1986 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese- Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer #09-88, 7.5% abv. This is an absolutely classical bottle of Prüm. There’s a touch of that stinky funk at first, which blows off with air. What follows is a very lovely riesling with stone and petrol, with sweetness that is just in balance with the acidity, although the acidity seems to get more prominent with air. As well, there’s a beautiful touch of smoke that emerges as well. (93 pts.)
1990 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
It’s a sad reminder of an age gone by, when white Burgundy could be aged like this (I had a bit of a soliloquy about how modern white Burgundy will likely not age like this). A little bit of cream on the palate, as well as tons of fleshy fruit. Very rich and full-bodied, but then with air, this does seem to feel a little bit flabby, with a touch of caramel at the back end. (93 pts.)
2004 Domaine Truchot-Martin Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Clos Sorbes Vieilles Vignes- France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis 1er Cru
As far as the claims that Truchot escaped the 2004 green meanies, I can only say, nope. Sure, the green isn’t too obtrusive, but it’s there, and with more air, this just gets worse and worse. But in the time between the reduction blowing off, and the greenness getting more and more prominent, there’s a lovely perfumed, light, and airy red-fruited wine. (88 pts.)
1995 Domaine Bertheau (Pierre et François) Bonnes Mares- France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
A bit dirty and reductive at first, but it does blow off with air. Given the reputation of Bertheau being a lighter, red-fruited producer, I was a little surprised about how ornery and black-fruited this was. Very heavy and dense, with some heavier tannins, and quite a bit of acidity here. I think this still needs some time to resolve. (90 pts.)
2007 Domaine Dujac Bonnes Mares- France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
As I joked, it’s funny that I was the one bringing the most heavily oaked wine to the dinner. But that’s not really to say this is a heavily oaked wine at all. At first, this showed very, very reticently, but a double-decant and plenty of air in the glass helped solve that problem. This shows a little bit of stems, as well as some really nice spice notes. This seems like it has more black fruit than I’d expect from a 2007 too. A bit heavier than the Clos St. Denis or Clos de la Roche – give this more time. (93 pts.)
1978 Antoniolo Gattinara Bonarda del Piemonte- Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara
As far as nebbiolo goes, I was really surprised about this wine. There’s some serious tertiary flavours here, with some dried figs and dates on the palate. The nose shows a little touch of volatility, but not very much given its age. I’m not totally sure if this was made in a traditional dry wine style, since it showed a little bit of raisin as well. (88 pts.)
1941 Château Sisqueille Rivesaltes- France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Rivesaltes
A very interesting wine, to be sure. This is very madeira-like, but the oxidation is a lot less prominent than a madeira. There’s a lot of dried fruit flavours here – dates, figs, and some candied orange peel as well. Not too heavy or sweet, and framed with some very nice acidity. A touch of burnt sugar on the back end as well. (93 pts.)
1998 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel Auction- Germany, Nahe #21-99, 8% abv. From half-bottle. When poured, this had a worrying brown colour. And yes, it seemed a little bit advanced. Very heavy botrytis as well as a really heavy dose of super sweet stone fruit. Basically a bottle of Beerenauslese Jr. Nowhere as good as the bottle I had a few months ago. Although this bottle doesn’t seem to be in the best shape, it’s still a pretty tasty bottle of riesling. (90 pts.)
Thanks for the nice notes. I don’t think Truchot’s sorting process is that strict so there is no reason why the domaine could have escaped the 04 taint. For my palate, the wines from Morey St Denis are badly affected but the Truchot wines don’t show strong green. Perhaps they don’t press hard as the color is definitely lighter than the Dujac and Ponsot.
About 25 years ago, I had the 66 Antoniolo Gattinara which was mindbogglingly good.
Adrian, great to see you and wine and dine with you. Nice (and fast!) notes–an spot on. The acid in the whites was most interesting to me. The Prum initially was balanced and bright on the nose, but lacked acidity in the mouth. As you note, with air the palate became more balanced and vibrant. The Pernot was beautifully balanced and still structured (and I mentioned had the roundness I associate with Folatieres), but with more air lost the acidity and was flabby at the end.
The Truchot was green and, as all greenie meanies are prone to do, got more pronounced with air. The nose was quite reduced for me at first; it did open up–the highlight of this wine was the Truchot finesse/delicacy in the mouth, still enjoyable even though green.
Both the Bonnes Mares need time. I expected more from the Bertheau–a bit funky and the reputation of the vintage was supported by this bottle. More firm structure than fruit. The Dujac was a baby–still tight at first despite the 5 hours of air, and got better and better the longer in the glass. Undoubtedly a great wine, but needs another decade or so to be in it’s prime. Pat’s Gattinara was a fun drink–definitely needed food–seemed past it’s prime on it’s own, but had new life with the gnocchi. And a strong finish with the Riversaltes and Donnhoff. Fun to consider the happenings of France and in the world in '41, and the wine was good–a nice wine for the fall. The Donnhoff was a little advanced, but great flavors and was to end the evening.
I found the pyrazine in 2004 Truchot to vary from bottle to bottle and from vineyard to vineyard.
Detest the MSD VV in 2004 - poured the wine out - massively affected by Pyrazine.
Sentier had no sign of pyrazine and was great
Sorbes has shown variation - from great to just ok.
On Blanchards, I wrote some time back: “The green-ness from '04 was not apparent upon initially opening this wine, but became more noticeable over time. More structured and younger than I would have thought. Great aromas, but disappointing mid-palate. Pronounced acidity. I think it will improve with time.”