NICK’S SPECTACULAR BIRTHDAY DINNER - Hippopotamus Restaurant, Wellington (11/19/2014)
Nick recently had a significant birthday. Very generously, Jill and he shouted a group of wine loving friends to this very special birthday dinner at the Hippopotamus Restaurant in Wellington, New Zealand. All of the wines were from Nick’s cellar.
Nick worked with Maciej, the Head Sommelier of the Restaurant, to develop an excellent degustation menu that accompanied the wines beautifully.
The wines were served non-blind and decanted four hours before serving.
Thanks very much, Jill and Nick, it was a wonderful evening!
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2002 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne - France, Champagne
In magnum. Light colour, small bubbles. A fresh, precise, steely and pure nose, clearly speaking of Chardonnay. Aromas on bouquet of small white flowers, stone fruit, wet river boulder and chalk, with a whiff of baking spices. On palate, tight and very focused, with citric, malic and mineral flavours predominating. There was also toastiness, with a suggestion of almond brioche. Vibrant, energetic acidity but also showing the ripeness and richness of the 2002 vintage, that I have this fortnight seen in both the 2002 Winston Churchill and Dom Perignon. There are clear vintage characteristics shared across those three 2002s. But the Comtes has a precision and steeliness, and not quite the opulence and lushness, that sets it apart from those other two Champagnes. As a Blanc de Blancs, this a very different Champagne, I would put on about the same level as the Winston and ahead of the Dom. Excellent fruit volume and very long. Drinking beautifully now. In 4-5 years time I would expect to see greater complexity still in this excellent Champagne. Huge potential, now only 93. (93 pts.) -
1996 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut - France, Champagne
In 750 mls bottle. Deep gold colour, with ultra-fine bubbles. A lovely, developed bouquet of butterscotch, grapefruit, Asian market spices, yellow and white orchard fruits and minerals. Also, some yeasty autolysis notes. The Krug has a multi-layered, complex nose, that is more wine than Champagne, and very much classic Krug. On palate, it is also excellent, although this is perhaps not a typical Krug palate, due to the searing, mouthwatering acidity, a marker for the 1996 vintage. The acids lend surprising freshness to the palate, which accompany the Champagne’s intense phenolic punch. Surprisingly primary and backward for a 1996, with incredible fruit weight, structure and drive. Malic flavours of green and yellow apples, citrus, some tropical fruit, crème brûlée, spices and minerals. An intriguing, beautiful wine. Gorgeous now, but, with this stuffing, years ahead of it. (96 pts.) -
2009 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Bright gold colour. A ripe, rich bouquet but with strong minerality, crushed river boulders and gun metal. Also, aromas of citrus, peaches and other orchard fruits. Not a classical Chablis nose, by any means, with little or no salinity, seashell or limestone nuance. Blind, I might well have had this bouquet as white Burgundy, not Chablis. On palate, the Chablis does not have the biting acidity or marine flavours of a classic Chablis year like a 2007 or 2010. It has as hint of Corton Charlamagne about it. It is an excellent Chardonnay, on a par with many a Grand Cru white Burgundy. The rich, rounded flavours include lemon, orchard and some tropical fruits and strong minerality, so that the wine ‘wets your teeth’, as JC says. There is oak here too, but the fruit volume to support it. A beautiful oily, tactile structure. Very elegant. Multi-layered with great complexity and detail. This wine was presented as one of the best examples of food matching I have ever had. Each mouthful of the sashimi - salmon, tuna or fresh oyster - pulled different flavours, nuances and dimensions out of the wine, illustrating its absolute class. There’s not probably a huge future ahead of this Chablis, but who cares? It’s gorgeous now! (94 pts.) -
2007 Henri Boillot Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
A light gold colour. An exquisite, intoxicating, perfumed bouquet, I have difficulty describing in words. Notes of honey and mixed spices, with an oxidative whiff (‘properly oxidised’, noted Nick). On entry to the palate, the racy acid initially surprises and then the incredible concentration and power comes in behind. The Montrachet has drive and power to burn, that allows the wine to handle the serious new oak here with absolute ease. This is an amazing wine, ripe, with a strong core of very dense fruit that is perfectly oxidised, with enormous vibrancy and energy, from the gorgeous acids. Con, a tough judge of a Chardonnay, had this as his WoTN at a score of 20/20. For many here it was WoTN and, for me, a serious contender for my white WoTY. And this was another exquisite food match from the Hippopotamus, with the wine’s sparkling 2007 acids beautifully cutting through the fat of the duck liver parfait. Again, the food uncovered new flavour dimensions in this great Montrachet. The wine is in its optimal drinking window but with many years to go. (98 pts.) -
1996 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Tâche Grand Cru
Colour deep bright garnet. A lovely spicy, musky, luxuriant bouquet of red and some black berries. High toned with a floral top note. On palate, a serious, broad shouldered and structured Burgundy. Muscular, extracted and very powerful. Again there were very bright 1996 vintage acids in evidence here, providing serious energy, precision and focus to the wine. But compared with some other 1996s, there is the dry extract in the La Tâche to more than match and carry that acidity. There is incredible purity in this wine and microscopically fine grained and cultured sweet tannins. The flavour spectrum was complex, red and black berries, with excellent minerality. For Nick and me this was our joint WoTN, with the Giacosa, and clearly, for me anyway, the best of the four outstanding 1996 Burgundies. Interestingly, Nick noted that the two DRCs were probably more open four hours earlier when he had decanted them. An optimal drinking window is hard to assess for these wines but I might well give this wine 5+ more years if I had a bottle! Another excellent food match here: both DRCs paired beautifully with the duck leg confit dish. (98 pts.) -
1996 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru
A deep pure red colour. An exquisite bouquet, compote of raspberries, cherries, plums and other red berries, with spice and crème de cassis. Very pure and clean. On palate, immediately more open and accessible than the La Tâche, almost looking ‘pretty’ in comparison. It could perhaps be viewed as a DRC RSV-like Richebourg. Still this Richebourg is a relatively austere wine, with racy acids still very much present. Again, for me, those acids added vigour and were more than accommodated by the serious dry extract and ripe, rich fruit in the wine. They also offset some of the seeming sweet red berry flavours packed into the palate. There was excellent intensity, beautiful balance and poise and perfect extraction exhibited by this wine. The Richebourg seemed within its optimal drinking window but, obviously, there is no hurry to drink it. For me, second of the 1996 red Burgundies. (97 pts.) -
1996 Domaine Leroy Clos de la Roche - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
The colour is deep garnet, slightly deeper than the two DRCs. A expressive, explosive bouquet, very intense, suggesting another dimension of ripeness from the two DRCs. This impression is confirmed on palate, with much more breadth and fruit volume than for the DRCs. There is huge power, fruit weight and structure in this wine. Clearly the most accessible of the four red Burgundies, with a silky mouthfeel, rich, ripe, decadent and explosive on palate. The flavours were earthy, red berries and a little cherry cola. The palate did exhibit bright acidity, which lent freshness to the Leroy, and good intensity. I began to wonder if the wine was perhaps a little over-extracted and overdone and although that was the direction it was going, rather than the other way, ultimately I concluded that this was the finest Clos de la Roche I had ever had. A tremendous wine but fourth of the four red Burgundies here, in this tough competition. Again, drinking well now but plenty of stuffing for the future. (95 pts.) -
1996 Domaine Leroy Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru
A similar deep colour to the Clos de la Roche. More cultured, restrained and refined on bouquet than the Clos de la Roche, with dark floral, small red berry and black spice notes. On palate, this was very much a Leroy interpretation of Chambertin. It was a large scaled, very powerful wine with incredible fruit volume and richness. However it had a fineness, elegance and refinement that made the Clos de la Roche look almost four square and sturdy by comparison (it’s not, of course). The flavours were high toned berries, more black than red. This wine is all class, drinking very well now, with a long, long way to go. (96 pts.) -
2001 Roagna Barbaresco Crichet Pajé - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
A deep ruby colour, deeper again than the Burgundies. An attractive nose of spices, melted road tar, tobacco and black cherries. In the mouth, a lovely mellow, softened wine, almost suggesting some fruit sweetness. The flavour spectrum is black and red cherries, tobacco and dried herbs, with some nice leather couch savouriness. Elegant, well structured and proportioned. A very good wine - it’s only problem (for me) was being paired with the magnificent Giacosa. Accessible enough to drink now, but, again, with a long life still ahead of it. I’m probably underrating it here. (93 pts.) -
2001 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Deep red - much darker than than the Burgundies. A lovely nose of creosote, red roses, red cherries, black truffle, tobacco, espresso and warm earth, a lifted fruit structure. On palate, this wine is very complex, with layer upon layer of different flavours, including sour red and black cherries, road tar, blackberries, mocha, rusty iron and tobacco leaf. An incredibly fine, pure, complex, detailed wine. Elegant, very well balanced and poised. Serious dry extract, architecture and power. The tannins are firm, but beginning to resolve and integrate. In the end I couldn’t separate it from the La Tâche as my WoTN. Again, just into its optimal drinking window, with years to go. Give this a 4+ hour decant. (98 pts.) -
2001 Château Climens - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Bottle 1 of two different 750 mls bottles of the same wine. Bright, light lemon colour. An attractive nose of lemon, honey and orange marmalade aromas. Quite primary on palate, a lot less evolved than the other sample, drinking younger than 2001. Fresh and attractive but a little straightforward with flavours of lemon, peaches, pears and other orchard fruit, honey, and passionfruit, with some minerality. Good, bright acidity. I’m not sure whether this particular bottle would have eventually got to where the second bottle was on the night or remained ‘stunted’ where it was on the night. Still, on its own, a very good Sauternes/Barsac, just not a great one. (93 pts.) -
2001 Château Climens - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Bottle 2. Golden treacle colour. Similar elements of honey, orchard fruits and citrus on bouquet, with an added dimension of aromas suggesting butterscotch, toffee apple, crème brûlée and campfire smoke. On palate, much more evolved than bottle 1, but still very much a ‘correct’ bottle. More complex, nuanced and multi-layered than bottle 1. Similar primary citric and orchard fruit flavours to bottle 1 with additional lovely layers of oranges and mandarins, butterscotch, smoke, golden syrup and glycerol. More advanced than bottle 1, but there was easily another 20 years in this bottle. I’d still put this 2001 a little behind the 2007 as the best Climens I have tasted from the noughties. (95 pts.)
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