Dinner at Grand Sichuan (this time the St. Marks location) last night with Dale Williams, Rahsaan, Jay Miller and John Ritchie. A great group, fantastic food and as always an excess of great wines - a very fun evening. Thanks all!
2005 Huët Vouvray Pétillant Brut
Nice to have a chance to revisit this, as I've buried mine away at offsite storage for some time. This is its lovely understated self again, conveying golden Chenin fruit, hay and a chalky minerality with a sense of lightness and great balance. Very enjoyable.
1966 Domaine de Chevalier
Always love old DDC, and this one's showing very well (Jay had double decanted a short while beforehand and the wine kept getting better and better with air). Mature red fruits seasoned with cedar, herbs, savoury developed earthy and smoky elements; very finessed and light on its feet with the tannins resolved but the acidity keeping it fresh and vibrant.
2001 Franz Hirtzberger Riesling Smaragd Hochrain
Layers of rich Riesling fruit, spice, minerality, developed creaminess and exotic herbal and floral accents that emerge with more air; this is the complete package. Amazing depth, balance and length. Outstanding wine (and drinking far better than the '01 Singerriedel right now).
1993 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile
Comes across a little shrill and austere at first but gains weight and depth with air; fresh pear and lemony fruit tinged by herbal and smoky elements over a vivid stony minerality and a spine of bright acidity, very enjoyable though for me suffered being poured alongside the Hirtzberger.
2001 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Chambolle-Musigny
Incredibly fragrant, conveying pretty red and dark fruited flavours accented by floral and spicy notes and a texture that's pure silk. The tannins are barely noticeable, and this just glides across the tongue with a remarkable lightness and sense of polish.
2001 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese #5
Some debate at the table as to whether this may have been slightly corked or just very closed, as it came across quite reticent and unyielding with the fruit very restrained, suggestions of slate and herbal elements but not really giving anything up right now. Shame, as a couple of bottles last year were spectacular.
2000 Müller-Catoir Mußbacher Eselshaut Rieslaner Spätlese
Very Scheurebe-like in its flavour profile with rich mango, peach and honeyed notes; there's a little phenolic roughness on the back end but aside from that it's a lovely wine that's all too easy to drink, and showing none of the issues of the vintage.
2001 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese
AP #28. Still dominated by sulfur aromatically (and it took quite a while to blow off), but underneath the sulfur is a stunning, seamless combination of ripe Mosel fruit, honey, slate and florality conveyed with amazing freshness and purity with fantastic acidity moderating the sweetness. There's a sense of real polish and gloss to the texture, superb balance and impressive length. Great wine.
2005 Vollenweider Wolfer Goldgrube Riesling Auslese
Very ripe and lusciously sweet; a basket of orchard fruits in fall with an underpinning of slate. It's quite dense and fleshy in the mouth, but well balanced with enough acidity to keep it from ever feeling heavy and impressive length. I'd love to see where this heads with some more time.
2002 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese
Flat out wow. Everything I'd expect from a Hermannshöhle Auslese; a spectrum of Riesling fruit ranging from fresh pears and citrus fruit to riper peachy and red fruited flavours, layered seamlessly with honeyed, floral and minerally elements and conveyed with Dönnhoff's usual lightness of touch and perfect balance with all the flavours, sweetness and acidity coming together into a seamless whole. Still very youthful, but it's already quite amazing right now.
