Tried making cassoulet for the first time over the last few days. Didn't exactly start from scratch, getting my duck confit and garlic sausage from D'Artagnan, and the overall result wasn't bad. Spencer, David and Eli came over to help eat the cassoulet and enjoy some good wines. Fun evening, thanks all.
1998 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Really nice; savoury earth and Provencal herb flavours framing ripe raspberry and cherry fruit in a rich, powerful package that still conveys a sense of elegance and polish. There's very good balance here and it's very easy to drink, though still quite young.
1998 Wendouree Shiraz - Mataro
Quite approachable for a young Wendouree. Starts out with that typical Wendouree fragrance conveying a vivid mintiness over dark chocolate and earthy flavours with bright, ripe red and dark fruited flavours in the mouth, and turns more leathery and savoury with time. Conveys power with a sense of elegance, with really good acidity underneath keeping it very fresh and precise, and plenty of grainy tannins on the back end, though this is relatively accessible (and nowhere near the tannic beast that the '99 was recently).
2000 Gangloff Côte-Rôtie La Sereine Noir
A bit disappointing compared to the last bottle I opened. This doesn't have the same vivid smoky meatiness, but it's still quite pleasant with bright red and dark fruits tinged with leather, violets and bacon fat, and just a touch of well integrated oak in the background. Quite polished and easy to drink now with the tannins rather gentle, though the stuffing and balance here suggest this still has a fair bit of time ahead of it.
1996 Château Lynch-Bages
Delivers everything I'd want in a left bank claret. Powerful cassis and blackberry fruit combining seamlessly with vivid graphite, cedar and tobacco leaf accents; quite ripe and powerful but impeccably balanced. Drinking beautifully right now after a quick double decant. Fantastic.
2005 Tenute Dettori Tenores
Cloudy, slightly murky in appearance with plenty of sediment throughout. Certainly interesting to taste in small amounts with ripe red berried fruit accented baking spices and funky earthy notes, but there's also noticeable VA and the 16% alcohol is obtrusive and makes this challenging to drink comfortably.
2004 Willi Schaefer Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese #12
Outstanding Riesling. Incredibly pure, fresh apple and melon fruit over a bed of slate with gentle floral and honeyed accents. There's very little apparent botrytis here, and this is all about conveying flavour with amazing clarity and freshness. Schaefer never disappoints.