Wine Musings Vol#79

Wine of Merit: **** Domaine Philippe Delesvaux, Anthologie, Coteaux du Layon, chenin blanc, 1997: Wow. Initially I feared this wine had suffered poor storage and had been oxidized; the cork was brittle and the color a very dark amber. Lucky for us this was not the case and the wine was excellent, if of disconcerting color. Initially the nose was pure black mission fig jam; a touch earthy, ripe, sweet (the wine has 535 gr. of residual sugar!) and deep. With time, the wine added more traditional botrytis nuances...lichee, ripe persimmon, thick clover honey, nectarine, vanilla orchid. The palate was thick and excellent, adding orange marmalade, caramel, biscotti and baking spices,a touch of brandy. Perhaps influenced by the color, a few said it reminded them of a vin santo. The finish was excellent; spicy and seemingly endless. I am sure storage has played some role here but the experience was outstanding.

***++Chateau de Baucastel, Chateau Neuf du Pape, 1994: A lovely wine. Initially offering complex, rustic, barnyard and grilled meat notes, this wine unfurled with time to offer very focused blackberry, herb, licorice root and iron aromas. Further development in the glass offered a floral hint of violet and lavender. The palate was lively, with more black fruit, pepper, minerals and brier. The palate is fine and firm. An excellent bottle.

***++Beringer Private reserve, Napa Valley, cabernet sauvignon, 1991: The essence of Napa. Just stuffed with wonderful, deep, red and black stone fruit, cassis, cedar and a hint of chalky, wet slate. The palate is deep, concentrated and chewy, surprisingly youthful yet still deftly integrated. The tannins are fine and the finish long. A great ambassador for the area - a wine I would consider a first growth, or at the very least a super second, of the Napa Valley.

***++Chateau Montelena, estate, Napa Valley, cabernet sauvignon, 1995 (from magnum): Speaking of ambassadors! Here is another wonderful example of what the left coast has to offer. Signature notes of mature plum, chocolate, a hint of soy, black tea and licorice. Vibrant. The palate is downright juicy, vivacious and fun to be around. Great balance. More feminine than the Beringer but not fragile or dainty, this wine is stacked. Just plain old yummy. The mag disappeared in a heartbeat. Drinking great right now.

***++Kongsgaard, Napa Valley, chardonnay, 2004: I believe the 2004 vintage of Kongsgaard chards suffers in comparison with the 2003 and 2005. Still very much a worthy wine, it does not show quite the depth and concentration of the other two vintages. That said, this wine is stunning. If a bit demure, it has a stunning mineral focus, accompanied by bright marzipan, Meyer lemon and honeyed kaffir lime notes. the palate is bright and intense, more taught than other vintages, with resounding minerals and a long, Asian spice imbued finish. Great stuff!

***Clos Pegase, Napa Valley, cabernet sauvignon, 1995: Lovely and surprisingly fresh. Perhaps the first of the "let's take a large fortune and turn it into a small fortune" wineries in the Napa Valley...see Revana, Vineyard 29, Darioush, etc. This wine is nonetheless very legit. Dominated by red fruit, morrels, eucalyptus, tisane and spice, the wine is elegant and expertly crafted. The palate glides, offering good concentration, weight and balance. The finish is fine and medium to long, with spicy oak notes at the tail. Delicious and worth the wait.

***Matanzas Creek, Sonoma, merlot, 1991: I have had some success with older Matanzas Creek merlots, so I had some hopes for the longevity of this wine. It is delicious, if perhaps on the downward slope. Mature plum, blackberry and lavender mix with tertiary bell pepper, garrigue and iodine notes. Hints of mineral, vanilla and violet. The palate is full, receding here and there, with more overripe plum, violet and chocolate. The finish is of medium length and fine. Probably more vibrant and primal in its youth, it is still fun and perhaps more complex now...and very much worth drinking tonight.

A quick P.S.: The ****Aubert, Lauren Vineyard, Sonoma Coast, chardonnay 2004 continues to be a breath taking, wonderful, amazing chardonnay. My notes from January of last year (Musings Vol#46) remain almost identical this week.

Wine Musings LTD: All Roads Lead to Rhone

From notes taken January, 2007:

All Roads Lead to Rhone:

Following is a brief summary of my tasting notes from our Syrah and Syrah-ish wine tasting held Saturday, January 14th. It was a wonderful event, probably the best wines we have served as a whole at one of these things, and I am appreciative of all those who could attend. Wines were served blind:

Pre-flight wines:

***++Didier Dageneau Silex, 1996: Lovely if unusual. Fully mature, deep yellow hue, lots going on. Dried pineapple, honeyed truffle oil and gooseberry were some of the descriptors being thrown out there. I buy it all. Not your father’s chardonnay. A serious white with great, full mouth feel and generous complexity.

**++Linda Domas Salience, 2005: Hard to believe it is the same grape. Lovely, surprisingly restrained, almost fragile. Great, tropical fruit notes and a light, lithe palate. Wonderful for a hot, summer day and some light food. Yum.

First Flight:

**++Henschke Keyneton, 1986: Mature and very much ready to drink. Bricking at the rim. Red fruit, grilled meats, pepper, some herbs. Firm finish, light mid palate. Very fine.

***Ch. Beaucastel, CNdP, 1988: Also very mature in color and nose, iodine, baked blueberry pie, a little racy on the palate, morer fruit, herbs and asian spices. Very firm on the finish. Yummy!

****Sean Thackery Orion, 1987: Special. Dark concentrated wine. Chocolate, mint, exotic spices, blackberry preserves. Velvety, delicious. Killer Diller.

DQ: Jaboulet, La Chapelle, 1989: Corked. Palate was mature and inviting, with red fruit and evolving complexities as it sat in the glass – but the nose was musty. I have had much better bottles.

Second Flight:

****++Sean Thackery, Orion 1995: Wow! One of the wines of the day, and there were some great wines. Licorice, blackberry, pine needles, anise seed. Great concentration and purity. No drop off at all, though sweet integration and balance. A serious wine.

****Ch Rayas, CNdP Reserve, 1990: A heralded wine. Delicious, animal, raisins, raspberry. Maturer and a bit demure. Nicely integrated. Lovely.

***++Penfolds Bin 920, 1990: Much better than the rep. Mautring, rose petal, red fruit, briar, tar. I liked this wine very much, even in its showier company. A stately wine.

****Jaboulet, La Chapelle, 1995: Served out of order by mistake. Wow. This is more like it. Really wonderful. Huge, black pepper, black fruit, mint and a wonderful lavender note. Big depth, a powerful wine. Firm but integrated all the way through. Great wine.

Third Flight:

****++Sine Qua Non. Against The Wall, 1996: Believe the hype, baby! Jeepers. Tar, violets, insane, huge concentration, blackberry preserves, pepper – amazing. Coating, intense, perfectly integrated. My number 2 wine of the day.

****++Clarendon Hills, Astralis, 1998: From strength to strength. While the SQN was a bit more out there, the Astralis was a bit more reserved…but had all of the same elements, perhaps adding a minerality and depth the SQN did not quite achieve. It will reward further patience, but is tantalizing right now. Hard to rank this below the SQN, perhaps only because of the later wine’s approachability right now. In my opinion, both are 96+ point wines.

***++Ch La Nerthe, CNdP, Cuvee Cadettes, 1994: A bit out of order and in strong company. Still, a lovely wine. CNdP notes of herbs, iodine, red fruit and smoke. Nice minerals, good solid concentration and a firm palate, though of course not the same kind of grip as the other wines of the flight. Super.

***++Chapoutier, La Sizeranne, 1994: Like the La Nerthe, a bit overwhelmed, though it acquitted itself surprisingly well. Delicious, showing great fruit purity, velvety black fruit, depth and minerals. Floral. I loved this wine and thought it very worthy.

Fourth Flight:

All of these wines were huge and really wonderful.

*****Guigal, Cote Rotie, La Landonne, 2001: Wow. Speechless. Great wine. Hard to detract anything at all from it. Animal elements, violets, black pepper. Great depth, great purity, great concentration. Out there for around $200 and a bargain at that price. My wine of the day.

***++Behrens and Hitchcock, Alder Springs Syrah, Hommage to Ed, 2001: Very yummy and approachable. Made in the B&H way. Big, open, velvety, maybe a bit blousy in comparison – still great. Very varietal, with black fruit, smoke, earth, flowers. No mistaking this wine.

****+Penfolds, Grange, 2001: I expected to not get much from this wine – but instead found it of course youthful but still approachable. Big and thick, some greenness from the American oak, spice, great, deep berry fruit. Brooding. Stately –maybe even majestic. A great Australian wine that will mature into a truly great wine experience.

****Ch Beaucastel, 2001: Very worthy. No mistaking this wine either – with its tell tale French herbs, iodine, animal, truffles and great red fruit concentration. I love this wine and cellar beaucastel hoping every vintage comes together like this one. Worth seeking out.

Mystery wine:

***++CUNE, Vine Real Reserva, 1950: Dave guessed Country, region and varietal –which in and of itself is impressive. No one was within 30 years of the vintage. Surprisingly youthful, it boasted mature red fruit, a burgundian earthy complexity, candied orange zest and fruited tea notes. Racy palate, good acids, not deep but consistent and integrated. A dynamite wine.