Had a few friends over last night for a mostly-North Indian dinner - sweet potatoes roasted with garlic, cumin and various other spices; a mild chicken korma; black channa masala; a cumin/green pea pulao and a cardamom/black pepper ice cream for dessert. We drank pretty well...
2008 Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz Siebeldinger Im Sonnenschein Ganshorn Riesling Großes Gewächs
Initially not quite as exuberant as other bottles have been but builds and opens with air; bright grapefruit, pear and guava fruit infused with a powerful stony minerality and seasoned with exotic floral and herbal accents, powerful and very dry, though light on its feet and kept really fresh and precise by its acidity.
2010 Weingut Keller Scheurebe Spätlese
Spätlese in name only, the sweetness and richness here are well into Auslese territory. It's incredibly rich, dense and packed with bright grapefruit, melon and citrus flavours with a green herbal/minty seasoning. Comes across a bit too rich and heavy right now, not showing its acidity underneath all the baby fat - I'd like to check into this with a few more years on it.
1996 Domaine Jasmin Côte-Rôtie
Corked. Screw you Portuguese menace!
2002 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir Evenstad Reserve
Packed with ripe black cherries with faint cinnamon and floral accents that build with air; very polished and glossy-textured with the tannins barely noticeable and nice acidity underneath. Really impressive.
2000 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains
This is awesome, drinking superbly now with a seamless combination of pure red and dark fruits, developing leathery, truffled and sous bois elements and an incredibly finessed, silken mouthfeel. Superb.
2001 Château Doisy-Védrines
Pretty much everything I'd expect in a young Sauternes; ripe apricot and pineapple fruit drenched in honey and caramel with a faint vanilla component on the back end. It's a little soft though, lacking the acidity to balance the incredible richness and sweetness but it's still a very pleasant drink.
). For $10 I might have forgiven it, but it was a really terrible value in my eyes.