Wine Musings: Vol#106

Wine of Merit: ****++Diamond Creek, Gravelly Meadow, Diamond Mountain, cabernet sauvignon, 1981: They just don't make them like this anymore and it really is a shame. Simply a magnificent wine. A definitive cabernet by any standard (well, ok, at least by mine. No one will confuse this with a Schrader). Tobacco, graphite, red currant, green peppercorn. With time grilled meats, leather. Great structure, front to back. Wonderful, deep minerals mid palate. Amazing balance and integration. Fine, endless, puckering finish. Another ten years left on this bottle. Crazy Good.

****+Gruaud Larose, St. Julien, Bordeaux, 1990: Another wonderful, sophisticated, beautiful wine. A meal in a glass. Blackberry, violets, iodine, blood, nicoise olives, oolong tea, oven roasted Brussels sprouts. So much going on here...and yet perfectly integrated. This wine just unfolds, wave after wave, with time in the glass. Palate coating, long, excellent grip. In no hurry at all. Great wine.

****Kongsgaard, The Judge, Napa Valley, chardonnay, 2006: Perhaps not its finest showing, though still among the best chardonnays available, regardless of provenance. The nose shows that wonderfully typical lemon oil, meringue, anjou pear, cinnamon stick. Hazelnut and a touch of butterscotch. The palate is a little less forthcoming than usual. A bit tighter too. Still, lots of white fruit and citrus. Medium length finish. I think it might be time to drink these up.

****Chateau D'Yquem, Sauternes, Bordeaux, 1989: Always a lovely way to finish a meal. A touch of initial astringency on the nose fades to reveal honeyed peach, apricot, maple and blood orange. Beautiful attack on entry with a coating mouth feel and a note of baked apple and cinnamon. Lingering, spicy finish. Yummy.

****Cedric Bouchard, Roses de Jeanne, Le Creux D'Enfer, Champagne, NV: Perhaps one the best pinot noir saignee champagnes I have ever had. Intense, lively, ebullient in every sense. Bright strawberry, blood orange, queen Anne cherries and rhubarb fruit. Grilled peaches. Superb minerals and a touch of sage. Racy acids, tangy mid palate. A very intense champagne experience. Love it.

***++ Robert Ampeau, Savigny Les Beaune, Burgundy, pinot noir, 1990: Wonderful, mature savigny. Lovely notes of game, red fruit, citrus, green tea, some barnyard. Lithe and medium weight on the palate, red fruit driven, with no drop off, front to back. Finish is medium length and resolving. A great transition wine from the white to the reds.

***+GTS Vineyards, Estate, Diamond Mountain, cabernet sauvignon, 2005: A lovely wine. GTS stands for George Thomas Seaver and yes, this is his vineyard and wine. The wine is made by Thomas Rivers Brown on Tom Seaver's behalf and it shows TRB's house style. Ripe, voluminous, blackberry jam, mulling spices, Christmas pudding notes jump from the glass. The palate is velvety, generous and coating with lots more black fruit, fig and crushed rock. The finish is long and firm, the only real element that tells me this might be from Diamond Mountain, a terroir that generally produces monster wines that are unapproachable at this stage. Just a delicious wine, though I would quibble with the heavy hand.

**Chateau Troplong Mondot, St. Emillon, 1964: Past its prime but not completely without merit. Unraveling, slightly sherried notes of tangy BBQ sauce, caramel, chocolate and plum. More lively on the thinning palate, with better plum notes and hints of mineral and herb. Finish surprisingly pronounced. Older wines like this are always about storage conditions and other variables outside the bottle as well as in, so your mileage may vary significantly. Still, a fun experiment.

Wine Musings Vol#105

Wine of Merit: ****+Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac, 1979: A wonderful expression of Mouton in full voice. Rich, red fruit, graphite, cedar and cassis. With time focused mint chocolate. Gliding, velvety palate with more red and black fruit and mineral. Finish is sweet and resolving. I think this wine is at its peak. Lovely.

***++ Chateau Montrose, St. Estephe, 1986: A meal in a glass. A teenager, still brooding and a bit awkward, this wine needs cellar time. With time and air...Black fruit, loam, freshly butchered meat, licorice root. The palate is big and burly, showing a pronounced tannic ledge and primary red and black fruit. The finish is firm and long. A lovely Montrose with a long future ahead of it.

***++ Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc, Pessac Leognan, 2006: Wonderful and better than the 2005. Waxy, linseed, candied orange peel and marzipan, bright guava, red grapefruit and kiwi, apricot and honeycomb. Great intensity and zest. Fabulous acidity and mouth feel. Superb. Lovely now, better later.

***+ Etienne Sauzet, Puligny Montrachet, 1er cru, Les Referts, 2007: Wonderful white burg and an excellent QPR wine. Bright, refreshing notes of key lime and meyer lemon. A hint of lemon custard and white, fleshy pear. Redolent orange blossom. Not over the top at all - wonderfully balanced and in check. Good acids and minerals, with a touch of vanilla on the palate. Medium length, spicy finish. We drank this with a 2006 Aubert Lauren vineyard and while the later was a crowd pleaser, I preferred the Sauzet for its balance and focus.

***+ Troplong Mondot, St. Emillion, 1996: From Magnum. Perfumed nose of red and black berry fruit, plum, tobacco, freshly turned earth and rose petal. Violets. Lithe mouth feel with excellent balance, rounding out with time, yielding more red fruit and chocolate. Finish is furry and long, surprisingly firm. Yummy.

***+ Chateau Leoville Las Cases, St. Julien, 1988: Just coming into its prime, requiring extended air and more than a little patience. With time, red fruit and game aromas, black olive, a tinge of something leafy, a touch of iodine. Very old world. Gliding palate, with lovely balance, firm from front to back. Finish is pronounced but not hard. A pretty wine that has a long life ahead of it.