Best tradition after boring Thanksgiving fare is to pick a cultural culinary theme for Friday night and go all out. won this year.
The Vallana were starting to show better but still very young.
The Brunello was fine with bolognese but forgettable.
Tenute Guardasole were new to me and I loved them. Still young but paired well. Virgilio shined as the majority of fruit was Vespolina with Neb and Dolcetto being smaller %s.
Cimarossa Nebbiolo was the crowd pleaser.
These will be fun to follow for a couple of decades.
Not all CT notes are as enthusiastic so perhaps I had a better bottle than some, because I really loved this.
The nose is wonderful, a perfumed and insistent blend of old rose, wild strawberry and red cherry, with hints of nutmeg and leather. Itâs so capativating that I had to pause for a few minutes before even having the first sip, just enjoying the fragrances.
When the first sip came, it was no disappointment - the same sensations as the nose, so ripples of rose, wild strawberry and red cherry, which spread outwards, across the palate, before a very long, persistent finish.
This is a quintessential Margaux made in a traditional way, so focused on elegance and fragrance rather than body and concentrated fruit. Thatâs what I like so I was not disappointed.
True, it doesnât quite have the power of the 2000, and it wonât last as long, but this is a delicious example of Brane and for my taste at least, a little underrated. 94 pts
2005 Chateau Lagrange (St Julien)
Developing nicely, dark fruits, dark chocolate, some leather, tannins still; adding grainy texture. Solid, but not exciting me.
2015 Vietti Barolo Castiglione
Still very young, firmish structure but pretty rose imbued fruits. Sometimes these Castigliones drink well young but this needs a bit of a slumber.
Caramel, raisins, prunes, eau de vie de prunes, quince and oak spices. The nose is such an harmony of all of that that i couldnât stop sniffing it. The palate is a sweet caresse of the same aromas with a gentle grip on the mid-palate and a long brown sugar and raisin finish. Beautiful.
A buddy started perusing the family cellar and brought back a 1998 Ardanza:
The nose is typical rioja sauvage with tamed oak but it seemed faint and tired. The palate still had a little bit of acidity but is mostly flat on tertiary flavors. Over the hill.
Just drank a 2019 Pott Secret Service. 3 hour decant minimum at cellar temp just got better and better. certainly could use more time but felt like giving it a shot.
Cos dâEstournel 2008, St. Estephe, Bordeaux, France
So shy at first. enters its peak after 5 hrs.
Aromatic black fruit dominated - black currant, black plum, very ripe black cherry. Hawthorn or hawthorn cake is the most noticeable note at first, but with exposure to air it is not that shining in comparison with black fruits, which gradually turn more and more intense. Some leather quickly disappears. Rich cream scents and some licorice. Cedar aroma which I always find pleasant.
Mid-full bodied in the mouth. Medium scale. Medium amount of tannins (I even think it has low tannins during the first 30 mins). Silky, round and quality tannins. Mid-high acidity and a little sweetness are both more lively against the medium body, which reminds me of elegant Napas produced in high altitude areas. Chewy. Just medium structure with good concentration. Itâs a Cos beyond my stereotype. As JR said, âperhaps not necessarily a typical St. EstepheââŠ
We sell this. Soon to come to the US. First time I try this bottling. Initially, the nose was muted: pastry, red apple, citrus and some chalk. We tried this in a Chardonnay glass initially (restaurant). We switched to flutes following Patrickâs recommendation and although it did not improve the nose, it did give more presence to the mid-palate. Itâs lacking length right now. Itâs clipped with a citrusy finish. Needs time but the stuffing is there. Revisit in 2 years? The table next to us was not convinced but the restaurant owner really liked it. I really think this needs to sit for a while.
Last bottle was a 1997 Albert Grivaultâs Pommard 1er Cru Clos Blanc. This was a special year for Patrick. I really liked this. I double decanted around 6:00PM and we drank this around 10:00 PM. The more air it got, the younger it seemed! The nose was mature and wonderful: sous-bois, earthy, some leather but the fruit is all red berry. The palate follows suit: fresh and tart red berries with torrefaction (slight dark coffee) and a nice finish on red berries and some iron shavings. Nice acidic spine all the way through. We had a nice conversation with the restaurant owner who thought this over the hill and told me that even GC Burgundy was dead after 10 years. We agreed to disagree
We finished the night with a nice 18 year old Calvados, yellow and green Chartreuse and 12 year old Armagnac.
I hope @Patrick_Taylor enjoys his time here despite the weather. It was great to meet with him and share a great time. Next stop is Wednesday night dinner and Thursday tasting.
We started off drinking this in a pedestrian white wine stem. There was nothing going on aside from a pillowy mid-palate. Every facet of this wine showed much better in a flute. There was still not much of a nose, but there was a good spike of acidity on the finish. I had driven up from Barcelona, where I had been drinking Brut Nature Cava for the last 3 days. While I could taste the dosage, it wasnât overly sweet.
Holy cow this wine was fantastic! This Aligote is not an afterthought, but rather a serious wine and purposefully made. The nose was tremendous, there was a very complex mouthfeel and interplay between acid and mineral, and there was good length on the finish. The solera method gave an oxidative, nutty quality that kept me coming back for more. The first-ever release was offered at 55e and apparently thereâs already a secondary market. Drink now or hold for 10 years. Thanks to @Jeremy_Holmes for the tip.
1997 is my anniversary, and this is the oldest Burgundy Iâve tried. The nose was stinky, no doubt, but not too intrusive. Everything was fully integrated; no brawny Pommard tannins. The red fruit was mature without being stewed. I say it can go another 5 years; Phil thinks perhaps 10.
All of the hooch was very sippable, even without my normal drop or two of water. I canât believe Phil had the presence of mind to post this at 1:30am. I was just happy I survived the walk back to the hotel.
Montrose 2008. Compared to its neighbour Cos, Montrose of this year is less approchable. Black fruit of medium ripeness, like black currant, black plum. A bit red cherry and blueberry. Vanilla, forest floor, nutmeg and some other spices. Mint. Complex and powerful in the nose.
Mid-fulled bodied. Mid-high tannins are tight and very very dry, but of good quality. Mid-high acidity and a small amount of sweetness managed to make the body balanced. Definitely âbiggerâ and more structured than Cos. Very very very dry finish caused by tannins. Its impressive acidity and tannins will support the wine to its true peak in the future.
I prefer Cos for the 2008 vintage cz it carries a lot of pressure to drink Montrose nowâŠ
2020 Thibaud Boudignon Anjou Blanc
A lovely bottle of Chenin blanc. Citrus lemon lime nose, mineral and petrichor. Medium bodied, not an ounce of fat even with the warm vintage. I think this sees a little new oak, but it wasnât noticed. Good acidity, almost racy. Would love to try his Savennieres. Great with grilled dorado.
From the Skurnick site:
100% Chenin Blanc
High density plantings
35 year old vines
Grown on shallow soils of grey schist and rhyolite (volcanic soil)
won this year.
