An amazing evening last night at the Mandarin Court for Dr. C's 35th birthday - a great group of people, some seriously good Cantonese food and an excessive lineup of wines culminating in a pair of staggeringly great Huet Vouvrays.
2010 Franz Hirtzberger Riesling Smaragd Singerriedel
From magnum. Stunningly aromatic and flamboyant even for Singerriedel; starts out with an exotic floral scent that brings Gewurztraminer to mind, and keeps unraveling with air to show layers of ripe citrus and tropical fruit, minerality, florality and spice. There's amazing power, depth and length here, and I expect this will be something really special with enough time in the cellar.
2004 Alzinger Riesling Smaragd Loibner Steinertal
Not what I'd expect from this; slightly honeyed and oxidative with the flavors lacking precision and focus; seems like an off bottle.
2005 Lilbert-Fils Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut
Remarkably bready and yeasty with faint nutty and oxidative accents around ripe apple and pear fruit flavors. Not my style of Champagne, though others enjoyed more.
2002 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Coeur de Cuvée
Nicely balanced with layers of vanilla cream, biscuits and ripe apple and white fruited flavors coming together on the nose and palate. There's good acidity here and decent length; very pleasant.
N.V. Agrapart & Fils Champagne Terroirs Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs
From magnum. Remarkably fresh and precise; bright citrus, pear and green apple fruit framed by yeasty, biscuity and chalky notes with a powerful acid spine beneath keeping it very focused and vibrant. There's a sense of real energy here, good depth and remarkable persistence to the flavors.
2008 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Großes Gewächs
Initially this comes across a little austere with pale, fresh fruit tinged with herbal and mineral notes, but showing a powerful acid spine. With time it becomes much more compelling and enjoyable, fleshing out as the fruit gains in depth while a vivid smoky aromatic character develops.
2007 Emmanuel Houillon (Maison Pierre Overnoy) Chardonnay Arbois Pupillin
Weird, funky aromatics - sweaty, umami and saline elements around a core of tart stone fruits and mineral flavors. It takes a few minutes to get used to this, but with air it becomes much more appealing as some of the funk subsides and the fruit develops a sense of real freshness and brightness.
2010 Emmanuel Houillon (Maison Pierre Overnoy) Poulsard Arbois Pupillin
A singular, compelling wine; a cloudy pinkish-orange hue in the glass and a fragrance that's hard to put into words, combining fresh pomegranates, grapefruits, floral and mineral notes and other more savory elements into a scent that's hard to move away from. There's a sense of lightness and delicacy on the palate, wonderful focus and precision to the flavors and remarkable presence and persistence on the palate. A real treat.
1990 Jean Bourdy Savagnin Côtes du Jura
Fascinating aromatics; oxidative, savory, nutty and salty elements framing stone fruit flavors that still come across remarkably fresh on the palate. A really unique and intriguing wine.
N.V. Equipo Navazos Jerez-Xérès-Sherry La Bota de Fino "Macharnudo Alto" Nº 27
Quite compelling; fresh citrus and dried fruit flavors accented with a vivid saline minerality, gentler smoky and nutty notes, and conveyed with a remarkable freshness and precision despite the intensity on the palate. Really complex and very well balanced with amazing persistence.
N.V. Equipo Navazos Jerez-Xérès-Sherry La Bota de Fino "Macharnudo Alto" Nº 15
Deeper in color than the #27 with less emphasis on the saline/nutty notes, and the smokiness and earthiness more pronounced. It's a remarkable contrast as this seems more mature and developed, but still every bit as fresh and precise as the #27.
2009 Jean Foillard Morgon Côte du Py Cuvée 3.14
A quite remarkable wine; flamboyant, powerful, intense and yet incredibly elegant and finessed. There's a core of incredibly pure, fresh red fruits here and layers of florality, baking spices and savory earthy elements around the fruit adding depth and nuance. The balance is outstanding with a polished texture, fine grained tannins and bright acids keeping it very fresh and vibrant - incredibly youthful now, but the structure, balance and depth suggests this will turn into something special with time.
1998 Bernard Levet Côte-Rôtie La Chavaroche
A lighter, more delicate expression of Cote-Rotie, rather high acid and nicely developed with meaty, leathery, sous bois and black olive flavors on a surprisingly lean frame. There's still a bit of grainy tannin on the back end, but it's drinking quite nicely right now.
2006 Bernard Levet Côte-Rôtie La Chavaroche
Much richer than the '98 with the fruit a lot more prominent here, and savory meaty/saline/ashy flavors in the background. This is really primary, but given the material, structure and balance here I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes.
2011 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese
Very pretty; layers of pure Riesling fruit, spice, florality and stony mineral elements coming together seamlessly on the palate. It's very fragrant and accessible right now with a luscious sweetness to the fruit but comes across a little creamy and leaves me wanting a touch more acidity.
2010 Schäfer-Fröhlich Bockenauer Felseneck Riesling Spätlese Goldkapsel
This seems to get better each time I revisit it. Incredible power and intensity; layers of citrus, peaches, red fruits and more tropical flavors tinged with mineral and floral notes, very rich and sweet and yet carried by a powerful acid spine that keeps it very fresh, precise and vibrant. Absolutely stunning wine.
2010 Peter Lauer Ayler Kupp Stirn Riesling feinherb Fass 15
Quite a contrast to the richness and sweetness of the Frohlich; this comes across relatively lean with classic Mosel apple, peach and citrus fruit, a vivid stony minerality beneath and a bright higher toned floral topnote. This comes across barely off-dry with powerful acidity beneath moderating whatever sweetness there is, finishing very long.
1949 Huët Vouvray Moelleux Le Haut-Lieu
Remarkable aromatics; fascinating to smell with a fragrance combining soy and high-toned horseradish elements with more typical Chenin honey, wool and stone fruits. It doesn't show the same savory/umami elements on the palate though, where there's a sense of purity to the fruit, though it doesn't have the same polish or persistence I've usually found in older Huet.
1989 Huët Vouvray Cuvée Constance
Jawdropping. Utterly seamless with ripe Chenin fruit, wooliness, honey, marmalade and floral elements combining flawlessly into a whole. Somehow this conveys a sense of incredible power and intensity while at the same time feeling incredibly precise, focused and light on its feet, with a powerful acid spine keeping it impeccably balanced. A spectacular wine and an amazing experience.
1995 Huët Vouvray Cuvée Constance
Comes across more intense and youthful than the '89, the flavors are very much the same, but the '95 is more fragrant with piercing aromatics. There's a greater sense of intensity and sweetness on the palate here, but it doesn't have the same level of acidity as the '89 and in contrast feels slightly softer, though it's still an amazing wine that only suffers slightly in comparison to one of the greatest wines I've experienced.
Incredibly fun night - thanks all for the company and some amazing wines.