Azienda Agricola Brigaldara Amarone della Valpolicella Case Vecie 1999
Another bottle of the same, this time late at night on our return from another team championship preliminary round. Another gloriously perfumy, black- and blue-curranty, milk-chocolatey, dense and sweet bottle, long and as if candied (although dry), modern-styled and smoothly polished, but the only Amarone that is truly recognizable as such and sells for under 40 Swiss Francs. Patrick, Guglielmo and their mom loved this, as did, to my surprise, Jothy, our enigmatic resident Indian pool billiards encyclopaedia, whom no one has ever seen eat a bite of anything, nor seems to know anything about, except that we learnt that night he does not like sweet stuff. Rating: 91
István Dorogi Furmint Félédes 1998
Thanks to Dani. The same 64 g/l r.s., 34 g/l dry extract and 11.2% alc. wine I referred to as Furmint Édes (“félédes” meaning semi-sweet instead of sweet) in earlier TNs, when I tasted it from unlabelled bottles bought directly at the winery, also without capsules. Full yellow-golden colour. Dandelion, soft chamomile, more harmonious on the nose than the palate, where the medium-flavourful acidity has taken on an ever so slightly burnt straw-like quality. Aged apple. Some chalkiness rather than stony or gravelly minerality. Remains a success from a rainy vintage, of course, and is still tasty, but as has been clear from the outset, it is not one to cellar forever, which is no doubt why the Swiss importer put it on sale. Drink up! Rating: 87-/86
Jayer-Gilles Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits 1996
A wine I bought for my parents and have been invited to drink with them a number of times, but on which, surprisingly, I never seem to have typed a tasting note. Quite deep garnet ruby-black, medium ruby-amber at the rim. Big smoky-meaty nose, beef juice intensity, a healthy dose of raspberry, earthy-rusty iron, faint dried black cherry and blood orange. Sound tannin and acidity, but a firm and quite full-bodied village that is mouth-filling, with a quite long and very well-balanced, minerally finish. Even more fruity-peppery and precise with airing. Dried/sandy pine forest floor earthiness. Already very tasty for a 1996, not one of those undernourished village with underripe acids (of which there appear to be quite a few in this otherwise extraordinary vintage, unfortunately). A great QPR buy at the time, as roughly 25 dollars. Rating: 88+?
Jayer-Gilles Côtes de Nuits-Villages 1996
Also thanks to my parents. Fresher-looking, glossier ruby-black than the Hautes Côtes de Nuits, tiny watery rim. Meaty raspberry with cut, roasted beef and scorched tree bark and forest floor, greater density at the core and fuller body than the Hautes Côtes de Nuits, firm tannin and acidity, long, very resistant to oxidation. Well-concentrated, good sweetness, even a suggestion of chocolate. A powerful village wine, more backward than the Hautes Côtes de Nuits, and altogether more balanced, solid, rich, and complex than the 1998 we had last month. Deserves a little more time in bottle, but can be approached with pleasure already. Rating: 89+/90
Knoll Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Ried Kreutles 1999
Thanks to my parents (from a six-pack I bought for them, believe it or not, for 15 dollars a piece earlier this year), actually twice already this year (this bottle showed even better, seemingly fresher). Never a site to bring forth particularly spicy or minerally wines, but from a fine vintage that keeps evolving very well indeed. Balanced, with healthy, ripe acidity, fair lime and nut oil, some herbs, just a little spice and minerality, quite long on the finish. Mature enough now, drink or hold. Rating: ~90
Château Léoville-Barton St. Julien 1999
Thanks to Remo, whom I told that in general 1999 is what restaurateurs call a useful vintage, one that drinks well early but that no one expects to kick the bucket any time soon, as good a vintage today to acquaint oneself with different Châteaux as any, especially since there are so many reasonably priced (though not exactly cheap) wines available. This bottle, for example, he apparently got for roughly 50 dollars. Almost opaque purple ruby-black, minor watery red at the rim. Quite noble tobacco leaf and minerals, blackberry and blackcurrant, clean and increasingly sweet in the glass, but never particularly fresh or refreshing. Oak that is not too attractive, good body, quite long and very smooth, drinking easily. Developed a fig sweetness with airing, faint smoked meat, a juicy, chocolaty wine, nicely concentrated. More blackcurrant delineation with airing, but there is also an ever so faint leafiness to the tannin. I would not have minded greater freshness, nor, for that matter, grip and cut. But then, this currently goes for half the price of the 2000 (which in turn one is almost tempted to call a fair QPR as well). Rating: 88+?
Château Moulin Haut-Laroque Fronsac 2000
First bottle from a case I bought for my parents (on subscription, for under 20 dollars per bottle). 65% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec. Opaque plummy ruby-black. Sweet, rich, smooth, already softened fruit, yet still youthful. Thick cherry coulis and plum, tarragon, nicely meaty. Nice metal note to onion-flavoured acidity, round and quite flavourful tannin. Bound to improve with bottle age, but drinking very well for its tender age, one can really tell this is from a superior vintage (and it is nowhere nearly as rustic and oaky as other vintages I have tasted). Whether or not it will ever reveal very interesting soil notes is hard to tell. But my parents were quite enthusiastic, especially given how little it cost. Truly a terrific QPR buy! Rating: 88+/89
Poliziano Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva Vigneto Caggiole 1988
Thanks to Ursi, a bottle from her former life partner Matthias’s cellar. Medium ruby, some black reflections, minor amber at the rim. A bit old at this stage, but the impressive balance still carries it on, thus my guess is that from very cool storage, this might even have been ideal now. Not too dry, the typically softened tannins of the already early-harmonious Tuscany vintage, medium body, some earth and iron (which reminded Bettina, Ursi’s daughter, of swallowing one’s own nose bleeding on the back end, a strangely fitting description), dried tomato, but there is also some faint black cherry and blood orange left. Fair length. Still tasty, and impressively resistant to oxidation in the decanter, if clearly over the hill. Must have been excellent in its prime. Rating: 87-/86-
Schlumberger Riesling Saering 2002
Retains a medium-pale yellow-green colour. Mild argillo-calcerous soil notes and lime fruit, faint herbs. Not too concentrated, nice medium complexity, body and length, a tasty wine at a fair price. The hole in the middle is still there, not too problematic in a wine that ultimately is not meant to keep one’s interest beyond a certain point. Drinks well at this stage, best with food, there is probably little to gain from cellaring it any further. Rating: 84-
Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste-Hune 1994
Thanks to my parents. Medium yellow-green, looks as youthful as ever. The former rubberiness is almost completely gone (most people present at the vertical in Zürich in January 2003 thought this weird for this reason, even though it never was, nor is now, medicinal – it may, however, have seen a little to much sulphur), but this remains an unusually petrolly CSH (in contrast to Cuvée Frédéric Emile, CSH rarely turns petrolly). A bit fat and tarragon-scented and -flavoured, very minerally, quite long. Mild tarragon and lime bitter notes to the nicely intense fruit, less sea salt and pistachio than in some vintages, but good pine forest floor earth. As in the CFE in this vintage, the acidity and bitter note integration is not perfect with its minor spikiness, and the overall impression is that of an aromatically and structurally evolved, not too powerful medium-plus weight (it is, after all, young for CSH). But the nice complexity, intensity, fairly full body and above average opulence easily make up for it. My parents simply loved it. I would cellar it a bit longer, but since it appears to age along similar, not quite the same lines as the CFE, it will be safer to check on it from time to time. Rating: ~90?
Troplong Mondot St. Emilion 1994
A bottle I opened for Remo and Nicole, went well with the pizza they ordered. Deep ruby-red with purple-black reflections, tiny watery rim. Violet, plum, vanilla oak, sweet cherry fruit, finesse notes of olive and caper (no, neither on the pizza!). Equally as concentrated as the Lafleur a few weeds ago, tannic as well, dry only immediately after the cork was pulled, remained a bit powdery perhaps, but readier at this stage. Fresh, more integrated over all, and almost racier, with peppery minerality, with some airing in the decanter. Nice body. Touch of charcoal oak on the far back end. A nicely firm and mouth-cleansing wine. Does not come across as nearly as modern as the aroma and flavour descriptors above appear to suggest, although that is what this is, a rather modern style wine. This is rather big for a 1994, if a rather civilised wine – ironically, given the choice, I would rather have this with dinner than the 1990. The 1994 may not have the density of fruit to survive the tannic backbone, but the race should be closer and more prolonged than in many 1994s. A wine I have had so often, consistently borderline-outstanding. Was a great buy at something between 20 and 25 dollars. Rating: 89+/-?
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
