Bisol Prosecco Valdobbiadene Superiore Cartizze 2007
Pale golden colour. The single-vineyard version is milder and sweeter, as well as more subtle than the generic, lower-acid, seemingly rose-water tinged, round apple cider, pretty if seemingly a bit off-dry. Lots of medium-coarse perlage. Medium finish. Our female guests in particular liked this. Rating: 87(+?)
Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino 1993
Deep ruby-black, not especially evolved. Good concentration, intensity, richness, ripeness and sweetness of fruit, and body. Racy black cherry, faint black truffle. Nicely firm for the vintage. Still lightly oak-induced tannin, touches of asphalt and sweet marzipan on the finish, but not too tarry-nutty anymore. Rating: 90-
Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2003
Thanks to Remo. A blend of 82% Grenache, 8% Syrah, 5% Mourvèdre, 5% Vaccarèse. Bought only recently, what appears to be a slightly warmly stored bottle (not misstored, but I would bet over a sensible maximum of 12 to 15 degrees Celsius, that is, 53 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit). Nice roasted Provençal herbs to faintly oxidative, ever so slightly Malaga-tinged Grenache fruit. Medium length. Still very nice, smooth, round and balanced wine as it was, and easy to identify blind as CdP, but not quite what it should be (a solid, albeit not exceptional vintage of Charvin). Pristine bottles tend to be about outstanding, this fell slightly short of the mark. More proof (if any were needed) that the real problem with low-acid, tannic wine from hot and dry vintages is that it will dry out and shed what (little) finesse it has unless it is perfectly (coolly!) stored. Rating: 88- (this bottle)
Jean-Jacques Confuron Chambolle-Musigny 1996
Deep ruby-red, soft black hue and orange rim. Strong hung/aged beef, soft smoky forest floor, firm fruit, a suggestion of fermented tobacco, faint rusty iron and smoky minerals. Sweet, a bit tannic, not too high-acid on balance for a 1996 village at all. Quite concentrated, intense and long. But not too complex or finesseful, an uncomplicated wine. Rating: 89(-?)
Robert Groffier Bourgogne Pinot Noir 1999
Thanks to my parents, a wine of which I once bought a case for them. Now perfectly mature, still youthfully coloured and vigorous, Chambolle-like in its charm, yet firmly fruity, faintly minerally, and still lightly tannic. Medium-plus length. Lovely generic Burgundy that nonetheless fails/failed to gain in complexity with bottle age. Great QPR buy at the time. Rating: 87(-?)
Johannishof Rheingau Riesling Kabinett feinherb “S” 2007
Medium-light wine with noticeable 12.5% alcohol, a bit grassy-herbaceous appley lime rind. Some bitterness, quite strong acidity. Medium-short on the finish. Rating: 83
Domaine des Comtes Lafon Monthélie-Les Duresses Clos de la Barre 2001
Quite glossy ruby-black, soft orange to the watery rim. Nicely yet not too evolved fruit, herbs and soft spice and metal notes. Dried rose-hip and blood orange to preserved raspberry, really a bit Piedmontese Nebbiolo like. A bit viscous. A little meatier and earthier with airing. Tannic and medium-high-acid. Very good body. Quite long. Nice! Rating: 89(+)
Hanspeter Lampert Malanser Pinot Noir Sélection 2005
Thanks to my parents. Full, lightly garnet raspberry-ruby-black. Aged 12 months in large oak barrels/foudre, smells and tastes a bit oaky all the same (although not offensively so). Oaky forest floor and wet earth, dried ginger and morel. Quite ripe but not too bright, lightly petrolly, relatively thick fruit. Good body and overall size. Good, barely metallic acidity. Slightly oak-induced tannin. Medium length. Rating: 88(+?)
Château Léoville Barton St. Julien 2000
Thanks to Remo. Deep, virtually opaque plummy ruby-red, lovely brightness and gloss. A semi-closed fruit bomb of a Léoville Barton, thick with (partly potential, i.e. hidden at the core, partly up-front) blackcurrant jam, sweet plum and refreshing cherry, lovely minerality and tobacco leaf, and truly exceptional tannin as is typical of the finest 2000s. Exquisite green licorice note, the kind that seems to keep wine from oxidizing in the decanter. Extremely well integrated oak, as if an integral part of the wine (which, of course, it is). Tannin to marvel at, finely grained, with a youthful surface dustiness that does not hurt anything, no bitterness, and that only adds to this Léoville Barton’s exceptional (again, partly potential) complexity, depth and finesse. Very long on the finish. The size of this still fairly traditionally styled Saint-Julien does not fully show at present, best to give it (much) more time in the cellar. Very tannic (in the most positive sense) after 24 hours in the open bottle (and: there is a little sediment in here already). Rating: 94+/95(+?)
Château Montrose St. Estèphe 2003
Thanks to Remo. The kind of wine that makes me wonder if I underrated it last time every time I get to taste it. A 2003 with real grip! Deep ruby-black colour with a plummy-purple hue. Beautifully firm, minerally, intense, refreshing (especially, if not merely for the vintage), balanced, palate-staining with both fruit and tannin. A tiny bit more Port-like violet and elderberry syrup fruit now that the wine is no longer primary and fully open for inspection. A bit smoky with oak now that it is more than semi-closed. But there is also that gorgeous Havanna tobacco leaf complexity that has little or nothing to do with oak. Quite a lot of impressively racy, deep, merely tenderly dark chocolaty/cocoa powdery tannin. Very, if not extremely long for a semi-closed wine. Clean and pure, barely rustic Montrose, and yet, still a nicely masculine wine, as well as quite simply one of the most concentrated Bordeaux in recent years. And yes, it seemingly tastes more like Montrose, in terms of terroir expression, every single time I get to taste it. Impressive wine that would have been one of the last truly exceptional Bordeaux QPR buys – if bought at subscription! Hugely tannic (in an incredibly positive sense for a 2003, simply jaw-dropping in its freshness and potential complexity and finesse, and not only for a wine from this vintage) after 24 and 48 hours in the open bottle. In short, this wine is such a success in this vintage that stylistic considerations (I used to love Montrose “ancient” style) become meaningless. Rating: 96+?
Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Da Capo 2007
Virtually opaque plummy ruby-black. Already fractionally more closed than a bottle last month, thus even smokier and more palate-staining with (barely dusty) dried lavender tannin. Near-impossible complexity and depth for such a youthful, still quite primary, yet not too unevolved wine. The 15.8% alcohol may be fractionally less well integrated already, a function of the relative “closedness” (= do not hesitate to pull a cork if given the opportunity, but if so, do it soon!). Sweet and rich, tannic and chewy, smoky and roasted Provençal herbs and roasted lamb flavoured Kirsch Schnaps and red berry jam density. Amazingly finesseful for a wine of this size, subtle notes of dried flowers, smoky pine needle, dark chocolate, licorice and ginger. Palate-staining, chewy and very long. Awesome! Also, this put such an emphasis on fruit purity after 24 hours in the open bottle, the smoky herb and mineral notes were seemed soaked if not drowned in it, and the tannin was well-neigh unnoticeable. Drink or hold. Rating: 97+?
Weinbach Pinot Gris Cuvée Ste-Cathérine 2004
Same as usual really, now ideally mature for my taste, no longer primary but not (yet) nutty either. Golden hay like fruit, quite ripe, round and flavourful, backed by good acidity. A bit (nicely) oily-viscous, great with the creamy saffron and tomato sauce I prepared with our cod. Rating: 88-
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