So post your Xmas wines TN here!

WTN: `09 Grandjo Late-harvest Semillon, Douro Portugal.

Been bragging about this sweetie for a couple of days so opened last night. 375 ml, good natural cork, $32 Cdn.

Mid yellow in color, nose very aromatic with apricot, honey, some oak and sultanas. Very voluminous on entry, not at all cloying. Yup, quite sweet and fair acidity. Lots of tangerine, very refreshing.
I am quite intrigued to wonder how this might develope but think its ready now naturally.

Dirk, one of the gracious owners of DeVine Wines, always has something special open for the regulars when they visit the store on a holiday!
The 2003 Ch Larcis Ducasse, St. Emilion Grand Cru was one of the best clarets I have tasted in a long time. Nice balance of CF and Merlot, violets all over the nose and a touch of earth. Plums to forefront, good mid-palate, soft tannins. No barnyard anywhere, bravo!

Brilliant ruby red. Fruity nose with mushrooms and earthiness. Excellent midpalate of cherries, forest floor, mushrooms, and smooth tannins. Nice medium to long finish of acidic fruit especially tart cherries and orange.

With food:
Excellent match with Duck l'orange. Perhaps the best match was with the orange sauce over the stuffing made with duck giblets. Also very nice match with arugula/spinach beet salad with roasted walnuts and gorgonzola.

Wine: 2007 St. Innocent Momtazi vineyard pinot noir.

This was our Christmas dinner wine and it was enjoyed by all.

Alain Graillot, Crozes-Hermitage, 2006

A rainy winter evening, roast beef and this, my haven wine. Totally North Rhone: loads of black pepper on the nose, juicy red fruit on the palate, with silky, slightly dusty, tannins, and a hint of olive tapenade on the finish. I have guests over and I'm kinda loath to share this, even though I'm generous with other, more expensive wines: this is my secret mistress and now I have only one bottle left.

[James Roscoe]

Chateau Simard 199 St. Emillion - Nice herbal notes and excellent acidity. This wine paired well with the rare duck breast as did the 2003 Poggio Sala Vino Nobile Montepulciano 2003 which was a fruit bomb in comparison. It also was a great companion with the duck. Of course the 2002 Tattinger Millesime for dessert! Now that was the awesome wine wine of the day!

Wine of the evening with dinner of roasted garlic, carrots, onions, potatoes, and organic chicken was the 2005 Maysara Delara bottling Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley. The wine took a couple of hours to really open to a deep and rich blackberry flavored pinot. I enjoyed it, but I have enjoyed other wines from the Momtazi vineyard (home vineyard of Maysara) much more. I think the wine could have used a bit more acid lift, but that may have been a function of vintage. (I'm in the midst of re-reading Voodoo Vintners, the excellent book on bio-dynamics and Oregon vintners so I wanted a wine from a vineyard that plays a prominent role in the book.)

Opened the `07 Seghesio Sonoma Co. Zin today and still delicious. This was my 3rd and last bottle.
Medium to deep purple color. Blackberry and herbal nose. Blackberry and cherry on the palate with crisp acidity, a little spicy pepper and nice mellow tannin, plus chocolate tones for a long finish. Went very well with turkey and ham btw.

Also opened a superb 2003 Dr. Wagner Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Auslese (MSR). A recent gift from one of the owners of a local winestore and without a doubt one of my whites of the year!
Nice slatey mineral nose, not too sweet on the palate. Nice balanced acidity, pure enjoyment forumites.

Four of us killed two bottles of 2006 Tobin James Cabernet Franc. They went very well with the roast goose in sumptious gravy along with mashed potato stuffing from both the cavity and cooked separately (mixed together), braised red cabbage, green beans almondine, rolls, and pickled pears. It gave a great combination of red and black fruit with some chocolate and spice along with more fruit in the middle. The finish was delightful. The whole meal was wonderful. We ate a variety of Christmas cookies as we opened presents afterward.

2006 Alluviale Cabernet-Merlot Gimblett Road (New Zealand, North Island, Hawkes Bay, Gimblett Gravels)

Very nice with strong fruit that doesn't stray into sweet. Nice balance and structure. This is near its drinking window but still a little young. French notes of toasted oak, espresso, olive. A long bitter finish. A masculine wine that is well built and restrained within itself. Very nice.
B (40 views)

Served with delicious grilled lamb.

As I mentioned in one of these Christmas threads, the night of the 25th I was driving home so wasn't looking to drink much. I brought a bottle of the 2010 Nik Weis Mosel Riesling which was much better than I anticipated. Plenty of sweetmouth fruit and zingy mineral cut (I guess that was hard to avoid in 2010). I also brought the 2009 Chateau d'Oupia Minervois which was just what you'd expect, plenty delicious.

On the 24th I really enjoyed myself with the 1999 Chandon de Briailles PV Ile des Vergelesses. It almost broke my heart that the first bottle was corked as these are not exactly easy to come by. But the second bottle was silky delicious rich plush vintage CdB IdV herbal orchard goodness. It was a pleasing drink and not at all difficult, but I'll still hold the rest of my bottles for a while in anticipation of even better things to come.

Domaine Faury Condrieu 2008
Classic apricot, peach and florals (violets and wattle seed). It has a slight oiliness without being heavy or gloopy, remains relatively light on the palate, with balanced acidity and an almond kernel finish. Good Condrieu.

Domaine des Croix Beaune 1er Cru Bressandes 2006
Savoury cherry, almond, cherry wood and a little compost on the nose. Not a spectacular nose, but subtle and savoury. Well balanced, with pleasantly soft sandy tannins. Niether fruit forward nor funky, but certainly savoury in nature (which is a positive for me). Whole and gently expressive, even if not impressive.

Reinhold Haart Wintricher Ohligsberg Riesling Auslese 2007
Fairly ripe in its aromatics (pineapple, fig and suggestions of musky pink grapefruit), smooth and unctuous without being overly sweet; with good delineation, balance and focus.

The above served with this food.

Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Clos Guillot 2006
Subterreanean, fresh celery, savoury fruit, lovely nose; pleasant grip, good acidity, just very well balanced.

Domaine Faury St Joseph (blanc) 2008
Floral, slightly honeyed, almost green guava. Displaying the balancing qualities of the Condrieu: slightly oiliness without weight and gently refreshing acidity. Finished slightly lactic and dry wood-inflected.