Still saving old TNs typed on my mobile phone:
30 April 2016
All the wines were served blind.
Trimbach Riesling Vendanges Tardives Cuvée Frédéric Émile 2001
Thanks to Suganda. Golden yellow. Bit flabbier than usual, this being a wine I know well. Certainly recognizable, nicely balanced and quite long. I’ve had bottles from restaurant wine lists that were more forward, not sure why this didn’t have the usual precision and cut. I’m sounding like a broken record, but bottles that aren’t showing as they should disappoint, as good as they may be. dp 91
Chapoutier Ermitage de l'Orée 1996
Thanks to Suganda. Golden yellow. Oxidative. Bit tannic. Nutty. Short. I never liked this (sue me!), but still much preferred it in its youth. Then again, it may be in an in-between phase. There were people who loved it, so what do I know... dp 88
Château de Fesles Bonnezeaux La Chapelle 1988
Thanks to Victor. The last great vintage from the Jacques Boivin era. None of us may live to see this fully mature, a legend in the making, but open for business and drinking that day. Still medium-pale golden colour. Chalky minerality, sweet and increasingly opulent, fruity, complex, very, very long. Light on its feet, elegant and supremely harmonious given 14% alcohol. dp 95+/96(+)
Maison Leroy Mersault Blagny 1999
Thanks to Suganda. A Maison versus Domaine bottling. Pale gold. Dusty minerality, iodine, shells, white pepper, lightly brittle acidity, some bitterness. Interesting wine, improving with airing, but needs flesh and opulence, which I’m not sure it’s ever going to develop. A bit warming with alcohol. dp 89+/-?
Bouchard Montrachet 2004
Thanks to Martin. Pale white gold. Fruitier, oakier, fuller-bodied, balanced, sweeter, more complex, longer than the Leroy Blagny, nicely round and smooth, but hardly profound. dp 91(+?).
Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Gold Capsule Wehlener Sonnenuhr 1982
Thanks to Victor. Pale yellow-green. Grassy lime, flowers, mint, finesseful, slate and chalk. Just barely sweet, nicely light on its feet. Medium-plus length. Faint residual sulphur. Well-preserved, less brittle than expected (a wine that I’ve had many times from different lots/AP-numbers), but no longer improving. dp 90-
Philipponnat Champagne Brut Clos des Goisses 2002
Thanks to Alexander. Very pale gold. Tobacco leaf. Chalky especially on the nose. Needless to say, I’m an ignorant when it comes to bubblies and rarely like any (= sue me!). dp ?
Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques 2002
Thanks to Norbert. Vegetal nose, green, stemmy. Palate confirms this is lightly but sadly corked. dp N/R
Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques 2002
Thanks to Norbert. Raspberry-red. Medium-plus weight. Soft metal and veggie top notes. Nicely firm, but not too tannic. Pretty on the palate, elegant, precise, needs bottle age. There are few Burgudny house styles I love more than Rousseau’s, was glad when its identity was revealed that this was NOT corked (poor Norbert...). dp 92+/93(+)
Roumier Ruchottes-Chambertin 2002
Thanks to Norbert. Corked. How unlucky can one get? dp N/R
Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona Brunello di Montalcino Vigna di Pianrosso 1990
Mine. The most pristine cork (looked like new, no stain on its sides whatsoever), the last bottle from a case bought at release and perfectly stored throughout, and yet, the worst. What a shame! Orange-red. Oxidative. Mace, lovage, iodine, tiny mushroomy. Blood-orangey complexity. Fig on the medium finish. Not sure what went wrong here, maybe it’s just old (although judging from earlier bottles, who’da thunk?!). Bummer... dp 88-
Soldera Case Base Brunello di Montalcino 1990
Mine. Ruby-black. Youthfully firm. Complex. Precise. Sharply etched. Tiny volatility, great perfumy nose! Burgundian. Brilliant clarity. Complex and deep. Soft herbs. Extremely long. Along with the Riserva the only 1990 Brunello with aging potential at this stage, although I can see no reason to hold on to either as beautifully as they've been showing lately. In fact, this being my last bottle, I did feel it revealed its full potential (which tends to be slightly earlier than one thinks - on average). Clearly one oft he wines of the night, truly memorable! dp 97(+/-?)
Madonna del Piano Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2006
Thanks to Erik. Corked. dp N/R
Soldera Sangiovese dal Azienda Agricola Case Basse L C92 2008
Thanks to Erik. Ruby-red. Impossible to tell, like a high-grade Blaufränkisch tasted blind. Pretty enough, but not too Brunello-like. Medium complexity and hinting at little depth at this stage. Fairly sweet. Could use a little bottle age. Wish I could say I was as convinced with ist potential as its gracious donor... dp 88+/89?
Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Célestins 2000
Thanks to Suganda. Red, black reflections, tiny watery rim. Lightly soapy-marmalady Grenache. Broth cube flavours. Complex. Fuller-bodied than the Rayas. I’ve typed longer TNs on this, as it’s a wine I’ve had a number of times, and invariably liked a lot, having said that, it’s never seemed one of the ageworthier RdCs to me, but instead as easy-going as they get. Interestingly, some maintained this must be a Rayas as they felt it was “too clean for Bonneau”, but there was never any doubt as to what wines we were comparing. dp 93
Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réservé 2000
Thanks to Suganda. From a problematic era for Rayas. More evolved ruby-red, wider watery rim than the Célestins. Sweaty, beefy, Kirsch, coriander, hazelnut coffee, roasted herbs, black pepper, forward for the vintage. Firestone. Shorter. Bit hot with alcohol. Interestingly enough, some figured this was a Bonneau! dp 90(+/-?)
Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Célestins 1995
Mine. I’ve had this in ist glorious youth, in an austere and closed phase, but it seems to be regaining its earlier form lately. Cedar, rowan berry, extremely long. Sweet and dry. Sweat, beef juice. Olive. Lovely acidity. Green pepper. Canned tomato. Nicely precise, a bit less opulent than the best bottles of '95 RdC I've had. dp 95(+/-?)
Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réservé 1995
Thanks to Suganda. Greater density of fruit than the Célestins, sweet and nicely thick, very long. Rowan berry jam, milk chocolate. Different enough from the RdC where one will admire them both for what they are, but one of the rare vintages where I have an ever so slight preference for the Rayas, although this may still change with bottle age. dp 95(+?)
Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline 1995
Thanks to Victor. Opaque ruby-black, faint watery rim. Black olive. Floral. Bacon fat of great purity. Round, lightly charcoal oak tinged tannin. Extremely youthful wine, more like 5 years old. Precise, with nice cut for Guigal. The wine of the night along with the 1990 Soldera, a pleasure to have now, ultimately still a bit too youthfully oaky, should profit from more time in bottle. dp 97+/98?
Weingart Riesling Eiswein Schloß Fürstenberg 2009
Thanks to Sam. Medium gold. Lively acidity, barely ice-wine-typical, though. Soft botrytis bitter note and noticeable brown breadiness (more like a BA in this respect). Viscous. Quite long. dp 93
Dr. Hermann Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese Gold Capsule Erdener Treppchen 2007
Thanks to Sam. 160 half bottles made. Fairly deep gold. Dried apricot, viscous, dried-fruity, thick, fairly long. dp 94
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
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„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti