Lemon and sweet strawberry on the nose, very Rieslingy. Nicely mineral. Small and elegant mousse. Fruity, but savoury palate. Long and mineral and true to the grape - very nice!
We also opened a Montfaucon Côtes du Rhône "Baron Louis" 2003
Young and dark colour. The nose is very sugary, but is typical S. Rhône in its exuberant, strawberry-like fruit and garrigue. It is very full bodied, with nice and ripe but noticable tannins, but low acidity. Though the label only shows 13,5% abv (and our Monopoly does check that the label is within the EU standards of +/-0,5% abv) there is a bit of heat. On the whole, this isn't as freakish a wine as many 2003s have been, but is still a wine to approach with caution as it will not appeal to those of us who like a more savoury style. But it is a success for those who don't mind a big, opulent but wine in a true S. Rhône style.
But the highlight of the weekend was a Portuguese table wine from Ribatejo Serradayres Colheita 1947.
I have no idea what grape(s) are in it, but it was quite potent stuff. The core was black, the rim had some orange in it. The nose is tarry, dark toned in its fruit, leathery, earthy - it all so savoury and unique as I hope to find. The palate was very concentrated and powerful with lovely, high acidity and still a fair amount of tannins. It is very dark toned and even a bit mineral. Though not a fruit forward wine, the fruit is in no danger of dying soon. I love Portugal for this sort of surprises; this really was a beautiful wine if you like a rustic style. At a price of 25€ I would back up the truck - except yet again only one bottle was available.
