Last night, a band of some wine lovers formed a welcoming party to the Barossa for fellow board member Kent Comley. He had driven a long way and had a thirst you could photograph.
We snuck in a couple of cheeky white Burg options before wedging in a very good Champagne. The 2013 Bouchard Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru was ripe and exotic with tons of fruit, some spicy oak and good structure buried under all of the flesh. Kent thought it had a slight nuttiness to the finish. The wines of Henri Germain are some of the very best of Burgundy in my less than humble opinion and their 2011 Meursault-Charmes 1er Cru was drinking really well. It has some almond butter and citrus blossom on the nose. In the mouth it is full and round and feels quite complete. The finish is chewy and strewn with minerals. The 2002 Vilmart Champagne Coeur de Cuvee is right in the zone. It is yeasty and complex with precise fruit aromas and flavours. It is rich and creamy with crunchy green apple snap to the finish.
I didn’t even know Gabriel Corcol made Bonnes Mares but his ’67 is pretty good. I didn’t even know Gabriel Corcol if the truth be known. It was deeply coloured like a ’67 Jean Gros Richebourg we had a couple of weeks ago (what was going on in ’67?). It had balsamic lift to the nose and was meaty with some forest floor development. There was still a vinous core of fruit. A 2008 Mugneret-Gibourg Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru was stunning. So pretty and perfumed yet possessing latent power. It had an almost Vosne-like spicy perfume and cherry and berry fruits showed such clarity. Oak sat back and let the fruit shine bright and it had great cut to the finish. A 2009 Pedro Balda Rioja was bright, dense and concentrated. It had some vitamin B notes that blew off to reveal a wine crammed with juicy blood plum fruit overlaying a bed of scorched earth. A 1981 Conde de Valdemar Rioja Reserva was in smoking form. It had some spice and cured meat notes along with bright red berry fruit. There was plenty of earthy complexity and it was beautifully proportioned and balanced with so much life.
With an apple tart a 1924 Chateau Guiteronde, Grand Cru Barsac was remarkable. It was relatively fresh in colour and smelled of the most intense marmalade. It still had a bit of honey sweetness and some white mushroom savoury nuance. The finish had minerals and dried citrus fruits. Delicious stuff.
It was getting a bit late and Kent let it slip that he had never tasted a Tremblay wine. I opened a 2011 Cecile Tremblay Vosne-Romanee Les Rouges du Dessus to rectify the situation. It was stunning. As good an ’11 as I have had. So pure, fine and lacy with an ethereal nose of Chinese 5 spice powder, crisp cherries, raspberries and violets. The palate was vinous silk. Flavours were all so highly perfumed and you felt all of the wines sensual qualities with perfect clarity.
Kent made no mention of not having had a Leclerc Griotte but I opened the 2000 Rene Leclerc Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru anyway. It was as bretty as all f*ck so we left the majority of the bottle and went to bed. I think it was god’s way of telling us it was time to call it a night.