Typed these listening to Robert Schumann’s Symponic Etudes Op. 13, interpreted by Alfred Cortot (live in London 1929), Sviatoslav Richter (in the studio 1971 and live in London 1968), and Vladimir Sofronitsky (live, presumably in Moscow, 1959).
Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino 1997
Thanks to my parents. Definitely more international in style than earlier vintages, and not to its advantage, I am afraid. Full ruby-red-black colour. Remains oaky, somewhat nutty, of course due to the partly no less roasted fruit. Quite glyceric surface, rather boring nutty tannin underneath that lacks finesse, same as the “fruit”. Relatively (but not badly) evolved, one to drink anytime. Rating: 88-
Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Marie Beurrier 1998
Ordered from a restaurant wine list with Oliver and Remo. I remain convinced this was subtly corked (so subtly, we could not possibly refuse it, plus it was the last bottle they had anyhow), but then, no two bottles of this wine I have had were ever the same (another at this same restaurant, presumably from the same case, was spectacular!). Ruby-red with a soft orange hue and medium black reflections. Tiny bitter note and off nuttiness, a little dried red beet as a result. But then, noble, complex nuts also, rose-hip, some sweet pipe tobacco, tiny sweatiness. Quite flavourful tannin. Fairly long despite the admittedly barely obvious cork taint. Profits from 2-3 hours-plus airing. Well balanced, ageworthy wine that especially in pristine condition should profit from more bottle age. Rating: 91+ (or: N/R)
Azienda Agricola Brigaldara Amarone della Valpolicella Case Vecie 1999
Another thick and milk-chocolatey bottle, still floral but now also lightly curranty-roasted, as this is becoming increasingly hot with bottle age as the fruit is wearing off and the 16% alcohol sticking out as a result. This tasted better 24 hours later, not oxidized at all, but with the alcoholic heat blown off. We are slowly drinking up remaining bottles. Rating: 90-
Decanted the next bottle for five to six hours before serving, at which point it was just beautiful. What an exceptional QPR buy this was for Amarone! Rating: 91-/90-?
André Brunel Les Cailloux Châteauneuf-du-Pape 1998
A coolly-stored bottle I opened for Remo. Full fresh purple-raspberry-ruby with black reflections. Still a bit young, this started out a bit youthfully bitter, but soon hit form, tasting like the archetype of Grenache (although in reality, it is no more than a two-third Grenache): Kirsch liqueur fruit, soft raw beef juice, pepper and roasted lavender and rosemary. Minor flintstony-pebbly stone dust. Youthfully tannic. A very well balanced wine of great purity, fairly concentrated (at least enough so for its 15% alcohol). While greater, more serious, absorbing or mesmerizing (or simply more complex, deeper, more finesseful) Châteauneuf can be had, this is a classic in the European sense of the term (= “as it should be”), and what a great QPR buy this was at release. Remarkably resistant to oxidation in the open bottle (this hardly budged), just the faintest possible leather and smoke finesse notes after 12 and 24 hours. While I did not underestimate this wine’s quality, I may have underestimated its ageworthiness: I used to think of it as a particularly open-hearted, easy-to-appreciate 1998 back at release, and indeed, several cases “evaporated” (Rainer’s favourite expression to indicate there is too much air in his glass) between my friends and me back then. Then again, is it “better” now, or is it ever going to be? Dunno. Rating: 90+/91-?
Château Canon-La Gaffelière St. Emilion 1995
From half bottle thanks to my parents, who left me a portion to taste. Deep garnet ruby-red, black hue. Black cherry jam and forest berry mix, a little blackcurrant and chocolate, not refreshing but quite complex. Full-bodied enough. It is really the style that is coming into its way now. Mature in the sense that this is loosing freshness and tannin becoming drier and less flavourful (faintly cardboardy-powdery one is tempted to say) – my mother remarked on how tasty this is right after the cork is pulled, and how much duller rather than livelier it gets with extended airing. Rating: 89-
Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2006
Half bottle thanks to Remo. From a yield of 21 hl/ha. Quite deep purple-red, black hue. Port-like nose, grapey plum with a suggestion of Kirsch Schnaps, soft green licorice stick. A fairly complex, quite opulent, fruit-driven vintage, a bit darker-fruited, grapier, less red-fruity than other recent ones. Some, and nicely fresh tannin (with just a faint touch of green), but this should drink well soon enough. Quite full-bodied, with the fruit just barely balancing the 15.2% alcohol. Grapey sweet-and-tannic finish of above medium length. Remo did not seem too convinced, but really another promising (if again slightly hot) Clos des Papes. Rating: 92+/93?
Château Clos St. Martin St. Emilion 2000
Ordered from a restaurant wine list with Oliver and Remo, an utterly pristine bottle. Opaque purple, watery pink at the rim. Noticeably oak-spicy in comparison to the 1998 a couple of weeks ago, attractively spicy and thistle-, roasted almond and coconut-scented oak, but still, too much for my taste, even taking the relative youth into account, and the fact that this was at least half-closed. Possibly even more concentrated than the 1998, freshly curranty fruit, noble tobacco. Impressive density, quite thick and potentially smooth, and yet Burgundian in a way, very pure, with a faint underlying touch of green (not in a negative way, due to stems perhaps, more like the anti-oxidative greenishness of e.g. the young DRC RSV this marginally reminded me of). The strong underlying minerality currently shows less than in the pebbly 1998. Firm, attractive tannin, nice acids. Again, I was surprised by how much this resembles a (in this case obviously very modern-styled) Ausone. Remo kept repeating himself as to how much more he liked the 1998, but then, the 2000 was yet more shut-down. Qualitatively speaking, there seems little give-and-take, it really comes down to a toss-up of stylistic preference between the slightly more concentrated but IMHO unnecessarily oakier 2000 and the classic 1998. Rating: 93+?
Les Fils de Charles Favre Petite Arvine Hurlevent 2007
A bottle at home, just the same as at the tasting a month earlier, one of the tastiest Petite Arvines I have had in a while, one I can recommend, although not for keeping. Rating: 88-
Fontodi Chianti Classico 2001
Thanks to my parents, a wine I had not had in a couple of years. Retains a healthy ruby-black. Nicely concentrated, this time with a tiny bitterness to the tannin that wore off with airing, but still seemed to detract from its raciness. Never a Chianti that shows much minerality or the typical metal underpinning. Far from old, but not the best bottle of it anyway – if all are/were like this, I would not recommend holding on to it any longer. Rating: 87(+/-?)
La Macchiole Bolgheri Messorio 2004
Ordered from a restaurant wine list with Patrick, Oliver and Remo. Opaque purple ruby, tiny ruby-red rim. Perhaps the ever so slightly hotter of the two 2004 Macchiole wines we had ordered from a restaurant wine list and tasted (drank) side by side, no less leafy, much spicier (paradoxically?), nuttier with oak (obviously), very concentrated, quite full-bodied. The alcohol integration did not seem ideal to me, but then, I appear to be more sensitive to this problematic aspect of (too) many modern wines than others. Intense elderberry (ironically a fruit flavour Oliver cannot abide). Ripe fruit, increasingly milk-chocolatier with airing. Quite complex already, but not the candy-like smoothness of the still more refreshing 2001 (I will not even go into a comparison to the modern-day legend 1997). Tiny, wild sweat note. Regarding the oakiness here, I am afraid the toasting is altogether too severe – time will tell... Even so, I have no doubt that lovers of the style (who I doubt let wines like this age – maybe settle in bottle for a year or two) will be reasonably pleased. Remo seemed to like it well enough, Oliver prefers the Paleo, and Patrick (usually a fan of Bolgheri and Supertuscans) mumbled and grumbled (= not very audibly) – I forget... Rating: 93+?
La Macchiole Bolgheri Rosso Superiore Paleo 2004
A bit plummier, perhaps glossier colour, wider rim. Kirschier, smelled sweeter and as if rounder, less oaky (enough so), but really a touch bitter (Remo found this aspect downright disturbing), and shorter. Leafier in a drier sense. The modern wine making almost, though not quite, prevails over the fact that this is Cabernet Franc, whereas the Messorio is Merlot. Quite firm and intense with airing, nice complexity and depth, good taste of the grape someone observed, with the bitterness integrating somewhat, if not to the extent that convinced me that it will wear off with bottle age. Stronger coffee torrefaction to the fruit with airing, too. Closing down already towards the end of the night, thus oakier especially on the finish and aftertaste. While I was less convinced with the 2004 than Oliver, it does seem to be the finest Paleo I have ever had – if I owned any, I would allow it to age some in bottle. I have no problem admitting I had more of a stylistic problem with both of these wines than qualitative. Rating: 91+/92+?
Château La Mission Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan 1995
Thanks to Remo. Pristine bottle. Deep ruby-purple-black, watery at the rim. Terroir-typical brick/baked clay minerality, earthy black cherry, herbs, not so sweet pipe and cigar tobacco and roasted coffee, lightly peppery fruit. A little more crystallized fruit sweetness with airing, warming alcohol. Faint bitterness to the tannin (especially for a 1995), this is simply not as thoroughly ripe, opulent and round as many 1995s, nor does it have the concentration and stuffing of the best. Even so, this deserves more bottle age and may still turn out (barely) outstanding. It is not a secret I used to like the old Woltner style of La Mission better (it even used to figure on my favourite wines list), and honestly wonder why La Mission is so rarely on the qualitative level (or better!) than Haut Brion these days (tempting to think their owners keep it that way on purpose), but Remo (who likes exaggerating sometimes) had worse things to say: “tastes dead” or “like a boring soup”, and since then insists on calling this vintage “La P…ion.” I say, wait but do not expect a miracle to happen. Rating: 88+/89(+?)
Provins Cornalin Maître de Chais 2003
Forgot to take a note, but since I rarely discuss nor recommend Swiss wines, thought I should at least mention the rare ones I like. Not metallic, not overdone, not overripe, not overoaked; just a nicely firm red with nicely earthy fruit and subtle metal notes. Quite good body and length. Rating: ~88
Valli Unite Dolcetto Colli Tortonesi Diogene 2005
A bottle my godmother brought along from a local organic food store. Since they tend to carry what I usually refer to as “organic niche wines” only (after all, many of the world’s top wineries farm organically, some even bio-dynamically, but avoid declaration precisely because they do want to be associated with “those people”). Not bad, not memorable, and in particular, only just typical enough Dolcetto, gastronomically soft and low-acid, if faintly tannic. Medium-short. Rating: 83
Vietti Barolo Castiglione 2004
Thanks to Remo. Medium-light ruby-black. Pretty cherry, faint nutty oak, some petits fruits rouges as in Burgundy, youthful but ultimately still a bit dry tannin. As at the tasting a couple of weeks earlier, it seems a matter of airing this rather early-harmonious wine the correct amount of time, as it does get racier for a while, showing more cut but also dryness, soon after an increasingly oxidative marzipan and soft chestnut sweetness, with prettier nut and a faint ginger top note, some dried rose-hip, then red beet. If this medium-bodied and -concentrated wine were more complex, it might have been outstanding. Barely more expressive if drunk from superior stemware, Riedel’s fish bowl Sommeliers Burgundy stem provides too much surface and volume for wine in this category (personally I can recommend using it for top wines only: the better the wine, the greater the difference for the better it makes and vice versa; in a worst case scenario, it can literally “kill” lesser wine – but then, I have taken an oath not to drink favourite Burgundy and Piedmont Nebbiolo from lesser stemware anymore ever). Rating: 88(+?)
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
