Friday, 29 June 2012

2005 Puligny-Montrachet, Etienne Sauzet - Times Six!



When S invites you to a special tasting, you know there is going too be some good wines poured. And this time was no execption. Six bottles of 2005 Etienne Sauzet, all from Puligny-Montrachet. It was an interesting lesson in the different premier cu sites of Puligny and of Sauzet´s skills.
All wines tasted double blind.

2005 Puligny-Montrachet, Etienne Sauzet
The village wine starts of the tasting with a cool, spicy nose with nots of white currants, lemon peel, dry tangerines and some undergrowth. A touch of matchbox comes with air. Nice.
The taste is pure, fresh and rather elegant with a fine spicy feeling and notes of lemon cream, tangerines and some smoke. A medium long, nice finish with good acidity. A very nice wine which I would be happy to drink all days of the week, but...I would´n be equally happy paying 30 Euro per bottle. I think the name Sauzet is part of the prizing?
87p   (tasted 2012/06)

2005 Puligny-Montrachet La Garenne, Etienne Sauzet
A deep, round, fine nose with lots of creamy yellow fruit, and notes of summer flowers, vanilla ice cream, sea shells sauteed in butter and a touch of band aid/rubber. A very interesting, intense nose but a touch out of focus.
The taste is more liniar and focused with notes of tangerines, lemon cream, chalk and some nutty aromas. Very long and fresh. A fine acidity. When it becomes warmer in the glass there is heaps of sweet minerals. Very, very good.
91p   (tasted 2012/06)


2005 Puligny-Montrachet Les Perrières, Etienne Sauzet
This beauty has a intoxicating nose that is all about refinement and elegance. There is notes of orange blossom water, dry honey, red apples, lime peel, fresh grass and some linoleum in the background. Cool and sooo fine. With warmth a lovely note of christmas spices emerge.
The taste is young, pure and very fresh with notes of summer flowers, matchbox, wet stone, dry honey and lots and lots of sweet minerals. The finish goes on for nearly a minute. A gorgeous wine.
93p   (tasted 2012/06)


2005 Puligny-Montrachet Les Referts, Etienne Sauzet
Too bad - the premox ghost have yet again reared its ugly head... There is good fruit here and there and a nice structure, like the rest of the wines, but the whole experience is marred by a coating of oxidative notes.
Some of it actually blew of and it was better after two hours than initially, but the notes of wrinkled old apples and moist cellars never really disappeared. Drinkable with the food. Some said it tasted like an old champagne, but I think that those oxidative notes that comes with age are a completely different thing.
70p   (tasted 2012/06)

2005 Puligny-Montrachet Champs Canet, Etienne Sauzet
Aaaah - what a wine! The nose is profound in its complexity, intensity and hedonism. The nose oozes from the glass with notes of white and red currants, fudge ice cream, candied lemon peels, mint and christmas spices. Absolutely wonderful. A touch of Dijon mustard after a while! Deep and intoxicating.
The taste fresh, tight and yet creamy  with a lovely purity and sweetness. Notes of lemon cream, tangerines, yellow apples, smoke and a touch of blood grape flows over the palate. The finish is long, intense and complex. This is a stunning bottle of young white Burgundy!
96p   (tasted 2012/06)


2005 Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes, Etienne Sauzet
Last but definitely not least! The nose is very seductive, balanced and fresh with lovely notes of tangerines, summer flowers, vanilla fudge, expensive soap, wet stones and a hint oak smoke. There is some oak on the nose on this one. Very, very deep. Big potential on this one.
The taste is pure, tight and structured with lots of fresh, young acidity. This ones feels as the most backward in the line up. Notes of lime, star fruits, lemon cream, minerals and smoke. The finish is very long and ends dry and a tad compressed. Still very young. But there is stuffing here for something great in due course.
93p   (tasted 2012/06)


What to make of this interesting line up then? Well, Sauzet really made some fine wines in 2005. Would love to taste the remaining Puligny-Montrachet´s, and of course the Grand Cru´s as well - one can´t more than hope...:-)
They are still young of course, only the village wine is ready for prime drinking. The rest could use at least 5+ years in the cellar.
The tangerine note kept creeping up in almost all wines, I should have that in mind next time a Sauzet turns up.
All in all, a great tasting - thanks S!



Thursday, 28 June 2012

Two More 1975 Chianti´s

Had the opportunity to buy a case of mixed 1975 Chianti´s a while back. So far I have opened 7 bottles, 6 of them at a tasting and one on its own. Time now to open two more with some pasta, salsiccia and tomatoe sauce.

1975 Chianti Classico, Badia a Coltibuono
A high pitched, cool, mature nose with some volatile notes and scents of dried cherries, muscovado sugar, coca-cola, rubber tires and bonfire smoke. A tad to old on the nose but its still hanging in there. The volatile note blew off with air.
The taste is more tight and fresher than the nose with notes of red cherries, licorice, balsamic vinegar, green raisins and a hint of cinnamon. A fine sweetness in the finish. Medium long. Drinking well.
85p   (tasted 2012/06)

1975 Chianti Classico Riserva, Le Chiantigiane
DOA - looks like old mud, and taste pretty much like that also...
50p   (tasted 2012/06)



Tuesday, 26 June 2012

The Perfect Ones - Part 15

I have been fortunate too have tasted this beaty on two occasions, the first in 2004 when I scored it at only 99p (tasted blind).....and then at a Barolo Boys gathering in 2007 where it performed in a perfect manner (also tasted blind - for the other wines, see below). I can´t wait for the next time...

1996 Barolo Percristina, Domenico Clerico
A deep, hauntingly beautiful, pure nose with notes of sweet red cherries, rosehips, rasberries, cool licorice, expensive leather, and a touch of vanilla and asphalt! Very, very complex and utterly magnificent. Layers upon layers of the sweetest fruit imaginable. Soooo fine. This is what dreams (my at least...) are made of.
The taste is a miracle of concentration, intensity, purity and power & lightness combined. The fruit is perfect in ripeness, the tannins are polished with the finest sandpaper and the finish never ends. When wine reaches this level of perfection, points are pretty much useless, but still - one of the easisest 100p wine ever - just beacuse the scale stops there...
The grapes comes from 1,7 ha in the Mosconi cru area and gets 36 months in French oak barriques (80% new, 20% once used).
100p   (tasted 2007/06)
Other wines tasted at this Barolo Boys gathering:
2003 L´Insieme, Elio Altare   (91p)
2001 Barolo Cerequio, Roberto Voerzio   (96p)
1990 Barolo Cerequio, Roberto Voerzio   (85p?)
2004 Clos Galena, Domaine de la Cartoxia   (89p)
2001 Barbaresco Asili, Bruno Giacosa   (90p)
1997 Barolo Brunate, Ceretto   (93p)
1996 Barolo Pajana, Domenico Clerico   (94p)

 

Monday, 25 June 2012

A Midsummers Feast!



For midsummer some friends came over for a whole day of leisure. First a picnic in the sunshine out by the sea, and then a long dinner with great food and wine.
We managed to taste and drink a lot of nice bottles during the day.
All wines tasted non blind.

For the picnic we brought some antipasti and a couple of chilled bottles.

2002 Saarburger Rausch Riesling Kabinett, Zilliken
A fine, fresh nose with some maturity and notes of melon, orange peel, cap gun powder and some petrol in a distance. Very fine.
The taste is cool, elegant and medium dry with notes of dried tropical fruits, lemon cream, pear and sweet minerals. Medium long and fine. This is in a great drinking phase.
88p   (tasted 2012/06)


2005 Schlossböckelheimer Felsenberg Riseling Spätlese, Dönnhoff
A deep, penetrating, finely tuned nose with notes of lemon peel, minerals, dry licorice, nettles, grey pears, and some steely aromas. Still young but sooo concentrated and fine.
The taste is tight, young and intense with notes of lemon cream, dried apricots, wet stones and a touch of bonfire. Long and sophisticated. Great wine.
94p   (tasted 2012/06)

2001 Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese, Dr. Loosen
A mature, round, semi dry nose with notes of almond paste, ripe yellow apples, dry honey, lemoncello and a fine spiciness. Very good.
The taste is mature, round and lovely with notes of ripe lemons, almond candy, wet earth and some diesel notes. The finish is long and ends almost dry. Drinking well.
87p   (tasted 2012/06)

2008 Sonnenglanz Pinot Gris, Bott Geyl
A big, sweet, concentrated nose with lots of ripe fruit - pine apple, apricots, melon with notes of candied lemon peel, sugared water, white raisins and smoke. Very, very deep. A rather oily feeling.
The taste is big, powerful and intense with lots of concentrated sweet fruit. Notes of dried tropical fruit, Del Monte juice and some smoke. A long, medium dry finish. There is lots of acidity but the fruit somewhat overpowers it. I would have wanted a bit more firm structure. Very good in small sips...
85p   (tasted 2012/06)


After some hours in the sun we went inside and started prepare dinner. For starters we had an assortment of tapas. With them two gorgeous white Burgundys.

2008 Bienvenues Batard Montrachet, Domaine Faiveley
An utterly gorgeous, deep and ethereal nose with lovely notes of lemon cream, pan fried nuts, cold butter, home made vanilla ice cream and sweet summer flowers. A captivating nose that draws you in.
The taste is very young, very pure and very, very wonderful, with notes of lemon and lime cream, dry fudge, hazel nuts and a touch of smoke. The finish is counted in minutes. A tad more locked in than a year ago, when it made my Ten Most Memorable list. But this is as good as it gets.
97p   (tasted 2012/06)

1996 Meursault Rougeots, Verget
A deep, mature, nutty nose with notes of dry lemoncello, pine nuts, earth, digestive biscuits and dried mushrooms. Very open and interesting nose. Deep. A fine smoky note after a while. Very fine.
The taste is big, sweet and mature with notes of candied lemon peel, butter fried nuts, warm grass and some bonfire scents. Medium long and fresh. This is a fully mature, very nicely drinking Meursault.
91p   (tasted 2012/06)


Next up was oven grilled chickens stuffed with truffle salami, roasted vegetables and a tomato- and garlic sauce. With the chickens we had a smattering of bottles!

1967 Chianti Classico Riserva Il Grigio, San Felice
The first in this trio was really different than the others. It feels like it was made of muscovado sugar instead of grapes... Very upfront, sweet and dark nose with notes of sugared black cherries, burned meat, moist undergrowth and stables in a distance. Very sweet. In fact too sweet.
The taste is big and brawny and all over the place with dried up cherries, old chocolate, burnt wood and wet undergrowth. The finish is big, dry and fiery. This is going in some red wine sauce later this week...
68p   (tasted 2012/06)

1978 Chianti Classico Riserva Il Grigio, San Felice
A fine, deep, elegant, mature nose with stunning notes of rich cherry fruit, sage, dried strawberries, a dusty Tuscan road and a touch of paint. Complex and interesting. Very, very fine.
The taste is finely tuned with a lovely maturity and notes of red and black cherries, red currants, dry chocolate, old leather, wet earth and mushrooms. This has a great structure. A lovely maturity.
92p   (tasted 2012/06)


1988 Chianti Classico Riserva Il Grigio, San Felice
A more tight, earthy note than the 10 year older sibling, with notes of fresh cherry fruit, sage, violets, warm rocks and a touch of bonfire. Very fine. Opens up nicely in the glass and the cherry fruit becomes sweeter.
The taste is tight and racy with young, sweet cherry fruit, chocolate, warm herbs and finely cut tannins. The finish is medium long and has a nice warmth to it. Very, very good. But I think it needs another 5+ years in the cellar to become more like the 78.
90p   (tasted 2012/06)

2010 Savigny-les-Beaune Aux Vergeless, Simon Bize
This youngster has a deep, profound, utterly gorgeous nose with notes of sweet lingonberries, rasberries, smoke, forest floor and a touch of oak. With air it becomes more sturdy. This needs time. Blueberry bushes and chocolate after a while. Really fine.
The taste is young, tight and fresh like a mountain river with sweet red fruit, dry licorice, fresh mushrooms and a lovely spiciness. A very fine acidity. Long and delightful. And very young. This needs some 5-8 years but I guess this is going to be a winner in due course.
93p   (tasted 2012/06)


2009 Rosso di Montalcino, La Gerla
A young, fresh, salivating nose with notes of sweet red and black cherries, lingonberry bushes, mushrooms, a touch of coconut and the scent of an early morning in Tuscany. Great nose!
The taste is cool, young and snappy with notes of blueberries, dark chocolate, herbs, leather and some road dust. Very fresh. The finish is medium long and ends with a nice dry twist. Very drinkable, I could easily empty a bottle of this by myself...
87p   (tasted 2012/06)

2007 Brunello di Montalcino, La Gerla
Wooow! What a nose! A hedonistic, deep, concentrated nose with notes of (over)ripe black cherries, Valrhona chocolate, expensive leather, violets, balsamic  vinegar, rosehips and a perfect autumn walk in a moist forest. Very, very deep. A lovely perfumed note. This is just divine.
The taste is young, tight and impressive with a combination of perfectly ripe cherries covered with a chocolate ganache where some violets and balsamic vinegar have been added. The structure is great with the sophisticated tannins lurking in the background. Still very young but impossible to resist today.
96p   (tasted 2012/06)


2001 Montpeyroux, Domaine d´Aupilhac
This Coteaux du Langedoux wine consists of 30% Mourverdre, 30% Carignan, 25% Syrah, 10% Grenache and 5% Cinsault. The nose is wide open with a musty character and notes of stables, black peppar, meat, violets and some rubbery notes. If the Brunello above was pure aristocracy so is this one the peasent in the wine family. But very genuine, and good.
The taste is as open as the nose with lots of peppered meat, dry chocolate, ripe rasberries and dried herbs. A very good tightness. The finish is medium long and ends nicely. Very good with the food. An honest, mature, good wine.
87p   (tasted 2012/06)


2003 Barbera d´Alba, Giacomo Conterno
A deep, pure, warm nose with notes of sweet cherries, licorice, resin, undergrowth and some saw dust. Still on the young side of things. A fine sweetness to the fruit. Very good.
The taste is big, tight and a tad unyielding in its cool cherry and licorice structure. The finish is long and a bit dry. The fruit doesn´t really come forward, this one is more about framework than the stuffing that lies there in the background. Wait and see?
82p   (tasted 2012/06)

1964 Tawny Port, Gonzalez Byass
Bottled in 1977. A big, sweet, mature, round nose with notes of candied orange peel, muscovado sugar, varnish, pan fried nuts and dry fudge. Sweet and nice. A smoky note after a while. Fully mature. Not that complex but very yummy.
The taste is big, round, mature and sweet with notes of pipe tobacco, candied orange peel, milk chocolate and treacle. Long, sweet and satisfying. This is really good in its open, hedonistic style.
88p   (tasted 2012/06)


Wednesday, 20 June 2012

Barolo Boys Does 1996 Barolo

I am member of an illustrious group, known as the Barolo Boys - and I have the shirt to prove it! :-)


We get together and drink Barolo - talk about a great concept! Sadly, it has been a while since we last got together but a few days ago S had summoned us with the promise that he would open some 1996 Barolo. Thanks all for a great night!
All wines tasted double blind.

We started with some antipasti and a bottle of
2002 Gantenbein Riesling Spätlese
A very fine, elegant, maturing nose with notes of slate, yellow apples, lemon cream, melon, buttercup flowers and petrol. Very deep and fine. A lovely maturity. Great purity.
The taste is pure, arostocratic and wonderful with notes of sweet yellow apples, sugar candy, minerals and a touch of banan peel. The finish goes on for over a minute. The acidity has a great presence in the finish. Power and lightness in a glass. Great wine!
This was a dead give away - a maturing, about 15 year old Mosel Auslese! What! A ten year old Switzerland Riesling?? I have tasted a Chardonnay from Gantenbein many years ago that was, I recall,  a clear as a bell Burgundy...
94p   (tasted 2012/06)


We were then served the 1996 Barolis in two flights. With the first flight we got a Barolo risotto with mushrooms. And with the other flight a leg of deer with a fresh sallad. Great food!

1996 Barolo Bussia, Prunotto
A deep, tight and concentrated nose with notes of rosehips, red cherries, freshly grounded coffee, warm earth, dry licorice and meath broth. After a while there is a touch of a metallic note. Good but a tad monolithic.
The taste is very tight and uncompromising with notes of dry red cherries, lingonberry bushes, rosehips, dried mushrooms and moist teabags. The tannins are big and rather mean. It has a good structure but a foursquare personality. I don´t know if I ever have come across a Prunotto that I really have loved?
87p   (tasted 2012/06)


1996 Barolo San Giovanni, Gianfranco Alessandria
A perennial favourite of mine! The nose is big, sweet and seductive with notes of sweet licorice, black cherries, vanilla pod, pipe tobacco and forest floor aromas. With air a fine meaty scent emerges. A lovely sweetness to the fruit.
The taste is big, strappy and sweet with lots and lots of juicy black fruit paired with a hefty tannin structure. The finish is long and ends with a dry twist. Notes of black cherries, pipe tobacco, dried mushrooms and rosehips. Very, very fine. And the 2001 is equally great!
93p   (tasted 2012/06)

1996 Barolo Rocche Marcenasco, Renato Ratti
A cool, elegant nose with a lovely red cherry nose intermingled with notes of licorice, rosehips, herbs and undergrowth. A touch or smokiness, almost like a Islay whisky. Very, very fine.
The taste is tight, fresh and concentrated with a fine red and black cherry fruit and notes of dark chocolate, licorice, dried mushrooms and herbs. The tannis are of the bigger size but the fruit stands up to them nicely. Very, very good.
91p   (tasted 2012/06)


1996 Barolo Rüncot, Elio Grasso
This nose is just gorgeous - lovely scents of crushed rose petals, red cherries, dried mushrooms and a touch of pipe tobacco. Deep and fine, and with the most mature nose in the line up.
The taste feels younger though, with notes of black cherries, rosehips, almond paste and forest floor. The tannins are medium sized and still very present. A long, cool, fine finish. Very elegant and poised. This is drinking perfectly now.
92p   (tasted 2012/06)

1996 Barbaresco Vigneto Gallina, La Spinetta
The wine that almost got me ostracized from Barolo Boys... I had this - a Barbaresco! - as the best wine in the line up...:-)
The nose is very deep and captivating with notes of marinated black cherries, moist forest floor, sandel wood, heeps of rose bushes, a touch of leather and sweet licorice. There is lot of concentration here, and the fruit to work with. A lovely sweetness. A hint of mint. Just great!
The taste is intense, powerful and pure with a fantastic structure and sweet, sweet fruit. Notes of black cherry fruit, dark fudge, pan fried mushrooms, forest floor and dark chocolate. Layers upon layers of sweet, decadent fruit. A stunning mouthful of wine!
95p   (tasted 2012/06)


1996 Barolo Bricco delle Viole, G. D. Vajra
I don´t know if this was a representative bottle, since I haven´t tasted this vintage of Bricco delle Viole before. If it is, too bad. It has a foursquare, sparse nose with notes of smoke, red currants, dry leather and warm earth. Nothing really wrong but nothing right either, just dull.
The taste is a masochist dream with high grape fruit acidity, tight tannins and not nearly enough fruit to balance the acidity and tannins. There is some red currants, rosehips and forest floor notes here and there but this is plain boring.
72p   (tasted 2012/06)


There was a corked 1996 Barolo from Michael Chiarlo, so S was kind enough to pour this as a subsitute.

2001 Barolo Marenca, Luigi Pira
A deep, fine, upfront fruity nose with notes of red and black cherries, a whole rose garden, red licorice, tobacco and dried mushrooms. A lovely purity. Very deep and fine.
The taste is tight, focused and lovely with notes of sweet black cherries, licorice, dark chocolate mousse, wet undergrowth and lots of dried ceps. A long, impressive finish. Still very young. Great wine.
I didn´t think that this was another 1996 and managed to get the vintage right. Another winner from the 2001 vintage.
93p   (tasted 2012/06)


Then it was time for dessert, that is - liquid dessert!

1993 Vouvray Cuvée Constance, Huet
Only the second vintage of Cuvée Constance, the 1989 being the first (and that is one stunning bottle of wine!).  The 1993 was initially released as Cuvée Constance but was later withdrawn and relabelled as the Le Haut Lieu Moelleux 1ere Trie, so the possibility to taste this bottle was fascinating. And a great wine at that!
The nose is magnificent with a stunning depth and intensity with lovely notes of dried apricots, cap gun smoke, hay, blood orange peel, oil cloth and wet wool. Very elegant and poised. Just lovely.
The taste follows the nose with an awesome swetness paired with a laser like acidity and great length. Notes of blood orange, grapefruit, hay, cap gun smoke and almonds coate the palate. This is a stunning Vouvray.
94p   (tasted 2012/06)

1996 Monbazillac Cuvée Madame, Château Tirecul La Graviére
How about the best for last? A bottomless deep, hauntingly beautiful nose that explodes from the glass with notes of mashed apricots, blood orange peel, sugared water, cap gun smoke, orange ice cream and a gorgeous note of glue! :-) Really fantastic and perfectly mature. This is the real thing!
The taste is all about intensity and concentration with enormous levels of sweet, decadent fruit and matching acidity. The finish is counted in minutes. Notes of tangerines, vanilla cooked apricots, lemon cream and cap gun smoke. A fabolous piece of work!
96p   (tasted 2012/06)



Saturday, 16 June 2012

Pork Chops & Rosso di Montalcino

Saturday dinner - would loved to have grilled outside but the rain were pouring down....so the grilling part have to take place inside. But the flavours were excellent - ginger, lemon, soy sauce and a touch of chili. The mature bottle of Rosso di Montalcinoe just vanished with the moist pork chops!

1997 Rosso di Montalcino, Tenuta Il Poggione
The nose is a tad shy at first but quickly grows in the glass with notes of red cherries, red currants, old leather, dried flowers and a touch of black peppar. With air a note of petrol emerges, but not in a negative way. Fully mature and very nice.
The taste is tight, mature and fresh with notes of cool cherry fruit, red currants, warm gravel and dried coffee beans. The tannins are soft but still present. Very, very good.
88p (tasted 2012/06)

Friday, 15 June 2012

Burger & Aussie Cab

With grilled home made burgers, a garlic and mustard sauce and grilled potatoes I had the craving for something hedonistic - not something young and intellectual - but something smooth, sweet and satisfying. And this bottle filled that purpose!

1986 RF Cabernet Sauvignon, Orlando
A deep, mature, round and yummy nose with notes of sweet black cherries, milk chocolate, pipe tobacco, black raisins and some stable notes. And then there is the tell tale sign of a australian cabernet - mint and eukalyptus, but in the background, just to enhance the other components. Sweet, mature and soooo fine.
The taste is all about pleasure - sweet, mature fruit, soft tannins and a long, still fresh finish. Notes of black currants, figs, mint, tobacco and moist earth. This is drinking extremely well. Perfectly mature. I find myself pouring glass after glass...
93p   (tasted 2012/06)


More Rosé!

Another rosé wine tasted - and today was a perfect day for sipping some nice rosé wine while preparing dinner - warm with a nice breeze flowing through the house.

2011 Sancerre Les Baronnes Rosé, Henri Bourgeois
This Pinot Noir based rosé is a winner right out of the glass. A crisp, pure, fine nose with lovely notes of lingonberries, red currants, rosehips, dried herbs and a touch of licorice. Very salivating. Really nice.
The taste follow up the nose with a pure, fresh red fruit, a medium long finish and above all, a lovely crisp acidity that cleans the palate. Notes of red currants, almond paste , rosehips, dried strawberries and a fresh earthiness. Very, very good.
Funny enough it faired better out of a Bordeux glass than a Burgundy glass.
91p   (tasted 2012/06)

Wednesday, 13 June 2012

Five Champagnes To Close The Tasting Season



The last tasting of the season in one of my tasting groups is always about Champagne. This time it was Jacques that presented five bottles for us - thanks for a great line up!
As usual, due to the fact that I taste too little Champagne, my guesses were way of... We did get the vintage correct though.
Tasted double blind.

2002 Blanc de Noir, Andre Clouet
A fine, elegant, buttery nose with notes of red apples, butter cup flowers, dry biscuits and some cap gun notes. A little laid back. Not that complex but very yummy on the nose.
The taste is more liniar than the nose with notes of lemon peel, hyacinth, minerals and some smoke. The fruit gets sweeter with air, more lemoncello that lemon peel after a while. Very nice.
Blanc de Noir?? I guessed a Blanc de Blancs... There were not a hint of Pinot Noir in this one. Go figure.
87p   (tasted 2012/06)


2002 Special Club Vieilles Vignes de Chardonnay, Pierre Gimmonet
This was a new acquaintance for me, and a nice one at that. The nose opens with lots of freshly baked bread and notes of green apples, grey pears, milk chocolate and a steely note. Deep and fine.
The taste is young, tight and fresh with notes of pear ice cream, green apples, minerals and a fine sandy note. Long and fine. This has some more maturing to do. Very, very good.
I guessed Blanc de Blancs on this one too...
90p   (tasted 2012/06)

2002 Henriot
My winner in this line up. And I wasn´t surprised when the bottle was presented. I just love the Henriot style. The nose is racy, elegant and utterly magnificent with notes of grapefruit, cap gun smoke, sea shells, burned butter and the scent of freshly fallen snow...:-) Then there is sweet minerals and a touch of oak. I could sit and sniff this all night long. Just great!
The taste is elegant, aristocratic and pure with notes of butter fried nuts, orange peel, almond paste, yellow apples and a touch of bonfire. A very long and balanced finish. A lovely purity. This is a keeper!
95p   (tasted 2012/06)


2002 La Grande Année, Bollinger
A deep, cool, fine nose with notes of vanilla biscuits, orange blossom water, milk chocolate, caramell and christmas spices. Somewhat restrained. Very young. The sweetness of the fruit is very fine. Deep.
The taste is big, intense and elegant with notes of sweet minerals, mature red apples, warm herbs and a touch of oak. A very long, vivid finish. A great piece of work, but it is too young at this stage. I would expect it to really blossom in 5-7 years.
92p   (tasted 2012/06)

2002 Dom Perignon
A tight, promising, deep nose with notes of red apples, sweet minerals, ginger, summer flowers and a scent of freshly grounded coffee, which in hindsight would have been a give away... Very complex and fine. Still very young.
The taste is all about structure, purity and intensity at this stage. With some vigorous swirling notes of lemon and orange peel, assorted nuts, cold coffe and dried flowers emerge from the glass. The acidity is pure like a mountain river. Very, very long. This is going places, but for now not as hedonistic as the Dom can be. In last years seasons end we had the 1993, 1983 and 1973 Dom Perignon. This beauties needs time...
93p   (tasted 2012/06)



Monday, 11 June 2012

Metal & Nebbiolo

Back from four days at Sweden Rock Festival - the biggest  and best Metal Festival in Sweden. And I´m tired...:-)
Wine wise it has been a slow festival, mostly beer - Belgian Trappiste´s, American Ale´s and English Bitters.

There was - as usual - many great concerts. Just to name a few:
* Sabaton - they started the festival off with the Swedish National Anthem on the 6th of June - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMFMnCzaoQg

* Saint Vitus - the old doom veterans really performed! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhjP96dKYIU

* Dimmu Borgir - our Norwegian brothers performed one of Metals top ten songs ever - thanks! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joEAb_y7ZYA&ob=av3n

* Dark Funeral - more fun than great, but there was something special seeing them in the dark Swedish night... - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEVodXzNmPM

* Skyforger - a new great experience from Lithuania! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhrQRiU9eAQ - wait until 1,02...:-)

* Tygers of Pan Tang - the old 80´s classic are great to hear live - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wvW0v9iIuo

* Fish - the former singer of Marillion did a fine show, although too few Marillion songs I thought... - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NhTwPAIBbI

* King Diamond - and the best for last! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tl-N9FJMpY

But I managed to drink this Nebbiolo at a restaurant late one night when there wasn´t that much too see at the festival area.

2009 Langhe Nebbiolo, La Spinetta
A big, tight, outgoing nose with notes of sweet blueberries, licorice, new leather, coffe and lots of sweet rosehips. After a while a nive note of dried flowers mixed with a vanilla pod emerges. Big and brawny, but rather good.
The taste is also young and big with sweet red and black currants, rosehips, blueberries and dark chocolate. A long, dry finish with a touch of dry oak tannins. A bit ungainly but I figure it will calm down with 2-3 years in the cellar. Good.
86p   (tasted 2012/06)



Sunday, 3 June 2012

The Vigorello Hunt Continues!



Just received two more vintages of Vigorello - the 1975 Riserva and the 1992.

Now there is five...:-)

Earlier post is here - http://barolista.blogspot.se/2012/04/vigorello-hunt.html

Saturday, 2 June 2012

A Tribute to Aldo Conterno

A great Barolista has passed away. I have always loved the wines from Aldo Conterno. Too tribute this great wine maker I opened this bottle tonight.

1990 Barolo Bussia Soprana, Aldo Conterno
Decanted for one hour, the nose that soars from the glass is stunning. It is sweet, it is mature and rounded, and it is hauntingly beautiful with notes of red cherries, dried flowers, cold coffe, licorice and some tarry notes. Decadent and powerful at the same time. Soooo fine and deep.
The taste is more restrained than the nose indicates, but the flavors is very fine with notes of licorice infused cherries, fine chocolate, autumn leaves and balsa wood. The acidity show itself in the finish. Very, very long and finely structured. The finish ends with a lovely dry twist. Perfectly mature.
93p (tasted 2012/06)