Friday night at my place. Most reds sponsored by Remo and served blind by yours truly, who also prepared dinner and typed all these notes on his smart phone. Guests included Remo (needless to say), Christian, Oliver, Rainer and René.
Fritz Haag Riesling Auslese #15 Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr 1988
Contribution of mine, pristine bottle from perfect storage. Pale lime color. Youthful fruit and structure, refreshing, expressive, great minerality, well-balanced, not too sweet, beautiful acidity, very long. With extended airing clean apple with a tiny vanilla top note to the slate minerality. A medium-weight Auslese by modern standards, not too sweet, aging harmoniously. No hurry at all, of course, although as ageless as it may seem, it's hard to see it will ever be "better" - in fact, I seem to remember it may have been more expressive in its youth. dp 92
Donatsch Pinot Noir Malans Unique 2012
Thanks to Christian, who opened this because I was behind serving food and wine. Same as last time, nice for the (for reds very good) vintage, but not really up to the Chardonnay, nor it would seem improving in bottle. Whereas the hype may be justified when comes to the white, I don't quite see why it extends to the red, which represents solid winemaking, no more, no less, and the fact that the 2013 was exceptionally successful (as was the norm for that vintage) isn't enough to change my mind. dp ~89(+/-)
Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau 2007
Alcohol, nice terroir expression, medium-length, exceptional VT, could use a little more time in bottle. dp 91
Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2007
Fruity-sirupy, bit hot as well, a pretty and promising wine that still seemed a bit closed. dp 92(+?)
Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2007
Thick, terroir-driven, smoky, veggie, long. Impressive! Holding up well with airing. Always loved the terroir expression here. dp 93+
Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2007
A bit lighter than most, but balanced and stylish. Cocoa powder. Quite complex, nice length. Mourvèdre shows. Squeaky-clean for Beaucastel as Remo noted. A personal favorite, and one wine I'll bet is going to age gracefully. dp 92
Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Croix de Bois 2007
A beauty of a wine, balanced and with early harmony, a complex fruit mix with herbs and minerals, modern-styled but in a nice way, very long. Holding up great in the open bottle. dp 93+
Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Barbe Rac 2007
Compact, a little bitter and short, otherwise impressive. Although no one agreed with Rainer and me, I'm convinced this bottle suffered from an "unnoticeable" cork taint. One of Wolfgang's (who unfortunately wasn't able to join us) favourite CdPs of the vintage, hard to believe it wasn't anywhere near the Croix de Bois that night. Tobacco ash with airing. dp N/R
Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2007
Some tannin, fresh and lively, firm fruit, another success, but too youthful to appreciate, showing mostly structure. Having said that, some preferred it to the Ferrand! dp 93+
Ferrand Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2007
Thick, floral syrup, mouth-filling, long and sweet. The earlier minerality and finesse is partly covered by its fruit and oily-viscous mouthfeel, but what joy this wine provides! See again further below! dp 94+/95(+?)
Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2007
A bit hot as usual, but clean and precise, with an emphasis on raspberry and Kirsch, quite finesseful and long. Apart from the brandy-like quality, very well-balanced wine that should age well. Holding up well in the open bottle. Just as promising after 12 and 18 hours. dp 94(+?)
Pierre Usseglio Châteauneuf-du-Pape Mon Aieul 2007
Very modern, balanced, harmonious, good body, fairly long, approachable thanks to the winemaking style, but needs time. dp 93+/94(+?)
Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes 2007
Most modernistic style of the night? A bit high-acid, more aggressive than most, medium length. Ink, mixed berry fruit. More roasted even with airing, showing that Janasse acid spike I've always had a hard time with regardless of vintage, but pretty enoughlight red fruit on the aftertaste. Note there are always some who rave about this wine (same here), making me think that maybe I just don't get it... dp 91(+/-?)
Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve 2007
Jammy fruit, quite thick, with integrated alcohol, medium-plus length. Improving with airing, if showing more new oak. Has the structure to age, but hard to tell if it will improve. dp 92(+?)
Ferrand Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2007
Served it twice that night looking for a wine to set against the 2009 Guigal La Turque, as I was serving blind in pairs, and curious to see how it would fare in such company (about 50/50 as it turned out, in other words, the QPR buy of some people's lifetime). Thick, sweet, luscious, floral, syrupy, what a wine! The concentration, viscous mouthfeel, length and sheer promise were hard to believe immediately after I pulled the cork, and 24 hours later, too. The minerality it showed at release is currently covered (drowned!) by its oily-viscous fruit. Oliver appears to have had some negative experiences with this wine, however, mine so far have been entirely positive. dp 94+/95(+?)
Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque 2009
Thanks to Christian. Highly concentrated. Olive, new oak, bacon fat, firm tannin and fruit, ripe but nicely bright, refreshing acids, very long. More accessible right after the cork was pulled than after 24-30 hours, when its tannic backbone came to the fore, with precise and more subtle lavender fruit showing again at the 48 hour mark. Perhaps not quite on the level of 1999 and 1985, but roughly on that of 1990, 1991 and 2003? No matter, a privilege to taste! dp 97(+?)
Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Célestins L 05/13 2007
Thanks to René. Different from the bottling/lot number L 09-13 I've had with Wolfgang (and which, judging from memory, I prefer). Sweet and tannic damson with cinnamon. Extremely long. Comparatively reigned in (still safely short of sullen), more evolved yet shut down. Hazelnut coffee. Needs ample time. Great wine most preferred to the at least equally promising but more youthful Da Capo. Sweeter, thicker, more open and complex, showing even greater depth, with 24-30 hours of airing. Longer, too, if that's at all possible. More chocolatey and Amarone-like, and and the same time, fresher, showing more focus on the mid-palate, finish and lingering aftertaste. Great wine that even the late Henri Bonneau himself may underestimated, but I'm realizing now that lots may be quite different, and I've seen at least three so far. dp 96+/97(+?)
Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Da Capo 2007
Incredible wine once again, hugely concentrated yet fresh, lively and precise, extremely long. Red beet, complex and deep, persistent, powerful finish. Good grip, and yet, there's subtlety to it, too. The 2007 CdP which, ironically, I may have had most often in recent years (there must a been a lot to go round, comparatively speaking), from all kinds of sources, and the consistency throughout has been nothing short of amazing. One of the candidates for the wine of the vintage, always has been. dp 97+/98(+?)
Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes 2007
This has always been promising, but its over-the-top style is currently showing. Jammy-fruity, licorice, huge alcohol, great density. Very long. Sweet and fruity with some alcohol blown off the next day, easier to appreciate. Great density and mouthfeel. Impressive purity and concentration. Fascinating strong minerality lurking underneath. Easier to appreciate by the day as the alcohol continued to blow off, otherwise completely stable with airing. dp 95+/96(+?)
Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Grande Cuvée Hommage à Jacques Perrin 2007
Contribution of mine. Wine of the night, Oliver and Rainer immediately exclaimed. Mouth-puckering, ginormous structure, complexity and depth. Faint saddle leather. Noble, lightly nutty tannin. Lively, vivacious wine, perfectly balanced. Enormous length. Potential perfection, no doubt about it, and my early candidate for the wine of the vintage. Incredibly deep and complex fruit after 24-30 hours, abysmal depth, complex, incredibly concentrated, fresh and lively, but also extremely tannic. Persistent finish with firm grip. This developed a rare (for CdP) top note of olive with airing. This should reward cellaring handsomely, another HJP for the ages, to me the greatest since the 1989 and 1998, and the kind of wine that makes me hope I shall live to enjoy a mature bottle. dp 98+/99(+?)
Vince Gergely Úri Borok Tokaji Muskotály Aszúeszencia St. Tamás 2003
Thanks to Rainer. Standard 500 ml bottle. Amber-orange. The ultimate Muscat de Lunel, as Rainer notes. I've surely never had a better one. Awesome precision, balance, acidity and length. White chocolate, strong mace, underlined by more subtle spice notes. The greatest pure Muscat I've ever tasted along with F.X. Pichler's 1998 TBA, possibly even more precise in its expression, since less fat, more harmonious in its acid structure, and, perhaps to do with the fact that the Pichler is a Kellerberg, less minerally. dp 97+/98(+?)
Vince Gergely Úri Borok Tokaji Eszencia 2003
Thanks to Rainer. The attractive thick-bottomed 375 ml bottle. There were approximately 50 liters of this gem, but as far as I know, Albino, Andrea and Rainer bought the whole production (Fredrik?). Amber-brown, bottled by hand, and it shows in its advanced color and some dead yeast on the bottom of each bottle. Over 800 g/l residual sugar, label reads 0% alcohol, so technically speaking debatable as to whether one will call this "wine". Pours like honey. Intensely aromatic on the nose. Overwhelmingly sweet on the palate, although balanced by flavorful citrusy acidity. Smoky hay top note, quince, chocolate, toffee, chocolate, lovely tangerine if not kumquat bitter note. Very long, or rather, mouth-coating. dp 99+/100
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
Cheers, Rainer
And thanks again for the two wonderful bottle of Tokaj!!