Started with leftovers of the 2009 Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Beaujolais Rosé d'folie which David had posted on earlier and my impressions were very much the same. Delicious, refreshing wine full of light red berries and pomegranate, though I am still shocked Chambers actually sells wine that comes in a frosted bottle.
1985 Château Cantenac Brown started out feeling tired with autumnal red fruit, decayed leaves and a faint oxidative element. Not much besides that generic 'old red wine' character, and even that didn't last long as it rapidly went downhill.
2007 Pierre Gonon Saint Joseph was miles better. A little tight at first, but it opened out quickly to show beautiful fresh black pepper and meaty aromatics, deep red and dark fruit and touches of lavender that emerged with more air. Very finessed, polished and elegant, it's a wine that's very hard to stop drinking. Fantastic Syrah.
2002 Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein Winninger Uhlen Roth Lay Riesling Erste Lage was very disappointing, particularly given the praise Lowenstein gets for this style of wine. There's a deep yellow fruited character with some earthiness and honeyed tones, but this feels surprisingly tired and ponderous in the mouth with the acidity barely noticeable. Dull.
1999 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese just needed to be left alone for several years more. The aromatics are absolutely gorgeous with beautiful white fruits, mineral notes and developed smoky elements, but it's still very primary in the mouth with the fruit flavours quite dense and sweet and the structure hidden. This became more enjoyable as it warmed up with the acidity becoming more prominent (!) - but the overall impression is still of a wine that needs years and years more.
With the Brücke not living up to expectations, David asked me to pick out a bottle from his cellar (never an easy task, given the sheer number of choices) and I grabbed the 2005 Selbach-Oster Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Spätlese one-star. Amazing wine, certainly among the best I have had from '05. There's a blast of flowers, white cherries, peaches and apples on the nose with faintly herbal and slatey elements developing with more air. Intensely bright, vivid fruit in the mouth, but the way it feels is striking - there's such density and extract here it feels more solid than liquid; fruit chiselled from stone. Quite sweet yet perfectly balanced with enough acidity to keep it fresh and vibrant despite the concentration here, amazing depth and length.
2003 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese was another wondrous wine. Nothing about this says '03. The fruit flavours are mostly in the spectrum of cherries, peaches and ripe apples, rather than veering towards anything tropical or heavily ripe and there's a lovely herbal and minty character that builds with time, giving the fruit a cool, fresh tinge. Very elegant with a glossy mouthfeel and a sense of restrained power, and like the Badstube there's amazing balance, depth and length. Phenomenal wine.
We finished with leftovers of the 2008 Kurt Darting Dürkheimer Nonnengarten Rieslaner Beerenauslese, which had been sitting in the fridge a couple of days and was still firing on all cylinders. This is TBA! Wild tropical fruit, grapefruit and faintly herbal flavours drenched in honey, intensely sweet but with serious acidity underneath keeping it very lively. Delicious stuff that just screams to be drunk.
A very fun evening as always, thanks again for your hospitality David!