Endings

It was a time to reflect on the past, and think about endings. Such topics arise in all situations. After a function where we tasted the wines made by The Dice Man, it was appropriate to end the night with a meal, accompanied by some good drinks. So off we went to the local ethnic eatery, bottles in hand.

It was lovely to compare two German wines, Riesling Spatlesen no less. A 2007 Loosen Erdener Treppchen was pure and fine with exciting acidity, and that hint of exoticism that this site injects into its wines. Match to a heavier, denser, more compact, but bigger 2006 Donnhoff Oberhauser Brucke. To me the Loosen won out - partly the vintage as a factor. A red is mandatory, drier and textured for food purposes, of course! Here The Enduring One brought along a 2006 Clos Salomon Givry 1er Cru. Lightish, softening, and savoury, all in a nice way. But that was it. However, his 2004 Conterno-Fantino Barolo 'Vigna del Gris' was quite spectacular. Very ripe dark fruits, almost chocolate and liquorice, with tannins and acid to die for. Great finesse, in an obvious way.

The meal finished, and we really didn't want it to end, so we all headed off home. The Library Man and the Brazillette hadn't been our way before, so it was novel for them too. In honor of all the Burgundy lovers present, SWMBO thought it was good to bring out the twin=set from Domaine Bertagna. A rare 2007 Bertagna Vougeot Blanc 1er ' Les Cras'. Faintly reductive and tainted by TCA, but rather four-square without the deft and delicate nuance that makes real southern white burgundy special. But 'it is what it is' and was accepted. Slightly better received was the 2006 Bertagna Vougeot 1er 'Clos de la Perriere', quite modern, dark berry fruited and all good, but unexciting and without soul in the final analysis.

In honour of The Library Man, who has a liking for Ch. Montrose, we brought out a 1980 Ch. Montrose St Estephe. Darkish, almost ripe, clean from horses, a little green and acid, but actually enjoyable and a revelation for a poor vintage. The Library Man was enamoured. So the 1979 Ch. Montrose St Estephe was to be a step up for him. But no, he kept on liking the 1980. Everybody else preferred the 1979, bigger, denser, sweeter, livelier and with a future still. And no brettanomyces! The Enduring Man was taken.

This should have been the end, but we thought we'd better do it properly. So out came a 1986 Penfolds Grange. A great year. Still youthful, and very Aussie, but not sickly so. Instead, refined massiveness, and just the beginnings of secondary complexities. Softened tannins, but still substantial with grip. Most thought it a decade younger. The Brazillette had only tried one Grange before....

It all settled down to a quiet time with The Dice Man, SWMBO and me. The End, it had to be. So a nice wee half bottle of 2004 Ch. Suduiraut Sauternes. Liquified hokey-pokey, but with the Semillon lanolin undercurrent, and lush fine, clean mouthfeel. Decadent, yet pure. Technocrats would say too much VA. Too much oak. But no, it was perfect to sip. To the end.

Sharing and Caring

What a fun night with three blokies who are supported by three babes. Of course I'm backed by SWMBO. The New Man by The Eventress, and Brucie by the Bassinet Babe. A dinner for six saw a lovely collection of wines served with a yummy dinner, that The New Man put together.

Arrival saw our fave, an NV Veuve Clicquot Champers, soft and rich, but with good depth. A delicious slurpy-sippy start that got the conversation going. It's hard to beat a great bubbles for that. And that 'yellow' label ensures consistency and quality.

Served with fish entree were a 2008 Greenhough 'Hope' Riesling and 2004 Montana 'Terroir Series' Waiherere Chardonnay. Both worked well with the fish, the slight sweetness of the fish enhanced by the sugar in the Riesling. Nice hints of honey and toast too in it. A bit of a beauty. But a bit of a beast was the Chardy. Fat, rich, sweet and nutty with ripe tropical fruits, mealiness and coconutty oak. Yet not flabby or overblown in anyway, it was well poised. And it's freshness worked with the seafood.

Main course was a meaty casserole with new season asparagus, carrots, finely sliced Dauphinoise spuds. Classic winter/spring fare. Two rather excellent reds came out. A super, lush, smooth 2001 Craggy Range 'Sophia' Merlot/Cab. Tannins seemingly resolved, but with excellent structural and harmony. Aromatics to die for. Piece de resistance was the 1998 Te Mata 'Coleraine' Cab/Merlot. Dark, vibrant, classy Cabernet line and extract. Real ripeness with fresh acidity that is remarkable for such a hot, dry year. This was still youthful in essence and should keep another 10-20 years, based on this bottle. Fantastical stuff!

To finish the evening with the caramel and apple cake and was a rare 2006 Felton Road 'Block 1' Riesling. 9.5% alc, medium sweet, and very fine with it. You'd be a blockhead to not love it.

It was a night of sharing and caring all round, lubricated with nice wines. Another night was agreed for the agenda.

Clarity

The last few days have enabled clarity of thought and vision. Life circumstances all coming together allows this. And the wines have been all the better for it.

With the Planning Man and Mrs Well-Planned, we supped on a 2008 Vynfields Classic Riesling with a wide range of Asian dishes. What a beauty it is. Gorgeous and lush, with a perfect balance that did not allow it to err on the side over too sweet. And just a touch of toast and honey. It went with all the food!

Then a Majestic catch-up with the Little Aussie Battler. She's off to Austria soon, so no better wine to serve than Groo-Vee! A 2010 Forrest Doctors' Gruner Veltliner was chock full of exotic tropical fruits, laced with youthful bubble-gum esters. Off-dry, the sugar adding to its pleasure. Wait 'til this settles down. It's a cracker now and will continue to be. Then a 2006 Brundlmayer Ried Loiser Berg Gruner Veltliner from Kamptal, at 13.0% alc. Somewhat firm, steely and hard. Better with food and some air time. But I don't think it'll get better now. There's promise with GV in countries outside its home.

And then Kristal Kirsty and the Stromboli Import ambled in to our neighbourhood eatery. After a false start, we settled on a 2008 Villa Maria 'Fletcher' Riesling. This was a wow wine with sheer delicacy and finesse. Low alcohol - 10.5%, some rs, and the barest toastiness, all making a very delicate and crisply sumptuous aperitif. Then a classical 1982 Ch. Beaucaillou St Julien. I was a bit paranoid about brett and TCA, especially with our experiences of this vintage and this property. It seemed stinky and funky on opening. I condemned it. But again, with breathing, true clarity of character come through. This was very, very elegant, fresh and lush even for the normally austere style of the label. Sweetness and concentration, and time ahead - another 10-15 years easily. Funny how these oldies seem to have slower aging as they get older. I was a little hung up on 'resiny oak'. SWMBO probably still saw brett. KK and SI had no problem.

Ah, isn't this the joys of wine. It's so clear to me that we gotta share!

Vertical

The straight up-and-down approach is best. Honest and being open. We love PB - Push Biker - he's as straight as they come. Gritty anf fun with it. He knows how the make wine too, so it was a pleasure to spend an evening with him. SWMBO, the AC Electric Man, and AM Academic Man, all had a night ambling into our favourite neighbourhood eatery, then heading home for a vertical tasting.

Over dinner, we were presented with an Albert Mann Cremant d'Alsace. Fresher that what I remember it last and good for it. Not really complex, but hey, it's not Champers! Then hearty main courses accompanied by a 2006 Ch. Leoville Poyferre St Julien. Black, shiny, tight and silky, and refined with a complex intensity lurking below. Referring back to the recently tasted fleshy Lynch Bages and exotic Gruaud Larose 2006s, this had classiness.

So off home to a vertical of Ch. Montrose St Estephe. From the 'long-left cellar', we had two bottles without labels, damage from years of neglect. But my guess they were from 1976 and 1978. In between was the 1977, label intact. So out came the corks, breaking them all on extraction, they turned out to be 1975, 1977 and 1978. The 1975 seemed a bit stinky at first, as many of these oldies get, after being cooped up for such a long time. Then breathed off to reveal ripe, sweet fruit, meaty and gamy to be sure, but actually clean with secondary character rather than brett spoilage. It took us a while to make that conclusion. Not too tough and tannic, as this vintage can be. The next night a little musty, in the 'best' sense. But still soft and very together. Montrose in those days was a bit robust, and the experts then said it needed decades to come around. They were right.

1977 was a cool year, and sure enough, stalks, herbs and high acid. Nice texturally, if you ignored the acid sear. And some freshness of fruit. Quite remarkable in that sense. Some development, but really quite backward in expression. It went into the lamb shanks stock the next day. The 1978s are proving to be less and less attractive with time. Indian Summer saved the day, so they said. But we know that accelerated end-of-season heat just can't make up for a long poor growing season. Lean hard and dryish. But dark fruits showing. Sort of Jekel and Hyde for me. Hard to drink, so off went the remainder of the bottle into the lamb shanks stock too. I bought these wines in the early 1980s for under NZD $25.00. What a great buy, looking back nearly 30 years later.

To treat ourselves with some ripe fruit and sunshine, we opened up a 1998 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon. A great, great year as we easily saw. Wow, this was backward and tight. To me, Bin 707 is the essence of Australia using Cabernet Sauvignon. As opposed to the Wynns 'John Riddoch' Coonwarra Cabernet Sauvignon, which is the essence of Cabernet Sauvignon, using Australia. But this 707 was truly varietal, intense quality black fruits at the ripe, chocolate, licorice and mocha end of the spectrum. Hints of eucalypt. Very fine extraction, but massive with it. This will keep over two decades more. The quality was superb, just like in the 1998 RWT Shiraz we had earlier this year.

Then a little something to reminds us all that time in bottle can change an outlook. The 2001 Felton Road Riesling was pretty reductive on release. It will never be good was a call. But now, the sulpjides have integrated, keeping the fruit fresher than expected - no toast or kero. But this was a savoury Riesling now, not really racy and aromatically pure. Different, but now good.

At the end of the night I was still vertical. The others sloped off, one by one, to become horizontal. Being older, you learn how to keep going...

Sugar, Sugar; Honey, Honey

A vertical tasting of Ch. d'Yquem is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I've been the recipient of three now. All due to the generosity of the Appliance Couple. They've applied themselves to collecting this ultimate dessert wine, and they have a need to share the collected bottles with their friends when the appropriate big birthday comes along. I send them a Christmas card regularly, and I keep getting invited, so I'll keep up my end of the deal...

This was a thirty plus bottle affair, with most of the wines served at a serious, sit-down tasting. These went from 1946 to 2006. Afterwards, there were three vintages served at a designed dinner, all from big bottles. The extravagance! But no, they were shared among a lot of people, and the word generosity must be applied. Here's my run down on them, from old to young, in the logical and natural groupings they appeared to be, for me:

The Older Wines: 1946 - 1969
These were past their plateau, with the 'dark side' showing. That's burnt toffee and caramel, full blowsy palates, and lower acid profile. It should be said some of these look young and fresh, with many years to age, but they were a surprise. The 1946 was one of these, quite pale in colour and lively in the mouth. Then two dark coloured wines, brown, mahogany and tawny looking. The 1955 malty and rich, and quite lush, the 1958 a bit of a dense old beast with fortified-like character, including rancio. Our 1960 had TCA, pinching it, giving it some bitterness and grippy texture. The 1967 was a little beauty, all pristine in a medium weight style. Quite pretty indeed. Unfortunately the 1968 was flat and dull, one of the lesser wines of the whole tasting, but this was made up for by the 1969, a wine with excellent drive and length, needing some extra liveliness to be great.

Wines at Full Maturity: 1970 - 1983
The room of 30+ tasters all agreed this was the period they would drink Ch. d'Yquem. Who am I to disagree? They were all on their plateau, some doing better, others worse. It all depends on the vintage and the condition of the bottle. Our 1970 had everything there, but not quite the dimension to go to the top. But the 1971 did have it all, until the slightly drying finish. We are being picky here! 1975 and 1976 are the twins to compare. Most people like the size and power of the 1975, and this was starting to get to full maturity, with darker complexities. I love the 1976, more elegant, more acidity, more detail. And fresher. I think I'm right in this. 1978 has never quite been up there, lacking the noble rot required for greatness, but it looked harmonious here. 1979 has always been reasonably well-rated, but I've never seen it this way, and this bottle had TCA dulling it all down. I've always enjoyed the 1980 for its soft elegance and it was that today. Punching above its station was the 1982, ripe tropical, driven with real length. However 1983 has always been a star, and a star it was here, immensely concentrated, elegant and fresh still, multi-dimensional. A wow wine.

The Younger Wines: 1986 - 1999
Here the brashness and obvious nature of youth was displayed. You could, however, tell where these children were going to end up. As good adults, or not quite as good adults. 1986 seemed to make great wine everywhere classic wine was grown. But our bottle lacked a bit of lustre. It was a difficult year in 1987, and it shown on the sour nose, however redeemed by a nice, soft, attractive palate. 1988 is a cracker year, and this was locked down, waiting to blossom. When it does, it'll be one of the greats, as one can sense its quality. It was a pity about the 1989 being corked. I was in a 5.0 Litre bottle too. Normally a decadent wine, but here, dulled and dryish. I could still drink it - no trouble! Slight oxidation on the nose on the 1990 was more than made up for by the wonderfully layered and harmonious palate. That dreaded cork-taint also got the 1991. Medium weight, smaller, musty and flat. TCA also knocked the 1993, but the wine fought back with its richness. The problem with the 1994 was huge volatility on the nose. but a solid palate redeemed it into the pretty good category. The faintest mustiness on the nose on the 1996 did not prevent this being seen as a wine that will become a classic. Make sure your bottle is clean! Wow, the 1997 is a big, rich, statement wine. Served from a 5.0 Litre, it was coming along. It may age quicker than some around it. The 1998 will also mature relatively quickly, its softness making the integration happen. And likewise the 1999, a medium weighted goodie, with all the right things, but a little wallflower-shy.

The Recent Releases: 2001 - 2006
New wines, all easy to identify componentry, not unlike other sweet wines of the world. You can still detect the d'Yquen essential nature, but 'terroir' has yet to come. 2001 will be one of the greats. The perfect young d'Yquem. 2002 maybe a little ignoble? Some lolly notes, only OK. But 2004 is a sleek and beautiful wonder. Almost as good as the 2001. Ours came from magnums. I hope it gets there for sheer elegance. The 2005 clean, oily and unctuous, for the medium term, but nice with it. And finally a very smart 2006, absolutely clear-cut and oozing potential to be near the top echelon.

Its all easy to condense the notes and scores to a few flip words. But the occasion was a most special one. We all cheered and saluted the Appliance Couple. There have been better words written than this blog, and they'll come out in time. They'll do justice to the wines and the kind folk behind the tasting.

Incidentals

We had the big event. Tasting around three dozen vintages of Ch. d'Yquem. I'll do another blog on these soon, after I gather my thoughts. At the big dinner, there were lots of other wines. Some of these were great wines with immense pedigree. Yet in the context of the day and night, they were incidentals. However, they deserve respect and a report on how they showed - well at least to me. I only tasted about 15% of what was going around the dining room, on the other tables. Sort of in style order, and not how they were 'served', they follow:

A rather plain 2002 Schloss Vollrads Riesling Spatlese. Shy, muted, in the past noted for its VA, but I'm not good on that. However clean in other ways. Not that rich, really.

A series of Chardonnays. The 2005 Neudorf Moutere Chardonnay had lots going for it, quite complex, but in the context of the next two, rather up-front. The 2005 Drouhin Corton-Charlemagne beautifully fresh and fine. I can see why Corton-Charlemagne and Grand Cru Chablis can get mixed up. Then a 2002 Jadot Puligny-Montrachet 1er 'Folatieres'. I was going to be scared to look at this because of premature oxidation, but not here, this was complex, nutty, steely and with substance in a gritty-grunty style.

A couple of Pinot Noirs. Funny how these can look a bit light when in the company of monsters. For Pinot and burgundy to shine here, they need to be truly ethereal, or big enough to take the clarets and Rhones on their own level. The 2002 Senard Corton 'Clos du Rois' was pretty and clear, without the herby-fungal base these wines can be made around. Modern stuff indeed. The 2001 Quartz Reef 'Bendigo' Pinot Noir was not outshone by the previous wine, still shy, tight and with legs to go, as this label usually has.

Rhoney things looked good in this dinner context. A 2007 Domaine la Boussiere Gigondas full of juicy Grenache fruit - brilliant! Not quite so endearing was the 1996 Rostaing Cote-Rotie 'Landonne', somewhat herb and vege tinged, to a still youthful, structured palate. Not pretty, but serious. The 1990 Wynns 'Michael' Coonawarra Shiraz was a wow. A great year. This was still fresh, minty-fruity with pepper, black berried fruit and spices on a supple palate. Yum yum.

But tonight it was claret night. A host of clarets that I only got to try a few of. Two 2006s were pretty smart. The 2006 Ch. Lynch-Bages Pauillac was full, broad, open, but packed with powerful cassis juiciness. The 2006 Ch. Gruaud-Larose St Julien was more aromatic, and lush. Slight bretty notes lurking, but not detracting at this stage. The other Mr Parker would love this. However, jam-packed with Mr Brett was the 1990 Ch. Batailley Pauillac. For this label, it was well-built - probably the best I've seen made under this label. But the brett.... As was the 1986 Ch. Montrose St Estephe, still vibrant and dark. Powerhouse in its day no doubt, and still there. But alas chocka full of brett. Drying too. Thus, this was well overstructured. And a 1982 Ch. La Lagune Haut-Medoc. Very aged, savouriness and complexity. Also plagued by brettanomyces. The tertiary characters and brett melding together. Still some sweetness, but also sourness. At time of release, the other Mr Parker loved it...

At the end of the night, there appeared some 1950 Calem 'Quinta da Foz' Single Quinta Port. Tawny and quite clear and light. Very elegant. Truly tawny in style with drying finesse through the palate and rancio kick-in on the finish.

All these would have been great on their own. And they were fabulous to taste - and drink. But on this day and night, they were unfortunately incidentals.

Casual Catch Up

Big Weekend. Preamble. Staying with old school friend and his family of girls. Noisy and fun.
Off to the pasta and pizza joint.

A trio of casual wines to set the scene - because we were to have some special wines later. But more on this in a later blog. Sometimes it's great not to think too hard about the wines you are drinking, and you get very pleasantly surprised, as was the case here.

A 2007 Mount Edward Central Otago Riesling. SWMBO loves this, and with reason. This was clean, fresh and delicately refreshing, but with enough body to handle the food situation. Nice wine that will live for some time. If you gave it some thought, it was shy, though.

A 2008 Single Paddock Central Otago Pinot Noir stole the scene. Delightfully vibrant, juicy, simple and gulpable. Made for a supermarket chain. But at that moment, it was all you needed. With air-time, its true colours came out. It was obviously (then) picked too early and green. It got a bit meaner and harder to drink.

Finally a 1996 Saltram Classic Barossa Shiraz. Great year in the Barossa. Great winemaking team too. Thoroughly integrated and a soft, smoothy. But with air time, the animal came out. Brett was rife in the past. It made for tasty, flavoursome, gamey-tasting wines that were deemed European in style. Hah! We know better now.

Eating and drinking in a fun environment made them all good. So there!