by Michael Malinoski » Tue Dec 18, 2007 12:02 pm
A few weeks back, I had the pleasure of attending a lovely charity wine dinner here in Boston. I took some brief notes:
1990 Deutz Champagne Cuvee William Deutz. The bubbles here are quite tame, but the wine itself sure is alive and vibrant on the nose and on the palate. The bouquet is really nice, with aromas of lemon peel, yeasty dough, flinty smoke, and very faint oxidized notes. It is lusciously creamy in the mouth and really expansive through the mid-palate. It grows zippier and more prickly on the extremely long, beautifully balanced finish featuring flavors of lemon cream pie. What a great start!
1996 Dauvissat-Camus Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses. This Chablis features racy aromatics of fresh lime zest, crushed sea shells, dried lemon candy, fresh herbs and graphite. A steely entry on the palate is followed by an oily-textured wine on an expansive mid-palate. Bracing lemon-lime flavors have good persistence, but there is something underneath that seems a bit more clipped somehow. I think this will be better in 3-5 years.
N.V. Emilio Lustau (Almacenista) Sherry Amontillado del Puerto Jose Luis Gonzalez Obregon. This was meant to complement a soup course, but it did not really work for me. The aromas are of toasted walnuts, spirits and macerated figs. It is very dry in the mouth with a big zing of sharp acidity dominating everything. The finish is quite angular and bright, but long.
1990 Remoissenet Grand Cru Richebourg. This wine is a light, faint ruby color. The nose is similarly faint at first, coming across a bit waif-like. With some air and time, it begins to expand and richen up a bit aromatically to include notes of persimmon, dusty old cracked leather furniture, dried cherries and decaying autumn leaves. It is smooth in the mouth, with no hard edges, soft acidity and melted tannins. It served the food quite well, but did not last too long in the glass. Drink up.
1990 Remoissenet Grand Cru Latricieres-Chambertin. Even lighter in color, with aromatics of dried leaves, soft caramel, dried rose petals, desiccated cherries and old wood. Sour red fruits in the mouth, with lots of crisp minerality. Not much body or depth and only surface charm. Seemingly past prime.
1990 E. Guigal Hermitage. The first bottle was musty and not quite right. The second bottle was much cleaner and more expressive by far. It opens with aromas of iron filings, horsehair, rubbed saddle leather, black raspberries, bark and a hint of dark woodsy funk. In the mouth, it is round and mouthfilling without excessive weight. It features good plump body but also very good acid balance. It has very good length to its dried cherry and earth flavors. The tannins seem totally in check, and there is some velvety layering through the mid-palate. It does dry out a bit toward the back, but is otherwise pure and long.
1989 E. Guigal Cote Rotie La Landonne. The bouquet is quite interesting, featuring notes of ash cinders, incense, sweet red berry compote, crisp mineral notes, old leather, cedar, soft menthol and exotic spice box at various times. It shows outstanding seamlessness in the mouth and seems beautifully pure. There is an ideal level of fruit concentration without any sense of being overdone. Layers of rich red berry fruit come in waves, all the while showing great balance—and leading to an endless finish. This is a real pleasure.
1989 Chateau Lynch-Bages Pauillac. This offers a youthful dark red opaque appearance. The nose at first feels quite feral, with wild primary aromas of animal fur, leather, star anise and dark black cherry. Later, a nice herbal streak becomes increasingly apparent. It offers cool dark fruit in the mouth, accented by notes of dark chocolate. The wine has great depth of fruit, but still feels decidedly muscle-bound and tightly-coiled. There are plenty of ripe, somewhat fudgy tannins that continue on through the richly-styled finish. This definitely needs more time, but is really nice now, as well.
1970 Chateau Suduiraut Sauternes. From magnum. The bouquet of this Sauternes offers up aromas of honeysuckle, orange marmalade, dried apricot, something like smoky tangerine and crème brulee topping. In the mouth, it is clean, but not too sweet nor especially intense. It has a mild level of fruit concentration. It is actually on the elegant side, with medium body and a restrained feel. It lacks that unctuous sensibility, but is still fairly pleasing.
1935 Delaforce Vintage Port. This was served from a jug-shaped bottle that was more than a magnum, but less than a double magnum. It is a dark brown color, with a bright tinge at the edge. The nose displays roasted walnuts and spirits that shoot right up into the nasal cavity. Really, it is nothing special on the nose. However, it is absolutely beautiful in the mouth, with an intense burst of warm caramel and toasted walnut flavors draped over a beautifully silky-textured mouthfeel. In addition, it is still quite bright and very lively with acidity and offers up a long persistent finish. A treat to taste (just don’t bother trying to enjoy the bouquet)!
1970 Fonseca Vintage Port. There is a nose here of alcohol-soaked red fruits, gardenia flowers and a bit of nail polish remover. In the mouth, it has a nice fresh profile with bright red fruits and licorice. It has good lift and offers a pleasant style without too much spirit essence at all. It features a good amount of spiciness on the clean, cassis-laden finish.
1977 Fonseca Vintage Port. Now, this is very good, indeed. It is much more effusive than the ’70 on the nose, with deep rich raspberry fruit, and something like milk chocolate melted over strawberries. It is bigger and richer in the mouth, too, with huge concentration and abundant drive. It is just a lovely mouthful of port that finishes with hints of dark cherry and nuts. Fantastic way to finish up!
-Michael