Included are notes on a loosely themed Tour de France lunch at Augusto’s, one of San Juan’s best restaurants.
1991 Guigal Cote Rotie Brune et Blonde: Stinky, wet earth aromas around a great core of well defined fruit. Elegant, long, and ready to go.
1998 Leroy Brulees: Muted, shy nose but very flavorful and long. It did not show any of the typical Leroy wow factor components but still a tasty Vosne.
1995 Laurent Clos de la Roche: Again the nose was absent but the wine displayed racy acidity around an elegant pinot core. It certainly got the juices flowing.
1990 Guigal Hermitage: Bacon fat with a playful trickle of white pepper that made the tip of the tongue tingle. This wine is in a great place and provided plenty of pleasure.
1999 Jaboulet La Chapelle: It took a while for this wine to show its breed. Started slow and brooding but the decanter achieved a world of good. The fruit was starting to overtake to tannins but it is still too early for this baby.
1985 Figeac: Wow, what a nose! Classic Bordeaux stink and in the mouth gobs of sweet and mature fruit. The 1985 vintage continues to shine.
1985 Gloria: The only thing wrong with this wine was the Figeac next to it. Great value for money in this wine that would have wowed everyone but was overshadowed by its predecessor.
1998 Rayas: Grenache at its best. Lot and lots of mature sweet fruit, fully resolved tannings, nice weight on the mid palate and an eternal finish. Absolutely no heat, if anything a touch too sweet. Gorgeous showing.
The following were wines served to fuel the conversation post lunch.
1988 Drouhin Beaux Monts: Finally a Burgundy with a great nose of spices and a bit of underbrush. Beautiful shiny color and amazing freshness for an 1988. The balance of fruit and acidity was refreshing after the sweetness of the Rayas.
1982 Canon La Gaffeliere: The best Parker 76 point we have tasted. This wine was close to perfect in its elegant combination of aromas, balance, and joyous sweet fruit.
2005 Elderton Command Shiraz: This wine certainly jolted the taste buds into attention. Masculine, extremely concentrated, juicy and over extracted Shiraz that clashed mightily against its elegant companions. Enjoyable as an after meal wine but can not picture eating anything with this wine with the exception of a roasted pig on a stick. Now that is an idea for the next lunch.