Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Ostertag Gewurztraminer 2003 'Vignoble d'E'

Rose petal, lychee and fresh ground black pepper with a touch of flint on the nose. 

Quite sexy on the palate - lipid, soft and silky but with a bit of a hot finish. Great with Thai food a few weeks ago, but we don't have any Thai food right now. 

***

Tasted at Naughton 23/3/2008

Leitz Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck Spätlese 2003

The room's too dark to really judge the colour - still pale gold though.

Nose is honey and ripe pineapple with slices of lime, fresh green apple, honeysuckle and flower water.

All that comes through on the palate with more. Juicy melon, more pineapple - ripe and sweet on the mid-palate but with brilliant candied lime peel acidity on the finish that keeps it clean. The texture is fresh honeydew and this is a fine, sexy wine. More, please.

*****

Tasted at Naughton 23/03/2008

Niepoort Vintage 1970

Dirty brown with touches of rust. Not the most attractive colour of port I've ever seen.

The nose is stewed chocolate, caramel and edges of esther.

Leathery on the palate, soft - almost no fruit to speak of, but pleasant texture. A bit boozey on the finish.

Pleasant, but not great. Drink now.

**

Tasted at Naughton 23/08/2008

Bollinger La Grande Anée 1996

Rich gold in the glass - not dark yet, still with hints of green.

Hugely toasty on the nose with buttered mint and a touch of strawberry, nettles and summer hay. 

Honey buttered toast, mouth-filling and textured with a luscious mousse, still slightly rambunctious bubbles. The finish is perfumed, coming through with the strawberry, nettles and mint. Then it shuts down, bizarrely, and becomes quite simple. Bizarre. I think it may be a touch too young perhaps still? There is greatness to come. Wait a bit.

***(**)

Tasted at Naughton, 23/03/2008

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Louis Jadot Pernand-Vergelesses Clos de la Croix Pierre 2003

I first tasted this from barrel in November 2004. It struck me as a bit of a gem. The vineyard is a favourite of the winemaker, Jacques Lardiére and offers great quality at great value. 2003 though, was hot - damn hot. I've ranted here before about it being a terrible waste of money, how it was far too hot for decent wines, how better wines from better vintages could be bought at better prices. There are, of course, exceptions.

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Quite dark with vague violet on the edge. 

The nose is confusing but enticing. Meaty, with floral edges and a touch of candied cherries more reminiscent of Tuscan sangiovese than Burgundy. Behind the cherries are the cranberries and raspberries and its burgundian roots appear.

Ripe, juicy, red fruits erupt on the palate. This is what a heatwave does to Burgundy - femininity and elegance evaporate and what's left is sexy, perhaps even tarty. The fruit becomes a touch stewed with air - over an hour or so. That doesn't make it bad though. It's more-ish, slightly simple, but incredibly compelling and drinkable with soft, dusty tannins ensuring that it isn't just a one night stand. It lingers longer.

***

Tasted at Luvians Bottleshop 20/3/08

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Louis Jadot Côte du Nuits Villages "Le Vaucrain" 2005

What brilliant colour! Vibrant, youthful Burgundy with a touch of violet. 

The nose is both intense and tight knit at the same time. Focused. Raspberries and cranberry fruit edged by newly tanned leather, wild herb and a dash of spice.

The vibrancy of the fruit follows through all the way to the palate. It's almost juicy, but the structure keeps it in - I get the sense that the newly tanned leather of the tannins will soften brilliantly to that fantastic beaten saddle-leather texture that good old Burgundy gets. It's pleasing and more-ish now, with dark, tarry notes on the finish and surprising grip. I think five years or so and this will be truly incredible.

****(*)

Tasted 15/3/08 at Luvians Bottleshop

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Crater Rim Sauvignon Blanc 2007

Very pale gold with shimmering silver edges.

Great kiwi sauvignon nose - fresh, crisp green pepper first, then gooseberry and stone fruit - intense aromatics that get the mouth watering.

All that intensity comes through - the crispness, the green peppers, the gooseberries and the fleshy white fruit, but then there's a surprise. A sweet, rounded, rich, mid-palate with fine honey notes and razor balance reminiscent of good German riesling. The finish that follows is long and lovely.

Apparently a percentage of the fruit was late harvested. If so, well done. The margin for error with something like this is daunting, and the winemaker's success has resulted in a cracking New Zealand Sauvignon that manages to stand out from the crowd - no mean feat.

*****

Tasted at South St, 10/3/2008