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)