WBer Mark Thompson was in town this past weekend and we had a rather spontaneous and delicious dinner.
There was something of a disconnect between the nose and the mouth of the 2008 Donnhoff Dellchen GG. The nose was stern and lean, lime and grapefruit, hinting at a tightly coiled pleasure to follow in the mouth. But it was not to be. The mouth lacked the electric tactile sense that I was expecting, and in fact was fairly flabby. Not a bad drink, mind you, but I have enjoyed lots of Donnhoff of all stripes over the years, and this was certainly the least dazzling. Strange, as I have held this bottle since release.
Another friend brought the Kosta Brown RRV pinot noir 2014. Served blind (like all the reds), it was clearly Cali pinot. Nice rasberry and spice, more developed than I would have expected (not in a bad way). I’ve never had one before, and guessed Williams Selyem with 10-15 years of age.
Next up was another producer I’ve enjoyed many times (though never this vintage): Sociando Mallet 1990. Not a hint of green, this was all cassis. Great rather brooding nose, and very long finish. Many years to go. Best S-M normale I’ve had. Had I not known, I would have guessed a classified Pauillac. A clear WOTN ordinarily, but, as we shall see, there were some tough comps.
The 1982 Magdelaine (courtesy of Mark) was truly special. I don’t have much experience with the property, but the nose was all potpourri in the way a mature rioja can be. Tomato, celery, mint. Struck me as very slowly slipping into middle age at 38. The antithesis of so much of St. E these days. Perfect spot in its drinking window IMHO – the vibrancy of a young wine and the complexity of an old wine. Delicious. My co-WOTN.
Mark also stumped us with the 1983 Vieux Chateau Certan. My other WOTN. This is astonishingly young. While clearly bdx, in spite of the sexy chocolate and truffle elements, the wine had a tremendous tannic backbone that led me more to cab sauv and the left bank than the right. I couldn’t get over the grip this 37-year-old merlot from an “OK” vintage still possessed.
Somewhere in the mix too were two modestly flawed bottles: 1990 Avignonesi “50&50” and 1995 Pibarnon bandol. I have enjoyed the 50/50 (merlot/sangiovese) over the years, but this version was slightly cooked. I am a bandol fan, but this version seemed perhaps over the hill in a way that rendered it nondescript. (OTOH, the 95 Pradeaux was delicious not so long ago.) Finally, a 375 of 1986 Lafaurie-Peyraguey sauternes to close it out. Nice up front apricot but a tad tired on the finish.
Kudos to Mark on the very generous pulls.
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