Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino 1997
Definitely more international in style than earlier vintages, this bottle was less offensively so. Less oaky-nutty, less roasted fruit, less nutty tannin, although still not a finesseful wine. Sufficiently mature, one to drink anytime. Rating: 89-
and:
Two delicious bottles on Christmas Day at Ursi’s place, with Bettina and Rune, Ursi and my dad (my mom unfortunately feeling sick to the stomach), with their traditional beef tongue, dried string beans and capers sauce. The first may have been even sweeter, rounder and more complex than the second, half an hour to an hour’s airing is warranted. Neither bottle was very oaky, let alone tarry, nor even roasted as some. While this does not taste old at all, I do not see how it could ever drink better than it does now, and have no intention of holding on to remaining bottles too much longer. Rating: 89-
Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume 1997
Thanks to Ned. A half bottle I am afraid may have been a bit too warmly stored, possibly exposed to (a little, but any is too much) light, too, as it both looked and tasted completely unlike mine. Full golden orange colour. Orange and mainly tangerine rind, sweet softly blossomy honey, all wrapped around a core of sweet apple juice concentrate. Some of the soft strawberry and blackcurrant top notes remain. Smooth and long. Quite fat and viscous (which hid a possible minor rancio – surface oxidation – note). Tangerine acidity, faint but pretty bitter note. Some half-dried tobacco leaf with airing. This bottle definitely seemed ahead of its time. Rating: 94(+?)
and:
With Patrick and his parents on Christmas Eve. From a pristine half bottle that I opened because one from Ned’s collection shocked me with its colour and evolved character. Full golden colour, no orange or copper. Smelled and tasted like May butter, blossomy-floral, fat and viscous but impeccably fresh and lively, with an ever so faint lemon rind bitter note, and lightly orangey tangerine-like acidity. Rating: 95+?
Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne 1996
With Patrick and his parents on Christmas Eve. From a pristine half bottle. Bright yellow-gold, faint green reflections. Refreshing lime, straw, herbs, oily but with citrusy acidity, soft and pretty oak, nice minerality. Balanced, long and lively on the finish. Complex, a gorgeous wine everybody raved about. Still young, but deeper, more expressive and harmonious than at release. No undue oxidation at all (keep reading weird things, but never seem come across such bottles). Rating: 95
Brigaldara Recioto della Valpolicella 2001
A delicious bottle on Christmas Day at Ursi’s place, with Bettina and Rune, Ursi and my dad, with my chocolate ice cream and a selection of cookies from my and Ursi’s “workshop”. Another bottle with virtually no botrytis dustiness, just milk chocolaty honeyed raisins, nicely glyceric, round, smooth and quite long, with no excess heat at 14%. A point, no longer improving in bottle, drink up! Rating: 91-
Umberto Cesari Sangiovese Cabernet Franc Liano 1996
Thanks to Ned. Deep lightly pruney ruby-black, opaque at the centre, watery rim. Warmly alcoholic dried black cherry and rum chocolate truffle, slightly hot. Tightly tannic and hard, even if sweetly dried-jammy. Medium length at best. Rating: 85-/84(-?)
Gaja Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn 1985
With Patrick and his parents on Christmas Eve. Very possibly the best bottle of this wine I have ever had. Full ruby-red, some black reflections, faint watery orange at the rim. Sweet marzipan (a reminder of the barrique, there was no actual “oak” flavour left in this bottle), lovely rose-hop density, drier blood orange with a top note of rose petal, a pretty suggestion of Alba truffle. Medium-plus body. Sweet and dry, but not very tannic anymore, very finely-grained tannin that is not at all dusty, rather floral and tea-like. Soft blood-orangey acidity. Long, flavourful finish. Pretty dried thyme and oregano on the aftertaste. Rating: 96-/95
Vincent Girardin Pommard Chanlins Vieilles Vignes 1995
As good a bottle of this wine as we have had, still racy fruit notes to forest undergrowth and earth, complex and finesseful, medium-plus body and very good length. Rating: 92-/91(-?)
Hiedler Riesling Kogelberg 2007
Perhaps my favourite new family tradition is that my parents treat everyone to a nice stay at a spa resort in Austria during the quiet second week before Christmas, among other as this means I get to see my sister for a few days every year, and peruse lengthy novels to fill in gaps in my reading (Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility this time, really a cutesy forerunner – the parallelisms are overwhelming – to Pride and Prejudice, but I guess everyone except me knew this already...). Did not take notes of all the red wines that week, but this was the only Riesling on the wine list, and interesting insofar as my dad thought this high-acid (not too much so), and that everyone except me, Ursi (Swiss short form for Ursula) in particular, claimed it does not much taste like Riesling at all. From 10- to 35-years old vines. A minor grapefruit- and almond-like bitter note, little and slightly heavy-handed fruit and minerality, not bad at all, if not too concentrated or full-bodied or long, it just seemed that the terroir expression is not too interesting, although such a thing is impossible to tell on the evidence of a single sample/vintage (having said that, I am fairly sure I have had other Kogelberg wines before, none of them noteworthier than this, but do not remember any details). The combination of fine purity and mouth-cleansing effect made this a good food accompaniment, though. Rating: 86+/87?
Emmerich Knoll Riesling Smaragd Loibner Vinothekfüllung 2005
Ordered from a restaurant wine list by a great friend, apparently their last bottle. Pale golden colour with a light green hue. Less drawn-in on its mineral backbone than at release, but with the fruit complexity still coming out best after the remainder of the bottle had aired in the fridge overnight. Creamy-spicy grapefruity lime rind, smooth with a touch of botrytis, minerally-spicy, with nice acidity and a pretty little bitter note. Complex and quite deep. Hard to tell if and what there may be to gain cellaring this. 8 g/l residual sugar, subjectively harmoniously dry if not drier, with the 14%-plus alcohol extremely well integrated. The Sommelier told us 2005 was Knoll’s farewell vintage of Riesling Vinothekfüllung (there is still going to be the Grüner Veltliner) – which would be huge a pity as this is really my favourite Riesling bottling from the Wachau; but then I wonder, have I not just seen the 2007 offered somewhere? Rating: 93-/92?
Marc Kreydenweiss Riesling Vendanges Tardives Kastelberg 1990
On New Year’s Eve, with Ned and his family. Bright, medium-light golden yellow-green. Barely off-dry for VT, chalky-spicy, racy and precise lime, lemon and mineral notes, soft herbs, medium-plus body, firm but not too bright acidity, quite long on the finish. Everyone loved it, of course, and I appreciate dry or drier wines that go well with food, but as far as the declaration is concerned, not even Trimbach would market a wine of this ripeness and balance as VT anymore these days. Rating: 92-/91
Hubert Lignier Chambolle-Musigny 1996
The first bottle in years that was neither closed nor high-acid, but a clear reminder of the balance this wine showed at release, only that it now shows minor tertiary aromas and flavours too. Delicious, with precision and fine cut, perhaps not yet fully ready, but reason to hope this will soon be the case. Rating: 88+?
Maculan Fratta 2000
Half bottle ordered from a restaurant wine list by a great friend. A blend of 54% Cabernet Franc and 46% Merlot, aged 18 months in new French oak. Fairly full-bodied, Amarone-styled wine, sweetly superripe and dried-fruity, a bit plummy but not too pruney, rather chocolaty, lightly viscous but dry and slightly hot. Fair enough complexity, but little depth. Some marzipan oak. Soft acidity, some tannin. Fairly long. Rating: 90-
Mastrojanni Brunello di Montalcino Schiena d’Asino 1990
On New Year’s Eve, with Ned and his family. Needs decanting as there is some sediment, but should not be aired too long (half an hour to an hour is plenty). Deep, virtually opaque garnet-ruby-black with some watery ruby-red at the rim (none of the orange hue and rim the bottle at the horizontal in June exhibited). Sweeter and more intense on the nose, and a fraction dustier and drier, as well as more powerful on the palate, than the bottle at the horizontal in London. Black truffle and cherry, soft tree bark and earth. Fair enough body and concentration. A touch of dried Mu-Err (jelly ear fungus, or as we still call it, albeit indecorously, Judas's ear fungus) on the back end. Tasty. Rating: 89-/88
Niepoort Vintage Port 1994
Thanks to Ned. Another half bottle I wondered may have been a touch warmly stored. Plummy ruby-red, black hue. Dried and roasted herbs as in a Rhône wine, Châteauneuf-du-Pape-like at first. Dried-violet-tinged but tannic superripe strawberry liqueur with a touch of roasted peanut. A little cedar and more complexity with airing. Rating: 92+/93(+?)
La Réméjeanne Côtes-du-Rhône Les Arbousiers 2005
Thanks to my parents. Full ruby-purple. Sweet canned Amarena cherry, Kirsch liqueur, integrated herbs, soft pepper and spice, a touch of olive. Fair enough body and length. Medium tannin, soft acidity. We all prefer Charvin’s CdR, even apart from the fact that the latter comes across as more traditionally-styled, but this is a nicely pure and tasty little wine. Rating: ~87
Giuseppe Quintarelli Recioto della Valpolicella Classico Vigneto di Monte Cà Paletta 1988
A bottle I opened for a great friend and special guest. Slowly depleting stocks as (albeit evolving at a snail’s pace) this is not really going anywhere anymore. Lightly pruney ruby-black, still opaque at the center, watery garnet-red at the rim. Cedary honey, raisins, spices, a little prune juice. Lightly roasted and caramelized. A bit oxidative but in a most beautiful way, ever so faint surface dryness as a result. Complex, deep and long. Suggestion of Christmas spice box. Viscous almost rather than sweet. An archaic throwback of a wine that I am all too aware I am going to miss sorely one day. Wonderful! Rating: 96-/95(-?)
Taylor Vintage Port 1994
Thanks to Ned. From half bottle. Opaque plummy purple-black almost to rim. A fraction less shut down a bottle from my collection in April. Even so, this would have need the three days of airing in the decanter Albino currently recommends (that is, if it at all recommendable to pull corks on this super wine). Strong violet top note, sizeable tannin, huge body, the concentration and extract here are such that one does not at first notice this is a sweet (let alone dessert) wine at all. Palate-staining, persistent, extremely long. Really rather closed at present, but sweeter and more complex with every additional hour we could spare, and – believe it or not – yet longer on the finish. Reassuring showing, indicating this should fulfill its early promise (of perfection) in time. Wow! Rating: 98+
Guy Wach Riesling Vendange Tardive Kastelberg 2005
Similar in its fruit expression and minerality to the dry version except that it is peachier in its lightly viscous and nicely fat and smooth sweetness. No better, though. A touch of candied lime. Soft golden sultanas on finish, integrated acidity and alcohol. Rating: 89+/90?
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
