Alsace Riesling grand cru Schlossberg 1997 “Cuvée du Centenaire 1998” - Domaine Weinbach – Alc. 13.5%. This was quite Austrian Smaragd in style. Rich and quite complex with secondary flavours of a dark hue, slightly Southern in character with an alcoholic seeming finish (but only 13.5%?!) but the acidity was more lively than I remember in my other bottles, amongst which this was the best but last; 16/20.
Vouvray sec Clos de la Bretonnière 2008 – Domaine de la Taille aux Loups, Jacky Blot – Alc.13%.
A few months ago I wrote –
I find it hard to believe that this Vouvray will ever be better than it was last night.
C: Quite pale yellow.
N: Brightly expressive with fine notes of quince, apple, pear, minerals and a dab of dry honey.
P: Very dry, brightly focussed, medium/light bodied, full of stylish nerve and tension with enough underlying roundness (gras) to support its vibrant fruit and aromas, grainy minerals, crisp acidity and firm finish. There was just a hint of rawness on the finish which will surely disappear with evolution, but so will some of the vibrancy and tension which makes me unsure whether that evolution will be positive overall; 17/20 now.
On the evidence on last week’s bottle, it has already lost something; not yet the vibrancy and tension but some of the underlying roundness (gras) and also, more positively, that hint of rawness. This, however, made the wine more steely losing some charm. Still fine, though, and it will be fascinating to see how the remaining bottles evolve over the years if I can keep my hands off them; 16.5/20.
Coteaux du Loir Vieilles Vignes Éparses 2004 – Domaine de la Bellivière. David Bueker has aptly described the aroma which marks a lot of white 2004s as “cigar ash”. At first, this was less apparent than in my last bottle with some attractive white fruit, minerals and “fat” with but the cigar ash lurking in the background but being no more than a rather odd element of complexity. However, half the content were left overnight in the fridge under a vacu-vin stopper and next day the cigar ash dominated to the extent of making the wine nearly undrinkable; 15/20+ on the first evening; 12/20 next day.
Château Montus – AOC Madiran - 1994 - Alain Brumont – Alc. 12.5% (€ 16.52 for 2005) – the basic cuvée.
The colour was still a fine deep red and the nose showed dark red fruit, plum, with hints of wet leather. The palate was powerful and generously mouth-filling with deep savoury fruit, a nice leathery Madiran tang, well resolved structure, good length and a certain suave and faintly sweet patina; 16.5/20.
Chianti Classico Riserva 2003 – Fèlsina – Alc.13.5%. This is a very successful 2003 showing none of the cooked and candied notes common throughout France and Italy in that year. The fruit was perhaps a bit sweeter and more ingratiating than usual and the body fuller and there was less acidity and tang but it was still Chianti with the Fèlsina class and very enjoyable; 16.5/20.
We drank two different St.Chinians on successive evenings. They were markedly different; vintages and varietal mix certainly played a role in this. Additionally there are two distinct terroir types in the appellation; the North, where Carignan prospers, is dominated by schist and sandstone and the South by calcareous clay. I’m not sure in which terroir types the plots making these wines lie.
Saint-Chinian Causse du Bousquet 2003 – Mas Champart – Alc.14.5% - (€12 for current vintage), from Syrah 65%, Grenache and Mourvèdre partly tank and partly wood matured. Though this is the last of several bottles, I can’t find any previous TNs of mine. Paired with goose remains enlivened with tikka suce, it did the job well but the strong sauce may have resulted in my losing some subtleties. It was full bodied with mature rich fruit, nice peppery notes brought out by the tikka, chocolate touches, smooth acidity and structure. I would have appreciated a more spicy meridional personality but that may be down to the vintage and/or the tikka; 15.5/20+.
Ch. Viranel Saint-Chinian 2008 – D & G Bergasse-Milhé (€8), made from 40% each of Syrah and Grenache and 10% each of Mourvèdre and Carignan. After an autumn tasting, I wrote that it “was much … to my taste with a fine pure nose showing touches of cherry and an attractive and quite elegant medium+ weight palate with more cherry as well as spice; 16/20 QPR!”. I wonder if this was the same wine as I tasted (different bottling run?) because I did not get the cherry notes at all this time; there were fine prunes in their place and complex spices more dominant; still attractive 15.5/20 QPR needing the cherries’ brightness to justify my previous score.
We had a nice dinner on Friday to celebrate “La Fête des Rois” (Three Wise Men) with oysters, langouste, scallops and a gallette des roi (a puffed pastry and almond tart); the first two of the following wines did the honours and the Haut-Bailly came with yesterday’s steak.
Jurançon sec Cuvée Marie 2010 – Charles Hours – Alc.14%. I have loved previous vintages of this, particularly 2004. This one is not quite there yet but shows lovely crispness and minerality with touches of pineapple (prominent with the oysters) and honey. I was bothered by some oak induced caramel touches at the autumn tasting (10 months in wood of which 15% new) and Hours opined that it may have been due to recent bottling. I think that he was right because I no longer found these wood touches in this bottle; 16.5/20 with + potential.
Vin Cuit selon la Vieille Tradition Provençale – Domaine Les Bastides, Jean Salen – Alc.14%, bottles over 10 years old and wine made from heated musts of Grenache grapes. This is a sweet dessert wine and a delicious one. The colour was like that on a rosé with slight gold tints. The taste was very attractive on entry and mid-palate with lively flavours including strawberry, good acidity complementing the sweetness together with an invigorating note of moreish varnish which may indicate a touch of volatility at an acceptable level. I complained about a soft and almost cloying finish on a bottle a couple of years ago but this time it seemed firmer and fresher; maybe serving very cool helped. A fascinating wine which is a good substitute for tawny port with the advantage of less alcohol; 16.5/20
Château Haut-Bailly Pessac-Léognan 1994 – G.F.A. Sanders – Alc.12.5%. The first bottle was ghastly smelling of prunes, stewed cabbage and stale cheese; what went wrong here? Straight down the sink!!
The second bottle was what I was expecting from this fine growth in a so-so vintage. Aromatically muted at first it developed well with air to show some quiet red fruit and minerals with an underlying roundness. The palate was medium bodied at most, somewhat understated, classically shaped and not particularly expansive though showing decent length and depth; however the flavours were attractive adding to the aromas from the nose that ineffable sweet touch frequent in mature left bank claret which is reminiscent of that in fine unsugared tea, nothing at all like the more overt sweetness of fruit in a lot of “modern” Bordeaux. So not a great claret but very satisfying; 16/20.