1999 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne
From magnum. This is firing on all cylinders - full of ripe citrus and pear fruit accented by toasty and chalky notes with tremendous depth, power and a sense of vibrancy and precision to the flavours. Wow!!
2005 Louis Jadot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières
From magnum. Bright pear and green apple fruit up front with a nice acid spine beneath, but it turns slightly bitter and woody on the back end. The oak integrates better with some air, though this really needs time.
1998 Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Pittermännchen Riesling Spätlese
Lovely again. Smoke and petrol flavours around a core of bright yellow plums, peaches and minerals; moderately sweet and nicely balanced by its acidity. This is in a really great place right now.
2005 Nicolas Potel Beaune 1er Cru Les Grèves
From magnum. Very tight, unyielding and refusing to open up even after a few hours in the decanter. Hands off for a long time.
1989 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Cannubi Boschis
Really beautiful aromatics straight away, combining gentle red and dark fruited flavours with mature forestal, earthy and leathery elements. There's a sense of polish and gloss to the fruit, bright acids underneath that keep it very refreshing and the tannins are rather gentle on the back end. Really nice, though with more time a strange minty note starts to dominate the fruit and other nuances here.
1990 Pieve Santa Restituta (Gaja) Brunello di Montalcino Rennina
From magnum. Comes across quite youthful for a 20+ year old wine with deep red fruited and black cherry flavours accented by leather and minty herbal notes. There's a lovely polished texture and a sense of finesse in the mouth with bright acids keeping it very fresh - really enjoyable, though giving the impression this has a fair bit of time ahead.
1997 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate
From magnum. Incredibly youthful, full of primary cassis and dark berried fruit tinged with gentle tobacco, cedar and herbal notes. There's a sense of restraint and finesse here I rarely find in Napa Cabernet with outstanding balance, depth and the stuffing and structure to age a long time.
2003 Travaglini Gattinara
From magnum, can't remember if this was the Riserva or another bottling - but regardless, this is quite spectacular - all about purity and clarity, with fresh red fruits tinged with rose petals and smoke over savoury, gravelly earthy flavours. There's remarkable acidity for an '03 that keeps it really fresh and precise, and this conveys a sense of incredible lightness and finesse. Remarkable wine, and I really need to explore Gattinara further after this.
1998 Louis Jadot Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Barre
Drinking beautifully right now. Fresh, floral-tinged red fruits and berries with the start of developing leathery and savoury earthy elements in a very elegant, lightweight package. Delicious.
2006 Toljanic Žlahtina
From the island of Krk in Croatia. Fresh herbal and green fruited aromatics leading into a palate full of dry, bracingly tart citrus fruits and stony minerality. With some air the aromatics really develop as smoky and faintly grassy aspects emerge. Really interesting, quite Gruner-like.
1971 Charles Krug Winery Cabernet Sauvignon
Dead and oxidized. Shame.
1999 Bodegas Uvaguilera Aguilera Ribera del Duero Palomero
A little modern in style; full of deep plummy fruit with developing smoky and leathery accents and a patina of oak that's nicely integrated. It's very ripe, fleshy and full bodied, but nicely balanced and very enjoyable with the braised ribs.
2009 Dönnhoff Schloßböckelheimer Felsenberg Riesling Felsentürmchen Spätlese
Really delicious once again. Fresh apples, peaches and white cherries framed by floral, hay and minerally notes. It's quite sweet right now with a lot of baby fat, but there's really good acidity beneath that keeps it beautifully balanced, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this develops with age (if I can keep my hands off some of my bottles long enough). Really nice with the Manchego and black truffle cheese after dinner.
(There were other wines as well, including a bottle of Carlisle Zinfandel that had too much ripe fruit and flavour for me.
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