A fairly drenched weekend with some nice bots. Having too much fun to take detailed notes. On top of these wines there was a lovely bracket of 90 and 91 Coonawarra Cabernets and a remarkably fresh 91 Knappstein Clare Riesling that partnered a dish of gravlax of ocean trout very nicely.
NV Diebolt-Vallois Blanc de Blancs
Fine, white fruits, crisp, good mousse, but just a hint of sweetness that detracts.
NV Vilmart Cuvee Rubis
Full throttle fizz, with rich berry Pinot inflections and luxuriant mouthfeel. I like this.
1990 Krug
Just a touch of Kruggy grilled nuts, but with razor sharp, fine boned yet muscular palate. In a good place.
2007 Domaine Buisson-Charles Meursault “Gouttes d’Or” 1er
Looking great, with power and poise. Lots of breadth to the grilled nut trimmed fruits, buttressed by abundant acidity. One of the best B-Cs that I have opened.
1993 Domaine Leroy Volnay Santenots
Big and black, powerful and muscular. Aromatically developing wonderfully complex loaminess, yet the palate is full and driven by a bed of tannins, yet the fruit sweetness handles it. Excellent but could certainly use another decade.
1995 Chateau Figeac
Great wine for an options game as it is a fairly democratic blend of Merlot, Cab Sauv and Cab Franc. Like many 1995s starting to shed its coarser side and look more refined. Nice wine, which is much better than the 2000 vintage to me.
1990 Simi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Dare I say reminiscent of a good Bordeaux, with a complex, mellow palate with good energy. Lovely wine in a very good place.
2010 Opus One
Smells of money. Looks like a 2 yr old wine with lovely fruit, super oak treatment. Would love to see this in another couple of decades.
2006 Argyros Vinsanto 4yrs (Santorini, Greece)
Aldehydic, slightly mousey aromas with significant oak resin notes. Having said all that I quite like it and is a nice mid point between a botrytis and port. A good match with richer desserts and cheese
Ardbeg Uigeadail
I know this is good as we managed to polish a bottle off. Unnecessary but required. Smoky seaweed with good complexity and real heft.
Merry Christmas to all.