Drinking Tonight - II

We are moving on with an american Pinot. I usually like the examples that comes from Au Bon Climat, and this was a nice showing from then, but I have had better.

2007 Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir La Bauge Au-Dessus, Au Bon Climat
The nose that greets you is big, warm and fruity with notes of warm herbs, ripe rasberries, balsa wood and warm gravel. A nice volatile note. After a while some nice smoky notes emerge. Good but a tad too warm, this needs to be kept at ca 15-17 degrees Celcius to perform well.
The taste is fresh, cooler than the nose and fine with notes of rasberries, licorice, milk chocolate and warm undergrowth. There is a touch of alcohol warmth at the end. The acidity is noticable at the end in a nice way. Fine but I have had better wines from Au Bon Climat.
85p (tasted 2012/03)

Drinking Tonight - I

Just got home, just started the computer, just opened a bottle of wine...

2009 Puligny-Montrachet, Domaine Henri Boillot
This nice P-M comes from three parcels in Enseignères, Charmes and Houillières. It is young but very much open for business, with lovely notes of lemon cream, pears, melted butter, cookie dough and sweet summer flowers. Sweet and fine. A touch of match boxes.
The taste is medium deep, creamy and nice with notes of lemon cream, marzipan and sweet minerals. Good. The acidity creeps up in the finish and cleans up nicely. Not that complex but very gulpable on a friday afternoon!
87p   (tasted 2012/03)

Also tasted here: http://raradroppar.blogspot.se/2012/03/hyfsat-nytt-fran-sb-henri-boillot.html

Tasting of 1991 Vintage Port

Last week I went to Sverker for a VP tasting. Before we got to the port flight we were greated with a nice Riesling and two Burgundys together with a Boeuf Bourguignon. A great evening - as usual - thanks!

2009 Riesling, Willi Schaeffer
A pure, basic Riesling with nice notes of grey pears, lime peel, cap gun and some grassy notes. Young and fresh.
The taste is tight and restrained with fresh lemon and grapefruit fruit paired with green leafes and minerals. The acidity is of the perky kind, almost to verge of being fizzy. A very nice aperitif.
85p   (tasted 2012/03)

2004 Volnay Caillerets, Bouchard
A deep, cool nose with notes of lingonberries, rosehips, earth and dry leather. A commencing maturity. Cool, fresh fruit. Nothing green in this at all. A little restrained though. A nice depth.
The taste has more oomph about it, with sweet red currants and lingonberries plus nice notes of chocolate, earth and warm herbs. Feel younger in the mouth than on the nose. A fine cleansing acidity in the finish. No need to hurry to drink this although I wouldn´t wait for long either.
89p   (tasted 2012/03)

2004 Clos de la Roche Cuvée Vieilles Vignes, Domaine Ponsot
This is another creature altogether - deeper, broader, sweeter but also with more delicacy. The nose is big and sweet with notes of red cherries, rasberries, licorice and a gorgeous scent of pipe tobacco. Very deep. Dried mushrooms. The similarity with the previous wine is that it has started its road to maturedom. A tad animal after a while. Stunning.
The taste is tight, big and concentrated with lovely sweet fruit, soft tannins and a very long, warm finish. Red cherries, rosehips and rasberries. Very, very good. There is a touch of volatility at the end but that just adds to the complexity. Great wine.
94p   (tasted 2012/03)

And then it was time for the ports. A flight of five bottles. Not to tout my own horn too much but I actually guessed the vintage correctly - even a blind chicken finds a corn once in a while...:-)
Tasted double blind.

1991 Taylor´s Quinta de Terra Feita Vintage Port
A still young nose with notes of dark chocolate, blueberries, sweet rosemary and banana peel. Very nice. There is a touch of band aid that comes and goes.
The taste is young, tight and intense with notes of dark chocolate, rosehips, nut pie and pickled ginger. Still there is a touch of alcohol in the finish. This still needs to be kept in the cellar. The fruit is fine, the structure is there and this has the potential to be something really fine in due course. Give it 10 more years - at least!
88p   (tasted 2012/03)

1991 Fonseca Guimaraens Vintage Port
A deep, powerful, young nose with notes of blackberries, raisins, wet earth, band aid and some musky aromas - maybe these were trod by foot... :-)Very, deep and sweet. Very good.
The taste is tight, fiery and concentrated with great creamt fruit and notes of milk chocolate, banana peel, pan fried nuts and warm herbs. Very, very good. A long, focused finish. This is beginning its drinkable phase, but I would wait at least 6-8 years before opening another bottle.
91p   (tasted 2012/03)

1991 Dow´s Vintage Port
A very deep, sweet and hedonistic nose with lovely notes of chocolate mousse, motor oil, rasberry truffles and the fresh scent of freshly washed clothes drying in the open air. Very, very good. Strawberries with muscovado sugar and balsamic vinegar. Deep. swet and utterly yummy. This is the most mature port so far in the line up. although its not fully mature yet.
The taste is pure, sweet and intense with great fruit, great structure and a long, long, sweet finish. Black cherries in liquor, raisins, dark chocolate and warm herbs. This is a great drinking port right now, but I would bet that it will be even better in 5-10 years time.
93p   (tasted 2012/03)

1992 Niepoort Quinta da Passadouro
Sadly, the 1991 Quinta de Vargellas was corked but Sverker had a back up bottle. The nose is lighter than the rest of the flight, with notes of  blueberries, assorted nuts, gravel, orange peel and dry tobacco. Nice all the same. There is a tiny volatile note, but not in a disturbing way.
The taste is bigger with sweet, mature fruit and notes of lingonberries, dry chocolate, pecan nuts and dried strawberries. A nice, long finish that ends semi dry. Good in a slightly foursquare way.
85p   (tasted 2012/03)

1991 Grahams Vintage Port
We saved the best for last. A stunningly complex, deep, penetrating scent greats you when you put your nose in the glass. Classy aromas of of cinnamon apples, butter fried nuts, chocolate covered rasberries and warm, wet forest floor notes. Very, very good. After a while some resin and dark fudge notes emerge. A stunning nose.
The taste is extremely tight, focused and intense with beautiful sweet, voluptuous fruit and notes of Valrhona chocolate, nut pie and mature banana peel. Ripe plums. The finish goes on for over a minute. Still on the young side but impossible to resist now. Great wine!
95p   (tasted 2012/03)

Right here, Right now - 2001 & 2004 Barolo Bricco Fiasco, Azelia

I have just pulled the corks out of these bottles, poured some centiliters in Riedel Vinum Extreme Pinot glasses and the rest of the wines in decanters. This is my first expressions:

2001 Barolo Bricco Fiasco, Azelia
What a wonderful, finely tuned, ethereal nose that oozes out of the glass with notes of sweet red cherries, autumn leaves, milk chocolate and hard cherry candy. Hints of licorice, dried mushrooms and dried flowers. Very, very fine.
The taste is slender and soft when it enters the mouth but soon the tannins and acidity has taken a firm grip. Notes of red currants, lingonberries and red cherries. A very nice mouthfeel, albeit young and unevolved. The same note of hard cherry candy as on the nose. A stuningly beautiful taste. This will be fun following. For now this is the 93-95p range.

2004 Barolo Bricco Fiasco, Azelia
The younger sibling is deeper, darker and sweeter out of the gate. Notes of black cherries, wet earth, dark chocolate and a touch of beef broth dominate the nose. The sweetness is stunning. A touch of tar and fresh mushrooms. Very, very deep.
The taste is bigger and sweeter than the 01, with lovely notes of chocolate covered red cherries, licorice and undergrowth. A very long finish where the tannins appear in the end. Very intense. A beautiful mouthfull of wine! This is in the 92-94p range.

I will follow these beauties throughout the afternoon and evening and will report back as I go along.

Update: Two hours later the 2001 has fatten up, the fruit is more voluptuous and bigger, with some fresh stables notes. Very fine. The 2004 hasn´t changed that much, but the sweetness of the fruit in this one is amazing. Two beautiful wines.

Drinking Tonight

This has been a looong week - need some nice Barolo to wind down - and this really does the job.

2006 Barolo, Azelia
This normale is in a nice drinking window. The nose is open for business with lots of dried flowers, rosehips, autumn leaves, dried mushrooms and a lovely, velvety cherry fruit. Intoxicating. Very, very nice.
The taste is tighter than the nose leads you to believe, with a good tannin grip supporting the nice sweet fruit. Notes of lingonberries, red cherries, dry licorice, earth and dried mushrooms. Long, fine and balanced. A nice palate cleanser. Just what i needed tonight.
88p   (tasted 2012/03)

Tomorrow I will dive into Azelia´s Bricco Fiasco - vintage 2001 and 2004 - will get back with a report.

The Perfect Ones - Part 12

In may of 2007 I arranged a tasting with a nice array of mature and maturing Bordeaux wines. I pretty much ransacked my cellar of the ones I thought should be in a perfect drinking window. And some of them were truly great (see the whole list below).
There were two bottles that, on that night, performed in a perfect manner - the 1982 Château Latour (as usual...will get back to that one later in this series) and the

1982 Château Cheval Blanc
I have been fortunate to have tasted this beauty on five different occasions. It has always performed great, but this is the only time I have found it completely faultless (I have previous scored it between 94 and 98p).
And this time it really had some serious competition! :-)
The nose is just mesmerizing, with utterly gorgeous notes of red currants, plums, leather, milk chocolate, cold sugared coffee, fudge and a myriad of other scents. Very deep, focused, intense and completely fascinating. Very, very elegant.
The taste is sooo concentrated and focused and at the same time smooth as silk. The fruit is perfectly ripe and stunning in its sweetness, intensity and creaminess. Notes of red currants, red cherries, old leather, tobacco and milk chocolate. The tannins are perfectly integrated. At 25 years of age this is a charming and ravishing bottle of wine. Can´t seeing this getting any better than this, but I´m ready to be convinced!
100p   (tasted 2007/05)

The other wines:
1945 Château Leoville Las-Cases   (92p)
1985 Château Leoville Las-Cases   (95p)
1995 Château Leoville Las-Cases   (92p)
1947 Château Cheval Blanc   (97p)
1961 Château Canon   (92p)
1990 Château Canon   (94p)
1964 Château Margaux   (91p)
1996 Château Margaux   (98p)
1996 Château Latour   (97p)
1982 Château Latour   (100p)
1998 Château Lafleur   (96p)
1999 Château Lafleur   (91p)

Fun Tasting of Mourvèdre Wines!

Its always educational and humbling to taste blind, too say the least - this monday none of us had a clue that we were tasting Mourvèdre from different parts of the world...:-)

Tasted double blind. All wines were decanted three hours before the first pour. Thanks Håkan for this lesson!

2005 Domaine Tempier Cuvée La Tourtine
From 40 year old vines this cuvée contains of 80% Mourvèdre, 10% Grenache and 10% Cinsault, although the mix can change some from year to year.
The nose is fine, light and from the start a little anonymous but broadens in the glass. Notes of cool red currants, balsa wood, minerals and warm earth emerges from the glass. This is not that expressive but very nice in its laid back character.
The taste is young, tight and a bit seedy with cool red fruit, dry licorice, earth and minerals. The tannins are young and fresh. A medium long finish. Very nice, but needs another 3-4 years.
85p   (tasted 2012/03)

2008 Valiniëre, Leon Barral
I don´t seem to like these wines...second time in a short while that I get a Valiniëre blind and the second time I don´t like it (the 2001 Valiniëre - http://barolista.blogspot.se/2012/02/eleven-bottle-of-wines.html)
A big, all-over-the-place nose with notes of rubber bands, scorched earth, warm metal, freshly sawn oak and concentrated bluberry and cherry fruit - but the sort that you pour from a can...
The taste is very young, very firm and very tannic with fiery red fruit, and notes of hot gravel, band aid, dark chocolate and wood. The finish is long but ends with a fiery note. Unbalanced. There is a marc feeling about it. Not my cup of tea, although better than the 2001.
68p   (tasted 2012/03)

2007 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Tintot, Mas de Boislauzon
"Tintot" is apparantly an old name for Mourvèdre. This very nice wine is produced from over 80 year old vines and the production is a tiny 1500 bottles a year. The first vintage was the 2006 so this is a new kid on the block.
The nose is deep, fine and with a beautiful herbal scent that goes through the creamy cherry and red currant fruit. A lovely sweetness. With air more forest scents emerge. There is a touch of warmth here also, like warm dried red fruits. Very, very good.
The taste is tight, concentrated and fresh with beautiful sweet red fruit, perky tannins and a long, warm, caressing finish. A touch of warmth at the end reduces the whole impression a little for me, but this is a very fine wine.
89p   (tasted 2012/03)

2008 Clio, Bodegas El Nido
A beautiful label on this heavy bottle. And the wine isn´t a slouch either! A big, voluptuous nose oozes from the glass with notes of blackberries, cherry liquor, vanilla oak, mint and wet earth. Very big but a tad one-dimensional. It doesn´t really evolve in the glass.
The taste is big and creamy with notes of sweet black cherries, licorice, beef broth, almond paste and dark chocolate. There is a lot of nice warmth in the finish with vanilla oak flavours dominating. A tad rough around the edges, but a nice wine all the same. Perhaps better with some more years in the cellar?
70% Mourvédre and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon.
86p   (tasted 2012/03)

2007 Ex Ex 7, Castillo Perelada
A limited edition release of 2.918 bottles, according to their website - http://www.castilloperelada.com/wines/ex-ex/ex-ex-7/.
Made from 100% Mourvédre, or Monastrell, as it is called in Spain, this one leaps out of the glass with gorgeous aromas of red and black cherry fruit and notes of milk chocolate, pipe tobacco, sweet minerals and a touch of eukalyptus. Deep and enticing. A lovely nose.
The taste is equally fine, with lots of fresh, sweet cherry fruit, firm but polished tannins and a very long, intense finish. Sweet licorice, chocolate and tobacco flavours mixes well with the fruit. This has a great balance and presence. A lovely wine!
93p   (tasted 2012/03)

2009 Columella, The Sadie Family
This is a blend of Syrah and Mourvédre and one of the most famous wines from South Africa. The first vintage of Columella was the 2000. Nine years later, this vintage is a beautiful wine with a nose that starts out a little restrained (despite three hours in a decanter), but soon blossoms in the glass with scents of blueberries, rosehips, dry earth, cold coffe and a touch of vanilla oak. It becomes more structured with air, turning into a well defined, sweet, nicely put together wine.
The taste is young, tight and focused with sweet cherry and blueberry fruit and notes of dark chocolate, earth, leather and a peppery note that surely must come from the Syrah. A long, intense finish. Very, very good. Would definitely benefit from a few years in the cellar.
91p   (tasted 2012/03)

Keeping it Live from Barrique!

Next up is a grilled entrecote and when choosing a glass of wine I went for a wine from Portugal. I am tasting wine from this neck of the woods to seldom - I know Niklas! :-), for this is a very nice wine. Ended up having two glass of this very nice wine.

2008 Vallado, Quinta de Vallado
A deep, finely tuned, but expressive nose with notes of sweet blueberries, lingonberries, warm herbs, a touch of peppar and some dark chocolate. A very genuine, fragrant, intense nose. This is beautiful in its nicely focused character.
A deep, young, fresh taste with lovely notes of rasberries, blueberries, herbs, dark chocolate, warm earth and a gorgeous tannin structure. The finish is long, structured and pure. This is very, very good.
92p   (tasted 2012/03)

Live from Barrique Winebar!

I am in Gothenburg for a few days, and I am visiting Barrique winebar for the first time. Seems like a nice place! I am starting things of with a glass of

2008 Mountford Estate Chardonnay
It is lucky that I have a rather high threshold for just barriques (if nicely handled of course), for this has a lot. But there is also heeps of sweet tropical fruit, melted butter, wood smoke and cookie dough. Medium deep. I like it!
The taste is much leaner - granted, there is a lot of oak here also, but the structure, acidity and the sweet fruit manage to make this a tightly wrapped package. Lemon curd, smoke and milk chocolate fudge. Very, very good.
90p   (tasted 2012/03)

Drinking Tonight

With some nice pasta and beef, mushrooms and a mustard sauce, a mature Chianti would do the trick I thought. And it did, the round, mature, velvety taste perfectly matched the creamy sauce. A nice tuesday meal.
Popped and poured.

1978 Chianti Classico Riserva, Castello di Uzzano
A soft, nice, interesting nose with notes of ripe cherries, burned earth, sweet orange peel, muscovado sugar and mature red apples. A touch volatile, but not in a disturbing way. Actually grew in the glass, becacoming sweeter and more harmonius. Very nice.
The taste is mature, cool and velvety with notes of cherry juice, sandel wood, dry tobacco and licorice. Not that deep, not that complex, but  very nice drinking. A touch of balsamic vinegar in the end, indicating that this for drinking sooner than later. A nice pasta wine, and when bought for a song, I felt good...
84p   (tasted 2012/03)

Just Bought

This interesting piece of art (hopefully...) arrived yesterday - the debut vintage of Vigorello. By now Vigorello consists of 60% Sangiovese and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, but back in 1968 it was all Sangiovese. Starting in 1979 Cabernet was added, the first year with 10%. It gradually increased and from 1997 it was 40%, the percentage that it has held since then.
The name comes from the latin vigor, that means strenght, energy, character. Now I just have to get some more vintages...

Then & Now - Château Kirwan

Had an old, forgotten bottle of 1985 Kirwan in the cellar and I saw that the state monopoly had the 2008 - why not pair them together? I can´t say that I have been a fan of Kirwan, I think they perfomed rather uneven and not up to their classification during the 80´s and the beginning of the 90´s, but supposedly there has been improvement made since.. Lets find out!
Just popped and poured.

1985 Château Kirwan
A mature, medium deep, autumly nose with notes of tobacco, red currants, dry leather and some road dust. Fully mature on the nose. With air coffe aromas and that nice scent of rotting vegetables appear. Really nice.
The taste is cool, mature and a little on the lean side, but the fruit is nice with notes of red currants, lingonberries and dry rasberries. Earthy notes mixed with cold coffe and tobacco is present in the finish. A medium long finish. Not a memorable wine as such, but when you are in the mood for a nice, mature Bordeaux, this fills the bill.
85p   (tasted 2012/03)

2008 Château Kirwan
A big, sweet, "modern" nose with notes of black currants, blueberries, dark chocolate and lots of vanilla infused cookie dough. A touch of bakelite. There is nothing wrong with it, it has very modern, sweet opulent fruit, but where is the character? Just on the nose, this could be a Cabernet from anywhere in the world.
The taste is is the same - young, strapping, sweet and powerful - but again, where is the terroir, the origin? Blueberries, black currants, rasberries, dark chocolate, vanilla oak and new leather. The finish is long and warm. Om its own, a good wine. As an example of a young Bordeaux? Not for me. I tasted the 85 Kirwan the first time in 1992, when it was 7 years old. Reading my note from then, it was clearly a young Bordeaux with typicity. Am I just getting old and grumpy...?
85p   (tasted 2012/03)

On the road

Me and my better half is in Norrköping today, and we are just back at the hotel after visting a nice Italian restaurant. With the foie gras pate we had a glass of Taittinger Brut - nice enough but it had a coarse feature (84p). But with the stunning beef filet we had a great bottle of

2004 Tignanello
A deep, fine, complex nose with notes of sugared coffee, red and black cherries, licorice and a warm Tuscan gravelly road. Still young but there is some maturity notes that comes through. Sandelwood and lingonberries bushes after a while. Very, very good.
The taste is fresh, full of cherry flavour and with a great structure. Notes of black cherries, dark chocolate and leather fills the taste with character. The finish is fresh and structured with a nice acidity. A lovely wine!
94p (tasted 2012/03)

Live from Prime Winebar - part II!

Well, after the two Champagnes I was in the mood to finish the afternoon of with a big glass of something great. Reading the list I spot something interesting - 2007 Le Vigne from Sandrone - should I...? You know the answer!

2007 Barolo Le Vigne, Sandrone
From a freshly opened bottle it is a tad chilly and shy, but when it warms up stunning aromas of crushed rose petals, sweet red cherries, lingonberries, licorice, porcini and moist earth oozes from the glass. A touch of chocolate after a while. Very deep.
The taste is fresh as a daisy, very young and sooo impressive. The sweet red cherries attacks the palate with help of some licorice, dried mushrooms, rosehips and sweet minerals. The grip in the finish is of the firm kind, and this is going to need at least 6-8 years in the cellar. But you can't really resist it today. A beauty!
95p   (tasted 2012/03)

Live from Prime Winebar!

There is always a reason to stop by Prime Winebar at Östermalmstorget in Stockholm. Today it is 1996 Henriot Millésimé. I love the Henriot style, and their Cuvee des Enchenteleurs is the work of dreams. Their 1988 still send shivers down my spine...
And I also took a glass of Henriot Blanc de Blancs just to have some comparison (not that I wanted one more glas of champagne, oh no).

Henriot Blanc de Blancs
A fine, soft, creamy nose with notes of lemon cream, freshly baked bread, white flowers and a touch of lime peel. Very nice. A touch of dry honey and matchboxes.
The taste is all about finesse, sweet yellow fruit and drinkability. Not a hard edge in sight. The acidity cleans up the mouth nicely at the end. Very easy to like, and to drink.
87p   (tasted 2012/03)

1996 Henriot Millésimé
There were more than 15 crus assembled in this vintage that consist of 52% Pinot Noir and 48% Chardonnay. The nose is much deeper than de Blanc de Blancs, with lovely scents of buttered warm bread, mature peaches, mature yellow apples and a lovely flinty/smoky note. A fine mature nose.
The taste is big, round, mature and intense with a tight core of lemons, apricots and yellow apples. A very fine acidity takes care of the finish. Very, very long. A lovely maturity. Maybe a tad more mature than some other 1996 tasted recently, but a beautiful wine none the less.
92p   (tasted 2012/03)

Now, what to move on to next...?

Drinking Tonight

Had the craving for a really nice Sangiovese tonight but ended up with a Cabernet Sauvignon instead! Not that I´m complaining. This is a beauty and a stunning example of the greatness of the 2006 Tuscan wines.

2006 Sammarco, Castello dei Rampolla
It needed some time in the decanter and the glass to really open up but when it did - what a wine! A hedonistic, concentrated, deep nose with the sweetest red and black currants, licorice, freshly cut pinetrees, new expensive leather, a dusty Tuscan road, and the scents that comes from a perfect autumn walk when it still is rather chilly. Just beautiful.
The taste is very young and the tannins really makes a mark in the mouth, but the fruit is soooo sweet and refined, and copes easily with the young structure. More of red and black cherries than currants in the taste with some added dark chocolate, licorice, forest floor and a touch of vanilla oak. Very, very fresh. The finish goes on for over a minute, with a sweet mineral note. Great, great wine, but needs another 5+ years in the cellar.
The cepage is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 5% Sangiovese.
94p   (tasted 2012/03)

The Perfect Ones - Part 11

This is my "most" perfect wine. Tasted a total of 9 times, and scoring perfect no less than 7 times (the other 2 times - 96 and 98p - what a bummer! :-)). And for the possibility to taste this so many times over the years - first time in 2002 - my heartfelt thanks goes to Sverker and Miran!
But the points are not important, the wine is. And this is a ravishing creature. The Le Haut-Lieu and Clos du Bourg is also impressive in the 1990 vintage, but Le Mont takes it to another level completely.

1990 Vouvray Le Mont Moelleux 1er Trie, Huet
The depth of this beauty is amazing, you never seem to get to the bottom of its perfect nose. But you get loads and loads of dried orange peels, oli cloth, rhubarb, wet earth, toasted almonds, dried honey and much, much more. Racy, potent and ethereal. Manage to be hedonistic sweet and intellectual aristocratic at the same time.
The taste is so wonderful that words really can´t do justice to it. It just flows effortless over the tongue and you notice the sweetness, the structure, the weight and the cleansing acidity, but it is an entity that goes beyond description. Just brilliant. Perfection in a glass.
100p   (last tasted 2011/01)

"The Chase Is Better Than The Catch"......?

"A little beauty, I love you madly,
Come on home with me,
I know you´re hot, I know what you´ve got,
You know I want to shake your tree

You know The Chase Is Better Than The Catch"
                                    (Motörhead/Ace of Spades /1980)

I don´t know if Lemmy was thinking of the latest vintage from Bordeaux when he wrote this song, but I got to think about it when I read Parkers report on the 2009 Bordeaux vintage from bottle.

"unquestionably the greatest Bordeaux vintage I have ever tasted" - 16 100 point wines - "may well go down....as the single greatest vintage ever produced in Bordeaux since records have been kept"...

Reading the report I kept hearing two voices in my head:
- f......g point chasers that now will drive the prices in the stratosphere
and then its the other voice that goes:
- I want, I want, I want, I want
I prefer to see myself as a complex person...

But intrigued I get, so I head down to the state monopoly, for being such a big vendor of wines, surely the shelfs would be full of released 2009´s. If not the big guns, but a selection of the the ones that Parker mentions - "hundreds of wines that cost well under 25$ and represent some of the finest quality money can buy for wine consumers".

2008, 2008, 2007, 2008, 2007 etc etc - not a single 2009 in sight. But wait, there is one - 2009 Mouton Cadet - not what I was looking for... And there is another one - 2009 Château Les Roches Gaby from Canon-Fronsac. That was it.
Ok then, I will try that then. 

2009 Château Les Roches Gaby
They don´t seem to have a website, but the Swedish importer informs that it has been in the same family for 250 years, and that after 1999 big investments have been made. The cepage is 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. It has been kept on french barriques, of which 45% have been new.
The nose opens up with sweet red and black cherries, rosehips, dry earth and rather a lot of sawdust - it smells just like freshly saw timber. That cools down with some air, but it is in the background the whole evening. Maybe a tad too much new wood here.
The taste is better, fresher and sweeter with lots of nice cherry and currant fruit with some dark chocolate and new leather that adds to the profile. A medium long, fresh finish that cleans up the mouth nicely. But there is a touch of warmth there, right at the back, that don´t really sit well with the rest. A nice enough wine, but I won´t be buying more of it.
82p   (tasted 2012/03)

Just Bought

1945 marks the end of World War 2 and in Bordeaux the vintage resulted in a tiny crop with some majestic wines. The best vintage during the 20th century along with 1928, 1961, 1982 and 1990.
I hope that this one lifes up to the high praise of the vintage...

Spring is in the air...

At least it seems so. Melting snow is dripping from buildings, birds are singing and we got to taste a nice set of Chardonnays last night. I guess red wine makes up about 70% of what we taste, but there is something about spring...
All tasted double blind.

2007 Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot Vieilles Vignes, Vincent Girardin
A fine, fruity, cool nose with notes of lemons, lime, dried mango, cold butter and smoke. Very good. Young but open for business. Fresh fruit. Medium deep.
The taste is young, fresh and stony with nice lemony fruit, dried apricots and some vanilla oak notes. The acidity keeps all together. A nice warmth in the finish. Very, very good.
89p   (tasted 2012/02)

2007 Saint-Aubin En Remilly, Vincent Girardin
A fine, spicy, elegant nose with notes of lemon, cold butter, assorted nuts and a fine flinty note. Medium deep. A touch of vanilla oak appears after a while. This is fine.
The taste is bigger than the previous wine with a lovely lemon cream flavour, great acidity and a long, fresh finish. Very, very nice. This is a great drinking Chardonnay. Both power and finesse.
92p   (tasted 2012/02)

2007 Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatières, Vincent Girardin
The third and last Girardin wine in this line up. This feel younger than the previous ones and in the present stage, a kind of ugly duckling. The nose is medium big with notes of grey pears, earth, dry lemoncello and some plastic/rubber notes. Young and broad over its shoulder but it hasn´t comed together yet.
The taste is bigger than the previous ones with lots of sweet yellow fruit, a searing acidity that reminds of the inner white in grape fruit peels. The oak showes up in the finish. A bit ungainly. Good concentration though. There is lots of quality here but it needs some year in the cellar to unfold.
89p   (tasted 2012/02)

2004 Puligny-Montrachet La Garenne, Simon Bize
Too bad - an oxidised bottle from this great producer.

2008 Vougeot 1er Cru Le Clos Blanc de Vougeot, Domaine de la Vougeraie
Aaaaaaah, this is beautiful! A searing, intense nose flows from the glass with notes of lemon cream, cold butter, assorted nuts, elder berries and gun powder smoke. Deep, focused and just lovely. Very intense. Very young but this is approchable. Great wine!
The taste is big, concentrated but finely tuned with notes of sweet lemons, limes and grapefruits with some fudge, smoke and vanilla mixed in. A long, fresh, complex finish. A lip smacking good wine!
95p   (tasted 2012/02)