Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 2001
Ordered from a restaurant wine list with Oliver and Remo. Full, lightly plummy ruby-red with black reflections. Medium-closed, this opened up reasonably well, but I would not recommend opening one’s own bottles yet. Meaty-sweaty, lightly roasted herbs (faint mocha, gunflint and leather), lavender among other, soft nutty oak, mild fruit and tannin that still needs time, good acidity. Noble iron, beef blood and soft mineral notes, along with an increasing touch of olive. Currently reveals little of the slight toughness it showed at release, but the flavours are still reminiscent of the 1983 – more classicism than opulence here. Rating: 93+/94(+?)
Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Howell Mountain 2001
Excerpt from a mail by Mike Dunn: “We historically use 50% new barrels, and 50% used from the vintage just bottled. We age 30 months in barrel, which is a lot longer than most. All of our barrels are Vicard Nevers M+, though we have added some Allier recently. 02-06 vintages have about 75% new oak, as we wanted to get rid of some older barrels that have accumulated over the years. That will come back down to 60% in 07. Our grapes are very small, so the skin to pulp ratio is very high. The wine is highly extracted and left to the barrel to soften the tannins. We don't fine our wines, but we do sterile filter prior to bottling. Our crop is 2-3 tons per acre versus the Napa Valley floor average of 6-8 tons per acre, due to poorer soils and inaccessible water table. Needless to say, our wine can stand up to a lot of oak, but our cooperage is somewhat restrained.“ Maybe this explains why more recent vintages of this wine come across as more modern, and somewhat more accessible (that still depends on the vintage, so that the impression that the 2001 is more “classic” Dunn than the “easier”, a fraction lighter, paradoxically as if cooler climate 2002 may not be stylistically justified). Pruney purple-ruby, red at the rim. Extremely closed, tight, youthful and tannic. Stone dust, iodine, huge eucalyptus, dried prune, blackcurrant, some animal fur and crystallized blackberry, a suggestion of chlorine. Finely-grained, potentially flavourful and finesseful tannin. More concentrated, structured and ageworthy than the 2002, the 2001 is a very promising wine. Massively sweet (especially from the sediment glass) yet tannic blackcurrant liqueur 12 hours later. Nicely thick mouthfeel. This should evolve beautifully, but is definitely not meant to be drunk now. Rating: 93+
Château Clos St. Martin St. Emilion 1998
Note there is already some sediment in this utterly natural-tasting infant of a wine, so it is sure to need decanting when it reaches maturity. Deep ruby-red with a youthful purple hue and black reflections. Extremely youthful wine that was eerily reminiscent of a (not too) modern Ausone with its combination of intense pebbly minerality, coconut top note, and big and noble, if rather closed green tabacco leaf, and wet earth. There is similarity to the fruit, cassis, plum, even if I doubt it will be as potentially complex and deep as in Ausone from a similarly great vintage. Already shows some of the opulence of the 1998 vintage (in contrast to e.g. the 2000 Pavie Macquin Remo started comparing this with), but is really a classically austere style of St. Emilion, rather old-styled subjectively, apart from the fact that it is perfectly clean and pure. Soft acidity and metal note, flavourful tannin that will need (possibly ample) time to fully resolve. Mild Cabernet Franc leafiness with a little airing, then closing down again after a few hours (typical ageworthy young wine behaviour), with the tannin seemingly becoming more powdery. Great style, like this relatively unknown wine as well or better than e.g. the Angélus (not equally sure about the style there in recent years) from the same vintage. Rating: 92+/93+?
Vincent Girardin Volnay Santenots 1995
Thanks to my parents. Their last bottle, as the wine has been fully mature for some time. Medium-plus ruby with black reflections. Quite harmonious, sweet and dry as I like it, meaty with soft broth cube spice, seductive, seemingly becoming leaner with age, all the while retaining its balance and raciness. No oak or any other element is sticking out here, and for a 1995 this is fairly smooth and round. Rating: 90-
Graham Vintage Port 1994
From half bottle. Deep lightly violet ruby-black, purple-ruby at the rim. Remains youthful, but is not too closed anymore, at least from this format. Tangerine rind, licorice, intense still faintly dusty plum, a touch of bitter chocolate. Balance, harmony coupled to viscosity, sweetness, considerable power (of fruit, body and tannic backbone) and impressive length. Concentrated wine with lovely florality to the tannins. This really seems to be recovering to some extent from the fact that, unfortunately (and in contrast to e.g. the 2000, to which on paper it should be but is not superior), it was in great part not made from foot-trodden grapes (something that, I am afraid, will always keep the Graham from being quite as perfect a 1994 as some). Having said that, I simply loved this bottle, and Patrick thought it utterly perfect as it is. Rating: 95+/96(+?)
Gaston Huët Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Mont 2000
I have had greater Demi-Secs from Huët, but this went expectedly well with the wide range of dishes we had that night. Although seemingly well-stored, this already seemed reasonably mature for such a young Chenin Blanc, just off-dry, retaining some of the chalky sweatiness of Vouvray, otherwise soft but nice minerality, fair enough acidity that could have been brighter, but then the rounded, medium-complex, softly spiced aged apple fruit could itself have been more refreshing, even if for the vintage, I have no doubt this wine is success. Suggestions of pineapple and sweet straw on the mid-palate. Fair enough body and length. Best enjoyed with food, although hardly disappointing on its own. Rating: 88-/87
Château Léoville Poyferré St. Julien 2000
Ordered from a restaurant wine list with Oliver and Remo. Deep, lightly pruney ruby-black colour. Brooding lightly pruney-meaty berry mix, blackcurrant jam, lead pencil, faint bitter chocolate. Firm tannin, good lightly leady-heavy acidity. Good body, firm fruit, quite powerful and long. Opened up more terroir expression and sweetness with airing, and a more noble tobacco top note. Could ultimately be a fraction racier and more refreshing and mouth-cleansing, but still, a promising young Léoville Poyferré. Rating: 93(+?)
Château Pavie Macquin St. Emilion 1998
Thanks to Remo. A blend of 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Spectacular glossy and deep cherry juice ruby-red. Complex, intense and exotic (reminiscent of an old-style Lafleur in this regard, or the 1990 Tertre-Rôteboeuf at the same stage in its development), yet also subtle and finesseful Southern Rhônish berry mix. Tomato, Kirsch liqueur. Old-viney fruit, lush tannin. Great salty-minerally core with a touch of graphite. Soft roasted herbs. Faint tobacco leaf. Some nice cedary oak with a touch of charcoal. Impressive chewy old-viney extract. Remo thought this tasted like an unusually elegant Châteauneuf-du-Pape, although with a Piedmont Nebbiolo marzipan sweetness set off by mild blood-orangey acidity. Rich, complex and exotic wine, and yet so fresh. Glad to note, as in the 2000, that the modern winemaking here has not been taken so far as to keep the fruit of old vines and great terroir from shining. Wow! Remo also remarked he much prefers the full-bosomed opulence and exotism of the 1998 to the zero excess fat, race-horse-like 2000 (I like both, but currently prefer the 1998, too). Yes, Bordeaux can be fun, too! Baffling style, old-viney/minerally and distinctly wild and exotic not unlike some legendary wines from the past, yet clean, pure and ultimately very modern. Once this started closing down with airing again, it tasted increasingly darker-fruited, salty-minerally and eventually tannic – more like classic St. Emilion. Rating: 94+/95(+?)
Penfolds Grange 1994
A bottle I spontaneously opened for Guglielmo, Patrick and Remo. 89% Shiraz, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in 100% new American oak for 18 months. 13.5% alcohol, 7.2 g/l acidity, pH 3.55. One of those bottles that showed so unexpectedly well that I am tempted to sell off the remainder for fear that every other bottle may be a relative disappointment from now on. Reminds me of the fact that the one bottle of Grange I liked best (and I am not, nor have ever been, a fan of the wine per se), was also from a good but less than legendary vintage, 1989, and of course I have never had another bottle that came close. Not a situation or mood thing, either – those I shared them with (Albino in particular) shared that impression. It has never crossed my mind before, but is Grange on average affected by greater bottle variation than other costly wines? I doubt it, but then, could not care less – the times when I bought wine to please others (“entry tickets” to offlines and other such gatherings, as I used to call them) are long over. These days people will have to put up with wine I like, or bring their own. On to the TN now: Full plummy-ruby, well, plum juice colour. Like an extremely well-balanced sweet and sour sauce at the beginning, even if there is a certain early harmony to this ridiculously youthful wine. Stewed blueberry, licorice, sweet blackcurrant cough drop, a touch of petrol, suggestions of milk chocolate and coffee. Quite long. Oily mouthfeel yet light on its feet (downright elegant for Grange, but not light), round and silky. Moderate 13.5% alcohol and (already!) very well-integrated vanilla oak. Minty in a way that irritated my admittedly Old World taste buds and admittedly pedantic nature, making me feel that even if this vintage was probably not acidified, it still tastes a bit as if it were. Not the complexity and depth of the greatest vintages of the past perhaps, but more promising than I had expected. With airing meatier, fuller-bodied, yet rounder, retaining that After Eight chocolate mintiness. With extended airing a very slight graininess to the tannin. Seems to have a promising future. A privilege to drink, and yet, if I were never to drink Grange again, I doubt I would miss it much. Be that as it may, this bottle may have left an impression on my companions that I am not entirely sure is justified, namely that Grange is an elusive “noble”, “aristocratic”, “classy” (or so it seems...) version of Aussie Shiraz. Rating: 94+?
Miklós Takács Tokaji Eszencia Nektár 2000
A single vineyard Eszencia from the Nyulászó dülö near Mád. 70% Furmint, 30% Hárslevelü. 514 g/l residual sugar, 72.4 g/l dry extract, 14 g/l acidity and 2.2% alcohol. Lightly golden-copper-hued yellow. Nicely blossomy, primary-thick peach and mango, gently roasted. Fermentation gas (aromatically and visibly – this is refermenting despite the fact that this was filtered, and as a result, does come across as lightly stripped compared to unfiltered Eszencia, even if less so than most filtered examples). Viscous, glyceric, with a touch of pollen-like icing sugar one usually does not get in filtered Eszencia. Passion fruit acidity not unlike that of an “old-styled” (2001 and before) Müller-Catoir Rieslaner TBA. More minerally if not flintstonier with airing. Rating: 91+/-?
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
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„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti