A Few Recent Tastes

• 1996 Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Brut Chouilly - France, Champagne (6/9/2007)
  Hazy notes from afew days ago. Great champagne! Very toasty and yeasty on the nose, and lots of chardonnay notes as well: great nose. The palate was equally stunning, with again chardonnay flavours at the forefront: rich yet crisp at the same time. It would start with a citrus tingle on the front palate, but end with rich, complex flavours on a powerful finish. Still getting better... (A-/A)
• 2001 Agricoltori del Geografico Ferraiolo - Italy, Tuscany (6/9/2007)
  Hazy notes from last night. Lovely nose that had both sangiovese and cabernet characters; actually, the same could be said of the palate as well, with a lovely 'yin/yang' of sang/cab notes on a smooth texture. Great balance too. Very nice wine drinking well now, but should last a while as well. (A-)
• 2000 Schloss Schönborn Erbacher Marcobrunn Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Rheingau (6/6/2007)
  Hazy notes from a few days ago. A nice riesling, given the difficult vintage. A little too sweet - or, more likely, a little too little acidity - but some nice tropical and citrus fruit, some minerals and a good finish provided pleasure. I'd drink up soon. (B+)
• 2003 Chateau Musar Rosé - Lebanon, Bekaa Valley (6/1/2007)
  Lovely pink colour, and nice nose of Musaresque earthy funk. More earthy funk on the dry palate, along with strawberries, but a whack of alcohol on the palate really detracts for me. A little better on the second day, but still too much alcohol - the label says 13.5, but it seems more like 15.5. (B-/B)
• 1998 Tyrrell's Shiraz Vat 9 - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley, Lower Hunter Valley (5/31/2007)
  Deep ruby/purple in colour, with a nose of leather, redfruits, pepper and a hint of mint. Lovely smooth palate, and healthy acid helps give it a long finish. Similar flavours as the nose: very harmonious and interesting shiraz - this is definitely not a South Australia shiraz! (A-)