DESMOND’S BIRTHDAY DINNER 2014 - Park Palace, Grand Park Hotel (17/1/2014)
Desmond’s birthday rolled around again, this time the group gathered at Park Palace. Wines blind as usual, with quite a few 1976 birth-year wines popping up.
CHAMPERS
-
2004 Gaston Chiquet Champagne Spécial Club 1er Cru - France, Champagne
60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot, disgorged February 2012. Second time round and this was just as pleasing as I found it to be a few months ago, if not even more so. There was a ring of smoky peat and rustic earthiness on the nose on first pour which blew off to show fresh aromas of green apples and lemons, with a little bit of sweet cream and then notes of green herbs and some floral accents, all lined with a lovely touch of minerality. The palate was very easy, but not in a facile or simple way. Here, creamy mousse and fresh, but brilliantly integrated acidity wove their way through very pleasant flavours of green apples and sweet, juicy lemons. There was certainly some depth on the wine, but it was very gently borne, with a lovely clean precision to it all and a midpalate nicely traced by a line of minerality. It had a nice, gentle finish, with a quiet unassuming length as it glided away with a touch of spice and more of those florals picked up on the nose. This was a very pretty Champagne indeed, and really approachable in its youth too. (93 pts.) -
1996 Francoise Bedel Champagne Cuvée Robert Winer Brut - France, Champagne, Vallée de la Marne, Champagne
Quite good, but not a style I really like. This was a completely different animal to the supply elegant, almost feminine Gaston Chiquet Special Club we had alongside. This was all about power and weight. Even the nose was big, with deep, arresting aromas of red apples, lime zest and earth. The palate was very much in line with that. Round, fleshy and generous, it had lots of power and depth its rich flavours of ripe red apples spiked with a deep stream of 1996 acidity and a sparkly mousse. A long finish with fleshy fruit wrapped around a core of mineral closed the wine off. Big, broad and muscularly structured, this really needed some food to come around – it was almost a bit brutish without. It does have quite a bit to recommend it though, and I think it will improve with another 5-6 years in the bottle. I for one though would prefer a bit more elegance in my Champagnes. (91 pts.)
PAIR OF 1991 WHITES
-
1991 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Blanc De L’Orée - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
A decently good wine, but not a style of wine I enjoy – I thought the 1991 Tondonia Blanco that we had alongside was far more enjoyable. Still though, this was impressive in a certain way. I thought it had a rather pretty nose, with beeswax, almond and white flower scents floating alongside some breadfruit, and then plenty of spice and some little earthy tones. This was quite clearly a white Rhone just from that nose alone. The palate was huge. Tons and tons of weight and depth and power, with some alcohol weaving its way through thickly textured flavours of beeswax and nectarines, then more neutral white fruited flavours, all tightly coiled together in a creamy, even oily mouthful. Unfortunately, while not quite imbalanced, I thought the wine lacked the necessary acidity to keep it fresh and focused, so that it came across a bit flattish, with no relief from its big flavours, especially in the spice-infused finish, where a little flush of alcohol heat came out. This was an impressive wine with some underlying complexity peeking out at points, but really not my favourite style. Moving forward, I am not quite sure it will improve either. 90-92 (92 pts.) -
1991 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
90% Macabeo, 10% Malvasia. A lovely, characterful wine – this was one of the most interesting bottles on the night. It had a really complex nose, with ripe stone fruited aromas of peach and apricot, and then sweet flowers and cream, before more savoury notes of mineral, chalk and salty fig drifted in at the edges of the bouquet. Intriguing stuff. The palate was even more interesting. My first impression was of a savoury, even salty character, with a deep minerality and preserved kumquats and lime skins on the attack. These then ceded way to ripe red apples on the midpalate shading into sweeter, fleshier, yellow-fruit notes. Really pleasing stuff, with the salty and sweet melding together into a lovely complex whole, all this wrapped in a nicely focused and balanced package all the way into a rounded finish with fleshy stone fruit spiked with lemony acidity. A very good wine, full of character and drinking very nicely. (93 pts.)
1er CRU BURGS
-
1979 Hospices de Nuits Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Saint Georges Cuvée des Sires de Vergy Ponelle - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
Slightly corked unfortunately, so I will not put a rating down, but this was still actually really nice in spite of the telltale cardboard notes on the nose and palate. Strip that away, and you got a nice, deep bouquet of sweet black cherries and plums wed to mineral and spice aromas a little stemmy backnote. The palate was very strong for a wine afflicted with TCA, with lots of depth in its yummy flavours of plums and dark cherries couched in soft tannins and acidity. Finish had a lovely spiciness to it, but unfortunately, the wine fades a bit with time. Pity. NR (flawed) -
1995 J. Confuron-Cotetidot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St. Jacques - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
A really pleasant wine – this was yet another one which suggests that 1995 Burgundies are finally coming around. It had a really complex nose, unfolding all the time in lovely notes of fragrant spice and flowers, dark cherries and plums, and then umami-laden tones of meat and boiled herbs and damp earth. Very nice – this was a bouquet that could only come from Burgundy. Unfortunately, the palate was rather less compelling, but still, it was really pleasant. Soft and rounded and very easy-going on the attack (rather surprisingly for a 1995 Lavaux), it offered up very charmingly plump cherry flavours. These were then met on the midpalate with more savoury notes of earth, meat and spice. There was good acidity and a little backbone, but this was certainly very friendly for a 1995. It finished a little short at first, but filled up over time with a little warm spice that lingers nicely amongst the mellowing remnants of a fine-boned structure. Not mindblowing, but a nice wine that was drinking very well. (92 pts.) -
2006 Domaine Chevillon-Chezeaux Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Aux Champs Perdrix - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
Really nice, but a bit of an oddity. I’ve had some rather unusually masculine Chambolle-Musigny recently; this was just the opposite – a perfumy, almost elegant Nuits-St. Georges. It had a super floral nose, with fragrant notes of sweet, almost candied cherries wed to slightly stalky scents of freshly cut flowers and touches of earth and spice. Beautiful stuff. The palate took off where the nose ended, with an attack of sweet cherries showing unusually pure and light-footed for an NSG. It was still quite primary, but carried on nicely into a midpalate that showed good depth and some muscular structure, with more minerally tones coming up from under the fruit. This was really quite elegant though, will a suppleness that is unusual even from Aux Champs Pedrix. With a finish that unfolded in lovely fashion with lots of spice, I actually guessed it as a good Vosne when blinded. Really nice - this should give a lot of drinking pleasure over the medium term. 92+ (92 pts.)
GRAND CRU BURGS
-
1990 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru
Unrepentantly tight and unyielding. This was a wine that obviously had quality to it, but even given allowance for old-shcool Faiveley’s vin de garde style, this was ridiculously backward. The nose could be kindly called subtle, but subdued would actually be a better term, with tight little tones of metal and mineral, spice and bramble and some dusty earth, all drifting quietly around a deep-set core of dark cherries and berries with little florals at the side. With some time in the decanter, it opened up just a bit to show some warm spice and little accents of green stalks. A nice bouquet, but very faint, as if someone pressed the mute button. The palate was ever tighter than the nose. The only sign of its 23 years of are was the well-integrated acidity and mellow tannins on the attack. However, the flavours almost had a primary feel to them, with dark, sublte tones of black cherries and berries lined with ferrous mineral and dried earth. Still very little complexity to speak off, this struck me as especially unyielding, particularly towards its muscular finish, where the mellowness on the attack gave way to a super-structured feel. With plenty of time and air, say about an hour in the decanter and glass, a chink finally opened up in its armor, allowing the wine’s dark fruited base to emerge somewhat along with a very spicy, tobacco-ey tail right at the finish. Still though, this was far from being ready. I would keep it locked at the far end of the cellar for another 10 years at least. 91+ (91 pts.) -
2003 Frederic Esmonin Chambertin-Clos de Bèze - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru
Not bad at all for a 2003 Grand Cru, but while good, this was far from being a top-class Clos de Beze. The nose was quite nice, with deep draws of cherry fruit with notes of spice and earth and meat, and then a floral lift and a little streak of metallic mineral – a nicely fragrant bouquet, and quite classically Clos de Beze in its profile, save for a hint of roastedness at the edges that spoke more of the vintage than the terroir. The palate was actually impressively balanced for a 2003. The acidity was on the lower side, but it was still well-poised, with an open, even juicy feel to its raspberry and cherry flavours seasoned with toasty spices. It had pretty good, yummy depth to it and as well, but there was an underlying sense of firmness and austerity to the way its tannins were shaped, something tough and tightly strung, even a little rustic – again another mark of the vintage I thought. I am not confident that this wine will ever be able to shed that slight hardness of structure, but it is pretty good nonetheless, and should continue to improve over the next decade or so. A nice wine. (92 pts.) -
1976 Adrien Belland Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru
Another wine from a very hot year and, by coincidence, a Chambertin at that. This was far poorer than the 2003 Clos de Beze however. The nose not only smelt like it came from a warm year; it actually smelt like someone had set fire to the vineyard, with curls of smoke and peat, burnt tired and scorched vine stems, all topped-up by a rustic barnyard funk. These less than pleasant smells all but buried more pleasant aromas of cherries and lavender. The palate was rather better, with rich red cherry notes held in some firm tannins that gave the wine a satisfying chew, as well as a good bit of acidity that lent it a welcome freshness. Like the Clos de Beze, there was a good depth to this wine as well. However, the smokiness rather pervaded here as well, with more burnt flavours leading into the finish, where some bittersweet herb notes showed up – angelica root came to mind. With some time, the acid started to stick out in awkward angles as well. This was not a great wine, very odd, as if poor raw material from 1979 had been topped-up with just as mediocre wine from a young vintage, and the two had not integrated that well. This was drinkable, but by no means a Grand Cru experience. (88 pts.) -
1976 Antonin Rodet Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Flawed, Madeirised most probably, but still really quite enjoyable in its own way. This certainly smelt like a Madeira-like, with raisons and dried figs in an oxidative nose. The palate was still nicely balanced and structured with bright acidity and slightly powdery tannins, but it tasted almost like an Amarone, with raisins and sultanas leading into a plummy finish with sprigs of orange peel. Quite a fun drink still, especially given how fresh it was, but this was not identifiably Burgundy. NR (flawed)
THE LONE LEFT-BANK
-
1976 Château Léoville Las Cases - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
I liked this, but it is about to drink up. This had one of the most masculine left-bank noses I have scented in a long time, with leather and tobacco and earth wrapped around dark cassis aromas. The palate actually feinted at a certain approachability on the attack, with soft, roundish cassis and black cherry notes couched in fine tannins and orangey acidity. However, this quickly gave way to more austere tones of earth and mineral packaged in rather muscular structure. What I did like though was a juiciness and purity in the fruit that came out even in spite of the muscle, especially at the finish, where a crunch of black fruit filled the back-palate nicely. This still seemed tightly wound at points, but I am not sure it has the depth of fruit left to age much longer- this is one of those where the structure will outlast the fruit. However, it was very enjoyable as is, a very classic, Cabernet-forward Las Cases. (92 pts.)
A SWEET END
-
1983 Château Rieussec - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
A lovely way to end the night – this was a very good Sauternes. The nose was pure Rieussec, with lovely spicy notes of cloves and nutmeg, along with dried apricots and figs, deeper aromas of brown sugar, and a little metallic mineral ring. The palate palate had a nice richness to it, with more layered tones of apricots cooked in browned sugar, orange marmalade and a nice long tail of mineral and spicy cloves at the finish. What made this a great drink though was the lovely balance it had, with each sip calling out for another. A lovely Sauternes, and at a great place right now too. (93 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker