Invited Christian, Oliver and Remo over for dinner. For those interested in successful food/wine combinations, honey-glazed duck à l’orange works extremely well with Nebbiolo, especially traditional, but then I have always felt new oak to be a problem in this regard. (Of course, virtually anything will go well with Henri Bonneau, albeit the more so as his wines mature.)
Swapped from a Gustav Mahler phase of several weeks to a phase of listening to lots of Anton Bruckner. Whatever else you do in life, make sure to have heard Hans Rosbaud’s 1957 recording of the 7th at least once in your life. Obviously I would have many more recommendations, but then I seem to forget sometimes that this is a wine board. ;^)
Elio Grasso Barolo Ginestra "Vigna Casa Maté" 1997
Thanks to Oliver. Not a wine of extraordinary size, concentration or structure, but a very well-balanced 1997 that is not at all over the top, nor showing signs of going downhill anytime soon. Must admit the number of successful Piedmontese Nebbiolos has always seemed rather limited to me, even if the greatest wines of the vintage are truly memorable. In hindsight, one wishes there had been more wines like this, though, too. Healthy ruby-black colour, verging on orange at the rim. Smoky tobacco and a hint of tar (not oak, this is a fuder-aged Barolo), and intriguing star anise to quite complex, softly peppery, orangey fruit, lightly rustic but flavourful black tea tannin (tannic yet low-acid, as all better 1997s), quite long on the finish. All in all typical Monforte Barolo, as Oliver noted, nicely harmonious and less overpowering than some. Drink or hold. Rating: 93(-?)
Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Marie Beurrier 2003
L. 11.08 Youthfully deep ruby-black, watery rim. Deep fruit, nice graphite-tinged pebbly minerality, big and finely grained tannin, nice length. No 2003 bitterness whatsoever (noting this only because people who tasted this from barrel told me it used to be rather bitter). Baffling insofar as it tastes more like a Charvin (albeit with a density and depth of fruit that the 2003 Charvin does not have) – a Marie Beurrier that appears to have worn the prolonged fuder aging with exceptional ease. No funkiness, just barely evolved fruit purity. No wonder this was Christian’s and Remo’s wine of the night, if also because we all found the Chave, unquestionably the wine with the greatest potential, way too young to drink. Remo even finds this the finest Marie Beurrier he has ever had. With airing, it became more luscious and opulent, as well as longer, with the alcohol more noticeable (never in a problematic way). Maybe a high content in polyphenols has kept this from oxidizing (more)? Other, no less concentrated Bonneaus have always tended to at least show superficial tertiary spice and finesse (as well as sweat, leather etc.) notes wrapped around a core of equal at this same early stage, in the case of many RdCs despite yet greater density. There appears to be no bottling of Réserve des Célestins in this vintage, so it is tempting to speculate what exactly went into the final blend of the Marie Beurrier, but note I will not say this tastes more like RdC than MB – it does not. The grape material for the two bottlings usually comes from different vineyards (= MB is no “second wine” as some people believe), but since its overall character really reminds me neither bottling to me, I would not be surprised to learn some La Crau lots went into the blend of 2003 MB. Albeit a unusually primary, seemingly less ancient-styled bottle of Henri Bonneau, it seems to hold (possibly important) upwards potential (and yet, may always remain unique in the context of Bonneau bottlings). The bottom line is, we all like it a great deal (even if Oliver once again noted he does not care too much for wines of this size – needless to emphasize, he said the same about the Chave). Christian went so far as to proclaim this may be the bottle that has “finally” turned him into a Châteauneuf-du-Pape lover! Rating: 93(+?)
Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 2003
Bottle #06390. I had suspected this would be shut down, and it is, but on this level of concentration, wine can have a lot to give all the same (in other words, had this not been a split cost bottle, and having had it before, I would never have agreed to pull the cork). Needs decanting, as there is already a tiny amount of fine sediment that may otherwise float around and spoil the tasting experience (in my experience, muting freshness, fruit and finesse, sometimes adding bitterness). Opaque purple-ruby, fractionally lighter at the rim. Awesome Provençal herbs, bacon fat, roasted beef, incredible density of fruit, huge body, no doubt high alcohol, but so well integrated, an extremely well-balanced wine, albeit on an otherworldly, hyper-concentrated level. The intensity of the lavender and iron (metal/mineral) core is unbelievable, as is the amount of extremely finely-grained tannin, although that hardly showed in comparison to the following day. Very long and harmonious on the finish. Oliver thought this too big to have with food right now (I agree), possibly too big for his taste (I do not think it will be in the long run). By far the wine of the night in terms of potential, as was obvious to all, if drinking less well at present than either the sufficiently mature 1997 Casa Maté or less the overwhelming 2003 Marie Beurrier. 12 hours later, the 2003 Chave’s fruit was jammier since now completely shut down (if sweet like syrup), the extremely high tannin content led to a tiny, refreshing bitterness, amazingly, the high alcohol still did not stick out, but felt more warming. What I liked was some deep tobacco and violet to the unerring core of lavender. 24 hours after the cork was pulled, the wine had recovered a bit, showing oily spiced black olive to the bacon fat now, great balance of sweetness and tannin, freshness and delineation, even raciness despite what appears to be a virtual absence of acidity (that is, other than the tannin), and a near-endless finish. Cannot help thinking this must be what some 1961s tasted like in their youth. Make sure to build an electric fence around remaining bottles! Rating: 97++/100
Château Suduiraut Sauternes 1989
During a winery visit in October 2005, when we saw some boxes being prepared for shipment at the winery, our friend Gustavo was quick to realize the wine might still be available, and aroused my curiosity when he mentioned he feels it is "on the level of a good Yquem" (in hindsight, maybe he was thinking of the Cuvée Madame?). Then again, one of Gustavo’s favourite sayings is "Curiosity killed the cat!" ;^) I am glad I ended up buying only one bottle (whoever believes in Bordeaux discount prices at cellar door, well...). Amber-golden colour, deep for such a young Sauternes, if less so than the 1990’s. Botrytis house dust, superficially fat and glyceric with not too much behind it: a light yet relatively high-alcohol (apparently close to 15%) wine of mediocre concentration given the heavily botrytised vintage. Some dried mushroom, stale bee’s wax and butter, orange peel and a touch of rancio (drying orangey/appley surface oxidation) to Tarte Tatin/caramelized apple. Goodly amount of acidity for a 1989, which may taste a bit sharp only in combination with the alcoholic heat and oxidative tannic dryness. Bit short on the finish. Not a favourite with anyone that night, I drank the remainder of the bottle out of the fridge over the course of several days (there is still some left now), during which the “fruit” came together as in a lightly stale but nicely orangey-passion-fruity sunflower oil, while the combination of acidity and alcoholic heat is giving this a mean spikiness, as well as an overall austere character that is starting to remind of some leaner (if more medicinal) Sauternes from the seventies. Seem to prefer the (more evolved?) 1990, but neither is too convincing. If I owned any more of it, I would take a gamble and cellar this for another decade – who knows, it may still pay off. 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