Drinking Tonight - 1991 Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatieres, Domaine Henri Clerc

A classic here at home - angel hair pasta, a rich white wine sauce and fish skewers, this time with scallops, salmon and cod on them.

What to open to go along then? Why not a 25 year old Puligny?

1991 Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatieres, Domaine Henri Clerc

The colour is on the orange side of things and many thoughts pass through my head before sticking my nose in the glass - shit, oxidized; too old, what do I have as backup; white Burgundy, not again, why, why, why... But note, that was before I put my nose to the glass. And when I did - a big smile appears on my face.

The nose is deep, rich and perfectly mature with gorgeous notes of candied lemons, matchbox, candle grease and a touch of saffron. A lovely warmth and dried up sweetness of the fruit. Rich and rewarding. This is really fine. Just as fine, mature white Burgundy can be.

The taste is deep and multi layered with lovely notes of lemon cream, ski wax, parsnips, olicloth and earth. A great acidity and a long, long finish which ends dry and lingers on for minutes. Drinking perfect on this night and I am glad to have some more bottles. This is why one should cellar white Burgundy.

94p   (tasted 2016/04)

Drinking Lunch - Live From Eriks Wine Bar

You could do worse on a friday. While deciding on what to eat I have a glass of

2002 Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill, Pol Roger

A deep, buttery, refined nose with notes of crushed rocks, white flowers, dry fudge and freshly washed clothes. Feels like there is a substantial portion of Chardonnay in the blend. Very, very fine. Almost a chlorofyll freshness. Some cap gun smoke. This will go on for 20+ years.

The taste is fresh as a daisy with lovely notes of flint, lemon cream, peach and white currants. A stunning acidity that effectively cleans the palate. Long and harmonious. Great now but even greater in 8+ years.

95p   (tasted 2016/04)

I notice a Cote-Rotie on the glass list and why not a pour of that and some meat?

2013 Cote-Rotie Ampodium, Rene Rostaing

A gorgeous nose that combine meat and flowers, iron and violets, road dust and peppers in a beautiful way. A very fine structure. Young and promising. This is gooood!

The taste is focused, balanced and youthfully sturdy with notes of ripe blueberries, violets, bay leaves and sweet minerals. A long, long finish with finely polished tannins. Needs time, say 6+ years. A very fine wine in the making.

93p   (tasted 2016/04)

Me & My Magnum - 1993 Campaccio, Terrabianca

"A magnum is the perfect size for 2 gentlemen to share over lunch...especially if one of them isn´t drinking".
This quote is said to have originated from Winston Churchill.

My previous magnum one-on-one encounter was the 1985 Château de La Rivière.

1993 Campaccio, Terrabianca
This is the best cuvée from the Terrabianca estate. The grapes comes from Radda in Chianti and from Massa Marittima in Grosseto. The blend is 70% Sangiovese and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon but it can vary from vintage to vintage. The first vintage was 1988.
The nose is open, soft and mature with notes of dried cherries, fire smoke, dried rosemary and warm gravel. Fattens up with air and becomes richer and deeper. Very good. Another nice 93. A fine warmth.
The taste is easily accessible, velvety and fine with notes of red and black cherries, graphite, autumn leaves and dried herbs. A very fine dry finish. Some warm tiles. This is drinking very nicely today. Fully mature but other magnums should keep for another 5+ years.
88p   (tasted 2016/04)

The Wine. The Glass & The Literature

Then & Now - 1967 & 2012 Château Plince

I haven´t tasted much from Château Plince over the years, therefore it should be fun to compare this vintages, 45 years apart.

This 9 ha estate makes a wine that consists, from 2005 when all Cabernet Sauvignon was pulled out, of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc. Before 2005 10% Cabernet Sauvignon was included in the blend. Nowadays it spends 18 months on on third new oak before release. How it was done in 1967 I have now idea. :-)

Both 2012 and 1967 are, at first glance, considered to be rather weak vintages. But that is not the case when it comes to Pomerol. Both vintages favored the early ripening and harvested Merlot.

1967 Château Plince
A good looking bottle with a base neck level. The cork broke in several pieces. When first poured it reveals a soft, shy nose that need some coaxing to come around. But how would you feel if you were trapped for 49 years and then let out?!
However, with air things starts to happen, the nose broadens and offer up nice scents of dried plums, earth, iron and corinthians. A fine mature nose with clean stables and sugared coffee. Maybe not that deep but very much alive and kicking (at least some).
The taste is round, warm and mature with notes of dry plums, warm rocks, coffee powder and old wood. The finish is on the short side but it delivers some elegance in that old school Bordeaux fashion. Really good. Parker describes Plince in general terms as "capable of aging for 8-10 years". This bottle beat that assesment with 40 years...
85p   (tasted 2016/04)

2012 Château Plince
The very much younger version opens with a upfront, berry nose with vanilla covered black currants (though there is no Cab Sauvignon in the blend) and plums with additional notes of violets, freshly roasted coffee and new leather. A bit international in style, would I have pegged this as a Bordeaux given blind? I don´t know. The fruit is good though, with nice warmth and prescence. This is my verdict for day one. On day two it has calmed down and shows more distinct characteristics of a young Bordeaux. Very good.
The taste is also young, fruity and direct with notes of ripe plums, fresly brewed coffee, dark cookie dough and new leather. Initially soft and sweet but in the finish there are some firm tannins that reveal some cocoa bitterness. On day two those tannins are very nicely integrated and it is drinking really fine then. If you open a bottle now decant for a few hours, or just wait 45 years.
87p   (tasted 2016/04)

Thankfully, one of the few estates that hasn´t felt the urge to chance the label. Some trees have however grown over the years.

A Bottle Of Savigny-lès-Beaune Les Marconnets From Simon Bize Of AUnknown Vintage

This is fun! Buying bottles with unknown vintages. Sometimes rewarding and sometimes horrifying, yet always exciting.
This time it was a bottle from the master in Savigny-lès-Beaune, Simon Bize (the current owner and winemaker is Patrick Bize), and from the 1er Cru Les Marconnets. Bize owns 0,6 ha that was planted in 1972.
Bought with the information that it should be from the 80´s. Lets open the bottle and see what, hopefully, the cork reveals.

1988 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Marconnets, Simon Bize
Aha! A 1988. Could be nice, I have had some fine 88´s but also some that have been to sturdy and rigid for their own good.
The nose is open and sweet with nice notes of moist forest floor, boiled root vegetables, fire smoke and stale Coca-Cola. Fully mature. A bit rustic, but very good. A good depth and a nice warmth.
The taste is mature, warm and dry with notes of dried raspberries, forest floor, dried flowers and old leather. A tight acidity in the medium long finish. Ends dry. A nice mouth feel, and it went really well with the chicken dish I had prepared. Yet again, a nice surprise, especially when bought for 18 Euro...
87p   (tasted 2016/04)

Two Vintages Of Château de La Rivière

I have acquired a foundness of the wines from Chateau de la Rivière, having over the last year tasted the 1990, 1986 and 1985.
I recently bought some more vintages and eagerly opened two of them.

1989 Château de La Rivière
Aaaaah, a classic, old fashioned, mature Bordeaux nose with notes of cigarr box, dried red and black currants, dried up shoe polish, autumn leaves and some stable aromas. A fine dried up sweetness. In a lovely stage of maturity, the only way for this beauty is down, even though it will keep on this level for a couple of years still. It should, since I have more bottles! :-)
The taste is medium bodied, warm and dry with fine black currant fruit and notes of lead pencil shavings, old leather and undergrowth. A little like licking a stable floor. A very fine mouthfeel. Created harmony with some meat and potatoes. A lovely mature Bordeaux.
92p   (tasted 2016/04)

1995 Château de La Rivière
The 6 year younger version starts out a bit slow with a dense, dark nose with notes of ripe black currants, sweet tobacco, earth and coffee. With air it lightens up and some red notes appear, dried strawberries for example. A nice, medium deep nose. However, it seems to be caught in between adolescence and maturity. Needs time.
The taste is tight and compact with notes of assorted black fruits, leather, warm gravel and fir. The tannins push through in the finish. A fine warmth. A hint of bitterness in the end. This is good but I guess that 5+ years in the cellar could do, if not wonders, at least good things to this wine. I just have to wait and see.
85p   (tasted 2016/04)

2013 Les Fontanilles, Anne Gros & Jean-Paul Tollot

Recovering from a cold I needed something to get my taste buds started. Not that complex, but with character and flavour. I opted for the recent (at least here at the state monopoly) vintage of the Les Fontanilles, the Anne Gros & Jean-Paul Tollot project from the Minervois.
Tasting note of the 2012 vintage here.

2013 Les Fontanilles, Anne Gros & Jean-Paul Tollot
The nose is young, open and generous with notes of blueberries, allspice, asphalt and dried raspberries. Very good. A touch of dark chocolate appears with air. More forward than the 2012 at the same stage, and with more body.
The taste is young and fresh with some light, sandy tannins and notes of blueberries, cherries, bakelite, warm gravel and herbs. A medium long finish with a nice grip. Should evolve nicely for the next 3-5 years. Very, very good.
89p   (tasted 2016/04)

2013 Puligny-Montrachet Clos de la Mouchere, Henri Boillot

We are at one of Swedens best fish restaurants, Sjömagasinet, and I order a lobster sallad and a sumptous turbot dish with truffles. And to go with these dishes, a bottle of

2013 Puligny-Montrachet Clos de la Mouchere, Henri Boillot

The nose is full bodied and ripe with lovely notes of blood grape, cap gun smoke, lemon curd and lots of sweet minerals. A fine supporting oak note. Young and expressive. Very, very good. Sweet and vigorous fruit.

The taste is broad and distinct with notes of lemon cream, flint, dried mango and minerals. The finish is long with a fine acidity. This is gooood. Lovely now and surely even more stunning in 4-6 years.

92p   (tasted 2016/04)

2013 Vintner´s Reserve Pinot Noir, Kendall-Jackson

This arrived as a tasting sample. Opened on one of the first real suuny days, indicating that spring is in the air!

2013 Vintner´s Reserve Pinot Noir, Kendall-Jackson
The nose is open and creamy with an unmistakable New World Pinot feeling and notes of sweet/sour raspberries with some bluberies thrown in the mix, smoke, rhubarb and some vanilla pods in the background. Really nice and salivating.
The taste is easy going yet displaying a fine structure, with notes of wild raspberries, warm herbs, chocolate and root vegetables. The initial feeling is that of a sweet, ripe wine but in the finish it firms up and the end is dry and fine. Good on its own and really good with food - a chicken fillet with pasta and a taragon sauce in this case.
89p   (tasted 2016/04)

Home Made Pizza & Two 1985 Chianti

A whole day of unpacking my wine books, and some other unimportant stuff...:-) What do we need for dinner - lets try out the new oven and make some nice pizza´s!

1985 Chianti Classico, Castello di Ama
On its own, a bit overmature. With a succulent truffle salami pizza it however delivers the goods, with notes of undergrowth, dried strawberries, dry herbs and balsamic vinegar. Good but barely hanging in there.
The taste is big and sweet with lots of maturity and notes of ripe red cherries, raspberry liquorice, moist earth and tobacco. The finish is medium long and warm. Fully mature and then some, matched the food in a good way but a tad, just a tad, over the hill.
84p   (tasted 2016/04)

Lots of bottles made!

1985 Chianti Classico Riserva, Badia a Coltibuono
Aaaah, a whole other ball game - still young, fresh and vigorous. The nose is deep and ripe, just entering the first stages of maturity, with notes of ripe red and black cherries, Tuscan gravel, coffee powder, rosemary and some tobacco. Very fine. Structured and sweet. Very, very good.
The taste is tight, seedy and focused with notes of sweet/sour cherries, tobacco, cigarette ashes and a hint of dry chocolate. The finish is long, warm and showing of some perfectly dry tannins in the end. This is on top of its game, according to this bottle. I bought three, the first was corked, this was heaven, hopefully the third resembles this one.
92p   (2016/04)

A Proper Examination Of 2005 Château Tour Baladoz

I tasted the 2005 Tour Baladoz at a trade tasting some months ago and found it to be very good. But it is hard to make a proper assessment when you spend 1-2 minutes with each wine. I bought some bottles and now I thought it was time to make a thorough examination.

2005 Château Tour Baladoz

It needs 15 minutes to settle down in the glass but when it does it shows of fine semi mature notes of red currants, ripening plums, spruce, cool tobacco and green pepper. Very, very good. A fine spiciness. Some maturity but this has more to give.
The taste is cool, tight and medium bodied with notes of red currants, plums, gravel and some fresh stables. This smells and taste like an old school Bordeaux, not a toasted oak barrel in sight, and even though I fancy that from time to time, I really enjoy taking another sip of this fine specimen. 30 Euro per bottle is a true bargain.
90p   (tasted 2016/04)

Moving The Cellar

My back hurts. From lifting 80 boxes of wine today. Each box lifted four times in and out of the cellar and on and of the trailer ...
But now they have found a new resting place. And while packing together the cellar I also packed down the object d`art that have been decorating the walls. Some fine memories.

Tasted many years ago and it was brilliant, one of the best Burgundy´s ever tasted!

Mature Sauternes is hard to beat

A magnum 1964 Barbaresco from Cappellano - great stuff!

The Unicorn of wines, and yes, it resembled Port

A 1923 Pommard from a Bordeaux negociant - and it was spectacular!

Alongside 1955 Taylor´s, the best Port ever tasted and I have been fortunate to have drunk it twice

1892 Riesling - and surprisingly fresh!

It was a time when you could buy this for 110 Euro...

A magnum of 1985 Jacquesson - lovely label and a lovely wine

Two 1973 1er Cru´s From Jean Grivot

These two were bought some time ago, and with tonights chicken breasts with a truffle, mustard and garlic sauce I thought it was time to open them. After all, after 43 year they should be ready for prime time drinking...

1973 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaumonts, Jean Grivot
A joy to sniff and sip! From the get go it has a wonderful nose of a mushroom forest, (over)ripe rowanberries, dried raspberries and compost. Very complex. Full of life even though it is fully mature. A high, pure nose. Kept on its toes all evening long. Very, very good.
The taste is delicate, mature and velvety with notes of dried raspberries, rosehips, parsnip and cooked rhubarb. A long, finely tuned, dry finish. Drinking perfectly with the chicken and on its own, soooo easy to empty this bottle. A great mature Burgundy.
93p   (tasted 2016/04)

1973 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots, Jean Grivot
Horribly corked "#!!%¤&#!!

Drinking Tonight - 2003 Chateau Peyreau

Never heard of or tasted anything from this estate, and this being a bottle from 03......ok, lets roll the dices!

2003 Chateau Peyreau

And I got lucky! This is a really nice, modern St Emilion with a upfront, juicy nose with notes of ripe plums, cedar, bonfire smoke, herbs and undergrowth. A nice warmth to it without being heavy or cooked. A fine backbone. Opens up nicely in the glass. Very good.

The taste is young and gulpable with lots of sweet plums and black currant with additional notes of new leather, scorched earth and herbs. The finish is long and nicely focused. This is giving lots of pleasure tonight, with a seared steak, oven potatoes and a Madeira sauce. Glad I have a couple of bottles, bought for 15 Euro per bottle...:)

89p   (tasted 2016/04)

Drinking Tonight - 1996 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Lombardo

Needed something mature tonight and not that overly complex, a wine to just gulp down, this bottle hopefully should do the trick.

1996 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Lombardo

The nose indicated that I have made the right choise, with its aromas of ripe black cherries, tapenade, underbrush, decaying flowers and a hint of bakelite. Fully mature and very good. Round, sweet and soft. 

The taste is mature, velvety and warm with notes of cherry jam, asphalt, red wine vinegar and autumn leaves. A medium long finish that ends on a dry note. Drinking fine tonight and just what I needed. 

87p   (tasted 2016/04)