2015 Domaine du Vissoux / Pierre-Marie Chermette Beaujolais Les Griottes - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais (10/17/2016)
Delightful at cellar temperature (13°c) with medium/light body, tangy fruit, minerals and crisp acidity. But keep it cool!! I didn't and from c.15°C it began to coarsen and to lose its appeal. Good when cool.
2013 Emiliana Carménère Signos De Origin Los Robles - Chile, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley (10/19/2016)
My first impression before food was "wow" for full body, rich bramble infused fruit, some liquorice and firm but ripe tannins on a quite long finish. However with food and further sips, I increasingly found the wine unbalanced with heat on the finish from high alcohol (14.5%) reinforcing the bitterness of the tannins, which became the dominant element. Maybe more age will improve things. The half bottle or so left may give a clue tonight.
PS 10/20/2016: 24 hours later the wine has become better balanced and more velvety in texture with cedar notes which I didn't pick up yesterday. I revise my score to 87 and think that it may improve further with some more time.
2014 Herdade da Comporta Vinho Regional Península de Setúbal - Portugal, Península de Setúbal, Vinho Regional Península de Setúbal (10/21/2016)
This medium/light bodied white made from Arinto 55% & Antão Vaz 45% is full of charm. Nose white fruit, mainly sweet grapes and lychee with a lemon hint, sprinkled with herbs. Palate dry with some tenderness and roundness of fruit, developing the aromas from the nose with the addition of a touch of ginger and oriental spice together with enough acidity for freshness and a hint of backbone. My guess is that it is probably at its best right now with no development potential. Very good at present and brilliant QPR at c.€5.
1999 Château Pontet-Canet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (10/22/2016)
The previous bottle which I opened in 2008 was about my most ungracious bottle from an otherwise mostly charming vintage and I feared that the wine might be drying out. I need not have worried; 8 years down the line, this bottle was drinking much more graciously than its predecessor. Still hardly any bricking to the deep red and expressive Médoc nose of dark fruit together with hints of pencil, rust and cigar. The palate was medium bodied with a quite dark complexion, savoury fruit, minerals, some forest floor, fresh acidity. Finish was of decent length and angular tannins on which I commented before were tamed but still present enough for support. Probably at its peak and very good.
2010 Clos Triguedina Cahors - France, Southwest France, Cahors (10/25/2016)
This is riper and fruitier than I am used to with Cahors. The usual near black colour and nose discreet but expressive and fragrant. There was medium body, quite sweet fruit with a brambly touch, suave texture, good depth, minerals, a touch of liquorice, fresh acidity and a firm finish with ripe tannic backbone. Drinking very well but will probably stay on a plateau for some time. Very good but a bit short on Cahors typicity.
2014 Weingut Steininger Grüner Veltliner - Austria, Niederösterreich, Kamptal (10/26/2016)
Medium/light bodied, refreshing, mineral and a bit prickly but simplistic and quite shallow. GV can do better than this. Overpriced at c.€13; better wines available at half that price from, say, Mâconnais and Muscadet.
2014 Domaine de la Pépière (Marc Ollivier) Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Les Gras Moutons - France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine (10/28/2016)
Brilliantly exhilarating medium bodied Muscadet with richer citrus and apple fruit than usual, refined minerals, lively moreish acidity and saline backbone. Perfect with succulent Utah Beach oysters, very good with beautifully fresh sea bream and goat cheeses but less good with Salers cheese which brought out a certain tartness. This cuvée is reputed to age well but I doubt if I will keep my hands off the bottles long enough to find out. Very good.
1999 Chateau Musar - Lebanon, Bekaa Valley (10/29/2016)
My bottle of the year so far. A bottle opened in 2011 was wonderful but this one was even better. Colour was deeper than in some vintages and body fuller but that did not detract from elegance and harmony. It was classically shaped showing complex aromas of red fruit, blood, varnish, leather and oriental spices, all in perfect balance, together with mouth-watering acidity and gentle tannic support for the long finish. However the extra 5 years have brought even better integration of flavours and a more velvety texture. Top Médoc elegance and class here combined with Mediterranean sensuality. Musar is reputed to live for decades and I see no reason why this should be different but it is hard to see how it could improve. Outstanding.
