New Year's Eve wines

Went over to a friend’s for dinner on New Year’s eve. Had a 2009 Piesporter Godtropchen Kabinett (I think it was Kabinett, might have been Spatlese) from Rheinhold Haart. Really spectacular wine. Really bright and full of flavor. Is there any wine producer in Germany making better wine today than Haart?

Then we had a HAG 2008 Meursault Charmes (Faiveley). Also an excellent wine. Kind of creamy, but a bit younger than the 2006 we had Thursday night. I would drink the 2006 now and save the 2008 for a couple of years.

Next came a 1974 Sterling Cabernet. This was the second time I had this in the last few years and it is just fabulous. Beautiful flavors, beautiful balance. Anyone making alcoholic monsters today in California should be required to try this wine.

Finally, we had a Spottswood 1994. Tasted pretty young next to the Sterling and can use more time. This seemed to be a pretty well balanced wine also. My guess is that it will evolve something like the Sterling, although I am not sure it will ever be as good.

Happy new year to everyone!!!

Happy New Years Howard

Harold,
Looks like a nice group of wine. I love Reinhold Haart. I’ve had their Piesporter Godtropchens 2009 and 2010, both kabinett and spatlese and they’re just great. I’ve found some older stuff from them, and it’s great too.

I was gonna start a thread and ask people what they had on New Year’s Eve, but since you’ve already thrown yours out, here’s the wines I had on New Year’s. Lots of fun. I’d love to read what others tasted if anyone would like to post.

2006 J.L. Vergnon Champagne Confidence Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru
Aromas of apple, hazelnut and some waxy, somewhat oxidized aromas. The palate is zingy with lots of slate, lime, green apple and mineral-driven intensity. This is a bold and unabashed Champagne, but it has a lot of complexity. A lot of people loved this wine, and I think it has a long and increasingly complex life ahead of it.

N.V. Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Brut sainte-Anne This was one of the few non-vintage wines of the tasting, but it was really impressive. The aromas were very perfumed, showing orange rind, hazelnut and baked apple. The palate is bone dry, with searing acid and tangy minerals. The flavors of seashell and limestone are pure and vibrant. I love this style of Champagne, and this is a really solid bottle.

2002 Eric Rodez Champagne Grand Cru Brut
What a beautiful Champagne. Kevin, Val, Alexis and pretty much everyone loved this wine. Pretty golden color. Aromas of yellow apple, honey, biscuit and sea shell. The palate is rich and intense, but the chalk and minerals keep it balanced. It’s very bold, but complex and subtle as well. Amazing.

N.V. Eric Rodez Champagne Cuvée des Grand Vintages Grand Cru
Floral nose, apricot, sweet orange rind. On the palate, I get a lot of apricot, orange sorbet. This one could’ve used a bit more acid to keep it balanced.

2008 Albert Mann Crémant d’Alsace
We had this back at my house after the tasting. White peach on the nose, lemon and some sea salt. The palate is really zingy, with lots of minerals, brine, lemons and white peach. Always a good wine for the price, but this is definitely a wine to serve with oysters or shellfish.

2005 Henri Maillart Champagne Extra brut 1er cru Les francs de pied
This Champagne was golden colored in the glass. The aromas showed apricot, honey and caramel. The palate is rich with apple, honey, but also balanced by minerals and tight acid. Wonderful finish. This is very intense right now, and I’m sure it would benefit from a long time in the cellar.

1999 Salon Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs
Tim brought this wine, and it showed very well. The nose is just incredible, full of intense lemon, lemon cream pie, honey, sherry and intense minerals. The palate is creamy and mouthfilling, with delicious honey and apricot flavors, matched with intense saline, mineral and lemon rind flavors. I love the cocounut and yellow apple flavors as well. Long finish. This is still a very young wine, and I’m sure it will develop for many years. Still, it was a great wine to have on New Year’s Eve. Thanks, Tim!

N.V. Schramsberg Vineyards Mirabelle Brut Rose
I brought this wine, and it turned out to be the only U.S. sparkling wine. It was really popular for its freshness and ripe fruit. It’s a gorgeous copper color in the glass. The nose shows lovely strawberry, white cherry and seashell. The palate has medium acid, lively and juicy white cherry, red apple and strawberry. Fruity, but fresh as well. I was surprised by the complexity of this wine as it had some air.

N.V. Giesler & Cie Champagne Extra Superior Cuvee Demi-Sec
Someone brought this back from Champagne with them. Beautiful golden color. The nose shows smoke, almonds and roasted chestnut. Over time, it opened up to show more caramel apple and apricot. The palate is smooth and creamy, with hazelnut, apricot and almond paste. There’s obviously some sugar, but the acid balances it out. This was a big hit with a lot of people. Any palate would appreciate this wine.

2007 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru
I last tasted this wine in April of 2010, and I like it even better now. It had been opened for several hours, which probably helped it aromatically. The color is a beautiful cranberry-auburn. The aromas on this wine are just jawdropping. The nose showes gorgeous soft cherries, rose petals, loam and some toast. The palate has silky tannins and some hedonistic cherry fruit, but it’s balanced by lovely acid. What a delicious wine with a long life ahead of it. This was the wine of the night for several people.

2009 Gerard & Pierre Morin Sancerre Rouge Bellechaume
I really like this pinot. It’s got a lot of red plum, licorice and cranberry on the nose. The palate is fresh and juicy, with lots of sour cherry, cranberry and hints of tobacco. This was a nice way to finish off the evening.

2004 Trentadue Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Cuvée 32 Alexander Valley
This was actually the first wine of the night, and I opened it while we were eating dinner at Medium Rare. The wine paired really well with the rich steak and fries. Dark purple color in the glass. The nose shows a lot of creamy red fruit, some oak, and cassis. Time has softened the tannins, and the cassis and plum fruit is really plush and lovely. Oak accents, but doesn’t overwhelm. Kevin and Alexis really liked it.

When I first started drinking fine wine around 1990 our local retailer purchased a huge drop of 74 Sterling Reserve and 74 Mondavi cabernet. We went through a ton of them and then did a wine dinner for a local charity featuring the Sterling. The winery donated some 84 Diamond Mountain Ranch Chardonnay and the whole thing went fantastic. THose were great wines for sure.

I had a problem with domestic chard on NYE. Started with an '06 Kistler Kistler but it was oxidized. Then an '06 Littorai Tributary but it was corked. Then an '08 Rochioli Rachael’s did the trick, although it was overshadowed somewhat by an '05 Paul Pernot Puligny Pucelles (and an '05 Pernot Folatieres from 12/30 was equally as good - god bless '05 Pernot). Then my luck improved with an '06 Littorai Thrieriot pinot followed by an '05 Maybach Materium and a spectacular '06 Muller Catoir Beerenauslese.

Happy 2012!

Enjoyed a quiet night at home. My wife cooked green chile enchiladas, which were awesome, and also were oddly a nice pairing with both of these wines:

  • 2004 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut - France, Champagne (1/1/2012)
    Very pale yellow with lovely tight small beads; nose of sweet honey buns and citrus; more citrus on the palate, like orange peel or lemon zest; bright and crisp and silky smooth, but with lots of energy; turns to brioche, then a chalky finish; this goes on forever. Spectacular effort that is drinking wonderfully now. Couldn’t keep our hands off it, so no idea what it will be like with age. (94 pts.)


  • 2008 Ridge Geyserville - USA, California, Sonoma County (1/1/2012)
    Dark crimson in the glass; nose of bright cherries, licorice and a touch of forest - like cedar and eucalyptus; on the palate, more red fruit and horehound candy notes; very tannic, even with a 2+ hour decant. Delicious now, but clearly has decades of life left. Yes, decades with an “s.” (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Busting out the Cristal, nice! I haven’t had the 2004, but it sounds amazing.

I also had a wonderful 2008 Geyserville on New Year’s eve, but alas, my Roederer was from upstate CA.

I’d love to try some old(er) California cabs. From memory, we had for starter champagnes1999 Bollinger and 1996 Gosset-Brabant (and a rose and nv that I can’t recall); 1998 Leroy bourgogne blanc; rousannes - 2003 Alban, 2005 Copain (corked), 2007 Donkey & Goat; 2001 Alban Grenache; cabs - 2000 Pride Reserve, 1997 Lokoya, 1996 Phelps Insignia; 1998 Dehlinger pinot; at least one syrah (Miller); and more champagne for the NYE toast.

nothing wrong with that!

Yeah, we had a very brief discussion about what exactly we were saving a bottle of Cristal for. Lasted about as long as it takes to remove the orange bag! [snort.gif]

Your party sounds awesome; however, I’m going to give Tim crap for baby-killing that Salon!