Like the other Vollenweider Kabinetts (05 and 04) I've had recently, the richness and sweetness here is more in Spätlese territory with luscious, ripe pear, red apple and peachy fruit with gentle slatey and floral accents. Unlike the 05 and 04 though, this comes across a little too sweet and round without the acidity needed to cut through the sweetness - certainly tasty, but just a touch too soft.
2001 Château Le Gay Pomerol
Conveys power with a sense of restraint and refinement; rich blackberries and plummy fruit framed by a touch of new oak, exotic spicy and sandalwood notes, fresh herbs and savoury earthiness. Very aromatic with fantastic balance; lots of depth and layers, drinking very well now with the structure and stuffing to age very well.
N.V. Ulysse Collin Champagne Extra Brut Blanc de Noirs
L06 (06 vintage), disgorged 09/09. This has calmed down a bit with some time in bottle - it's not as explosive and overtly powerful as it was on release when I tried it a year ago, but now shows layers of pure Pinot red fruited flavours combining seamlessly with chalky accents and gentle doughy and yeasty notes. There's a sense of restrained power, a silky, mouthfilling texture and superb balance, and this is starting to evolve into a really stunning wine.
2002 Château La Mission Haut-Brion
Decanted for about 2 hours. Tightly wound and unyielding initially, but with time develops a superb perfume combining bright primary dark fruited flavours with more savoury pipe tobacco, gravel, fresh herbs and cedar elements. While it's obviously very youthful, there's fantastic balance, depth and the structure to suggest a great future ahead. With enough air though, it's quite compelling right now with all the depth and character you could want in a still-young Bordeaux, and I'm looking forward to revisiting this in a few years.
2010 Coudert Fleurie Clos de la Roilette Cuvée Tardive
Pretty awesome, if incredibly primary right now. So pure, fresh, crunchy and perfectly balanced with a sense of sheer lightness and drinkability that keeps you coming back after each sip.
2007 Prager Riesling Smaragd Achleiten
Wow. Iridescent fruit, exotic mandarin orange and musky floral accents, and a pervasive minerality that leaves the mouth coated in stones and mineral salts, all over a spine of powerful acidity that keeps it incredibly precise and refreshing. Spectacular Riesling.
2001 Franz Hirtzberger Riesling Smaragd Singerriedel
Still incredibly young, but awesome nonetheless. Exotic florality and spice, layers of ripe, pure fruit and a vivid stony minerality combining with faint creamy notes in an incredibly focused, precise and vibrant whole. It's still very primary, but has all the stuffing and structure to turn into something really special with time. Off the list at a certain NYC restaurant, as I'll happily drink their (very reasonably priced) stash young while waiting for my bottles to mature.
2006 Domaine Truchot-Martin Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Les Sorbes
This was rather reticent when I first experienced it almost a year ago, but it's incredible now from the second the cork's pulled, showing that incredibly pale, transparent Truchot colour and a haunting fragrance combining fresh cherry, plum and blood orange fruit, rose petals and all sorts of earthy, saline, herbal and faintly funky leathery elements into a perfume that's hard to move away from. There's that sense of sheer lightness and purity I've found in so many of Truchot's wines; flavours conveyed with barely any sense of weight and amazing balance and persistence. Flat out amazing wine.
