2008 Benovia Chardonnay La Pommeraie Vineyard (RRV)
I had really loved this when tasting it at Benovia Winery a few months back, and thought it was worth buying a couple of bottles (I think it's the only Chardonnay purchase I've made in the last couple of years). I'm normally not a big new world chard fan, but this is stunning - ripe, luscious white fruit that never comes close to being heavy or tropical with touches of vanilla cream and floral accents. The oak here is very subtle and nicely integrated, and this has a remarkable sense of seamlessness and harmony that makes it very easy to drink. Wonderful.
2009 Weingut Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck Riesling Spätlese
Opened with takeout kebabs and Hainanese chicken rice, in line with my other experiences with this wine. This is one of the most thrilling young Spätlese I've encountered with phenomenal complexity, power, balance and length. Pretty much the complete package.
2001 C.H. Berres Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese
Surprisingly advanced (for where I'd expect an '01 to be) with rich honeyed notes and developed smoky elements on top of bright pear, citrus fruit and minerals. Very polished and streamlined with that lovely '01 acidity keeping it very fresh, really enjoyable.
2002 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile
I'm amazed at how accessible this is for young CFE, and am having a hard time keeping my hands off this. Wonderful wine with pure, fresh Riesling fruit infused with stone and accented by touches of honey and herbs, with laser-like precision and energy.
2007 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon La Croix Boissée
Excellent as ever; polished cassis and red fruited flavours combined with herbs, tobacco leaf and touches of earth. Elegant and precise with fantastic balance, a sense of restraint and a lightness of touch that makes it all too easy to drink.
2006 Château Cantemerle
Really nice aromatics, full of graphite and gravel over red and dark fruits with gentle scents of oak and cedar wood that are nicely integrated. It's nowhere near as friendly and enjoyable in the mouth though, full of tightly coiled cassis and currant fruit over earth and gravel with a firm spine of tannin and acid that's quite dominant right now and softens a little with decanting. More about the future promise than pleasure right now, but the material and balance here suggests this'll age nicely.
2002 A.J. Adam Dhronhofberger Tholey Riesling
Adam's 'harmoniously dry' Riesling QBA - no fun to drink with heavy white fruited flavours lacking freshness, and oxidative and varnish-like elements emerging with a little air. I'm not too optimistic about how these harmoniously dry styled Rieslings will age and hold together, as an '02 Heymann Lowenstein that David opened some time ago was also quite unimpressive and tired, and I'm getting the impression these wines are much more fun and enjoyable in their youth.
2009 Clos Roche Blanche Cuvée Gamay Touraine
Makes an impression right away with a vivid freshly-cracked black pepper scent that's rather Northern Rhonish in nature and bright red fruited and mineral flavours underneath. Very light and precise with fantastic acidity and rather firm tannins, and I'm wishing I had bought more of this when CSW had it.
But there's always the 2009 Marcel Lapierre Morgon
Really fantastic; starting with a core of deep red fruited flavours on an incredibly elegant, silken textured frame and opening out aromatically with time as floral aspects, anise and touches of earth emerge around the fruit. Very ripe but carries itself with a sense of lightness and precision with tremendous length and persistence. Absurdly great value, my first encounter with '09 Beaujolais and this bottle at least definitely lived up to all the hype.