WTN - Recent Tastes

• 1999 Patrick Lesec Cornas Le Vignon - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (11/23/2008)
  Hazy notes from a tasting last night. This wine continues to lose its wild, savage side, which is a shame in my books - I liked it better with its old youthful, rustic swagger. Still a nice wine, with lots of blood and leather on the nose and palate. Very perfumed nose - quite striking. Pretty smooth on the palate now, with few tannins. (B+/A-)
• 2000 Domaine du Père Pape Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau de ma Mère - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/23/2008)
  Notes from the second night. Medium ruby in colour, with some bricking around the edge. Light but nice nose of leather, game, garrigue and cherry fruit. Medium-bodied on the palate, with increasing acidity on the second night. Earthy, leathery cherry flavours dominate. Better on the first night, when the palate wasn't as drying with the acidity and tannin, but still a nice aged CDP that should probably be popped soon. (B+)
• 1997 Domaine du Closel Savennières Cuvée Spéciale - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières (11/19/2008)
  Deep gold in colour. Great nose, mainly of funky minerals, with a hint of pear, orange peel and nutmeg. Some oxidation as well. Beautiful on the palate, with rich, funky, complex aged chenin flavours (reflecting the nose) with a slighly oily texture buttressed by smoky flavours and healthy acidty. Nice long finish too, and just a hint of oxidation. I just love an aged savennieres: it's my favourite wine. This wine doesn't disappoint. Outstanding. (A-/A)
• 2002 Paul Blanck Gewürztraminer Mambourg - France, Alsace, Sigolsheim, Alsace Grand Cru AOC (11/16/2008)
  Last bottle drank last night. Now turning almost copper in colour, this still has classic gewurtz notes of lychee and rose petals on the nose. The palate isn't quite as obvious, perhaps, but it's a great wine, fairly rich and finishing off-dry but still nicely balanced. Long finish, and there's more complexity in the palate now. Not quite as powerful as it used to be, but still quite a vigourous wine, although it might start declining fairly soon. I'd drink up over the next year or two. Wonderful served as an aparitif last night, and went well with a couple of dishes (fennel salad and crabcakes). (A-)
• 2000 Domaine de Ferrand Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (11/11/2008)
  Notes from the second night. Deep brick in colour, with a lovely nose of cherries, rose petals, and garrigue. Very earthy on the medium to full bodied palate, with sweet cherry grenache notes at the forefront, and leather, garrigue, orange peel and nice ripe acidity on the long finish. Developing secondary flavours now, and should last another 5-8 years. Very nice traditional CNP. (A-)

[David M. Bueker]

Nice set of wines.

Older Closel has disappointed on a regular basis as of late (just ask Salil about his 1993), so your note is heartening in its uniqueness.

Blanck does some wonderful things with Gewurztraminer. Their Furstentum VV is one of my favorites, and it's reasonably priced.

Yes, opening an older savenierres is always nerve-wracking, as oxidation can be a real problem. Some of them seem to go into nasty hibernation as well, and who knows when or if they'll ever wake up...

Agree about the quality of Blanck's wines, especially the Furstentum VV Gerwautztraminer - I usually buy it every vintage. May give it a miss in 2006, though, as I've heard it wasn't a strong vintage at all in Alsace. I bought 4 different Blanck wines at a sale here (2001 and 2002) , and all of them (2 rieslings and 2 gewurtz from 2 different grand cru) have been outstanding.