Caught up with David Bueker to open a few corks at Mei-Tzu, a nearby BYO. Restaurant was pretty full, which was nice to see - and the food was really good as always, with the chicken satay really standing out (and so good I opted not to go for a main course and instead ordered another round of satay). As usual we didn't drink too badly.
2004 Louis Jadot Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru En Caradeux Clos de la Croix de Pierre
From a leftover 375 ml bottle I had opened the previous night. I have normally enjoyed this wine a great deal, but last night I found it a little shrill, austere and showing a green stalky character that I've not noticed in other bottles. A day of air apparently didn't do it much harm, and it showed bright, high-toned red fruits at the table with the stalky elements calming down and receding into a milder herbal character that gave it a nice sense of freshness. Very nice, but as far as reds went, my attention was mainly focused upon the
2006 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage
This is all about purity and freshness - olives, dark fruits and meat seasoned with a vivid black pepper flavour and kept very precise, elegant and lively by bright acidity. Textbook old school Northern Rhone Syrah here, delicious!
And of course there was some Riesling...
2004 Alzinger Riesling Smaragd Loibner Steinertal
Rich fruits, touches of smoky and honeyed notes hinting at some development and a bed of stone underneath it all. Gets better with air as the aromatics expand and this gains richness and depth in the mouth. The last bottle of a half-case I'd bought some time ago,
1997 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Clos Windsbuhl
Makes quite the first impression, coming across so minerally on the nose and palate that it really needs a geologist to do it justice. With some time and air this starts to open out as developed smoky elements and bright fruit flavours emerge; it's rather tropical and ripe in character but this remains incredibly streamlined and precise with fantastic acidity and a stern, stony core beneath all the fruit.