Got together with the Buekers, Spencer, Steve and Mike at Mei Tzu last night for dinner. Solid food as always, and a really nice lineup of wines with great friends.
N.V. Cedric Bouchard / Roses de Jeanne Champagne Inflorescence Blanc de Noirs La Parcelle
V03, disgorged in 2010. Just as I remember it from another bottle opened a couple of months ago (same disgorgement/vintage) - very pretty aromatics; full of yeasty, floral and biscuity notes around a core of red fruits, but it's a little soft and round for my liking in the mouth, lacking the depth and focus I'd normally expect from Bouchard. Nice but not particularly exciting.
2008 Van Volxem Wiltinger Gottesfuss Riesling Alte Reben
Oh, damnit. Exotic, tropical and floral on the nose, but in the mouth it's quite reticent and tightly wound. There's a lovely polished texture, but it's holding a lot back (compared to a bottle I opened soon after release) and both the fruit, other flavours and acidity are quite reticent.
2007 Dönnhoff Schloßböckelheimer Felsenberg Riesling Felsentürmchen Spätlese
Seems a little loose and awkward compared to other bottles I've had: starts out with a blast of petrol on the nose amidst other floral and white fruited elements, but in the mouth seems a little soft and light. Perhaps starting to close down?
1999 Patrick et Christophe Bonnefond Côte-Rôtie Les Rochains
A touch of wood on the aromatics initially, but that quickly integrates as floral-tinged red and dark fruits emerge along with softer earthy and meaty elements. Lovely polished texture, medium weight in the mouth with bright fruit, acidity and the start of developing flavours, perhaps just a touch angular but drinking very nicely now.
1991 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Auslese (AP#25-02, 500 ml bottle)
Stunning. Developed smoky notes, creaminess, minerality and bright Riesling fruit combining seamlessly into a very elegant, polished whole with gentle, understated sweetness and perfect balance. What a treat - thanks Spencer!
2006 Weingut Knoll Riesling Beerenauslese Loibner
A powerhouse of spice, honey and tremendously ripe apricot, sweet lime and tropical fruited flavours. This is very rich but impressively balanced with really nice acids that give it a sense of real focus, brightness and energy for such a big wine.
2006 Willi Schaefer Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese
Aromatics full of ripe yellow and white fruits tinged with floral and honeyed notes suggest this is really a big Auslese in a Spätlese wrapper (well, it is 06) - but it comes across in the mouth with remarkable finesse and lightness, full of bright red apple and peachy fruit with gentle slatey minerality underneath. There's plenty of sweetness here but it's nicely matched by the bright acids, and the balance, density and structure suggest this is a wine with a long future, though it's delicious right now.