Tuesday 22 October 2013

This Is What A Dinner Should Be Like - Great White Burgundy, Great Bordeaux & More Stuff!

Håkan promised us some "nice" wines when we was invited to dinner. That was a understatement too say the least. With the company, wines and food - it was to be one of the best dinners this year.
Thanks Håkan!
All wines tasted double blind.

2009 Marsannay La Montagne, Olivier Guyot
This was served as a pre wine, while waiting for the food to get on the table! :-) The nose is open, warm and nice with notes of red plums, dried raspberries, earth and a lightly perfumed note. Very good.
The taste is light, slightly mature and friendly with notes of lingonberries, dried raspberries, dried herbs and some warm earth. A medium long finish with a fine acidity. Drinking well, and should be doing so for the next 5+ years.
86p   (tasted 2013/10)


2004 Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes, Domaine Jacques Prieur
Aaaaah, as soon as the nose gets near the glass you could sense the aromas of a great white Burgundy. A deep, intense and spicy nose with notes of red lemon, caramel, lemon cream, butter fried root vegetables and flint. A lovely creaminess to the fruit. Some maturity. Just gorgeous.
The taste is tight, focused and lip smacking good with fruit, acidity and structure in great harmony. Lovely notes of lemon cream, white peaches, dark fudge and some smoky notes. A long, balanced finish. This has just entered its drinking phase and should keep on bringing enjoyment for 10+ years.
94p   (tasted 2013/10)



2004 Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles, Domaine Leflaive
A deep, refined and a tad restrained nose with notes of cool lemon juice, dry fudge, mature green apples and lots of minerals. This isn´t as hedonistic as the Prieur but it has a great depth to it. And it feels younger as well.
The taste is gorgeously taut and focused with notes of butter flowers, lemon cream, butter biscuits and some nutty flavours. Lots of sweet minerals in the long finish. A very fine acidity. Great stuff. I would give this another 5 year in the cellar.
92p   (tasted 2013/10)

2000 Château Trotanoy
This beauty has started to show some signs of maturity. The nose is deep, velvety and luscious with notes of corinthians, black plums, leather and warm tiles. Ripe and really creamy on the nose. Great stuff.
The taste is tighter and firmer than the nose with notes of plums, red and black currants, autumn leaves and some tobacco notes. A good warmth in the long finish. A lovely mouthfeel. This has started to mature but has a long way to go. Really, really good.
93p   (tasted 2013/10)


2000 Château Hosanna
A deep, cool, laid back nose with splendid notes of lingonberries, blueberries, dried rosemary and a touch of dark chocolate. Very deep and concentrated. Still rather young. Did open up more and more during the evening. Impressive.
The taste is tight, intense and tough with lots of dark plums, nlueberries, balsa wood, earth and chocolate. A long, energetic finish with lots of finely grained tannins. Spreads like a peacock´s feather in the mouth. This is going to be even more delicious with 5+ years in the cellar.
93p   (tasted 2013/10)

2000 Château Troplong-Mondot
What a wine! The nose jumps out of the glass with glorious aromas of dark plums, christmas spices, expensive leather, Cohiba cigar and moist autumn leaves. Very refined. Oozes class and attention to details. Very deep and hedonistic. Stunning!
The taste is the proverbial "iron fist in a velvet glove" - heaps of dark, sweet plums, blueberries, spices, warm tiles, dark chocolate and moist earth. Very long, very complex and utterly beautiful. This is in one sense still an adolescent but one cannot avoid being charmed by its power and beauty. Will be even greater in 5-15 years. Remarkable!
96p   (tasted 2013/10)




2010 Syrah Vieilles Vignes Chamoson, Simon Maye
S, nervous about the number of wines being served, brought this bottle. A whole another creature, but a very yummy one! The nose is filled to the brim with black berries, violets, meat and a touch of mint. Very deep, Some flowery aromas evolved with air. Very, very fine.
The taste is young, tight and peppery with notes of black berries, blueberries, violets, dried flowers and meat stock. The finish is long and focused. Guesses about Cornas, Côte-Rôtie, Crozes-Hermitage went back and forth over the table. But no, its from Switzerland and it is delicious! More info here.
92p   (tasted 2013/10)

2002 Shafer Hillside Select
This is a Parker 100p wine...Nice to drink one of those, they tend to get very expensive as soon as that three digit number has been handed out (I hate what he have done to 1990 Montrose for example...).
How was it then?
This inky monster has a deep, deep, deep nose with boatloads of sweet plums, sweet black currants, licorice, sweet thyme, raspberry chocolate truffles, resin and sweet new oak. It is very much...too much? I would almost say so. But...when you sit with it all night it also shows complexity, depth and a fine balance. It would be easy to dismiss it at first, if you don´t like these kind of powerhouses. But that would be a mistake. There is more to it than just sweet, over-the-top fruit.
The taste is just massive, sweet and big, big, big. But again, to begin with. Underneath and with air it becomes more balanced, more liniar and shows more backbone. The tannins does their job and cleans the mouth effectively in the long, long finish. As the evening goes by I´m getting more and more impressed with this creature. It needs some serious time in the cellar but I wouldn´t be surprised if this could turn out really, really impressive in 10+ years time. But the likelihood to taste more bottles in the future without winning the lottery are slim...
94p   (tasted 2013/10)


2004 Niederhauser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese, Dönnhoff
Too finish this great night of this half bottle was opened. The nose is elegant, cool and somewhat mature with notes of warm grass, ripe green pears, tangerines and lots and lots of minerals. Very, very good.
The taste is focused, elegant and a tad mature. It starts of semi sweet and goes all the way too its semi dry ending, with notes of pears, passion fruit, tangerines and lots of crushed rocks. A very fine acidity. Cool and fine.
90p   (tasted 2013/10)

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