2008 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, 13.5%
There's
crisp, dusky asparagus and tropical fruit on the nose. Quite big and
flabby even on the palate. Rather short. It's a decent sauvignon blanc,
but nothing special.
86/100 |
|
2005 Spinifex Lola, 12.5%
50% marsanne; 27% ugni blanc; 23% grenache gris
A
very interesting nose: Formula One racing, says someone, and he's right.
There's tarmac, oil and some rubber (but not an unpleasant rubber) on
the nose, along with some minerally notes, almonds and some perfume
(elderflower?).
Very nice on the palate. Good weight and depth.
There's nice Rhôney fruit and a yummy stoniness on the
palate. Great
length. Lovely wine.
92/100 |
|
2001 Puligny-Montrachet La Truffière 1er Cru,
Bernard Morey, 13.5%
Beurre
noisette, toffee and melon on the nose. A rich, buttery palate with a
slightly bitter edge. Just a hint of oxidation on this, but (and this
may be heresy) there really doesn't seem to be anything special about
this at all.
86/100 |
|
2001 Côtes du Jura Cuvée
Spéciale, Philippe Butin, 13%
A lovely amontillado nose - nuts and aromatics. A lovely sherrified
palate. Deep and nutty, yet also with a good freshness.
89/100 |
|
2006 Maranges 1er Cru La Fussière, Domaine
Bachelet-Monnot, 13.5%
There's
sweet raspberry fruit on the nose with some beetroot and a fresh,
almost minty lift. It's fairly direct on the attack, but quickly falls
away to weediness. A nice palate refreshener, before moving onto the
pinot gris.
87/100 |
|
2002 Pinot Gris Grand Cru Furstentum, Paul Blanck,
13.5%
Very
rich, tropical fruit on the nose, with botrytis and apricots. Lovely
weight on the palate. Curiously, it's not as sweet as the Sorg, which
given all the botrytis on the nose, is rather counter-intuitive.
91/100 |
|
2004 Pinot Gris Grand Cru Florimont, Bruno Sorg,
13.6%
Much paler colour than the Blanck.
The
nose has bananas, pear and lychees with a solid structure behind.
Beautiful palate. It's rich, verging on the sweet. Really nice balance.
A lovely wine.
92/100 |
|
1983 Côte Rôtie Les Jumelles, Paul
Jaboulet Aîné, alcohol content not shown
Oh
yes! A quick sniff, and you just know this is going to be good and a
half. When I first saw the menu, the first wine that came to mind with
the main course was Côte Rôtie, and it's all here:
peppery spice,
strawberry fruit, and a meaty fleshiness.
Delicious palate. Very clean. Very nicely mature. Lovely balance.
92/100
This
is my second taste of Jaboulet's 1983 Côte-Rôtie
Jumelles, and a far
superior bottle to that drunk in 2006 at the fabled Freemasons Arms of
blessed memory. |
|
1997 Quatr Nas, DOC Langhe, Rocche dei Manzoni,13.5%
corked |
|
1999 La Vicalanda de Vina Pomal Reserva, Bodegas Bilbainas,
13%
There's
lots of sweet fruit on the nose, and what feels initially like a touch
of TCA, but which, with some swirling, seems to turn into just a bit of
volatile lift. The palate is fairly wide, but with a narrow,
well-defined core of sweet black fruit. It feels a bit subdued overall.
Old school Rioja.
88/100 |
|
2005 Domaine Drouhin Laurène, Oregon, 13.%
The
nose is quite peppery, with sweet, oddly black fruits. There's lovely,
exquisite balance on the palate. But it's not overly special. Very nice
fruit characters though.
89/100 |
|
2006 privada, Mendoza, Norton
Gorgeous
sweet strawberry and balsamic nose. But oh dear, the palate doesn't
live up to the nose. Confected palate with very sweet fruit. This is
big, big, big. Lost in the company. It really need a big chunk of
grilled red meat.
88/100 |
|
2000 Zind Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Hengst,
16%
The
nose is heavy, oily, though not overly gewurz-like actually, the gewurz
character being somewhat disguised by the massive weight.
Very big
in the mouth. Just a bit hot. Power, power, power. This isn't a style
of gewurz with which I'm particularly enamoured, and, to me, it just
seems to lack finesse.
86/100 |
|
1990 Hugel Gewurztraminer Jubilee Réserve
Personelle, Wine Society bottling, 14.5%
A lightish nose that really only smells of a dishwasher that's just
been opened. Feels rather corked on the palate. |
|
2007 Gewürztraminer, Finger Lakes, New York, Dr
Konstantin Frank, 12%
A
young, bright gewurz nose. In the mouth, it's a vibrant, zingy young
gewurz. It feels a little odd in all this Alsatian company, but stands
up very well in the company. This actually works better than a number
of the Finger Lakes rieslings that I've had.
91/100 |
|
1991 Rolly Gassmann Gewurztraminer Oberer Weingarten de
Rorschwihr, 13.5%
Bought ex cave in 1998 for 80 francs.
A
mature gewurztraminer nose. Quite raisiny on the palate. Feels a touch
over the hill, but when you drink it with the Munster, it really comes
alive and delights.
92/100 |
|
1992 Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Schlossberg, Les Vignerons
Réunis de Kientzheim-Kaysersberg, 13%
59 francs ex cave, also in 1998.
A
remarkably light, bright lemon gold appearance. This has very slightly
refermented in the bottle and has a bit of spritz on the palate. But
the refermentation hasn't served it too badly and there's still a
lovely weight on the palate. Better than I'd suspected it might be.
90/100 |
|
1994 Sercial Casco 70b, Barbeito, 19%
A
blissful nose. Nutty. "It's a roller coaster of nuts!" said Sinead. I
find it rather like opening your grandma's oak wardrobe, with some
burnt oranges too. The warm, caramelised oranges reappear on the
palate. Haunting, and with a length to follow you all the way back home.
93/100 |
|
2002 Clos de Nouys Vouvray Moelleux, 12%
A rather slight nose with some old lemons and scented geraniums. Very
nice palate, with a lovely gentle sweetness.
89/100 |
|
1945 Rivesaltes, Mas Désirée,
16% 500ml
A
nutty, oxidative nose with some roast plum kernels. Good palate with
lovely balance. Worked pretty well with the chocolate fondant.
90/100 |
|
NV Muscat de Beaumes de Venise, Bouquet des Dentelles, Les
Vignerons de Caractère, 15.5%
A good, integrated muscat nose with some sawdust and some garrique. A
light, fresh muscat, easily hiding that high alcohol.
89/100 |
|
