February 2008
Monthly Archive
Some notes taken at a New Years Eve event … in 2006 leading into 2007.
Seppelt Salinger 1994
A slightly better bottle than the last one, this was fresher on the
palate. On the nose there were aromas of creme brulee, toast, lime and
a dab of oak. Still not amazingly complex on the palate, but the length
is good and it is well balanced.
88/100
Moet et Chandon 1999
Green apples and grass on the nose. Very lean palate, acid stands out and this is very simple and short.
82/100
T’Gallant Moscato 2006
A pale salmon colour. Very light spritz. Strawberry, turkish delight
and cherry on the nose. Palate has a medium level of sweetness, needs a
touch more acid to be refreshing but it is still quite nice.
86/100
Tyrrell’s Vat 1 Semillon 1994
Honeyed nose with toast and lemon as well. There is an oily texture to
the medium intensity palate. No rough edges, this was very nice
drinking now.
91/100
Raymond Boulard Cuvee Reserve NV
Apples, some florals and some candy style raspberry notes. Crisp
palate, medium length. No elements of great excitement but it is well
made and enjoyable.
87/100
Best’s Great Western Chardonnay 1986
Grapefruit, honey and wet wool aromas. Incredibly youthful palate, it
was fresh, balanced and long. Seemed as though it could live another 10
years as well.
90/100
Robert Groffier Les Amoureuses 1996
Brilliant, shifting, challenging nose of cherry, earth, violets, spice
and fleeting notes of coffee beans. The palate is so delicate and
wonderfully poised. the mouthfeel is beautiful with well integrated
tannin and acid. Superb.
94/100
Charles Melton Sparkling Shiraz (disg. February 99)
Cola, chocolate and a strong horse stable component. The palate is almost sickly sweet. Worst bottle of this that I’ve had.
79/100
Orlando Lawson Shiraz 1991
Dark crimson colour. Sweetly fruited with a touch of mint. Nice
intensity to the palate, it is bold without being over the top or
losing focus. Very youthful, it will go another 5 years without any
trouble and it wouldn’t surprise me if people were saying the same
thing in 5 years.
89/100
J. Vidal-Fleury Cote-Rotie Brune et Blonde 1998
From magnum. Lifted florals, pepper, five spice and red cherries.
Savoury palate with good acidity and a medium length finish. Very good.
90/100
Domaine Michel Gros Vosne-Romanee Clos des Reas 1998
Deeply coloured. Very perfumed nose, with florals and light raspberry.
Tannins are quite grippy at present, but contribute to the good
structure. Well balanced acidity.
90/100
Casanova di Neri Tenuta Nuova Brunello 2001
Briary and tobacco aromas followed by vanilla, coconut and some floral
characters. Quite aggressive tannins on the palate, but the length and
structure are both excellent. Give this time and you will be rewarded.
91/100
Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Brut 1er Cru Blanc de Blancs 1998
Opened to drink at midnight. Corked. Happy new year.
NR/100
Pol Roger Brut 1998
Apples, yeast, toast and some smoke. Good length and balance, with
medium flavour intensity. Will be nice to drink over the next 5 years.
89/100
Henschke Cyril Henschke 1994
DMS city with blackcurrant, tinned corn, blackberry and chocolate oaky
aromas. Palate is alright, but the wine as a whole isn’t up to the
standard of one had a year prior.
84/100
Chateau d’Yquem 1958
An incredibly generous gesture from a friend of Phil’s to bring this
along to share. This has been open for a while, the nose was deeply
scented and consisted of caramel, burnt sugar, orange peel and almond.
Luscious mouthfeel, the acid struggling a little bit to keep pace. I
was immensely glad to have gotten the chance to try this.
92/100
Veuve Fourny Blanc de Blancs 1er Cru Brut NV
Apples, cinnamon, honey and smoke. Dry on the good length palate, with racy acidity and great refreshment value.
88/100
Some short notes from a long, vaguely Italian themed lunch.
N.V. Laurent-Perrier Champagne Grand Siecle:
Probably around 7-10 years bottle age and it shows on the nose with aromas of honey, citrus, quince paste and some sherry. Complex and with good presence on the palate, there is also acidity coming through strongly to keep things fresh.
91/100
2005 Livio Felluga Pinot Grigio:
Appealing nose with straw, citrus peel, mango and white chocolate. Surprisingly persistent creamy flavour balanced nicely by restrained acidity.
89/100
2000 Isole e Olena Chardonnay Collezione de Marchi:
Nutty old oak aromas, with some citrus as well. Clean flavours on the palate, it is a little bit straightforward but enjoyable regardless.
87/100
2000 Lake’s Folly Chardonnay:
Initially there were some onion skin aromas but these lifted with time in the glass, there were only some butty and resin aromas underneath. Rounded mouthfeel, alcohol sticking out a bit on the finish.
82/100
1986 McWilliam’s Semillon Mount Pleasant Elizabeth:
Typical aged Semillon aromas of honey, toast and lemon. Toasty flavour to the palate with excellent length. Balance is superb. This was at its peak and while not quite hitting the same highs as the Lovedale of the same year, it was delicious.
90/100
1995 Gérard Chavy & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières:
Blue cheese, oxidative notes and some old oak. A bit tired on the palate as well, you can see some quality there behind the tiredness and it actually lifted a little bit with some air time.
82/100
1993 La Pousse d’Or Santenay 1er Cru Clos Tavannes:
The nose is quite open and giving with red cherry, forest and earth. A little bit thin on the palate, but it didn’t detract too much from the wine as a whole. Will probably improve with a few more years in bottle.
88/100
1986 Prunotto Barbaresco Montestefano:
Smoke, cherry, rose petals and some bacon fat. The tannins and acid are still at the fore of the palate but it works and it is very nicely savoury and the texture is very good.
88/100
1998 Giacomo Borgogno Barolo Riserva:
Corked.
NR/100
2006 Cape Mentelle Sangiovese:
Blue bubblegum and black cherries on the nose. Sweetly fruited palate with some spice laid over the top. Very approachable and nicely drinkable.
88/100
1999 Isole e Olena Cepparello:
Some earth and pepper to the nose, but otherwise quite bright and floral with some red berries as well. Nice balance to the palate, there is a rush of flavour along the length but it never seems over the top. I think this will be drinking very nicely over the next 7-10 years.
90/100
1988 Antinori Tignanello:
A nose of tobacco, smoke, cherry, red berries and with earthy undertones. The palate is superb, with long savoury flavour and great complexity and interest. This bottle seemed to be right at its peak.
94/100
1998 Antinori Tignanello:
A juicy nose of red berries, graphite, cedar and some floral and earth notes coming through as well. Intense and flavourful on the palate with the tannins needed food to be tamed. Clearly very good and noticeably of a similar bloodline to the ‘88 had by its side. It was approachable now, but will be better in 4-5 years.
91/100
1997 Hugel et Fils Gewürztraminer Sélection de Grains Nobles “S”:
140 cases made. Produced only in selected years (89, 97 and 00 so far), by special strict separation of fruit at the same time the regular SGN is picked.
Intoxicating lifted nose of honey, spice, mango, quince and botrytis. Has the identifiable unctuous oiliness of Gewurtraminer as well as intense sweetness but also some amazing acid to cleanse and somehow harmonise the elements and leave the palate refreshed for the next sip. Among the top dessert wines I had last year, if not the best.
97/100
1992 Winzerkeller Leiningerland eG Grunstadter Roth Scheurebe Eiswein:
Mango, guava and pineapple aromas on the nose. Palate is round with lingering, intense sweetness. Simple but delicious, and a great end to a great day.
91/100
1992 Leasingham Classic Clare Sparkling Shiraz
Cherry, raspberry and some leather and earthy elements to the nose. There is a delicious sweetness to the palate that is well countered by savoury nuances. Very enjoyable.
90/100
2000 Besserat de Bellefon Grande Tradition Champagne
Cheesy and toasty nose. Rounded mouthfeel. Lacks depth and finishes short.
83/100
2002 Petaluma Hanlin Hill Riesling
Lemon, orange peel and some toast aromas starting to develop. The palate is long and full, with incredible intensity. This wine holds so much future potential.
93/100
1978 Chateau La Tour Haut-Brion
Tobacco, bramble, ash and smoke on the nose. The tannins are fully resolved, leading to a medium bodied palate with soft fruits and good aged character. Very pleasant to drink wine at its peak.
89/100
1996 Chateau Léoville-Poyferré
Youthful nose of blackberry, spice, cassis and cedar. Intensely tannic on the palate, but the structure is good and this is going to improve greatly once the tannins soften and it takes on additional complexity. Needs time.
90/100
1981 Chateau Musar
Cherry/kirsch, smoked meats, earth and honey. The palate shows amazing fruit sweetness that is balanced superbly by aged earthy, spicy characters. Complex and long. If this was deconstructed too much you may be able to pick out many faults, but amazingly all mixed together they have achieved harmony.
94/100
2000 Hochar Père et Fils
Horsey, with earth, raspberry and a touch of VA. The palate is sweet and soft, it is quite drinkable but looked very simple in comparison to the older Musar had before. Will probably show better given time.
87/100
1995 Antinori Tignanello
Cocoa, blackcurrants, graphite and cedary nose. Lovely medium bodied, savoury palate with excellent balance.
91/100
1991 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
A bold nose, with tobacco, cassis and blackberry. The youthfulness of the wine is evident on the palate as well, with primary fruit still dominant. The tannin structure and overall build of the wine is such that I think this has the potential for greatness.
92/100
2004 Gangloff Côte-Rôtie La Barbarine
Must be close to 10% viognier in this, but it did not bother me as it did some others at the table. Very pretty nose, with lifted fragrant floral notes, apricot and pepper. Long and rich in the mouth with some spice evident. A little bit young still tonight, but very nice anyway.
90/100
2004 Tyrrell’s Shiraz Cabernet Vat 8
Earthy, with some raspberry notes as well. Bright, red fruited palate with some earthiness coming through in the background. Tannins are bold, but should settle with time.
88/100
1998 Pfeiffer Tokay Auslese
Caramel, toffee and apple aromas. Medium body and sweetness. Ready to drink now, it could do with some more complexity but I don’t think it has the structure to age much more.
85/100
1998 Müller-Catoir Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Auslese
Passionfruit, spice, peach and pineapple aromas. Lovely, lingering sweetness to the palate and it just has the acid to keep it fresh and balanced. This style of wine is right up my alley.
93/100
1995 Hétszolo Tokaji Aszu 6 Puttonyos
Honey, coconut, pineapple and maple syrup. Rich, honey like palate, but with excellent complexity and acidity. Fantastic length, this was a great wine to finish the evening with.
93/100