Belated notes on a September 2006 dinner at Rainer’s place, following Boucherville’s second release tasting of 2005 German Riesling.
Niepoort Redoma Douro Reserva 2004
Gift from Dirk van der Niepoort, far back from that dinner at Oliver’s place in Zürich. Pale yellow colour. Strong, vanillin- and thistle-scented new oak, very well-concentrated, a bit oily and viscous, quite high-alcohol fruit that perhaps reminded me of Chardonnay (absolutely no clue what this is), quite firm and herbaceous lime. Quite full body, rather powerful (if thought of as – purely for comparison’s sake! – in the white Burgundy paradigm), medium length at best. Definitely not a wine of finesse. Concentrated and technically well-crafted, no doubt, quality here is undeniable, but while I am glad the amiable Dirk van der Niepoort’s dry wines have their following, this runs counter to my personal preferences so much, I must admit I barely finished my sample. Rating: 87+?
Château de la Gardine Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée des Générations Gaston Philippe 1995
Contribution of mine, but note that if I had known back then that this was aged in new oak, I would not have bought (call me prejudiced, but to me new oak has no place in CdP, especially not Grenache-based). Deep, nearly opaque and purple-hued ruby-black, fairly wide ruby at the rim. Very peppery, lightly roasted lavender- and sage-scented youthful Grenache fruit with a faintly green hazelnut- and vanilla-tinged new oak that fits in better than expected, but still... Very firm, short of hard, quite finely-grained tannin, peppery fruit indeed, almost violety, marzipan with a green licorice stick bitterness, if not a touch of oxalic acid. Very concentrated and palate-staining, quite powerful and full-bodied, just fairly long. Tastes like a three to four years-old wine, and definitely needs more time. Not my favourite style of CdP, least of all the suggestion of new oak tannin on the back end. So international in style that Rainer guessed modern Hermitage and/or Bordeaux (indeed, this more than hinted at lead pencil and cassis), whereas Albino felt it might be Spanish, possibly Priorato, especially due to its tannin. 12 hours later there was so much more fruit and thus equilibrium that Albino went so far as exclaiming „Now it tastes like wine!“ While this was clearly not that bad, it also seemed there might be more to it in, say, another ten years from now, by which time I hope it will have swallowed more of its new oak. Tempting to damn this on purely stylistic grounds... Rating: 89+
Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Howell Mountain 1996
Thanks to Andrea. Maybe there would be no need to type a new tasting note other than to mention what the whole point of this wine seems to be. It is grown in an area that is about ten degrees cooler on average, a Napa Cabernet Sauvignon unlike any we have had. It is not surprising that this wine does not appear to be very popular with the Napa fruit bomb lovers: in a number of vintages we have tasted, it seems all medicinality and minerality, backed by huge tannin, a style that will please a European palate perhaps better, even if one seems to hope against hope that these wines improve with age. What is so remarkable about the 1996 is that it has got all the severity of structure and terroir expression of earlier Dunn vintages, along with a density of fruit that for once leaves no doubt this will age well – which it so far has! This bottle was bought at a wine shop in Zurich on the same day, perhaps not from as pristine storage as others. Deep garnet, ruby-black with a little ruby-red at the rim. A warming bottle like a cozy burning fireplace, medicinal iodine, tobacco, complex, sweet and thick, minerally-smoky blackcurrant and cherry liqueur, a suggestion of fresh yet smoked prune, hugely full-bodied, rich and long. Lots of not too rustic (for Dunn in particular), complex and deep, smoked black tea, maybe Assam- plus Lapsang-like tannin, balanced by an equal stuffing of fruit. Faintly gamy meat juice, Garam Masala spice mix and cocoa powder. Truly great, possibly the stuff of legends. Not quite as resistant to oxidation in the flat decanter after 12 hours as bottles from cooler storage, but sweeter, developing a Heitz-like a mocha top note. A (very!) slightly premature bottle that seemed to offer a glimpse of the direction this is going to take with bottle age – wonderful! Rating: 96+?
Fonseca Vintage Port 2003
Half bottle thanks to Andrea, bought at the same wine shop as the above. Opaque purple-ruby almost to the rim. Violety grape peel, very hot, some green licorice stick, sweet and very, very long. With a little airing some coffee chocolate, almost Recioto-like liqueur-like fruit, marzipan, a minor bitterness to the tannin. Well-concentrated Port, and probably still my favourite 2003, despite the alcoholic heat. But once again, nowhere near the 1994 in freshness, power, balance and overall harmony. With some of the alcohol blown off a bit after 12 hours, sweet, hugely and evenly ripe, and very long and quite smooth on the finish. Should really be great, but perhaps best enjoyed mid-term as long as it is sweet, rich and thick, as the alcohol may stick out like a sore thumb in the end, hard to tell. Rating: 93+
Dr. Loosen Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule #15 Ürziger Würzgarten 1997
Thanks to Rainer. Medium-deep yellow gold with a tender green hue only. Spicy herbs, small flowers, lightly raisiny and tea-like camomile (slightly reminiscent of Tokaji Aszú), egg soufflé, softly peppery slate, spicy-flavourful and nicely sweet. Very long and minerally, a nicely persistent finish. Rating: 93+?
August Kesseler Riesling Spätlese #007 Gold Capsule Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg 2005
Thanks to Rainer, from a bottle from the fridge opened four days earlier. Watery-pale green. Gantenbein-like green banana (or rather Green Curaçao) and apple nose, soft Amalfi lemon and faint fresh apple peel bitter note, lots of CO-2, rather mildly minerally, quite good length. Very oxidation-resistant style, a bit tannic actually. Rating: ~88
Greetings from Switzerland, David.