Trade tasting in June.
René Rostaing Côte-Rôtie 2006
Medium ruby-black. A bit nutty-oaky. Nice a bit soapy-ripe fruit. Touch of olive. Nice acids. Medium-plus length. More delicate than the 2005. Rating: 89+
René Rostaing Côte-Rôtie 2005
Longer, rounder, meatier, more harmonious if more massive. Less high-acid. Soft grey and black pepper. Rating: 88+/89(+?)
René Rostaing Côte-Rôtie La Landonne 2007
Tasted the portfolio with an Austrian wine merchant who, apart from the fact that he rated each wine several points higher, reached the same conclusions. René Rostaing had that twinkle in his eyes when he asked us what we thought of each wine, and which was our favourite and why, and when we told him that neither of us could remember a vintage in which we preferred his La Landonne to his Côte Blonde, but that we sure do in 2007, he replied: “Vous êtes des bons élèves” (= you’re good pupils/students”). Tighter, more intense and minerally than the Côte Blonde. Concentrated fruit wrapped around lamb curry and dried tapenade. Hard to tell whether the tannin is merely youthful, or if there is a tiny greenish streak of oxalic acid. Nice body and length. “Plus gourmand et Rodinien” than the Côte Blonde – I agree. Rating: 93(+?)
René Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Côte Blonde 2007
From a site called La Garde, which is sandwiched between La Mouline and Chatillonne, from vines planted in 1934, 1970 and 1971. About 3% Viognier was co-fermented with the Syrah. Needless to say, after the La Landonne, I expected to be bowled over by the Côte Blonde. Darjeeling, leather, olive, some dried herbs and round fruit. Medium-plus length. Looser structure and fruit than the La Landonne, not the same intensity and tightness. Rating: 91+/92?
René Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Côte Blonde 2004
Tougher and drier. A bit lactic. Mildly peppery Garam Masala spice mix. Just some complexity and depth left. A bit short. I doubt this will keep, even if Monsieur Rostaing believes all vintages of Côte Blonde age (well). Rating: 88-?
René Rostaing’s Puech Chaud Côteaux du Languedoc Les Combes 2007
Thicker, jammier berry fruit. Good tannin. Nice body and length. Attractive terroir if without the nobility of the Côte-Rôties – “more rustic” is how René Rostaing describes it. Pretty wine. Fine QPR buy. Rating: 89+/90?
Mauro Veglio Barolo Vigneto Arborina 2005
Round marzipan oak and fruit. Medium-plus sweetness and density. Some alcoholic warmth. Sweetly tannic. Medium length. Rating: 88+/89(+?)
Mauro Veglio Barolo Vigneto Rocche dell’Annunziata 2005
Tighter, a bit tougher. More concentrated. Nicely juicy, good complexity. Tiny tar and asphalt. Some marzipan oak, but barely oakier at a percentage of 60-70% new oak. Finely-grained, quite flavourful tannin. Longest on the finish thus far. Rating: 91(+?)
Mauro Veglio Barolo Vigneto Arborina 2004
40-50% new (French) oak. Touch reductive. A bit meatier, less overtly sweet. More complexity, more “finesse” (if the term makes sense given the style). Greater potential for harmony with bottle age. Rating: ~90(+?)
Mauro Veglio Barolo Vigneto Rocche dell’Annunziata 2004
A bit nuttier since more closed already, not really oakier. Meatier, greater sense of vinosity. Long, too. Rating: 90+/91(+?)
Artadi Rioja Pagos Viejos 2006
“Tempranillo vines over 75 years of age. Aged for 18 months in new French oak.“ Almost opaque purple, watery at the rim. Softly spicy, ripe if partly also crystallized fruit on the nose. Some dried florality and white pepper. Fairly good body and length. Oaky on the back end. Rating: 89(+?)
Artadi Rioja Viña El Pison 2006
“From a 2.4 ha sandy limestone rock vineyard planted by our grandfather in 1945. Aged for 18 months in new French oak.” Almost opaque colour. Significantly more terroir-expressive and precise than the Pagos Viejos. Greater density of lightly mocha tinged but pretty fruit. Soft lightly dried/cured beef. Integrated oak, although certainly enough of it for my taste (being civil). Very long on the finish. Ironically it occurred to me in hindsight that this is the first Artadi I have tasted (not too many) that I might recognize as Rioja in a blind tasting. Is that why it is so expensive? Rating: 93(+?)
Domaine de l’Arlot Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Petits Plets 2007
A bit dry if relatively meaty, with an emphasis on autumnal fallen leaves. Rating: 87(+?)
Domaine de l’Arlot Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Petits Plets 2006
A bit reductive, so that it currently needs decanting. Darker colour. Nice raw material here, more concentrated, more intense, a bit longer than the Les Petits Plets. Rating: 89+/90?
Domaine de l’Arlot Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Forêts Saint Georges 2007
Bit nutty and spicy with cork rind scented oak. Fruit plus tobacco ash. Tighter, tannic, much longer. Rating: 89(+?)
Domaine de l’Arlot Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Forêts Saint Georges 2004
Rather evolved and medium-short on the finish. Lightly truffley tobacco, touch of tree bark, not much “fruit” to speak of. Rating: 87-/86(-?)
Domaine de l’Arlot Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Forêts Saint Georges 2002
Balanced and medium-firm, already harmonious albeit somewhat high-acid. Fairly finesseful and long. Rating: 89+/90
Domaine de l’Arlot Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 2007
Pine forest floor, a bit blood-orangey fruit. Medium weight and length. Slight toughness underneath. The greatness of the terroir does not show as in some 2007s (perhaps the one aspect I truly like about the vintage). Rating: ~88(+?)
Daniel & Martha Gantenbein Chardonnay 2008
Very nice but dominant spicy oak. Soft balm mint and lemon. A bit light but pretty. Medium length. Note people raved about this, some referring to it as the wine of the tasting. Rating: 87(-?)
Daniel & Martha Gantenbein Pinot Noir 2008
Lightly nutty oak. Barely medium weight, freshness and length. Actually lean, if not light. Some dried sage tinged fruit. Slightly drying on the back end. Probably a fair effort, but I have so far been disappointed with the wines from this vintages, thus cannot say I was too surprised by this showing. Rating: 87(+?)
Daniel & Martha Gantenbein Riesling Spätlese 2008
Some residual CO2. Elderflower and apple, even a hint at blackcurrant cough drop superripeness. Medium weight and sweetness. Again, there have been greater vintages of this bottling. Rating: 87(+?)
Hermann Dönnhoff Riesling trocken 2008
Relatively pretty, lightly basil-tinged fruit. Nicely floral mid-palate and back end, faint blackcurrant. Medium alcohol and acidity. Rating: 86(+/-?)
Hermann Dönnhoff Riesling Tonschiefer trocken 2009
Whiter blossoms. Nice bitter note (presumably due to even better extract?). Better alcohol integration. More mineral dust. Higher-acid. Ultimately a bit loose for the vintage? Rating: ~87
Hermann Dönnhoff Riesling Grosses Gewächs Hermannshöhle 2008
Smokier minerality, a top note of tobacco to the minty fruit. Steelier acids, but balanced. Faint stone dust. Medium-plus length. Nice terroir expression, a relative success for the vintage. Rating: 89+/90(+?)
Hermann Dönnhoff Riesling Grosses Gewächs Hermannshöhle 2009
A bottle Hermann Dönnhoff hid in a box under the table – still not legal to pour samples (what a silly regulation is that)? Nobler, more intense, deeper minerality. Less steely since riper acidity. Much longer on the finish, ending with subtle viscosity and flintier minerality. Rating: 91(+?)
Hermann Dönnhoff Riesling Kabinett Oberhäuser Leistenberg 2008
Nicely sweet but a bit light and loose. The 1-2% botrytis already managed to add some white glue and rubber to the flavour profile. Medium length. Liked this better at release, and one cannot really say it is closed. Rating: 84+/85(+?)
Hermann Dönnhoff Riesling Spätlese Oberhäuser Brücke 2008
Curiously enough, this appears early-mature. Faint blackcurrant superripeness to overall quite ripe “fruit”, undeniably nobler and longer, with medium-plus minerality, but ultimately another light and loose 2008. But: like (in greater efforts: love!) the terroir expression here (always have). Rating: 88(+?)
Hermann Dönnhoff Riesling Spätlese Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle 2008
On to a 2008 I like even better today than I did at release. Lovely minerality, stone dusty if nobler (not always the case) than in the Brücke Spätlese. Fruitier, more flavourful and complex. Nicer, riper acidity. Longer. Rating: 89+/~90?
Hermann Dönnhoff Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule Oberhäuser Brücke 2009
On to a wine I liked right from the start. A bright, perfectly ripe and quite complex Auslese, clean and pure, with lovely (if not too much) botrytis and that top note of blackcurrant cough drop superripeness. Long finish. In contrast to an earlier bottle, no volatility here whatsoever – the only wine that day of which I demanded a refill (the last sample that day, that is, after I tasted the following wine). Consistently rated. Rating: 91+/92(+?)
Hermann Dönnhoff Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule Norheimer Dellchen 2006
“Circa 100% botrytis” is what Mrs. Dönnhoff said, and it shows. Gluey-oily and quite rich, if less concentrated than the previous wine. Lower-acid (not very high-acid for a 2006). Slightly earthier minerality. Medium length. Lacks the brightness, precision, freshness and cut of the 2009 Brücke, of which I demanded a refill to cleanse the palate before I left. Rating: 89+/90?
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