A LONG SUNDAY LUNCH AT NOBLE ROT - Wellington, NZ
Maciej Zimny was last year’s New Zealand Sommelier of the Year. He has since started his own restaurant and wine bar - Noble Rot in Wellington - which is an ideal spot for a long Sunday lunch.
A lunch notionally in honour of Andrew’s and my birthdays. Attendees brought pairs of wines to be served blind …
Champagne to start
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2000 Pol Roger Champagne Blanc de Blancs - France, Champagne
A spicy, precise, citric and mineral bouquet. In the mouth, green apple crisp with lemons, slatey minerals, nectarines and a touch of honey. Underpinned by racy, driven acidity. A lovely, refreshing and focussed Champagne that Mike identified as being in the Pol house style. The acidity put me in mind of a 1996 although there wasn’t the development you’d expect from a 20 year old wine. I’m a big Pol fan but have found their 2002 Blanc de Blancs a bit up and down. The 2000 here was excellent.
Two whites
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2012 Domaine Pascal Cotat (Pascal & Francis) Sancerre Les Monts Damnés - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
A somewhat muted bouquet of pears, citrus, minerals and dried and fresh herbs. The bouquet gave the impression of more richness and ripeness than in evidence on the palate. I did not find the wine very expressive on palate - I could not even place it as a Sancerre or even as a Sauvignon Blanc - with stony mineral, citrus and white orchard fruit notes. Searingly dry, with pronounced acidity, I wasn’t sure what to make of the Cotat. -
2011 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Les Poruzots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Beside the Pascal, lovely, expressive aromatics, with florals, white and yellow orchard fruit and some chalky minerals. On palate, the slightly honeyed, creamy character put me in mind of a Raveneau, as did a mid palate streak of minerals. The lush, ripe fruit and exotic fruit touches showed the wine was not a Chablis. A long, dry finish. This very good 1er will cellar. The more 2011 white Burgs I taste, the more impressed I am by the vintage for whites …
Rauno’s 2010 white Burgs
Like Nick and I did last weekend, with this pairing (again served blind) Rauno was trying to get a handle on how top 2010 white Burgs are currently performing and what their longevity may be. Despite pretty deep golden colours (as was the case last weekend for our 2010s), the wines were both drinking beautifully and show every sign of being long term propositions (premox aside).
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2010 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru
Decanted three hours earlier. A pure, clean, breezy, citric nose, with blanched almonds, pears and meadow flowers. On palate, beautifully poised and focused. Very precise. Fresh with gorgeous, racy, lemony acidity. A classic, understated Chevalier. The balance and tightness of the wine makes you miss the structure and depth here. I’d want to cellar the Bouchard for another three or four years, minimum. Excellent. -
2010 Domaine Jacques Carillon Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Decanted three hours earlier. The deeper golden colour, with green tints, Rauno noted. Beside the more subdued Bouchard, the Carrillon was anything but … An expressive and rich bouquet of honey, lemon and cherry blossoms. A beautiful, perfumed Grand Cru white Burgundy nose. In the mouth, huge power, depth and energy. Viscous and luscious. A character wine and, to me, by far the better of the pair. The huge fruit volume hides the serious structure. Layered, detailed notes of blanched almonds, honey, wet limestone, mandarin, toasty oak etc etc. A superb Bienvenues-Bâtard.
My de Vogüés
Only Nick and I knew the identity of my two wines and we were the only ones to prefer the Musigny over the Bonnes Mares. Perhaps the label caused us to give the adolescent, slightly gangly Musigny more of the benefit of the doubt …?
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2007 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru
Darker, deeper colour than the Bonnes Mares. A beautiful but subdued, musky, spicy, dark fruited nose, with a top note of violets. Elegant with a little iron austerity, next to the more expressive Bonnes Mares. Pristine, pure, tight and young on palate. Full bodied and dark berried with that iron austerity at its core. Lovely acidity and good persistence and length. Unctuous and rich. I thought that the wine was, at present, a little monolithic. Tasters described the oak as a little “resiny” or “varnishy”, while I thought it only a little over-prominent, yet to more fully integrate. People guessed the wine as a 2002, this is no skinny 2007. I thought it had all of the components and outstanding potential to be a great wine (hold for 5-7+ more years). -
2007 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
A more translucent colour than the Musigny. A more approachable, attractive bouquet but sturdier, earthier with smoke and a Bonnes Mares feral, ‘blood and fur’ element. In the mouth, plenty of volume and structure. More red fruited than the Musigny and detailed, with that Bonnes Mares funky, earthy complexity and smokey barbequed game meats. Good acidity and well balanced. A top Bonnes Mares that I would expect to improve with another 5+ years in the cellar but be at its peak far before the Musigny.
Mike’s red Burgs
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2006 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
It was a coincidence that Mike brought the '06 Bonnes Mares but this wine did have a touch of wild Bonnes Mares marker, with mixed dried spices, musk and dark berry perfume. On palate, there was lovely, sparkling acidity that made me think first of 2008, then of 2006. This is a more elegant, restrained Bonnes Mares, showing less oak than the de Vogüé (which I preferred). Clean, crystalline, largely red berried fruit, very 2006. -
1996 Jean-Jacques Confuron Romanée St. Vivant - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru
A spicier, more generous, lovely floral bouquet. On palate, there was more volume and fruit weight. Silky smooth and very fine. The tannins spherical and fine grained. Detailed, spicy red berries with an iron core. Lovely acidity, nicely in balance and proportion. I would never have guessed that this wine was a 1996. Superb!
Traditional v modern Barolo
This was styled as a traditional v modern (or vice versa) pairing but it came across as more of a modernist v very modernist comparison. Both wines, particularly the Cavallotto, were improved by the eye fillet but, after the reveals, I decided that this was a pairing where the vintage character, and the tannic nature of the two wines made assessment, and comparison, very difficult.
Thierry emailed me after the tasting saying “lots of structure on the Cavalotto and being that generous fruit I found some significant and at this point drying tannins. Elevage on the Altare was prominent I found and gave an extra element of sweetness to the already rich fruit. I did not find the wines shut down but more in need of resolution; there’s lot of fruit to burn in these.”
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2006 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Vignolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Deep, darkly coloured. A nose of blackberry, dark cherry and other dark fruit, tar, spices and earth. Very dense and tannic. Ripe, rich, dark fruit. Drying tannins and prominent acids on the long finish. It needs more time, at least five years. -
2006 Elio Altare Barolo Vigna Bricco Cerretta - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Again impenetrable dark colour. Dark fruits, tar and spices on the bouquet but this time even more prominent vanillin oak. On palate, again a large volume of dark fruit, but this time with a sweeter seeming edge. Ripe fruit, perhaps flirting with overripe? Fine grained but serious tannins. Huge structure. Very Serralunga. Creosote, spicy vanilla, black liquorice, iron and, one taster said, a hint of Aussie Shiraz eucalypt. This Barolo needs 10+ years in the cellar.
Nick’s Gajas
Served blind everyone recognised the Gaja signature with most people picking the Sorì San Lorenzo as the Barbaresco wine. Tasters generally preferred the more accessible Sorì San Lorenzo. They underestimated the age of the two Gajas, picking 2001 to 2005 as the vintage. These wines do need serious cellar time …
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1995 Gaja Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Decanted four hours before tasting. Slightly lighter colour than the Sperss. A beautiful bouquet of cigar, smoke, dark earth, tar and dark fruit, with a floral top note. On palate, complex flavours of tartufi neri, earth, spices, graphite, espresso and tar. More accessible and appealing on the day than the Sperss. The main difference was the acid profile, I loved the prominent acids here (tasting the wine blind Thierry observed that it had “Barbaresco high tone and acidity”). The acids gave more energy and drive to the wine. My WoTD and one of my WoTY. Ideally, I’d still give it another four or five years in the cellar. -
1995 Gaja Barolo Sperss - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Decanted four hours before tasting. Also an attractive bouquet, showing less tar, but more dark earth, with spices and rose florals. A less evolved seeming bouquet. On palate, clearly a wine in need of significantly more time (give it 10+ years). Quite compressed, voluminous, seriously structured. Iron, balsamico, blackberries, cassis and new leather. Racy acidity still prominent. Of the recent older Sperss I’ve had - 1990, 1996, 1991, 1995 and 1993 - I’d put it fourth, in that order. I still liked it very much and perhaps my ordering reflects some bottle variation and reinforces the cellar time the wines do need …
1995 Bordeaux
It was serendipitous that our Bordeaux wine providers, in search of an accessible Bordeaux vintage, also brought 1995s …
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1995 Château Cos d’Estournel - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Darker colour. A fresh, primary nose of black cherry, dark soil, graphite, cedar and black plums. Fairly tight on palate. Sleek and taut. I wasn’t surprised to hear it was a Cos but was by the vintage, thinking the wine was from the early 2000s. A classy wine, quite classical and a little austere at its core. I’d give the wine five or six more years in the cellar. -
1995 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Lighter colour than the Cos. A more attractive, expressive bouquet of spices, blackberries, plums and tobacco leaf. On palate, I much preferred the more approachable Montrose to the Cos. It showed more initial fruit sweetness, and more resolved tannins. It was also more red fruited than the Cos, showing dry underbrush, cigar box and leather saddle flavours. Very enjoyable. Drinking well now.
To finish …
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2005 Château Rieussec - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
An attractive nose of pineapple, citrus, baking spices and lemon pie with clotted cream. Very clean and pure on palate. I was thinking the wine was a Climens and did not pick up any Rieussec signature. Someone thought it a bit cloying and lacking in acid but I didn’t agree, thinking the wine in balance and the acidity adequate. Rich and ripe with apricot, smoke, honey and toffee. Very good but of course no hurry needed here.
Posted from CellarTracker
. Agree that the 2011s look excellent for those who like energy and acid. The Bouchard Chevalier was just lovely (though too young) and I’m actively looking to not overlook this version of Chevalier in the future. Another reason was the excellent DIAM cork it came with, giving me more confidence those wines will last.