Friday night at Dino with Maureen and Bob.
After waiting and stalling for a while until the interlopers left our Prime Table, we started off with the 2001 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Kabinett which was a lacy pleasing joy although sweeter and slightly rounder than I expected/remembered from other 2001 wines. Of course the crystal clear underlying crispness was there but I dare say this needs a bit more age for it to fully stretch out into the perfect place for my palate.
Another intermediary wine was the 2002 Alzinger Loibenberg Riesling Smaragd which was big and pure and fine but a touch too big and brawny at the moment for my tastes. Come back to this.
With the main course, the 2000 Palari Faro was very interesting as I would not have identified it as a Sicilian wine with all of its sleek fresh tones. But maybe I don’t know enough about Sicily. With time, the nutty dark red fruit started to show some drying sweet elements that Dean referred to as oak. The rest of us were not convinced. But we enjoyed drinking it at the time and were happy doing so. So sue us!
We ended with the 1995 Huet Vouvray Cuvée Constance which was quite dark and botrytis-filled and definitely did not get enough air. It seemed flabby and underwhelming upon opening but became more complex as it gained air and warmed in the glass. Is that always the case? I’m sure it will only be better as Bob follows it at home!
