Out with the Old and Try the New

Seeing the New Year in with some of the Chosen Clan, Gordy and Perfect Pia, and Jubes and Co. gave us all the chance to clean out the wine racks of a few old and generally treasured bottles, as well as trying and sharing a few new bottles.  There began a succession of wines from sparklers to whites and reds, finishing with the obligatory sweeter wine.  Of course some wines made each one of us take note, bringing back fond memories of former glories, fulfilling expectations – or not, as well as enthusing us with undiscovered delights.  I recount a small selection.

Two European Chardonnay wines were very different, both new labels to us.  A 2009 Laurent Tribut Chablis 1er ‘Cote de Lechet’ beautifully pure and delicate, with steel and minerals, developing greater almondy nutty overtones, the palate becoming weightier and smoother in flow as it warmed up.  Gordy loved this wine and I could see why.  This is classic Chablis drinking beautifully now, but it will hold. 

A polar opposite, a 2009 Les Cretes ‘Cuvee Bois’ Valle d’Aosta Chardonnay by the region’s doyen Contantino Charrere.  This was much more oaky, the fruit quite overwhelmed for most of us tasting and drinking it.  The seamless flow and elevated acidity were similarities to the Chablis, but not the oak.  Definitely stonefruits and citrus notes rather than flint, nuts and minerals.  The Italian wine showed its barrel work, lees and MLF in an obvious way.

Another newbie was the 2010 Azienda Agricola Cos Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico DOCG, a Sicilian natural wine, being a blend of 60% Nero d’Avola and 40% Frappato, aged in vats and amphora.  SWMBO and Gordy saw the dreaded brett, but I wasn’t as fazed by it as they were.  I saw bright cherry fruit with high acid and tannins.  Sleek and firm and actually quite delicious in a gamey way. 

Then onto the older wines from the cellars.  A 2008 Quest Farm Central Otago Pinot Noir, from Mark Mason’s special vineyard overlooking Lake Dunstan, a gift to Gordy and Perfect Pia.  Now maturing with savoury red fruits, broad, open and with sweetness of fruit.  The tannins now resolving, leaving the acidity in play.  Mellow and warming in personality, but to me just fading a little.  It was a good time to make room in the cellar for something else?

The last wine I’ve noted was a 2004 Craggy Range ‘Le Sol’ Gimblett Gravels Syrah.  A wine from Simon’s Chosen Cellar.  Dark and impenetrable, this could have been current vintage on appearance.  Amazing high toned black fruits and hardly any development.  Fine-grained, but serious extraction, and perfect acid.  SWMBO and I picked up a little TCA – quite forgivable in the context of the wine.  A good bottle would go another 10-15 years easily, but it was good to take this one out of the system too.