Memorable wines from the first half of the year

Now that we have reached the midpoint of the year, I thought it would be fun for all of us to remember (and brag) a bit. So far, some of my favorites have been:

1995 Winston Churchill Champagne
1996 Krug
1999 Raveneau Chablis Buttroux
1966 la Mission Haut Brion
1982 Cos D’Estournal
2001 Latour
2001 Lafite
2002 Truchot Gevrey Chambertin Combottes
1998 and 1999 Rossignol-Trapet Chambertin
1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002 Chandon de Briailles Corton Bressandes
1970 Marey-Monge Romanee St. Vivant
1996 D’Angerville Volnay Premier Cru
1998 Lafarge Volnay Clos de la Chateau de Ducs
1988 Chateau Rayas
1978 Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill
1986 Phelps Insignia





And, bargains of the 1st half of the year have included

2008 Selbach Saar Spatlese
2008 Domaine du Vissoux Moulin-a-Vent Les Trois Roches

A nice bunch of wines indeed. Brag all you want though; if Ray Tuppatsch enters this thread it’s over and he just might.

My list begins and ends with the 1990 Pichon Baron (followed closely behind by the 1990 La Mission Haut Brion).

I have to assume that Ray and several dozen others have had more impressive wines over the last 6 months than I have had. I am always interested in seeing what others have tried and liked. Helps me know what to be on the look-out for. I hope others will post some of their favorites. Many of the wines I have enjoyed have been provided by friends and not from my cellar, although others have been from my cellar.

Howard,

To each their own. I’ve always found just listing wines without providing notes rather pointless when one isn’t into bragging rights. I’ve gotten into heated arguments over posting caustic replies on “What’cha drinking” type threads on the other board in the past, so I figured I’d use this tack for a change.

Howard, I am intrigued with your inclusion of the '78 Volcanic Hill Cabernet Sauvignon from Diamond Creek. What were your impressions when you tasted this wine?

I remember asking the proprietor at Draper & Esquin in San Francisco about this wine’s long term prospects, just shortly after it was released by the winery. He responded that the wine had little history of aging, and, if I was looking for a wine to age, I should consider a Classed Growth Bordeaux (roughly the same price point at the time).

Hank

I have a lone bottle and was looking to open fairly soon - thanks for the note.

For me, Argyle’s 1999 Extended Tirage: Gorgeous array of flavors, ranging from dried and fresh white tone fruit, acacia and orange blossom, flinty minerality and creamy zest. Interestingly, the 1999 came across milder and more subdued than the 1996, which seemed to have more robust, even eccentric fruit structure…imho.

Howard, What’s this, no Rieslings on your list?
How was that '70 Marey-Monge?

Perhaps it’s just sub-conscious cellar envy on my part , but I find it interesting to hear what Board friends & acquaintances have really liked recently. The end of the year (or half-year) is a good time to reflect. This prompted me to go back and look through what I’ve enjoyed this year. These stood out:

1990 Groth Cab (non-reserve) - my first 20+ year old cab, ripe fruit still present, exceeded expectations
1991 Nalle Zin - still with some fresh red fruits, tasted blind, not even close to guessing this
1995 Serafin Les Cazetiers - nearing maturity, great aromatics
2001 Maume Mazis - still young but approachable with decant, spicy Gevrey fruit, solid structure
2002 Schramsberg BdN Brut - really quite pretty and elegant
2004 Truchot Sentiers - great aromatics, funky but pretty red fruits
2004 Fevre Clos - loaded with acid, minerals and extract, wow (2nd of 2 bottles, 1st was prem-ox’d)
2005 Vatan Sancerre - lot of power without sacrificing minerality, 1st try for this producer
2007 Andre Perret St. Joseph Les Grisieres - great find, like a mini-Cote Rotie, loaded with savory and fruit

Frank Corneliseen NV Contadino 6
2001 Haart Piesporter Goldtropfchen Spatlese (so far WOTY)
2001 JJ Prum Graacher Himmelreich Spatlese

“I’ve always found just listing wines without providing notes rather pointless”

Mike, does this mean just jotting a number, sans description, after the listed wine will suffice? (just joking)

wow, I knew you liked it but…I do too (in fact, opened a bottle from my cellar just after you posted your note and loved it) - but I figure you must drink lots of impressive stuff.

Steve, I have had some excellent rieslings and I probably drink more riesling than anything else, but none really stuck out to me the way the 2007 Shafer-Frolich Spatlese Gold Capsule or the 2007 Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese did last year.

Maybe the second half of the year.

The Marey-Monge was quite nice. I love drinking older Burgs when they are still alive and this one was excellent. 70 is not a great vintage and so the wine did not have the power of the 98 Rossignol-Trapet Chambertin that we had at the same dinner but the MM had a certain complexity that only comes with age.

Lyle,

I have a couple bottles of each of the Haart and the Prum. Would you drink them now or wait?

well, I’m not lyle but I’ll answer - neither needs to be consumed now but I think the Haart is as delicious as it’s ever going to get - and note - this is Reinhold Haart (Weist import), not the Haart that Terry imports (of course, I don’t know which you own).

The 2001s I own are from Reinhold Haart. I got the Haart wines from John Gilman a few years back when he still was doing wine brokering. I like Reinhold Haart’s wines quite a bit.

Hank,

The Diamond Creek tasted mature, not just preserved. It tasted distinctly like a California Cabernet and not like a Bordeaux. It had beautiful fruit, a long finish and terrific balance. It will still be good in 10 years if not more.

Over the past year or so, I have been fortunate to have tasted a number of California Cabernet from the 70s and 80s that really taste beautiful. They are a pleasure to drink and I only feel bad when drinking them because I think only a handful of today’s Cabernet will provide as much pleasure in 20-40 years as these wines do.

I have already posted formal notes on most of these already, but here are the most memorable wines of the first half:

2004 Agharta
2001 B. Mascarello Barolo
2004 Pax Cuvee Moriah
1970 Leoville Poyferre - no leathery Bordeaux age but a lot of sharp tart cherry fruit - less apparent age to me than the 1974 Haut Brion and the 1975 Latour we had with it.
1983 Gould Campbell Port - a Roy Hersh recommendation.
2000 Pavie - not because it was good, but memorable because it wasn’t, despite my preference for modern styles. It suffered from premature aging. I thought it was at least an early 1990s Bordeaux, if not earlier. Some thought a 1980s California Cab.
2007 Aubert Reuling and 2007 Aubert Lauren
2007 Saxum JBV
The two La Las that Ben served at his house - you’ll have to get details from him.
The 12 Liter of Taittinger NV that Leo brought to BF 2.5 - the bottle is in Jorge’s avatar with his daughter.
1979 Mondavi Cab from DM that we had to raise money for Anna’s Wish at Lugeresque.
2006 Saxum Booker.

This year I cut back on my drinking a lot due to some intense physical training.

I’ve got one more Spatlese and a 6-pack of Auslese. The Auslese I won’t dip into for five more years. That last Spatlese maybe 2-3 more years as I don’t see it getting any better, just older.