My wife and I were happy to join three other couples a little while back for dinner at Peach Farm in Boston's Chinatown, where we enjoyed a wide range of wines with a bevy of delicious dishes, per usual.
2002 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru La Forest. This is quite classical in tone, with a fairly quiet and refined nose of lemon peel, limestone, green herbs, pea tendrils, chalk and apple. It’s very clean in the mouth, with a pleasingly slippery texture and an easy flow. The flavors of pear, apple, citrus and mineral are nicely-balanced, classy, dry and flinty, but with decent give. It’s maybe not the most dynamic of Chablis, but it drinks nice and smooth right now.
2001 Dönnhoff Riesling Oberhäuser Leistenberg Kabinett Nahe. There’s a tremendous bouquet to this wine, with lovely clarity of lemon oil, petrol, slate tile and white flower aromas coming through beautifully. It shows great concentration on the palate, with totally giving and laguid flavors of candied lemon, peach and kiwi fruit allied to refined structure and gentle acidity. There’s not a note out of place, and it just rolls across the palate with rewarding ease.
2006 Dönnhoff Riesling Norheimer Kirschheck Spätlese Nahe. This is less ethereal on the nose than the previous wine, but it delivers a very nice aromatic combination of peach, lemonball, candied pineapple, maraschino cherry syrup and cooler bits of slate and mineral aromas to enjoy. In the mouth, it’s thicker-bodied and more richly-textured than the previous wine, but with lovely creamy flavors of cherry, lemon gumdrop, pineapple and peach that are luscious, long and giving. It could do with a bit more finesse, but it’s a small complaint when considering how nicely it bathes the mouth in delicious Riesling fruit flavor.
1990 Jos. Christoffel Jr. (Christoffel-Prüm) Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese *** Mosel Saar Ruwer. This wine presents a haunting nose of peach fruit cup, apple blossom, diesel fuel, slate and musky Mosel funk aromas that draw one right in. In the mouth, it’s delightful, delivering delicious flavors of peach, pineapple and grapefruit, accented by stony undertones all the way through. The flavors are deep and concentrated, but the wine feels almost ethereal, with an airy, tap-dancing finish that begs for another sip.
N.V. Frank Cornelissen MunJebel Bianco 5 IGT Sicilia. This wine is a cloudy orange color and smells of nectarine, peach fuzz, apple cider and white pepper, with a lot of malty undertones, as well. On the palate, it’s tingly and tangy, with all kinds of orange, peach, clementine and pink grapefruit flavors that have good energy and lift, but also pretty easy balance and even-keeled acidity going on at the same time. It’s fun, but not nearly as crazy as many of the wines I’ve sampled from this producer. It’s maybe not quite as much of an “experience”, but I’m actually bound to drink more of a wine like this in the end, to be honest.
2012 Vini Rabasco Abruzzi Selezione Damigiana. Here one finds contained, closely-held aromas of strawberries, cranberries and a bit of ash on the nose. In the mouth, though, it’s totally popping and zesty, with a lively, almost effervescent personality and very clean acidity giving tingly freshness to the pink grapefruit and strawberry flavors. This is very palate-cleansing stuff.
2010 Holger Koch Pinot Noir Baden. This is decidedly earthy on the nose, with dour, sort of unfriendly aromas of cola nut, tree bark, cranberry, brown spice, fireplace ash and forest greenery that I just don’t connect with that much. In the mouth, it’s rather strident, perhaps showing too young for my tastes. I find the acidity and/or tannin quite drying, and the flavor profile seems a bit green-tinged—with rhubarb, black tea, herb and smoke notes leading the way. The taut, astringent finish could use a few years to unwind, too, but on the whole I’m not sure this style is all that appealing to me either way. Others liked it a lot, so it’s perhaps more personal taste than anything to do with the wine’s inherent quality.
2006 Mountford Pinot Noir Estate Waipara. This Pinot is denser and more inviting on the nose, showing aromas of dried sweat, cherry paste, blackberry, dried clay and menthol that are gently funky. In the mouth, it shows plenty of plush mixed berry fruit, red licorice and funky earth flavors atop a moderately spicy and woodsy underbelly. It’s a good wine in a good spot, but with some decent longevity ahead, as well.
2006 Jean Bourdy Côtes du Jura Rouge. On the nose, this wine shows really appealing old-fashioned goodness in its earthy, savory scents of woodsy mushrooms, clay, black tea, rawhide leather, sour cherry, cranberry and toasted spice aromas. On the palate, it’s cool, rather earthy, and briskly acidic, showing off flavors of sour cherry, mushroom, black tea and herbs. It’s medium-weighted, with a slightly rustic texture and a good deal of late-blossoming tannin pouring in on the end. On day 2, it shows off more of its tangy-fruited side, with much less obvious tannic interference and more airy refinement making for very nice drinking. My advice is to give this a healthy decant or stash it away for several more years in the cellar.
2007 Franck Balthazar Cornas Cuvée Casimir Balthazar. This is black as ink in color, throwing out pasty-thick but generous aromas of dark soy, barbecue sauce, black plum, blackberry, charcoal, iron ore, shoe leather and raw meat. In the mouth, it’s thick and pasty in texture, but with impressive energy underneath the black fruit and bloody meat flavors, and with very manageable tannins lurking quietly for now. It’s ripe-fruited and surprisingly approachable now, but should age, as well.
1989 Rolly Gassmann Gewurztraminer Sélection de Grains Nobles. Wow, this wine almost overpowers the senses with its soaring aromas of litchi fruit, orange blossoms, rose petals, lemon zest, grapefruit, peach fuzz, brown spice and crushed rock. In the mouth, it’s concentrated and powerful, fleshy and smoky—with tons of tropical fruit, dried cherry and yellow Chuckle candy flavors underpinned by fine minerality and brown spice bits. For all that, it’s not all that sweet or unctuous despite its density and intensity of flavor. It’s just real nice all around.
1997 Pierre-Bise Quarts de Chaume. For whatever reason, I wasn’t expecting this to pour quite as darkly golden-brown as it did, and I was initially worried about the health of this particular bottle. However, I needn’t have worried, as this is drinking quite fine right now. It certainly smells real nice, with pure and darkly-pitched aromas of crème brulee topping, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, dates and yellow raisins. On the palate, it’s mouth-coatingly rich and thick, with intense flavors of raisins, figs and molasses coating every corner of the mouth with their sweet, dark-honeyed goodness. It may be a bit along in terms of its aging curve, but it just delights the taste buds at this time. It was a great finish to the meal.
-Michael