Notes from last night. Champions League final...
De Malle Sauternes 1973
A half bottle thanks to Remo. Quite deep yellow-gold. Quite sweet dried apricot plus stale tobacco and lemon, house dust medicinality (probably a sign of earlier unclean botrytis). Fairly concentrated for the washed-out vintage. Bitter and short on the finish, brittle and quite high acidity. Remo bought it after he could taste it a blow-out sale but now hates it. Rating: 81-
Pesquera Ribera del Duero Crianza 1994
Thanks to Remo, although originally a bottle from my collection, perfectly stored. This is a wine I badly underrated at release, even later, even if I immediately liked the (unfortunately a bit oaky-modernistic) 1994 Janus. A bit pruney-murky, opaque ruby-black. Sweet plum and Amarena cherry, leathery sweat, banana leaf kind of tobacco, a bit rustic yet still smooth enough tannin and very tasty acidity. Very nice body. Long finish. Not entirely resistant to oxidation, apart from becoming rounder and drier with airing. Really a nicely firm and refreshing, mouth-cleansing wine. I doubt it will ever loose all of its slight tannic dryness, nor nutty oak aspect on nose and to the tannin, nor, hopefully, its somewhat rustic charm. Rating: 92
Greetings from Switzerland, David.