About 10 days back, a few dignitaries from out of town visited Boston, and a few of us got together to fete them at King Fung in Chinatown. Three ducks and 20-something wines later, I think they left feeling sufficiently feted (or at least temporarily sated!).
NV Krug Champagne Grande Cuvee. The Krug shows aromas of minerals, grapefruit and toast on the nose in bit of a soft package. In the mouth, this is actually pretty easy-going--featuring more elegance and roundedness than power and cut. Though it is pleasantly creamy and foamy in the mouth and gains in body over a bit of time, it could use more vibrancy and drive. It features flavors of green almond, grapefruit, pear, apple, cream and stone fruits that flow easily to the finely-pedigreed, gentlemanly finish. All in all, this is a nice way to start an evening.
1997 Domaine des Baumard Savennieres Trie Speciale. Right off the bat, this seems to be throwing out aromas of brussels sprouts and asparagus, though that profile fades with time and air and actually ends up contributing in a pleasant way to what eventually becomes a very nice bouquet that folds in notes of chalky limestone, waxy pear, skunky fern and blue cotton candy. In the mouth, it has an interesting chalky yet squeaky texture--like wet vinyl, perhaps. It features lots of fine mica minerality, yellow apple and quince flavors in a dry package that has some soft edges but also good crunch.
2005 Francois Chidaine Vouvray Les Argiles. The Chidaine has a fresh, crisp, minerally nose that accentuates aromas of peach skin, lanolin, sweet chalk dust and a smoky, almost skunky note that combine together into a nice package. It is relatively full in the mouth, and hangs together with seamless viscosity. It is fairly big and rounded-feeling, with a rich personality but also excellent balancing acidity. The finish is very clean and overall this is a solidly enjoyable Vouvray in a drier style. This can be held for a bit, as well.
1997 Kientzler Riesling Grand Cru Osterberg. I really like the nose on this wine, as it feels rich and dark and almost exotic without being over the top--delivering aromatic notes of kerosene, mango, other ripe rich tropical fruits and creamy chalk. It comes across as more austere in the mouth. There are no real hard edges, but it features a decidedly rigid structure. Flavors of honey, peach and pear lead to a dry, well-balanced finish. This is easy to drink and enjoy.
1994 Schloss Schonborn Riesling Hochheimer Domdechaney Spatlese. This is a real nice wine. The nose shows petrol, pretty white flowers, red berries, and perhaps some botrytis-kissed cream notes. It is gorgeous in the mouth, with lovely layering of red berry and yellow fruits—with the flavors pumping out from start to finish. It is fuller-bodied, but shows properly-restrained sugar content and the whole thing finishes very nicely with very good drive and balance. This was my favorite white of the night.
2006 Joh. Jos. Prum Riesling Graacher Himmelreich Auslese. The nose of this young wine is delicate and fresh—with orange blossoms, rainwater, tangerine slices, fruit cup syrup and a bit of chalky limestone. It is delicate and lacy on the front of the palate, but comes on with decidedly more intensity through the middle. There is a fine sweetness throughout, and a gentle tanginess. The finish leaves a sugary sensation on the palate, with decent length showing already. This is fun to drink now, but ought to give more serious pleasure years down the road when that soft grainy sugary note better integrates into the totality of the wine. Then, look out.
2006 Nomadic Wines Pinot Noir Amber Ridge Vineyard Russian River Valley. Damon’s first winemaking effort impressed us all. His pinot flashes notes of gentle cranberry, macerated cherry, old leaves, faint cedar dust and soft spices on the nose. It is bright and juicy and very lively on the palate. It is medium-bodied, on the elegant side and features a dry edge to its flavors of dried cherries, red berries and lemon squirt acidity. It has a moderately creamy texture, but does not try to be rich or thick. The tannins are very soft and it is a food-friendly wine for near-term consumption. Bravo.
2004 Siduri Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands. This pinot could not be more different. This wine is dark on the nose, with black currants and licorice, but also Syrah-like notes of rubber, white pepper and nettles to go along with a sneaky bell pepper accent. It is sappy in the mouth, but also rich and dark, with a ton of cola nut and sarsaparilla sorts of flavors. It turns more open-knit through the middle, with a creamy black currant fruit profile.
1999 Havens Wine Cellars Syrah Hudson Vineyard Carneros. The nose here is of cool blackberry, black currant, iron and chocolate initially, but underneath there are some leafy forest and campfire smoke notes and later on, a bit of cedar or dill weed. It feels thick and a tad syrupy in the mouth, but with some decent lift, too. Tannins are not too big. The fruit is gently sweet over a medium to large frame, but it has a tendency to feel just a bit cloying on the finish at times.
1998 Le Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf du Pape. The nose is brooding and introspective for the most part, offering glimpses of meaty plums, roasted dark fruits, bridle leather, dark caramel and a bit of earth. In the mouth, it is pretty intense, with a big hit of spiciness and lush fruits. However, there is a hint of alcoholic warmth throughout for me, and the wine seems to shut down a bit on the finish, where soft tannins tickle the tongue. To me, this was drinking very tight and not showing much. I may have been alone in this assessment, but I was left wanting more. Regardless, it seems clear that this needs at least another 5 years in the cellar.
1998 Clos du Mont Olivet Chateauneuf du Pape La Cuvee du Papet. I like the bouquet of this wine a good deal more—with fine aged leather, persimmon, mountain herbs, cinnamon stick, baked cherry and clean horse barn aromatics. It is dry and a bit austere around the edges in the mouth, where dark red fruits and earthy notes drive through to the lengthy chalk-tinged finish. It has good weight and balance and is drinking fine.
2000 i Clivi Merlot Galea di Ferdinando Zanusso Colli Orientali del Friuli. The nose of this wine is deep and dark, with clean barnyard notes, saddle leather, turned earth, currants and black fruits and a hint of cedar. It is corpulent in the mouth, with flavors of dark chocolate, dried blood and cool blackberries. Medium-bodied, it also has some chocolaty tannins to contend with, which do seem to integrate better as it sits in the glass. It’s a very interesting and enjoyable wine that held up well for 2 more nights in the refrigerator at home. A solid QPR, as well.
1995 Pertimali (Livio Sassetti) Brunello di Montalcino. Although decanted for some time, the bouquet of this wine seemed fairly muted to me--dried leather and dry leaves are the only things I wrote down to describe the aromatics. In the mouth, it is rather mouth-filling, flashing big tannins to go with its big dose of dark cherry fruit and dried earth tones. It is not real subtle, and the finish is extremely drying—I would say this is showing rather tight right now.
1995 Roagna Barolo La Rocca e la Pira. This wine provides the bouquet of the night for the reds--indeed this is the kind of wine I could sniff all night long. It features aromas of warm sweet plums, macerated cherry tart, dark leather, turned earth, spice cake, linzer torte and some lovely mysterious notes. It is solidly-structured in the mouth, with lots of body and lots of drying tannins. It has strong acidity on the edges of the palate, but also nice dried cherry and currant fruit in a bit of an old-fashioned package that dries a fair bit on the finish. It is lovely now, but better in 10 years’ time. This and the ’98 Mont Olivet were my favorite reds of the night.
1997 Alessandro e Gian Natale Fantino Barolo Vigna dei Dardi. Warm red fruits, licorice rope, gentle spices, leather and creosote notes can be found on the nose of this bottle of Barolo. It is showing young, acidic and tannic in the mouth, with both the acids and tannins seeming to grow with each sip. Still, there is abundant dark rich fruit and solid structure here, with fine notes of dark cherry, truffles, chocolate and earth that last through to the lengthy finish. I would come back to this in 5 years.
2004 Mas Jullien Coteaux du Languedoc Etats d'ame. I find the nose of this wine to be a bit unusual, with a mix that includes tons of cracked black pepper, vulcanized rubber, boysenberry, tomato leaf and tomato paste. It is creamy-textured on the palate and has fruit that really stains the whole mouth. There is also some earth and chalk. At times, it feels young and tannic and drying, particularly on the rough, coarse-edged finish.
After all this, we embarked upon a killer flight of sweet wines.
1995 Joh. Jos. Prum Riesling Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Goldkapsel. Holy crap, this wine smells gorgeous! There seems to be an absolute crystalline purity to the beguiling aromas of lemon gum drop, honeycomb and wet slate. In the mouth, it is the same story. It is a pure and gorgeous expression of Riesling. It is medium-bodied and at times delicate, while pumping out the exciting sweet flavors of lemon Chuckle candy and passion fruit. It has fantastic delineation and grip throughout and ends with a feeling of richness that manages to be light on its feet and very lasting at the same time. This was WOTN for me.
1995 Muller-Catoir Rieslaner Mussbacher Eselshaut Auslese. This is a much darker color, closer to gold. It shows off warm melted caramel, browned butter and lime rind aromas. It has a tangy entry that leads to a rich, generous mid-palate that features a finely-balanced sweetness level. It is mouthwateringly juicy from a bright acidic citrus squirt that helps carry everything along to a pretty, finely-structured finish that leaves you wanting more.
2001 Chateau Doisy-Daene Barsac. Apricot, lemon rind and creamsicle aromas fill the nose. In the mouth, it is highly sweet and fairly rich with moderately hefty body and an extremely creamy texture. The dense apricot fruit is fairly primary at this point, accented by subtle notes of caramel, orange sherbet and dusted sugar. Otherwise, it is a bit monolithic at this point. Try again in 5-7 years.
2003 Foreau Vouvray Moelleux Reserve Clos Naudin. This wine sports a beautiful nose of snuffed candle, beeswax, honeycomb, yellow apple and peach skin. It has a lovely level of sweetness in the mouth that is just right. It is creamy and luxuriant on the tongue, but light on its feet. It has a gorgeous texture that is rounded and caressing without being at all cloying. This is just great stuff and a strong candidate as runner up for my wine of the night.
2001 Feudi di San Gregorio Fiano di Avellino Privilegio. This is a fascinating wine. My notes on the bouquet make little sense to me now that I look back on them, but to begin with they cite mango, lime and tequila (like a mango margarita my wife made a few weekends back). Other aromas like earthy compost, star fruit, hay and sweet corn also find their way in. It is some wild stuff. It is rich in the mouth, with tons of sweet honey, sugar cubes, mango and sweet lemon drops, all showing fine length. This was a real fun wine to finish the night on.
-Michael