Fellow berserker was in town for his first brief visit back in many months. We drank expensively, but the wines showed merely OK - I think the heat and humidity did them no favors, even though we were drinking in an airconditioned restaurant (Marc Forgione, which treated us very well).
1995 Prager Riesling Smaragd Durnsteiner Hollerin - I thought this was a pleasant surprise. Well-integrated, doesn’t have that weird tropical nose / searing acid palate that some of the older Austrian Rieslings get. Some stone fruit, some hydrocarbon - speaks strongly of Riesling. Not too much stink here - clean, resolved, nice. This may have been my WOTN.
1995 Jadot Chambertin Clos de Beze - Very good. Darkish fruit (think somewhere b/w overripe bing cherry and plum), some truffle, lots of iron-tinged minerality, good length. Nice and aromatic. Tannins are a bit problematic - they’re very astringent. I think the tannins will outlive the fruit on this particular 1995, so I suspect it’s at peak right now.
2008 Vogue Chambolle Musigny 1er - Very feminine / red fruited / floral. Light. The acid is lower than other 2008s I’ve had and the wine is pretty seamless from start to finish. Tannin is there but powdery / ripe and should resolve. A bit too much oak here, but it is very classy / low char oak and just gives a bit more dulce de leche than I’d prefer. Has the potential to be a very good wine with time, but of course very young now and not really with GC concentration.
1975 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d’Abruzzo - Very good, probably my favorite red of the evening. Has some of that good-oxidation walnuttyness, but also has some dark, fresh fruit; the effect is very pleasing but the table wonders if this has been reconditioned. Soft, dark plum, ripe. Pillowy, even. Tannins resolved. This is a warm-climate red to be sure but it is an excellent example of it. Reminds me of aged Montelena.
1985 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d’Abruzzo - Cork was branded 2013, so this was either reconditioned or counterfeit. It was also massively flawed with acetaldehyde. Cider vinegar in a glass! Everyone dumped.
1983 Mouton-Rothschild - The table seem to really like this, but thought it was merely good and not at the level I would expect for a mature first growth. Lots of tannin left but the fruit has faded, and while this is pleasantly plummy / mushroomy, it doesn’t have any of the cedary, pencilly goodness that makes me usually love Pauillac so much. In other words, while tasty (and a good match for a rich, dry-aged hamburger), I found this to be simple and a touch out of balance. I’ve had other 1983 Pauillacs that I prefer.
1982 Reserve de la Comtesse - God knows what this flaw was, but the wine was undrinkable.
