Lots of Goodies!

A couple of weeks ago we sent a friend of to, in his case, 47 and Life (aka marriage..:-)) We thought a bunch of nice bottles would be a nice send of, so we gathered togehter at a friends house, kidnapped M and forced him to guess every bottle double blind. He did great!

It was a splendid evening of food, wine and talk about different stages in life. A week later we attended M and J´s marriage, a beautiful ceremony and a great party all night long with stunning bottles of wine - that will be a separate post.

We opened, of course, with a bottle of bubbly!
2006 Deutz Rosé
A fine, cool, nice nose with notes of wild strawberries, almond paste, red licorice, moist gravel and minerals. Very elegant and poised. Still young. Very, very good.
The taste is young and taut with fine red currant, rasberry and strawberry fruit. The finish is medium long with fine acidity. A very elegant note of sweet minerals. This needs a couple of years in the cellar but is drinking great on this night.
90p   (tasted 2012/08)

2011 Piesporter Schubertslay Riesling Kabinett, Julian Haart
A young, fine sweet and sour nose with notes of lemoncello, asparagus, rubber and grass. With air the scent of ripe pears emerges. Very good.
The taste is young and broad with notes of dried fruits, lime peel, wet rocks and grass. The initial sweetness is somewhat high but there is lot of acidity in the finish. Will surely come together with a few years in the cellar.
86p   (tasted 2012/08)

2002 Riesling Priva, Nigl
A cool, earthy, dry nose with notes of dried apricots, oilcloth, lemon peel and blood orange juice. Very elegant and fine. Initially I leaned towards a Chenin Blanc but with air more Riesling tags arised.
The taste is cool, intense and dry with lots of lemon peel, dried grass, slate and a touch of oilcloth. A very long, fresh finish with lots of finesse. This has character. Very fine.
89p   (tasted 2012/08)

2011 Schiefergeisten Bockenauer Riesling Kabinett, Schäfer-Fröhlich
A very young, fresh nose with lots of pear ice cream, lemon peel, elder berries and slate. A sweet minerality. Young and invigorating.
The taste is young, fresh and pure with notes of grey pears, lemon peel, grass and minerals. A very salivating acidity. Very promising, but need to peel of some baby fat, just like the next bottle has done.
87p   (tasted 2012/08)

2008 Bockenauer Riesling Kabinett, Schäfer-Fröhlich
A deep, elegant and pure nose with lots more of earthy notes than in the 2011, with added complexity in form of lemon peel, capers, slate and that gorgeous scent of freshly washed clothes drying in the wind. Deep and really, really fine.
The taste is still young, racy and fresh with intensity and elegance. Notes of lemon peel, elder berries, wet asphalt and ripe pears. A long, persistent finish. A lovely combination of sweet and sour and salt.
93p   (tasted 2012/08)

2011 Scheurebe, Keller
A young, deep, oily nose with notes of tropical fruits, summer flowers, moist earth and a touch of smoke. Very deep. A lovely sweetness with a fine nerve.
The taste is big, tight and promising with the same tropical fruit and wet earth that on the nose, with a additional complexity in the shape of burnt rubber! Long, warm and youthfully plump, but with enough of acidity to keep everything in balance. Very fine.
90p   (tasted 2012/08)

1996 Puligny-Montrachet Les Referts, Etienne Sauzet
A deep, gorgeously mature nose with notes of butter fried root vegetables, lemon cream, sugared water, a touch of coconut and a fantastic minerality. Perfectly mature. Round, sweet and hedonistic.
The taste is deep, mature and complex with notes of lemon cream, butter fried nuts, banana peel and a touch of matchbox. A long, structured, wonderful finish. A fine warmth. Perfectly mature and drinking great.
94p   (tasted 2012/08)

2001 Saffredi, Le Pupille
This beaty was poured from a magnum (shouldn´t all great bottles be? :-). It opens with a fantastic scent of maturity with ripe cherries and chocolate - just stunning! Then there is autumn leaves, almonds and a touch of dríed flowers. Mellow in the best sense of the word. Not the most complex wine but what a joy to sit and sniff this wine!
The taste is like drinking velvet, the fruit is sweet and soft but still has tannins to match. Lots of red and black cherries, black currants, leather, chocolate biscuits and autumn leaves. The balance is wonderful. This is sooo drinkable right now. Gorgeous!
94p   (tasted 2012/08)

2000 Château Malescot St Exupery
A fine, expressive, tight nose with notes of fresh blueberries, black currants, fresh stables, new leather and some salty chocolate. Very good. It becomes sweeter with air and after a while the glass is full of yummy blueberry pie with whipped cream!
The taste is tighter and more dry than the nose leads on. Very fine, ripe red and black currants, dark chocolate and cold coffee. The tannins are polished with fine grain sandpaper. The finish is medium long and ends with a nice dry twist. This still has some maturing to do. A great bottle of Bordeaux.
92p   (tasted 2012/08)

2009 Pinot Noir Bien Nacido, Ojai
A fine, low keyed nose but with nice intensity and notes of red cherries, warm gravel, root vegetables, warm herbs and dried flowers. Very likeable. It doesn´t have the minerality of a good Burgundy, but it has lots of other stuff to like.
The taste is tight and pure with lots of strawberries, mostly in the shape of dried ones, but also with the taste of freshly sliced strawberries in a balsamic vinegar marinade. There is some dark chocolate, herbs and resin notes to add to the complexity. A very fine wine.
92p   (tasted 2012/08)

2003 Barolo Pie Rupestris, Cappellano
A big, firm, deep nose with notes of warm lingonberries, dried rose petals, chocolate biscuits, licorice and a nice floral note. It has a touch of the warmth of the vintage but on the right side of things. Very good.
The taste is big, warm and fruity with lots of sweet lingonberry fruit with some dry chocolate, rosehips and dried mushrooms thrown in. A long, warm finish. The tannins in the finish is a tad dry. I would guess that is for drinking sooner than later.
Since the late Theobaldo didn´t want his wines to be scored, I never do.   (tasted 2012/08)

2009 Château Pontet-Canet
A Parker 100 pointer! Well, is it? Nope, not yeat anyway. But regardless of points, this is a stunning bottle of wine. The nose just explodes from the glass with notes of blueberries, black currant jam, Disney crackers, licorice, vanilla oak notes, and all over the sweet fruit, a gorgeous floral scent floats. Not a molecule in the wrong place. Very intense and impressive, but on the nose, a tiny tad over the top for me this night.
The taste is on the other hand, right on the money. The sweet black currants is of the luxurious kind, the notes of tobacco, earth, leather, chocolate and vanilla biscuits is what dreams are made of. Lots and lots of impressive but, just, tamed tannins. The finish goes on for several minutes. It if was only for the taste, this would be a 100 pointer, but today it doesn´t reach that heights. Would love to taste this in 10 years time!
97p   (tasted 2012/08)

2005 Enchanted Path, Mollydooker
This brute consists of 66% Shiraz, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and and undisclosed amounts of steriods... The nose is voluptuous, sweet and almost over the top, but manages to walk the edge with great amounts of black- and blueberries, vanilla pods, banana peel, muscovado sugar and decaying flowers. Really impressive. Very, very deep.
The taste is extremely intense and concentrated with notes of blueberry pie, sweet earth, rubber, balsa wood and vanilla pods. The finish is warm, long and with a really good structure. This isn´t usually my cup of tea, but I have to admit, this is great!
91p   (tasted 2012/08)

2001 Viña El Pison, Vinedos Lacalle Y Laorden
A deep, elegant, spicy nose with notes of sweet lingonberries, ripe red apples, cloves and dark crayfish stock. Very interesting. A touch volatile, that adds to the complexity. Very, very good.
The taste is tight and focused with lots of sweet lingonberries, herbs, cloves and road dust. The tannins are cool and finely polished. The finish is long and ends with a fine dry note. A very fine high note in the lingering taste. Very, very fine.
92p   (tasted 2012/08)

1983 Recioto della Valpolicella Classico Gran Riserva, Giuseppe Quintarelli
How about saving the best for last? Ok, by me! The nose is to kill and die for with absolutely stunning scents of rasberry truffles, muscovado sugar, resin, old leather, forest floor, dried flowers and just about everything else... The intensity is breathtaking. And at the same time it is light as a feather - the Muhammed Ali of wines! Bottomless deep.
The taste is tight, concentrated and just adorable with notes of rasberry jam, dark chocolate, dried flowers, old leather, licorice, rosehips and a touch of asphalt. The finish goes on, seemingly for ever. Sweet and sour red cherries in liquor. This is as good as it gets. A fascinating wine!
98p   (tasted 2012/08)