WTN: Catching up with old notes

For some reason I have a bad habit of not writing up notes often enough on wines that I drink at home with dinner. Most of what I write about seems to be about formal tastings or informal gatherings with some friends. Here are a few that I've drunk just for the fun of it over the past month or so. P.s. I am a lousy cook, but I still like my wines with food - so my apologies if the pairings aren't really helpful.

Château Grand-Puy Ducasse 2001 13% c.30€

I found a nice looking piece of lamb at Reinin Liha (best butcher in Finland IMO!). I guess I'm a bit of a minimalist with foods: I just stuck it in the oven until very tender and put a bit of salt and pepper on top. It tasted just wonderful like that - it didn't need any fancy toppings. Lamb cries out for Pauillac:

I like the green/herbal, savoury character that so many 2001s have - it seems to be textbook Claret. This wine does have that, but unfortunately there is dilly oak on top of the quintessential Clarettyness. The palate has nice acidity and is fresh though fruity enough. I would like this wine quite a bit without the dill aspect. Not a modernist wine, not a strict traditionalist either - or then I caught in an unexpressive moment. But so many 2001s have seemed delightful albeit young just now, that I am not sure.

Domaine du Vieux Lazaret Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2004 14,5% 19,98€

I made a poor man's version of Boeuf Bourguignon for Suvi. I used the Periquita (TN below) for the stew. I don't know if it is traditional, but I like to put a couple spoons of grainy Dijon mustard into my BB - it really gives the stew a lovable twist. -15C required a hearty red, so this time it wasn't (well .... it never is!) Chambertin in the pot or for the cook or at the table. CdP isn't usual fare Chez Otto, but Suvi seems to like the "big" wines like S. Rhone and Amarone so I humour her on occasion.

Dark. The nose is nice and savoury for a CdP, but still has all the typical honeyed fruit notes also and peppery, strawberry-like Grenache notes. It seems very true to type and gladly not over-ripe - which makes the high alcohol (14,5%) stick out like a sore thumb. The palate is warmly fruity, typical CdP in all respects, nicely savoury also. Unfortunately the finish is rather hot. A drop of water in the glass helped: it became a very nice CdP for the price once the alcoholic burn was diminished!

2004 José Maria da Fonseca Periquita Terras do Sado 13% 6,93€

All but one glass used in cooking. A shame - I liked it enough to have wished for a second glass! The scent is ripe and fruity with a touch of stemminess and funk. It is red toned and has a touch of savoury peach stone to it which reminds me rather of Musar - no wonder I liked this glass! The palate is ripe and fruity with really nice tannins and enough acidity to keep it fresh. It isn't terribly concentrated - but at just under 7€ I'm not complaining. With Finnish pricing, I have never before had a wine this cheap that I found genuinely interesting.

Charles Joguet Chinon Les Varennes du Grand Clos 2001 12,5% 30€ (because imported by a company that has an abnormally high margin)

I try to boycot the importer because of their preposterous pricing, but I don't always manage because I couldn't live without Chinon. A very simple chunk of beef that I covered in herbs and stuck in the oven until just a little red needs a savoury but juicy red to go with it. I love old Riojas and Musar with this simple food, but Chinon works well too.

Quite a delight this wine: it is very much what I hope to find in Chinon. The nose is elegantly earthy, with savoury, herbal, tobacco-like nuances. The palate is juicy but tangy and savoury. There is fine balance between the structure and the fruit. Ideally this would need a few more years, though it is enjoyable even now.

Josef Biffar Deidesheimer Grainhübel Riesling Spätlese Trocken 1998 13% ?€

Fresh pasta with smoked salmon and sun dried tomatoes and browned pine kernels.

I have drunk abnormally few whites in the recent weeks: must be the cold. Well I craved for rocks. This was typical, ripe yet acidic and palate-cleansing, pure Riesling. It is a weighty wine, aromatically German but forceful à la Alsace - and it works just perfectly. The fruit is such that it doesn't need the RS that I in almost all cases want to have in my German Riesling. A very nice wine.

Alois Lageder Pinot Bianco Tòr Löwengang Haberlehof 2005 15€ 12,5%

We needed one more wine so this was it. Lovely, appley nose - as true to grape as I imagine it possible to be - with lots and lots of minerals. Lovely nose. The palate was a bit softer in acidity than I would hope or a bit more fruity than I would hope - I just can't decide which! Quite a delight anyway - rocks rock.

-Otto-

It is really funny, Otto. I am in the process of typing up some notes that essentially start with the exact same 3 sentences! I wonder if this is common. I feel like I sort of "owe" the notes on the bigger group tastings, and then just keep putting off the ones from dinner at home.

Thanks for the interesting notes, by the way!

Michael

I wonder if this is common.

I suspect it is very common. Usually if dining at home I have better things to do than to take notes on what I'm drinking. This doesn't mean that I don't pay attention to what I'm drinking, but that company takes precedence. This is IMO quite the ideal way of drinking wine and it's a shame I don't get to do enough of it (too many tastings during the week, so I don't drink enough with dinner)!

-O-

After Sunday I'll probably have to take a short hiatus from wine, so I'm now frantically catching up with all unposted notes I've made. Here are a few more:

Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir 2001 13,5 39€

Karjalan Paisti is a Finnish dish, a little like Boeuf Bourguignon. Beef, pork and lamb in bite sized pieces are simmered in the oven for several hours with just some salt and pepper for spice. It is a very basic dish, but the variations in the taste of meat can be nice - as long as the meats are good quality. The Drouhin was just perfect with such a dish. It was sweetly fruity, with proper Pinot aromas of beetroot and earth and an almost metallic minerality. The palate was very ripe and sweet but had nice acids to support it. Very nice wine and perfect with such slow cooked meat.

Château Cantenac-Brown 1996 13% ?€

With steak. (I had an accident with the meat: my steak was a mistake. Tough meat.) It should have been the ideal accompaniment since it was a big boned wine, true Bordeaux if a little more rustic and bretty than I expected Margaux to be. Open but young but structured. It would have been the ideal for the food, but the meat was just unpleasant. I ordered some take away Indian instead. Not much of a surprise I'm sure, but it wasn't a good match with that.

Chanson Côte de Beaune Villages 2003 is like life according to Thomas Hobbes.

-Otto-

like life according to Thomas Hobbes.

Best six-word wine tasting note I've ever read. Bravo!

like life according to Thomas Hobbes.

Best six-word wine tasting note I've ever read. Bravo!

Merci!


And even more catching up:
I'm still patiently trying to gain a greater understanding of Sangiovese. Both of these wines are apparently rather "modern" in technique (dare I use the word spoofy ever again?), but the Rovo works and the Cafaggio doesn't.

Fattoria Poggio Gagliardo Montescudaio Rovo 1998
13,5% 23,80€. Despite 18 months in Barriqe (c.30% new) this blend of Sangiovese, Colorino and Malvasia nera, doesn't come across as being horribly modernist. The nose is recognisably Sangiovese in its bright, red cherry, sandalwood and herb aromas. It has a touch of the loaminess that I find in Brunello also. It is a touch oxidative in style and has a touch of volatility. Despite not being very animal, it does remind me a bit of Musar. The palate is ripely fruity, nicely acidic but the tannins are still a bit strong. The aftertaste is fresh and long, but the tannins do continue on after the fruit dies away: it isn't perfectly balanced, but neither is it unlikeable with some rare meat. I rather like this wine.

Villa Cafaggio Chianti Classico 2004
A ripe but herbal nose. The palate was similar. No flaws, but no personality either and little typicity. Not offensive, but not interesting.

[James Roscoe]

like life according to Thomas Hobbes.

Best six-word wine tasting note I've ever read. Bravo!

Wasn't he a stuffed tiger in that 1990's comic strip?

like life according to Thomas Hobbes.

Best six-word wine tasting note I've ever read. Bravo!

Wasn't he a stuffed tiger in that 1990's comic strip?

Best comic strip I've ever read.