From a really enjoyable wine dinner in New York organized by Peter Czyryca (from the ERP board). Great company, food and some absolutely stunning wines that made for a phenomenal evening.
1976 Camille Giroud Latricières-Chambertin
Clear bright ruby red colour. The nose starts out funky and awkward, but with time most of that clears to show very nuanced aromas of leather, earth, truffles, smoke, red berries and sandalwood. Similarly complex and layered on the palate with an incredible range of flavours that I'm not even going to try and describe, a silken mouthfeel and tremendous clarity, finesse and elegance.
2007 Reinhard & Beate Knebel Winninger Brückstück Riesling Spätlese Feinherb Alte Reben
Fantastic nose with lots of stones and minerals, malt, lime, herbs and white fruits. Stony and angular on the palate with slightly sweet peach and citrus fruits mingled with rocks and savoury earth and malty flavours. Seems a little low in acidity, but very well balanced and drinking beautifully right now. Great length on the finish. Very tasty, one of the more unusual Mosel Rieslings I've had, and a wine that makes me want to explore a lot more from this producer.
1992 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl
Bright gold colour. Fantastic, intense nose with white fruits, flowers, smoke and vaseline. Full bodied in the mouth with a creamy, oily texture and a flavour profile of white fruits infused with truffles, earth and smoke. Low acidity, but keeps great balance with a very long finish. Superb, drinking beautifully right now and I'm glad I have another bottle of this. Revisited this a couple more times through the evening, and it only kept getting better and more complex. (This also brought forth one of the greatest descriptors I've heard for for any wine - Manuel suggested it tasted like "the most exquisite vaseline")
1975 Ridge Petite Sirah York Creek
Dark red colour bricking a little at the rim - still looks incredibly youthful. This comes across like an outstanding older Northern Rhone with dominant leather and gamey notes giving it a sauvage character, and complex flavours of cedar, smoked meat, spicy red fruits and tar underneath. Subtle, layered and still seems to have the stuffing to last a while longer with grainy tannins and vibrant fruit on the back end. My previous experiences with Petite Sirah had given me the opinion that those wines would only 'hold' and never really develop with age. This proved me very, very wrong. A really fantastic, eye-opening wine.
2006 Dönnhoff Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese
Singing the moment the cork was pulled. Loaded with bright sweet cherries, flowers and apple flavours with a crunchy mineral texture in the mouth and bright acidity. Incredibly elegant, perfect balance (well, it is Donnhoff) and a long finish that's all cherries and slate. One of the first bottles (out of a long list) to be emptied at the table, which says something about just how tasty it was. I've had this twice before in the last year and I love it more and more each time I drink it. Absolutely delicious - Kirschheck rocks!
2007 D. Ventura Ribeira Sacra Vino do Burato
Great rustic nose with lots of earth, leather, cherry and some iodine funk. Medium bodied and elegant in the mouth with very pure cherry and strawberry flavours over more leather with chewy tannins and bright acidity. Delicious.
2002 Nicolas Potel Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Pruliers
Very subtle and quiet on the nose with strawberries, black cherry, cinnamon, spices and earthy notes. The palate is medium bodied with flavours that echo the nose, bright acidity and a silky texture. Seems to fall away a little at the finish.
2004 Lillian Winery Syrah
I've had Jekyll and Hyde experiences with this wine - on a couple of occasions in the past it was very impressive and balanced for its size, and another time it was over the top with massive volatile acidity and too much extract for me to drink it. This was the most unpleasant bottle of this I've tasted so far with immense caramel, talc powder and floral aromas and a heavily confected character to the massively concentrated fruit flavours. Very little acidity, perceptible alcohol on the back end - close to undrinkable. A caricature of what Syrah is supposed to be.
2000 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Very nice nose with spices, Provencal herbs, bright red fruits, leather and some faint floral notes. On the palate this has a more dark fruited character with blackberries and black olive flavours mingled with more herbs and spices. Firm, drying tannins on the back end give the impression this still needs more time.
1997 Fanti Brunello di Montalcino
Very enjoyable with food, showing a smoky, spicy character and lots of sweet and savoury red fruit flavours on the nose and palate with some cedar notes emerging with time. Good acidity and a clean medium length finish.
2005 Simon Bize Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Guettes
Starts out with wonderful perfumed aromatics and bright flavours of cherries and blackberries layered with spices and smoke across the nose and palate. Some leather and damp earth notes emerge with time. Medium bodied and elegant with a silky smooth texture, great balance and a long finish. I'd have loved to keep this in the glass and explore it over some time if it hadn't been for the very long lineup of wines on the table.
1999 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Freedom Hill Vineyard
Big and intense with flavours of cherries, smoke and spices on the nose and palate. Tasting this after some of the other Burgundies, I found this comparitively one-dimensional and lacking elegance.
1993 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Fontalloro
Very nice aromatics with smoke, leather, spices, coffee and red and dark fruits. On the palate it's not as complex or interesting with sour cherry and berries mingled with coffee and a little oak.
2005 Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Noir
Spicy and crammed with cherries and raspberries, but this felt awkward and unbalanced with the fruit having an overly sweet, almost candied quality to it and the acidity feeling out of balance and unnatural. (By far the most spoofed-up Pinot I've ever had. Yet... worse was ahead)
2006 Quivira Grenache Wine Creek Ranch
I was afraid to even try this wine - after a Saxum tasting/dinner a month ago, I've become very wary about anything with a good amount of Grenache in it that comes from California. This, however, is a wine that could make a Saxum Rocket Block taste balanced. The smell of alcohol was perceptible when I was pouring this into my glass (a foot away from my nose). A very daring sip revealed massively extracted, flabby and over the top with fig, kirsch and Provencal herb flavours, very perceptible alcohol and barely any acidity. Ugh.
2002 Roda Rioja 'Roda Reserva'
Absolutely stunning with a nose that immediately raised expectations, showing roasted meat, spices, leather, blackberries, plums and smoke. Just as impressive in the mouth where it's medium to full bodied with expansive dark fruit flavours, smoke, leather, cloves and cinnamon over chewy tannins and decent acidity. This is big and intense but has a sense of elegance and great balance to it with a very long finish.
