Dinner at my place. The wines were quite good, too.
Daniel Vollenweider Riesling Gold Capsule Wolfer Goldgrube 2009
Pale green-gold. Fat and hugely sweet, fresh and floral, intense “vanilla” slate. Lively yet integrated acidity. Very long on the finish. What a wonderful wine, every single bottle of it – if there were a track record of older wines (but we all know Daniel’s first vintage was 2000), I might say it is destined to be a legendary Auslese. Rating: 96+/97
Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino 1990
Thanks to Oliver. L 7176. 12 hours double-decanted. Garnet-ruby, black hue. Tarry-sweet blood orange and black cherry jam. “The fruit of a Griotte-Chambertin”, Rainer said. Nuts and ginger, noble tobacco and Ceylon black tea, minerals and some tarragon and dried oregano. Great tannin, faintly grainy, now powdery-lavender-like. Used to be feminine and light on its feet, even floral, now comes across as impressively powerful, a more serious and ageworthy vintage than it seemed at release. Deserves more time in bottle. Rating: 96+
Joseph Roty Charmes-Chambertin Très Vieilles Vignes 2002
Thanks to Rainer. Quite full and deep raspberry-ruby-red. Syrah-like intensity on the nose. Powerful, tight and quite tannic on the palate. A Pinot Noir with grip, youthful but not at all closed. Beef broth cube, complex and deep fruit, intense yet finesseful, firm minerality. Persistent finish. Wow!! Rating: 96(+?)
Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac 1982
Thanks to Remo. Pristine bottle, into neck fill level. Plummy ruby-black, opaque at the center, impressive colour. Noble tobacco, lead pencil, cocoa, some nuts, soft dried mushroom and minerals. Someone thought the nose “Montrose-like”, alluding to the 1990, but I could not detect any brett here. Concentrated, dense, tannic, quite powerful. Drier with airing. Very long on the finish. Good depth, still a very beautiful wine, but despite perfect condition, the PLL is one of those rare 1982s I used to like better when it was younger, and that I would recommend drinking up over the next few years. Rating: 96-/95(-?)
Château Mouton Rothschild Pauillac 1982
Thanks to Christian. Pristine bottle, maybe the best showing I remember. Glossier, violet-tinged ruby-black. Cherry top note, soft malt, complex tobacco. Sweet yet bright, great freshness. Manages to be ethereal, spicy, and quite intense as well as finesseful on the back end. Lovely acids, pretty, nicely racy tannins. Very long. Approachable if still youthful, with upwards potential. Rating: 98+
Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Martha's Vineyard 1985
Deep dark ruby-black, still opaque at the center, no orange at the rim in contrast to a bottle six years ago. Improved for many hours in the open bottle, even after I had double-decanted it for six hours. That typical youthful (!) Heitz “stink” on the nose especially at first. Eucalyptus, ripe blackcurrant, malt, brett, cork rind, sweet, extremely long. The most complex wine of the night, Rainer even feels it is “the most complex wine ever made in the U.S.”, and that the 1985 is “more powerful than the 1974.” Third most youthful wine of the night after the Vollenweider and the Roty, but thankfully, in contrast to the Monfortino, open for inspection. Most concentrated wine along with the Da Capo. Incredible combination of sweetness, tannin and complexity. Rating: 98+
Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Da Capo 1998
Thanks to René. From 80-year-old vines, reportedly a single parcel wine of La Crau old vines adjacent to Henri Bonneau's. 90% Grenache, with the rest all of the other twelve permitted grape varieties. Deep ruby-black-red. Remains the greatest vintage of Da Capo thus far, even if the more elegant, floral and finesseful 2007 is just as beautiful. Smoky tar, nice ginger, and a deep violety top note. Even thicker, sweeter, denser, riper and more powerful, more Port-like and oilier, deeper and more complex than the other three vintages of Da Capo, as well as, amazingly, more minerally. Impressive depth and complexity to the tannin. Perfectly integrated 16.3% alc. An incredible wine that René thought reminiscent Henri Bonneau’s Cuvée Spéciale. Still early days, deserving of more time in bottle, but not too closed. Rating: 98(+?)
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
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„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
