Various items over the past couple of weeks, with friends in NY and then others with family in Singapore.
1966 Château Haut-Bailly
Very tertiary at first, all smoke, tobacco, leather and savoury tarry flavours that smell more like an old Barolo. Over a few hours in the decanter the fruit emerges and it gains more depth and nuance, all the while maintaining an ethereal, finessed palate presence. Wonderful wine that's still drinking very well now, though I'll open my other bottles soon.
2010 Alzinger Riesling Smaragd Loibner Steinerta
The fruit's remarkably ripe and tropical and much more exuberant and dominant than previous vintages, which have been more about the herbal and stony character of Steinertal. There's still a firm stony base beneath, bright acidity keeping it very fresh and precise, but it's all about primary fruit right now and seems to be holding a lot in reserve. Hands off for some time.
2009 A.J. Adam Dhroner Hofberger Riesling Kabinett
Still drinking superbly. Layers of ripe apples, melons and citrus fruits, florality and a vividly stony and saline mineral base, all conveyed with great elegance and focus with bright acids balancing the sweetness perfectly.
2009 A.J. Adam Dhroner Hofberger Riesling Spätlese
Excellent again. Powerful, ripe and layered with ripe orchard fruits, floral elements, gingery spice and a stony mineral undercurrent combining seamlessly into a polished, medium weight whole. It's certainly ripe and sweet, but well balanced with plenty of acidity and I'm excited to see how this will age.
2009 Weingut Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Klosterlay Riesling Kabinett
Really good again. Fresh apple and lime fruit over a mineral base with bright acidity and a fair bit of dissolved CO2 giving it a sense of vibrancy and real refreshment. Moderately sweet and all too easy to drink.
2009 Weingut Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck Riesling Spätlese
Consistent with previous notes. Auslese-like richness and power, lots of depth here with white fruits, apples and riper tropical fruit, floral elements, gentle honeyed accents and a mineral undercurrent all combining seamlessly. It's certainly quite sweet right now, but there's the stuffing, balance and acid structure to age very well and I imagine this will be quite incredible with time.
2005 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale
Closed and dominated by its structure right now. There's some red fruit, but it's holding a lot in reserve and it's a wine that needs to be buried deep in the cellar and forgotten for some time.
2004 Château Haut-Brion
Decanted a few hours in advance. Obviously incredibly young now but it's already quite compelling and showing a lot of complexity; there's a powerful fragrance of cedar wood and cigar smoke, and layers of dark fruited flavours, dried herbs, savoury earth and cedary elements on the palate. There's impressive balance, finesse and persistence here, though this really needs a lot more time in the cellar.