October is birthday season around my house and the following set of notes are from a mix of birthday dinners and parties over the course of the month.
NV Pol Roger Champagne Brut Reserve. Aromas of pie crust, apples, lemongrass, lime peel, matchstick smoke and limestone are much crisper, cleaner and more tightly-wound than a bottle we had a month ago. It has a bright and zippy entry to the mouth, followed by a richer, wider mid-palate that is still intense and shows off a laser-like acidic crunch. It is dark-fruited and on the masculine side, turning a bit prettier toward the back of the palate before finishing dry and a bit puckering, showing tight and chiseled. A second glass a while later is a bit fuller and seems to show better length. I would prefer it to be a bit more giving, but I definitely liked this bottle better than the last.
2005 Chasseur Chardonnay Russian River Valley. This offers up an unctuous bouquet of sweet chalk dust, cherry pixie stick, pear tart, and musky pineapple. Some meringue, vanilla and oak notes grow as it comes up to temperature, but overall it is still interesting and inviting. On the palate, the oak is decidedly more obvious, feeling like it is slathered all over the tightly-wound tropical mixed fruit, lemon drop and pear flavors. It is big and mouth-filling, but not blowsy or soft. Still, the oak becomes a distraction the longer I stay with it, even making the wine begin to feel a bit oak-grained in texture after a while. It is best to see if a while in the cellar can help integrate the wood better.
2005 Heitz Chardonnay Napa Valley. The nose is nice, with lots of apple flesh aromas framed by a crisp quartz-like mineral edging. Later, some fresh citrus scents come in, along with chalk and just the slightest kiss of oak. In the mouth, it is broader and softer than the nose might suggest, with the oak present but gently applied. It pumps out the pretty fruit fairly effortlessly but never feels too heavy or ponderous. Still, it should be noted that the acidity and structure that keep it nicely-focused do fade a bit as it warms. The finish stays crisp, with a nice feeling of freshness and balance and the whole package is a crowd-pleaser. It falls short of being great, but it is certainly a pleasant surprise.
2006 Domaine Michel Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet. This is a young beauty, showing off simultaneously luxuriant and crisp-tinged aromas on the nose—like hazelnut, pear, clean earth and ground nutmeg. It is dry and crisp in the mouth, but has a lovely textured and layered feel. There is fine delineation to the peach flesh, soft tropical fruit, fresh herb, tingly grapefruit and strong hazelnut and nutmeg powder flavors. It is medium-weighted and nicely-balanced, finishing clean, tight and focused. It seems to need food to show its best, and it could perhaps flesh out just a bit more, but I really enjoyed this quite a bit.
1995 Domaine Notre Dame des Pallieres Gigondas. My wife and I bought this at a co-op in Gigondas on our first trip together to France in October 1998—the trip that started my interest in wine, actually. The appearance is a muddy faded garnet color. The nose is soft and a touch balsamic at first, but after about an hour of air, it seems to find its footing—bringing in notes of cherry liqueur, warm spices, gooseberries, dry autumn leaves, and softly roasted red fruits. Running beneath this is an ever-present evergreen note, like the flesh of a fresh-stripped evergreen branch. The wine is fully resolved in the mouth. It has a good amount of tang to it, with acidity that is a touch sour. That is fairly well offset, though, by a nicely creamy texture that has a lot of grippy character to it. Also, I am surprised to find plenty of soft and generous red fruit still kicking here. Dried cherries and dark cranberry flavors with good length are the order of the day, but every once in a while the fruit takes on a bit of a roasted quality and at other times it shows some nutty rancio notes. It seems evident that this hardly a pristine bottle, but the wine does have a good deal of character to impart and was a fun return to my wine discovery roots.
2000 Domaine Brusset Gigondas Le Grand Montmirail. To me, this wine is really in the zone right now. It has a beautiful and enticing bouquet of leather, dry earth, dark berries, black cherry and some mysterious funk notes. Moreover, one can also sense an even deeper well of fruit and earth notes being held in reserve here. It is savory in the mouth, with flavors of grilled meat, black pepper, dark cherry and earthy spices. It has a dry feel to it, but is also full of beautiful dark fruit at its core. It has ideal structure and fine balance from start to finish and just seems to have such classic Provencal character all around. It finishes rich and luxuriant, with earthy spices lasting far into the night. It was a perfect match with grilled lamb chops.
2003 Chateau Fortia Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee du Baron. This was decanted for two hours before dinner. By the time we pour it, the nose is just popping with aromas of dark cranberries, aged leather, smoke and lavender. Darker earth notes come in fairly soon, followed by appealing fruit aromas of spiced raspberries, plums and persimmon and then accents of pumpkin spices and wet cedar shingles. This is wide open for business. In the mouth, it is equally giving, with a gently sweet but rambunctious entry of red fruit compote. There is a nice sappy feel to the texture through the mid-palate, which features luxuriant red berry fruit flavors and pinches of exotic spices. There is a hint of alcoholic warmth from time to time, but it doesn’t feel overly-detracting. Indeed, the overall feel is one of relaxation and comfort, as pillowy soft tannins and just enough acidity carry right through to a pretty finish. This was a great showing.
2004 Château Duhart-Milon Pauillac. Served from 375 ml bottle. After being decanted for about an hour and a half, the nose is still relatively compact, but with an interesting fleshy feel to the aromatics of red currants, dark cherries, luggage leather, and hints of fresh tobacco leaf. Really, though, it is just hinting at its future right now. In the mouth, it is fairly foursquare at this point—feeling neither too heavy nor particularly extracted. Like the nose, the texture has a certain fleshiness that is appealing, though there are some rough edges to contend with here. A reasonable level of tannin grows with time in the glass, but never overwhelms. I find myself wishing for a bit more drive or unique depth of character, but I think anything of that sort is buried at this point. Right now, it is certainly a serviceable dinner claret, but I sort of doubt this will ever be truly outstanding. Still, it ought to get more engaging with time in the cellar.
2005 Las Rocas de San Alejandro Garnacha Calatayud Vinas Viejas. I did not get to this until Day 3, after it had been opened and then refrigerated. The nose is dense and fleshy and wood-driven, almost like a barrel sample--featuring aromas of blue and purple fruit, violets, baking spices and tons of cedar planking. In the mouth, it is cool and very dark-fruited, with flavors of rich plum, black cherry, jammy blackberry, dark chocolate and black licorice taking turns at the fore. It is a big mouthful of dense, rich fruit, but it is not terribly flabby or anything. It just feels like a ton of raw material and stuffing that needs to find a focus. As it warms, it begins to crack up a bit, with the oak dust, tannin and alcohol beginning to poke out more. This probably needs a good sleep in the cellar to come together.
-Michael
