Notes from Thursday night's tastings at the Straits Wine Co. and Philippine Wine Merchants.
Straits Wine Co's weekly tasting featured a couple of the new Burgundies they just brought in. As I arrived early, I also got to taste:
Kaesler Rizza Barossa Valley Riesling 2009 - Spatlese level sweetness. Crisp green apple. Uncomplicated, refreshing and easy. P 846.00
Henkell Trocken Sekt NV - It's been probably a decade since I've had this Sekt. Rather sweet for a Trocken, and a little flabby as well. Bitter finish. Yuck.
On to the Burgs:
Whites:
Domaine Paul Pillot Bourgogne Aligote 2007 - Good nose. Searing, lemony acidity. Needs creme de cassis. Better to make a Kir out of this. P 637.00
Domaine Roger Belland Santenay Blanc Comme Dessus 2007 - Sweet, fruity nose. Light and easy. Lemon rind. Rather weak finish. P 1457.00
Domaine Paul Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Grande Montagne 2008 - Good nose. Gentle oak/ sawdust. Some orange notes. Elegant, rounded and full-bodied. Very dry. Very good and my favorite among the whites. P 3205.00
Domaine Paul Pillot Chassagne-Montachet 1er Cru Clos St. Jean 2007 - Some spice on the nose that carries forward on the palate. Medium-bodied. A bit angular. Needs some time to round out. Very dry finish. Just ok for me. P 3205.00
Reds:
Domaine Paul Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes 2007 - Ripe berry nose, Dried fruit. Rather austere. Not my type. P 1472.00
Domaine Roger Belland Volnay Santenots 1er Cru 2007 - Lovely nose. Sweet and a little leafy. Mint. Deep and complex. Weighty, dry, full-bodied, complex, savory. Long finish. Beautiful wine good to drink now. P 3182.00
After the Burgundy tasting I went over to Philippine Wine Merchants where we opened a couple of our own bottles and finished with some Ferreira port.
Torres Grans Muralles 2000 - Very deep color and very ripe on the nose. Ripe fruit but already very soft. Good length, dry finish. I'm not sure if it would be best to drink this up or if this is in the limbo between losing its primary characteristics and gaining more mature nuances. At this point, it's good but not very interesting.
Brokenwood Semillon 1999 - I've read so much about how Hunter Semillon ages really well so I was very curious to try this out. The Hunter Semillons I've tried were mostly very acidic and not my type of wine but this shows that age does make a difference.On the nose, tropical fruit and a bit of honey. Rather mellow, great balance. Pineapple. Really lovely stuff. I get the feeling this will have no trouble aging for another 5 years or so and may still gain in complexity. I wish I had the cellar space to age a couple more of these Semillons. This wine was closed with cork so i can imagine if it were closed with screwcap this could probably go 20 years without any problems.
Seigneurs d'Aiguilhe 2006 - Sweet nose, rather international in style although it seems to have lost some weight from the last time I tried it last year. Good value Bordeaux.
Ferreira Quinta do Porto 10 Year Old Tawny Port - Light, very sweet, juicy, fresh. Good balance. Long, dryish finish. Very good.
Ferreira LBV Port 2000 - Rich, big wine. Typical plum and fig. Rather forward. Very good.