At dinner at friends’ flat in London on Monday – a terrific line-up.
2009 Kumea River - Hunting Hill - Chardonnay (New Zealand): A very nice wine. French oak predominates at the moment, but it’s well balanced so it can shoulder the wood. In an ideal world, I might like a little more acid, but it’s not flabby or flat at all. I found myself returning for repours of this repeatedly. With a few more years, I expect the oak will integrate and it will show even better. Sells for ~$45 stateside.
2011 Dom. Terrebrune – Bandol (Rouge): I’d just come from Bandol, so I was curious to try this when I spotted it on a shelf in London (£28 = $34.50). The 2009 Terrebrune is drinking nicely now, at the very beginning of its real drinking window. This 2011 isn’t quite there yet. It was pleasant when first poured, but didn’t offer much on the nose until it had had an hour in the decanter and some time in the glass. Well balanced, with a good backbone of tannin and acid. It really needs time, though, both to soften the tannins and allow for tertiary development. This has great promise. It went very well with seared duck breast and a potato gratin.
2007 Chateau Musar: Oh, my, is this lovely. Fresh, fairly red-fruited, it just caresses you. It’s as if the warm Bekaa sun suddenly shone through the drizzle in London. The tannins are quite soft and you can sense that it’s from a warm climate, but more in the texture than in the fruit profile, which seems like that of a cooler climate. It reminds me of an aged Vieux Telegraph at this point, with elegance and lightness alongside that warmth. I think it’s just entering its prime drinking window. And it’s absolutely clean. (Some Musars are well over my VA threshold.) WOTN by a long measure. An even better match for the duck.
2003 Paolo Bea – Sagrantino Passito: Like the Musar, this is a wine that I’d expected to be heavier than it is. In fact, it’s light and dances on your tongue. Lovely with the extraordinarily good Finn washed-rind cheese I’d picked up at Selfredge’s, with the assistance of an able cheesemonger who squeeshed a number of rounds before finding the mushiest and most a point. The Bea, purchased at the winery, was a treat.
The Kumeu HH '09 is just a fabulous white, 3 stars! I still have a few downstairs–tho the last one I opened, 6 months age IIRC seemed to be in a shut down stage or something.
Yes, David, the passito did not seem high alcohol at all. I forgot to check the ABV. It wasn’t terribly sweet either. The label said it could be drunk as an apertif, which makes perfect sense.
I know nothing about serious NZ whites, so this was a pleasant introduction. I’m not surprised that it ages well.
The other NZ white I like a lot (at least in some years) is Tinpot Hut. The '06 Sauvignon Blanc (drunk in '07) was exceptional, the '13 very good but not quite at the same level. Hard to find here, last I looked, but you might well see it in the UK.
Just opened another one (see my TN on CT), and glad to report that it’s baaaaaack! Just as good as ever. Don’t know if the “shut down” one was that or maybe a bad bottle. Anyway, interestingly, I don’t pick up any oak notes at all in this wine. Not sure why.
I have only had some vintages of the lower-tier Kumeu River Chardonnay, but I have a special place in my heart for this winery!
As to the Musar entering its prime drinking window, I would be surprised if that was the case. These wines seem to live forever (same with the Terrebrune)!
I think all Musars are constantly in their drinking window
But the '07 is quite primary still (or was late last year). The '00 and '01 are starting to pass that inflection point, where the primary fruit drops out, and tertiary character hasn’t really emerged yet. I had similar notes regarding beautiful red fruit. It did seem more developed than the '09.
My notes from December '16:
Still has some ripe fruit - slightly developed blackcurrant. Has more savory secondaries than the '09 red - sweet tobacco, savory baked apple, leather and brett.
On the palate, the oak sticks out just a bit - nutmeg and christmas spices. The finish is long, with red fruit: slight roasted ripe peach and ripe cherry, and some black fruit. Beautiful balancing acidity.
Seems comparable in weight to the '09, but more developed. Still pre-inflection.
