Since the new trading hours at the stock exchange kicked in at the beginning of the year, we've had to cut down severely on boozy lunches. Aside from that, Jojo has been running marathons nearly every other month so he's had to cut down on drinking. With the next marathon nearly 3 months from now, he decided to do a bit of catching up and so organized a dinner at Mamou Too insisting that he would supply all the wines as he did stop drinking for a bit, but he certainly did not stop buying and needed to free up space for new purchases.
Philipponnat Grand Blanc 2004 - A blanc de blancs with grapes from Montagen de Reims, Cote des Blancs and some Clos des Goisses. Very light gold, cafe au lait, white chocolate, white pepper and lemon. Refreshing and showing good complexity despite the rather ethereal and elegant style. Very good.
Philipponnat Sublime Reserve 2003 - Close to medium gold and much heavier in body than the Grand Blanc. There's an obvious sweetness to this with some honey and caramel flavors coming through. A rather ponderous style. Good, but not all that interesting. The Philipponnat website says this is dosed as a sec, which explains the sweetness and heaviness. This is also recommended for light desserts and foie gras. I can see how this would work with foie gras.
Philipponnat will soon be carried by Premium Wine Exchange.
Short notes on the reds as the pace was rather quick:
Vieux Telegraphe La Crau 2003 - Quite sweet, touch of jamminess. Black olive. Very soft and ready to go. Good.
Janasse 2003 - Corked
Janasse 2000 - Corked again!
Usseglio Mon Aieul 2000 - Soft and juicy. Very earthy and powerful, barnyardy stink which is a little hard to get past. I don't mind barnyard but this was like a stable.
Beaucastel 1998 - Still firm and no barnyard. Either that or the Usseglio just overwhelmed my sense of smell. Not really too expressive. Needs a couple more years.
Fonsalette 1998 - Very dark, youngish, violet color. Sweet black cherry, sweet spices - cinnamon, nutmeg, clove. Soft and ready. Lovely wine. Jojo's and my favorite this evening. Amazing to think this is just a Cotes du Rhone.
Penfolds Grange 1997 - Chocolate covered cherries, coffee, meaty. Very good and my number 2 this evening. Some voted it number 1. Needs a couple more years to really open up, though.
Guigal Ex Voto 2001 - The first vintage of Ex Voto. Youthful violet color. Leathery and meaty. Still firm. I'm not too sure if this is holding up well and if a little more time will help it as it finishes rather acidic. Perhaps better to drink now.
Sauternes:
Raymond Lafon 1983 - Orange gold. A bit of sherryish oxidation on the nose but not really bothersome. Orange peel. The sweetness has faded to a point where it would be more appropriate to have this as an aperitif rather than dessert. Drink up if you have it.
Rieussec 2001 - Extremely rich, viscous, and in the language of WSET - luscious. Honey, candied orange peel, marmalade, dried apricots. Endless finish. Very sweet with long life ahead. Although it can be enjoyed now, I think it best to leave alone for at least another 5 years before trying it again so that the sweetness is reduced a bit and maybe a little more complexity can show. But definitely an outstanding wine.
It was an early night for most of the guys ( we ended before 9), but Rene, Richard, Aaron, Bernie and I decided to have a few more and headed over to Bar M for some single malt and a few more wines courtesy of Bernie.