Leo's blind tasting group met at Sip-Sak in midtown for a casual brown-bagged dinner - everyone brought a bottle or two to pour blind, and we had some fun trying to guess the bottles, and even more fun drinking some great wines. Thanks to Ben and Suzanne for setting this up; good food (quite reasonable too), fun wines and great company.
1992 Zilliken (Forstmeister Geltz) Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spätlese
A little musty on the nose at first (I wondered if it was corked initially), but clears up with some air to show bright white fruited flavours and developed petrol and smoky notes. Mature, nicely balanced, though not showing the mineral character I'd like in a Saar wine. Moderate sweetness matched by nice acids, very nice.
2009 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Großes Gewächs
Great aromatics; smoke, honey, herbal, floral and mineral elements combining into an incredible scent. Layered and faintly creamy in the mouth with tremendous depth and a sense of polish to the flavours. There's fantastic balance, depth and persistence here, and I'm looking forward to seeing what this turns into with some time.
2007 Jean Foillard Morgon Côte du Py Cuvée 3.14
Wow! Fresh cherries, raspberries, minerals, violets and baking spices combining into a single, seamless whole. Certainly bigger and more powerful than a standard Morgon, but at the same time it conveys the sense of elegance, lightness and sheer drinkability I look for in Gamay, just on a larger frame. Great balance and length, wonderful wine.
2000 Domaine Denis Bachelet Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes
Lovely mature aromatics; savoury, leathery and meaty with pale red fruited flavours beneath and a lightness of touch that makes it very easy to drink. Yum.
1990 Olga Raffault Chinon Les Picasses
Certainly not for the brett-averse. Meat, leather, cherries, cassis and touches of green herbal notes in a nicely resolved, medium weight package that simultaneously conveys a wild, sauvage character and a sense of finesse and brightness.
2001 Domaine Bois de Boursan Châteauneuf-du-Pape
The real Jay Miller drank a CdP and wasn't complaining! Drinking really nicely right now with primary raspberry and cherry fruit accented with Provencal herbs and developing leathery and earthy notes. It's nicely balanced and quite accessible with the tannins rather gentle and surprising acid lift for a Southern Rhone.
1986 Château Léoville Barton
Savoury, restrained cassis and red fruited flavours tinged with leathery funk, tobacco leaf and dusty earth. A bit tannic initially but softens and opens with air, getting better with time and overall very enjoyable, though it still seems to have quite some time ahead.
1990 Château Pape Clément
Very different to my last experience with 1990 Pape Clement - this one comes across very ripe and slightly roasted initially, with some herbal and brown sugary accents. With time the brown sugar note blows off and it starts to taste more like a classic claret with tobacco and cedary notes emerging. Very good, but I was quite shocked when this was unveiled.
2009 Pierre Gonon Vin de Pays de l'Ardèche Les Iles Feray
Surprisingly red fruited for a Syrah with vivid raspberry and cherry fruit flavours that had most of the table wondering if this was Grenache. Really primary right now with lots of bright, exuberant fruit, but not much else going on right now.
1970 Les Forts de Latour
Hard to believe this one's 40 years old. This is classical, left bank claret - savoury earth and tobacco framing gentle, restrained red fruited notes with touches of cedar and graphite emerging with more air. It's not about power or intensity, rather a wine that takes its time to slowly unravel flavours with a sense of elegance and restraint; beautiful stuff that's perfectly mature and resolved right now and a real treat.
2006 Pax Syrah Obsidian Vineyard
A massive, ripe black fruited bomb with plenty of alcohol. Not my thing.
