Dinner and drinks with an old friend in NY, after a long flight back. (No jetlag, happily, and some excellent food and wine.)
2008 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre
Obviously incredibly young and primary, but already showing a lot with layers of fresh pear and citrus fruits, a vivid stony mineral base and fresh herbal and saline accents. There's a sense of incredible purity and clarity here with bright acidity keeping it very focused and precise; flavour conveyed with barely any sense of weight and yet tremendous presence and persistence. Outstanding wine (though I'm getting concerned about my growing liking for these white Burgs... oh dear).
1982 Pierre Barge Côte-Rôtie
Chambers had an afternoon tasting of older Rhones when I dropped in to pick up a couple of bottles, and I particularly enjoyed this. Grabbed a bottle to accompany the duck confit we were having for dinner, and unsurprisingly a full bottle over an hour with a good meal was even more enjoyable. There's a powerful scent that keeps developing and building with air, combining leathery and meaty funk, iron and autumnal forestal elements into a wonderful fragrance, and layers of mature red fruits, olives and brothy savouriness on the palate conveyed with a sense of finesse and a delicate touch. Pretty much everything I'd want from an older Cote-Rotie.
2004 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Cailles
Another spur of the moment buy from Chambers. Drinking really well right now, though surprisingly advanced both in colour and flavour. There's a touch of greenness here, but it's not aggressive and comes across as a fresh herbal accent on top of the bright red fruited flavours and mature earthy and brothy undertones. There's a polished, finessed texture here with the tannins quite gentle and a bright acid spine keeping it very refreshing, with each sip inviting another.
2009 Simon Bize Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Fourneaux
Slightly overripe with a roasted aspect to the dense fruit flavours. This comes across rather one-dimensional, extracted and heavy right now, dominated by primary fruit with a lingering tannic bitterness on the back end and not much acidity.