A local restaurant we’ve been frequenting for years recently got a liquor license and it seemed the BYO option was pretty much off the table. Still, Bill arranged for us to have an off-line there and six of us accepted his invitation to join him last week. As the date approached, we received instructions to the effect of “meet Bill with your wines in the back alley—he’ll be in an unmarked Ford station wagon.” So on the night of the tasting, we each arrived and handed off our booty to a shady figure shrouded in falling snow and made our way inside. Eventually, somehow, the contraband found its way to the table, and I’m glad it did, as this was a really good mix of wines!
The white wines:
1996 Francis Cotat Sancerre Les Monts Damnes. The first white wine of the night has a really pretty, yet vibrant bouquet of musk melon, orange blossom, dried pineapple, gooseberry and flower greens. In the mouth, it has a surprisingly felty texture and a bit more weight overall than I expected—which actually gives it a sense of some distinction. There is a pretty fruit profile of yellow apple, white peach and fresh herbs that flows easily across the palate before some tingly acidity cuts in to lend a zippier feel to it all. This is in a really good place right now for current drinking and it was my clear white WOTN.
1995 Trimbach Riesling Cuvee Frederic Emile. This golden-colored wine features a nose of assorted petroleum products, nectarine pit, lemon peel and a bit of lanolin. It starts out with a sort of sweet versus sour thing that never really abates as it progresses through the mouth. There are some puckering citrus notes like grapefruit and lemon pulp on the entry. It then morphs into something entirely different through the fanned-out middle--with more of a sugary peach feel—before picking up the intensity and acidic drive on the sharper but rather lengthy finish. So, there is a lot going on as it fights its way across the palate—but the whole thing never really feels integrated or holistic to me. I think this is a bit awkward right now and needs a few years to pull it all together.
2001 Chateau Lynch Bages Bordeaux Blanc. This is a deep yellow color, with some gold tints. It features aromas of beeswax, flower greens, wet wood and funky wooliness. Eventually, it brings in a strong caramelized note and makes one think of some faint oxidization. In the mouth, it has medium body, an easy-going texture and a fair dose of acidity--but also rather crisp, perhaps under-ripe or faintly oxidized fruit. Overall, the wine is a bit boring, with nothing too much really happening except for perhaps on the finish, which turns brighter and more full-blown. This is either a slightly off bottle or perhaps just over the hill already.
1991 M. Chapoutier Hermitage Blanc Chante-Alouette. Dark gold in color, this wine smells of oily, slightly rancio-tinged hazelnuts, tin foil, white pepper, honeysuckle and marzipan. Others seemed to like this bouquet but I was fairly indifferent to it. On the palate, it is crisp, crackly and tinny, while also seeming brawny, ungiving and tough-skinned. It is kind of an ugly duckling and I have no idea whether it ever was or ever will be swan material.
The red wines:
2006 Valli Pinot Noir Bannockburn Vineyard Central Otago. Some sweet, brambly boysenberry and raspberry fruit aromas are framed by leafy, dusty earth and stem notes that grow with time and air. In the mouth, this is not an overtly fruity wine, instead leaning toward the herbal, crisp side of the spectrum. There is a feeling of restraint to the cranberry fruit, with earth, green tea leaves and stemmy notes playing a big role. It just doesn’t connect with me, especially when compared to the outstanding run of wines below.
2002 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny. The nose of this outstanding wine is funkily fuzzy, velvety and layered. It features mysterious forest sous bois and mossy aromas smoldering beneath crushed raspberries, clove, tar and sexy sweet incense smells. It is multi-dimensional, textured and deeply inviting, despite the wine’s relative youth. In the mouth, it keeps the hits coming. It is seamless and again feels beautifully-textured and layered. Rich, pure, precocious red berry fruit displays plenty of soft baby fat. There is a great grip here and a beautiful sappy flow that persistently coats the palate with all that goodness. I love the fleshiness but this also has a nice vibrant streak running below all of that--making it feel complete even at this stage of its evolution.
2006 Giacomo Conterno Barbera d’Alba Cascina Francia. I vigorously decanted this (more than once) about 5 hours before dinner and I believe that really helped to unlock a lot of the outstanding elements this began showing by the time the group tasted it. The youthful bouquet is pure and cashmere-smooth—with ripe plums, sweet dark cherries, road tar, limestone and truffle aromas in abundance. It has a wonderful overall mouthfeel—at once rich but also airy and effortless. It is lush--with spicy but refined cherry and mixed berry fruit leading the way, accented by notes of spice box, tar and truffle oil sneaking in here and there. There are no hard edges anywhere (much different from the first hour or two after opening). The acidity is soft and rounded and supports a lifted, lasting sensibility. It dissipates on the back of the tongue and leaves a very pleasing airy perfume in the mouth—with a sort of butterscotch note providing the cherry on the top of the sundae. Yes, this is young, but with enough time in decanter, it can drink beautifully right now. I’m sure holding it is a safe bet, too.
1998 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage. I really love the nose of this wine. It offers up fine aromas of sweet earth, incense, forest greens, spice box, caramel, tar oil, tomato leaf and a general sweaty funk for good measure. In the mouth, it is rather cool-fruited, with a shot of sweet berry compote underneath. The acidity is quite tart and can lend a bit of a sour note that detracts a bit. The tannins, too, are a bit distracting—coming across as somewhat sticky and drying. Still, the wine displays a lot of personality—it just seems to need some more time to let the palate integration catch up with the aromatic finery. Try again in 3-4 years.
1994 Alain Voge Cornas Cuvee Vieilles Vignes. I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but this wine, too, has a fantastic bouquet that I could just smell all night. It features all kinds of aromas like tapenade, raw meat, cooled bacon grease, black pepper, horse hide, leather, spicy jerky and funky earth. Oh yeah, and a bit of black cherry fruit, too! In the mouth, this is a bit leathery-feeling and finely tannic, but with a bright streak of acidity running right through it. It manages to feel both aged and fresh at the same time, with tons of gusto and plenty of rustic goodness. The meaty, matte texture is distinctive and carries along all the earthy flavors with a sense of a balance and easy flow. It was close between this and the Chambolle for my WOTN.
1999 Pierre Usseglio Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Beautiful aromas of steeped cherries, persimmon, leather, limestone, orange peel, earth, tea leaves and crunchy caramel combine to make up the outstanding bouquet of this wine. Once it is in the mouth, one continues to sense a very distinct inner mouth perfume of tangy red berries and soft incense. The fruit feels fairly youthful and combines with notes of tar in a fairly large-boned package that feels immediate and pressing on the palate. There are fine-grained tannins all the way through and a strong sense of balancing acidity. However, there is just a hint of heat and some bitter wood notes on the slightly rough finish that need resolution. It is pretty darned good stuff, otherwise, and should be a real stunner with just a bit more time in the cellar.
1995 Château de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The nose on this wine is rather tight and perhaps suffered somewhat from being opened a bit late in the game. Still, it shows some nice signs of leather and black raspberry fruit aromas, but there seems to be more that is hiding behind the veil at this time. It is cool and deep in the mouth, with crunchy tannins and a burst of dark plum and blackberry fruit. There are some leathery and earthy notes to both the texture and the flavor profile. There is a bit of alcoholic warmth poking out toward the finish, which is also rather dry and a bit reined in. Overall, I didn’t think it competed with the best of the wines on the table this night.
The sweet wines:
1994 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Riesling Urziger Wurzgarten Auslese ****. This wine has an exotic but refined aromatic profile featuring notes of wet stones, diesel fuel, citrus skin and apricot pit. On the palate, it is entirely mouth-filling—with a seamless texture, tons of yellow fruit flavor and excellent balance throughout. The sweetness is very nice, without seeming at all sugary or raisined. The finish is actually fairly dry--with more of an apple and citrus profile--but the whole thing just feels right and good. This is all pleasure.
1996 Domaine Bourillon Dorleans Vouvray La Coulee d’Or Tris de Nobles Grains. The nose here is of burnished copper, tangerine, waxy lemon peel, Lady Grey tea, mango and caramel strands. In the mouth, it is grippy but with no sense of being over-weight or heavy-handed. It is a bit sugary-sweet at times, but has a nice crisp edge that keeps it generally clean. Tangy burnt citrus peel, apple and light caramel flavors are nice but perhaps a bit aloof at times. The finish seems just a bit cloying, but comes clean in the end with a late acid squirt. On day 2, this was actually more friendly all-around and drank very well with some sliced Braeburn apples.
1995 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume. This wine has got it all going on—with a bouquet of mango, kiwi, pineapple and yellow chuckle candies that evolves to include notes of quince, white peaches and some earthier elements. It is intriguing and enticing and shows off a lot of unique personality. It is delightfully viscous and thick-bodied in the mouth, with a good dose of sweetness. It really pumps out the rich flavors of light caramel, yellow tree fruits, yellow raisins, and fresh figs. It is not sugary-sweet but shows off a lot of ripe, sweet fruit. It has great persistence, full body and a finish that just keeps going and going. I found this to be pretty captivating.
1998 Alois Kracher Grand Cuvee #10 Trockenbeerenauslese Nouvelle Vague. This one is amber-brown in color and pours from the bottle almost like maple syrup. It treats the nasal cavity to aromas of pure caramel, yellow and black raisins, maple candy, dates and brown sugar. It is thick, pure and beautiful. In the mouth, it is all about yellow raisins, dates, honey and figs. It is thick, rich, viscous and crazy-dense with fruit. It has massive body and flows like honey—totally coating the tongue in luscious sweet fruit. It has an amazingly long finish. This is totally hedonistic stuff and a fantastic way to finish a delightful dinner.
-Michael
