot Gris Forchini Vineyard
Salmon-orange in colour, apparently this spent time on the skins though it comes across more like a rose. Rich peach and berried flavours with savoury earthy notes, there's an interesting sweetcorn-like note that comes out on the back end and an underlying smoky character that gets more prevalent with some air, though I'm not sure whether that's from the winemaking or the smoke-taint. Certainly unusual and quite pleasant.
2001 Edmunds St. John Los Robles Viejos Rozet Vineyard
The white; Steve says this is about 50% Viognier with the rest Marsanne and Roussanne, about 25% each. Drinking really nicely now with some mature nutty, wooly and oily notes around a core of rich white fruits and floral elements, round and expansive in the mouth without feeling soft/flabby, very enjoyable.
2004 Dard et Ribo St. Joseph
Surprisingly developed given that it's an '04; great aromatics with dark fruits and earth accented by peppery and developed leathery/meaty notes; lovely combination of youthful fruit and mature flavours in the mouth with an elegant, finessed mouthfeel. Delicious stuff, my first experience with D&R and I'll have to hunt down some in the future.
2005 Herve Souhaut St. Joseph Sainte Epine
Full of brett with a nose full of barnyard funk, iodine, leather and some red fruits beneath - in the mouth it's rich and supple with a polished texture, but the brett's so dominant here it overwhelms every other aspect of the wine and makes it a bit hard to enjoy.
2005 Jean-Louis Chave St. Joseph
Dense and richly fruited with touches of wood and herbal notes, didn't make much of an impression when served blind or when I revisited.
2006 Stéphane Othéguy St. Joseph
Gorgeous aromatics, full of dark fruit, savoury earth and pepper accented with lavender and violet elements; rich and layered in the mouth with lots of depth, elegance and bright acidity giving the flavours a sense of freshness and precision. Need to look out for more from this producer.
2001 Edmunds St. John Syrah Wylie-Fenaughty
Served blind, not many people picked this out alongside the other St. Josephs. Rich and savoury with plum and black olive flavours with smoky accents, though in the company this didn't stand out that much and didn't make the impression it did last week at the ESJ-fest.
1999 Eric Texier Hermitage
Corked. Damnit.
1990 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée
Fantastic stuff, starting out with an amazing aromatic profile that combines all sorts of developed leathery, earthy and herbal elements with mature red fruits; silken-textured in the mouth with tannins fully resolved and a sense of great balance and elegance.
1999 Château Rayas Côtes du Rhône Château de Fonsalette Cuvée Syrah
Spicy aromatics with intense pepper and mustard scents (Matteo says 'whole grain mustard') leading into a palate full of deep Syrah fruit with firm tannins and bright acids; nicely balanced and enjoyable though this gives the impression of being very, very young.
1998 Best's Shiraz Bin O Great Western
Really good stuff; rich and intense with plummy fruit, dark chocolate, leather and minty notes combining together seamlessly. With some air the flavours brighten and the aromatics gain a sweet cookie dough-like element, though this stays very well balanced throughout, showing a sense of polish and grace that I find too rarely among other Aussie Shiraz.
2002 Huët Vouvray Pétillant Brut
Lovely; subtle and understated with gentle apple and yellow fruits, faintly nutty and yeasty with richness and a sense of real lightness and elegance.
N.V. François Pinon Vouvray Brut
Young. Very very young. Lots suggesting that this will be awesome with time, but right now it's painfully young and not as gentle and easy to drink/enjoy as the Huet.
2006 Zilliken (Forstmeister Geltz) Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spätlese
From magnum; bargain Beerenauslese here, packed with ripe mango, pineapple and other tropical fruit flavours mingled with honey, spices and other botrytis elements. Very rich and round though a little soft; more acidity would be very welcome here to keep this tasting more like Riesling rather than something bordering on tropical fruit juice.
1997 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Erdener Treppchen Riesling Auslese 2-star
Wonderful stuff, seamlessly combining bright Mosel fruit, slate, floral and honeyed touches and developed smoky and petrol flavour elements on a frame that's very rich though nicely balanced and quite precise with surprising acidity. Finishes very long, and there's lots here suggesting this has plenty of time ahead of it still.
