KELVIN’S BIRTHDAY DINNER - Park Palace, Grand Park Hotel (8/3/2013)
One year has flown by so quickly, and here we were celebrating Kelvin’s birthday again. BYO and blind as usual; the theme was rather open, but there were a good number of 1981 (Kelvin’s birth-year) and 1983 (Joyce’s birth-year) wines. Lots of good stuff, but in the end, it was the 1955 Corton that really blew me away.
BUBBLES
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1996 R. Dumont et Fils Champagne Blanc de Noirs Grand Millesime - France, Champagne
Yummy - this has developed very nicely indeed since a bottle that we shared two years back. It had a nice, fresh nose, full of bright lime and lemon zest scents, a sweet curl of apple concentrate, some grassy herbs, and a little yeasty, oxidative notes. Nicely complex and very pleasing. The palate showed more of those oxidative tones, with lots of browned apple flavours on the attack, but while clearly developed, it also had a bright, juicy feel to it, with the appley flavours taking on a more citrussy tone of fleshy lemons on the midpalate, before drifting into a nice tail of yeast and mineral and a little spice. A bit simpler on the palate than on the nose perhaps, but this was a bright, easy Champagne, extremely friendly and very good with food - there was absolutely nothing to dislike here. Drinking very nicely too, although I do not think it will hold for far longer. Drink up and enjoy while it lasts! (92 pts.)
WHITES
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2002 Louis Lequin Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Immensely disappointing for a Corton-Charlie from such a great vintage. There was nothing wrong with the wine to be fair. Unfortunately, it wasn’t much good either. It did have a nice nose, with cream and toast hovering around ripe melon scents and a little bit of tropical guava and passion fruit notes seasoend with flecks of spice. Very promising. The palate just fizzled out unfortunately. There was tons of spicy oak on the attack, almost overshadowing a fleshy, low acid show of tropical pineapples and ripe melons until the wine pulled away into a slightly nutty finish. It had a good, round depth to it, testament to the terroir, but it all came together a bit flabby and loose at the seams. This could well have been a middle-of-the-road Californian Chardonnay rather than a Corton-Charlemagne. Quite the shame. (88 pts.) -
2010 Marco De Bartoli Grillo Grappoli del Grillo - Italy, Sicily
I was quite taken by this. It is not the most complete of white wines, but it was both well-made and interesting. For some reason, the nose just screamed “Italian white”, with most of the table guessing the country correctly. It was super clay-ey and minerally and, with a good dose of salty, saline seashell aromas to go alongside, and than preserved citrus aromas of kumquats and lime zest. Lots going on here. The palate picked up those salty, saline notes from the get-go, with seashell tones on the attack folowed by lime and white fruit, then tropical manadrin orange and kumquat notes. There was a bit of alochol warmth that threw the wine’s poise off a bit, but that aside, it was decently balanced, with a good touch of acidity undergirding its fleshy midpalate, and then an almost tannic grip at the ginger and spice infused finish. Again, it was not the greatest wine, but I found it very exciting, with lots of character. Great with food too. (91 pts.)
A PAIR OF 1983 BORDEAUX
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1983 Château Branaire (Duluc-Ducru) - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
First of the reds, and this was a lovely start. An elegant, classy St Julien that was drinking beautifully. It had such a pretty nose, with perfumy flowers, dried rose petals, hawthorne flakes floating around redcurrants and dried cherries, all on a backdrop of cedar, leather and funky undergrowth. Wonderful stuff. The palate had mellowed into a lovely, soft, silky, integrated whole, with a layer of funky, slightly barnyardy notes peeking out amidst gentle red-fruited flavours of dried berries and cherries. It was distinctly middle-weight, but had a decent depth and a nice mouthfilling quality to it, especially as it drifting away into a wonderfully perfumed finish of tea-leaf and cedar wood. A lovely expression of St Julien, the entire table was very taken by this wine. (93 pts.) -
1983 Château L’Arrosée - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
This too was quite lovely. It did not quite have the charm and elegance of the 1983 Branaire-Ducru on the same flight, but there was quite a lot to like here as well. The nose was altogether riper, warmer, sweeter than on its left-bank neighbour, with ripe cassis and dark cherry aromas accompanied by lots of smoke and cigarette ash, and tocuhes of tobacco and bramble. The palate was still very alive, with a lovely spine of super fresh, juicy acidity running through sweet flavours of black cherries, cassis and plums, again with a trail of smoky spice stretching into the finish. Soft, melting, velvety tannins lent it all a wonderful plush mouthfeel. This to was drinking very well. It was altogether fresher, more lively, than the Branaire, but also somewhat less complex and interesting. Nevertheless, we all enjoyed this quite a bit. (92 pts.)
RED BURGUNDY
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2000 Domaine Jean Grivot Richebourg - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru
So much for 2000 being an early-drinking vintage. This was at least a decade away from being ready. It did have a knockout nose, with deep aromas of umami meat and lush earthy tones, which formed a base for wonderful soaring notes of red cherries and berries, and wafts of perfumy flowers, wood spice and peppery accents in the background. Unfortunately, the palate was still really tight even after half-a-day in an open bottle. It was super fresh and wonderfully structured, with a sculpted, muscular feel lent to it be clean acidity and fine, firm, slightly powdery tannins - very un-2000 with that lovely structure actually. All this undergirded powerful flavours of black cherries and berries. There was great depth and beautiful weight, all ringingly clear and pure, but it was also very monolithic and almost one-dimensional, at least until it moved into a long, beguiling finish, with little hints of black fruit peeking out from a forest of wood spice and dried earth. A lovely wine with great bones, but this needs lots of time yet. (92 pts.) -
1993 Maison Leroy Saint-Aubin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin
A solid wine - as often is the case with a Leroy bottling, this really overachieved for a St Aubin village. I really liked ths nose - a lot meaty and earthier than the Volnay that preceded it, this had a serious underlayer of herb, spice and undergrowth beneath lush aromas of fleshy red cherries and berries. Quite lovely in a very Leroy fashion. The palate was very strong too. It had lovely freshness for the vintage, with bright acidity and grippy tannins giving the wine a very focused feel. Dark cherries and red plums on the attack peeled away to reveal a meatier midpalate, all displaying great depth for a village wine. It finished nicely too - not exactly superb length, but with a good linger of spice. Really nice, if just lacking in a bit of complexity. It will continue to age well over the next few years though. (92 pts.) -
1981 Domaine Potinet-Ampeau Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
This must be one of the strongest 1981 red Burgundies I have ever had. We had the exact same bottle almost a year ago to the day, also as a birth-year wine celebrating K’s birthday. This was easily a step better than the last bottle though. It had a lovely nose, with bits of undergrowth, bramble and herb drifting through beautifully lush aromas of cherry and red berry, all crowned with a halo of lovely floral notes. Really beautiful. I was quite wowed by the palate as well. Still absolutely fresh and juicy and wonderfully clear, it may not have had astounding depth, but there was a lovely sense of complexity and grace to the wine, with silky tannins and great acidity lifting its delicious flavours of red cherries and berries laced with a linger of herb and spice at the finish. It was just a tad short and thinned out out even more with time, but when it lasted, this was really lovely. (92 pts.) -
1955 M. Doudet-Naudin Corton - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru
Wow. This took my breath away. Golden brown, almost amber in colour, we knew it was old, but all the guesses fell at least a decade off. This had a wonderful nose - honey, caramel, dried yellow fruit, little oxidative touches of browned apples, some earthy notes - complex, gentle and absolutely lovely. The palate was tremendous too, full of lovely matured tones of caramel and honey, preserved limes and lemons, sweet apples, all lovely mouthfilling flavours, with a distinct dried sultana hint. Yet it was also shockingly alive and vibrant, with a lovely fleshy Corton feel underpinned by wonderful juicy acidity. This was a complete package - profound complexity, grace and power even at over 50 years of age. With time in the glass, it opened up even more, showing layers of honey and orange blossom, with just a little nutty kiss at the finish. Absolutely wonderful stuff. This is one of those wines where you take a deep breath and thank God for the privilege of being able to taste something so good. (95 pts.)
THE LONE RANGER
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1981 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
This was a really great wine. The nose carried an obvious patina of age on it, smelling almost like a Burg, with unusually high-toned red fruited aromas - think dried cherries and wild berries - with lots of wild herb and garrigue, smoke and some meat, almost like a Mesquite BBQ. Lovely, complex stuff. I loved the palate too, with its savoury notes of bacon and smoked meat drifting over a glowing core of red-fruited cherries and berries and plums, all suffused with a wonderfully fresh acidity that gave the wine such a juicy and mouthwatering feel. This was really strong for a 1981, with a long, lingering finish to boot, drifting away with a curl of toasty BBQ smoke. This bottle was in greast shape and drinking perfectly - with its velvety tannins and completely resolved feel, it was a lovely, elegant expresion of CdP. (93 pts.)
SWEETS
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1983 Deinhard Winkeler Jesuitengarten Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Rheingau
A yummy, fully matured Spatlese, this offered a gently sweet, alluring nose of honey and vanilla, apples, peach and flowery accents. The palate was super fresh, dripping with lemony acidity that held the wine in a nice solid grip. There were plenty of bright Mosel-like flavours of green apples on the attack and midpalate, before the wine open up into a broader, more Rheingau finish, with a long, honeyed tail of dried apricots. Nothing out of this world in terms of depth and complexity, but this was nicely yummy wine. (92 pts.) -
1987 Marco De Bartoli Marsala Superiore - Italy, Sicily, Marsala Superiore
Delicious! There was such a complex nose to this wine, with lovely saline notes of seabreeze and salted caramel, sweet dried figs raisins, treacle, spice, and a nice earthy rancio character. Really quite lovely. The palate was brilliant too, with a complex weave of salted caramel, figs, raisins. 19% alchohol gave this quite a bit of weight, but it was so superbly balanced that there no burn on it - just fresh, juicy delicios flavours sliding away into a understated finish with slightly bittersweet lime zest notes. I really liked this. (94 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker