Our NY blind tasting group met at Txikito yesterday for wines with Basque food: Suzanne opened the wines, an incredibly generous selection though as usual my blind tasting guesses were rarely close to the mark. Still a very fun evening with great company and some lovely wines and food in a nice setting.
Welcome wine
2008 Franz Etz Grüner Veltliner Gruner (Kamptal)
Not particularly GV-like initially; the fruit's quite reticent and mostly along the lines of pear and lemon, rather than showing the standard Gruner green flavours, and there's an intense stony minerality beneath that had me guessing at dry Riesling. Elegant and very refreshing, nice way to start the night.
First flight - rosé
2009 Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé
Starts out with bright red fruits, grapefruit and melon flavours up front; turns salty and savoury on the back end as earthy and stony elements emerge with bright acids keeping it very fresh and precise. Josh guessed this one pretty quickly!
2009 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Rosé
The best rosé I've ever had, and I'm kicking myself for not buying this when Chambers had it and only focusing on Baudry's red Chinons. Lightly perfumed with gentle red fruited and herbal flavours on a frame that's incredibly elegant and finessed. This is all about conveying flavour without any sense of weight and an incredible lightness of touch, wonderful stuff.
Second flight - '06 whites sealed with yellow wax capsules
2006 Domaine Leroy Bourgogne-Aligoté
Comes across quite New World-like at first; a powerhouse of ripe tropical and white fruited flavours accented with honeysuckle and faint vanilla notes, but with air the flavours become more high toned as a herbal and slightly stalky element emerges and the fruit takes a back step. There's a sense of purity and fantastic clarity to the fruit flavours, and this is beautifully balanced with really good acidity and impressive length.
2006 Domaine François Cotat (Paul & François) Sancerre La Grande Côte
Slightly waxy, almost a touch oxidative initially - but this clears up with time and it develops bright peach and grapefruit flavours accented by bright herbal notes and rainwater-like minerality, with a refreshing acid spine underneath. Delicious stuff, though this is well outside my frame of reference for Sancerre - I was guessing Burgundy or a white Northern Rhone on this.
2006 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Blanc De L'Orée
Striking aromatics; very exotic and high-toned with all sorts of wild herbal, minty, floral and spicy scents accenting pale white fruited flavours. It doesn't have anywhere near the same depth or complexity in the mouth, showing ripe pear and yellow plum flavours with some herbal accents and a nice sense of freshness, tasty but not living up to the promise of the aromatic profile. Quite surprised when this was unveiled, as I preferred both the Leroy Aligoté and the Cotat to this.
Third flight - Burgundy
2004 Domaine Leroy Bourgogne
Surprisingly cloudy appearance which had a few of us thinking it was either quite old or was one of those 'natural' Cornelissen-type wines. Starts out with ripe strawberry and cherry flavours with a touch of leathery funk, a little awkward at first but with air it pulls itself together and develops a lovely perfumed scent. (No signs of the '04 greenies here, for those who keep track.) I think it was this wine that had Jay Hack declaring that he "didn't want to have to use an electron microscope to find the flavour in wine!"
2002 Domaine Truchot-Martin Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Clos Sorbes Vieilles Vignes
Absolutely stunning - starts out with a scent that's like the essence of black cherry, then with time it expands and develops with all sorts of developed leathery, herbal, earthy and slightly funky elements emerging. There's that sense of incredible polish, calm and restraint I always associate with Truchot, fantastic balance and a finish that just stays with you. A real treat, thanks Suzanne!
2001 Domaine Alain Burguet Gevrey-Chambertin En Reniard
Great aromatics! Fresh raspberry and cherry notes seasoned with spices and touches of earth, very elegant in the mouth but quite primary with youthful red fruited flavours on a silky, polished frame, quite long and elegant.
Fourth flight - more reds
2001 Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale La Migoua
Wild stuff; red fruit, meat and blood in equal proportions with some leathery and herbal flavours emerging as this breathes a little. It's very primary, tightly wound initially with a firm spine of tannin and acid, but the balance here is fantastic and I imagine this will only get better with time.
2001 Domaine de la Grange des Pères Vin de Pays de l'Hérault (Languedoc Roussillon)
Very Northern Rhone-like in its flavour profile with high toned olive and plummy fruit flavours framed by Provencal herbs, earth and touches of meat. Powerful with plenty of richness and weight, but there's a sense of restraint and impressive structure here - really enjoyable, though I didn't give this the attention it merited, being fixated upon the Truchot and Unico.
1987 Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único
Unreal nose. Just a spectacular scent, combining all sorts of exotic spices, leather, savoury earthy and dark chocolate notes with deep red and dark fruited flavours. It's hard to believe this is over 2 decades old, as it feels incredibly fresh and bright in the mouth with youthful red fruit framed by spice, cocoa, earth and all sorts of other flavours hinting at the start of some development. A powerhouse with precision, tremendous balance and structure suggesting there's still plenty of time ahead, and incredible length. Wow!
Dessert
1989 Domaine Cauhapé Jurançon Quintessence du Petit Manseng
Slightly awkward aromatics at first, faintly musty with a touch of volatile acidity - but it's far more enjoyable to taste than smell, with layers of ripe peaches, pineapple and raisined fruits mingled with marzipan and slightly nutty flavours. Very powerful and concentrated to the point the texture's slightly syrupy - impressive wine, though I wasn't able to drink more than a few sips of this.
Fantastic evening and a stellar and very generous lineup, thanks again Suzanne!