TN: Holy Thursday and Easter Sunday Wines - Burgundy, Barolo, Pinot Gris and Chianti

Holy Thursday
I had a business lunch late Holy Thursday afternoon, just before the Easter break. What better to do than taste some wines with a co-wrrker and a business associate. We went to Peking Duck House in Midtown and taste the following wines:

2000 F. E. Trimbach Hommage a Jeanne - Pinot Gris
Opened and slow-O for 3 hours prior to serving
Golden color, worried at first that it might be oxidized
While Funky smelling when first opened, this gave way to a nose of petrol, lychee and pineapple.
I would say that this wine had some oxidative notes to it, but not too much. (25% or so). Thick but not overly sweet taste of pineapple and lychee. Great finish (B+)

1971 Francesco Rinaldi & Figli Barolo
Very quick double bottle decant in the morning 6 hours before serving. Put cork back in. Took out 6 hours later and let slow-O for 2 hours
Nose of leather, earth and slight hint of cherry
This kept evolving throughout the course of the 3 hour meal. What a wine it became. While reticent for the first hour or so, it transformed into a lovely wine. leather gave way to bright fruit and good acidity. Extremely well balanced. A delight (A)

1995 Bachelet & Fils Vieilles Vignes - Gevrey Chambertin
Slow-O for 4 hours prior to serving
Very young tasting for a village level wine, or is this just because it followed a 41 year-old Barolo? NO… it is young tasting, because that Barolo was DAMN good!
Vibrant cherry fruit. Hint of oak here, but it has integrated well into the fruit. Good fruit and decent acidity, but this wine lacks the forest floor/mushroom quality that I often seek out in G-C. Nice, but not deep nose. This is a mere mortal next to the 71 Rinaldi. (B)

On this day, Barolo wins well over Burgundy and Alsace. All three of us agree!

Easter Sunday
Made Ferran Adria’s Osso Bucco for dinner. Paired it with Julia Child’s augratin potatoes, brocollini with garlic and shallots, baby peas and ham

1972 Castello di Monsanto Il Poggio Riserva Chianti
Corked!

1982 Castello di Monsanto Il Poggio Riserva Chianti
Single decant and slow-O about 3-4 hours before serving
Deep cherry nose with dark, amber red color. This wine looked and smelled much, much, much younger than any 30 year old Chianti (or Brunello, for that matter) that I have ever seen!
The taste was all there. Great balance. Very fruit forward, but with no heat. It was clearly a well-aged wine, but tasted like it was a 10-year old, not a 30-year old. This was one refined and pleasing lady! Great, great juice (A)

1970 Renato Ratti Abbazia Annunziata Marcenasco Barolo
Single decant and slow-O about 3-4 hours before serving
Unlike the '71 Rinaldi from Tursday, the Ratti seemed to show its age quite a bit more.
Color was bricking quite a bit and the wine was somewhat cloudy, despite standing up for several days before serving.
Leather and tar gave way to tired fruit. While the wine was somewhat balanced, it never came together the way a very good wine does.
Was I just remembering the '71 Rinaldi too much? Was it because my wife’s Italian-American cousins prefer younger wines? I don’t know. It was good, certainly not great (B-)

1997 Villa Poggio Salvi Brunello di Motalcino
Pop and pour
Nice Ruby red color. Looks vibrant. No bricking.
Nose smells of bright fruit with a bit of dust and oak.
My wife’s cousins go gaga for this! Perplexed, I take a sip. Holy Sh$*! They must be descended from beavers! One might as well eat the barrel. Way too oaky for me. I just couldn’t get past the oak here. I was alone though. (C)