All wines tasted double blind.
1989 Saarburger Rausch Riesling Kabinett Auction, Ziliken
A mature, cool nose with notes of petrol, rubber boots, dry nuts and dried flowers. Some elderberries after a while. Quite subdued.
The taste is mature and dry with notes of dried apricots, earth, rubber and dried flowers. A high acidity. A bit hollow in the middle. Good.
83p (tasted 2014/12)
1979 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese**, Jos, Cristoffel Jr.
A round, fine nose with notes of lavender honey, diesel, hyacinth and lots of minerals. Very expressive and fine.
The taste is mature and tight with a more dried up sweetness than on the nose. Notes of dry honey, dried melon and moist earth. A long, perky finish. Mature but not overly so. Very, very good.
90p (tasted 2014/12)
Next line up was a tricky one. Guesses were all over the place in form of different vintages, different producers, different cepages and so forth. And then - all from the same producer, the same vintage and the same grape, all that separate them is from which Grand Cru village they come from... Go figure.
1996 Brut Millesimé, Nicolas Feuillatte
Chouilly - The Chouilly has a upfront, fine nose with signs of maturity and notes of day old bread, ripe yellow apples, apple juice, fudge and a warm smoky note.
The taste is round and somewhat mature with notes of yellow apples, milk chocolate fudge and minerals. A medium long, fine finish. Very good.
87p (tasted 2014/12)
Le Mesnil - Corked #"#%&/%¤!
Ay - The Ay is as mature as the Chouilly but displays a warmer nose with notes of Tarte Tatin, autumn leaves and some chocolate wafers. A little deeper.
The taste is also warmer but at the same time more refined with lots od sweet minerals. Very, very good.
89p (tasted 2014/12)
Cramant - The three following wines felt much younger than the two previous ones. The Cramant has a wonderful nose, full of dark lemon cream, summer flowers, lychee and spices. Cool and refined. Lovely.
The taste is tight and focused with notes of lemon cream, lychee, spices and dark fudge. The finish is long and intense. A high, cleansing acidity. A still young wine with lots of potential.
92p (2014/12)
Ambonnay - The Ambonnay has the same spiciness as the Cramant, only with added intensity, with additional notes of barely ripe red apples and lots of crushed rocks.
The taste is young, intense and spicy with notes of red apples, summer flowers, wet rocks and dark fudge. A long, crisp finish with a high acidity. Very fine.
92p (tasted 2014/12)
Verzy - The Verzy steals the show with its stunning nose, full of sweet lemon cream, cap gun smoke, crushed rocks, elderberries and a hint of fresh ginger. Deep and satisfying.
The taste is young, tight and complex with notes of spicy lemon cream, elderberries, dry liquorice, wet asphalt and minerals. The finish is long and precise. Very balanced. This is gooood!
93p (tasted 2014/12)
We were then presented with 6 decanters that contained, according to Miran, "thin and weedy Pinot". As it turned out, Miran had got it wrong, again...:-)
2002 Pommard Clos des Epeneaux, Comte Armand
Usually one of my favourite Pommards, this was very good but as good as it was four years ago. The nose is spicy and medium deep with notes of beetroots, veal stock, black fruits and even a lightly peppery note, someone said sausages.
The taste is big and somewhat brawny with notes of sweet lingon- and blueberries, warm earth, leather and cooked root vegetables. It has a underlying firm structure. Needs more time.
89p (tasted 2014/12)
2002 Givry 1er Cru Clos du Cellier Aux Moines, Domaine Joblot
Almost always a fine wine, this vintage was no exception. The nose is meaty, warm and concentrated with notes of sweet red belly peppers, forest floor, dried raspberries and spices. From time to time it has a Cabernet Franc feeling. Very good.
The taste is younger than the nose leads on, with fine notes of raspberries, lingonberries, forest floor, spices and veal meat. Very good tannins. Red cherry seeds in the end of the finish. There is no hurry drinking this one.
91p (tasted 2014/12)
2002 Nuits St Georges Clos des Porrets, Henri Gouges
This very fine wine sports a concentrated, still young nose with notes of cool raspberries, licorice, tobacco and root vegetables. Very elegant.
The taste is tight, intense and seedy with notes of sweet lingonberries, tobacco, beet roots and warm earth. A very fine acidity. Long and lingering. Not as great as the 1964 but almost.
93p (tasted 2014/12)
2010 Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots, Lucien le Moine
I don´t think I have ever tasted a disappointing or even a mediocre wine from Lucien Le Moine, and this stunner was no exception from the rule. The nose is deep and beautiful with notes of wild strawberries, rose petals, freshly grounded spices, warm tiles and expenisve leather. Penetrating and focused. Just great.
The taste is handsomely elegant and precise with notes of ripe raspberries, spices, rose petals and some deep flowery notes. The finish is long and refined. This is as good as it gets, and with age it will become even greater.
96p (tasted 2014/12)
2008 Upper Picnic Spring Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir, Neely
The only American bottle in the line up doesn´t convince. The nose is spicy and fine in the beginning but soon evolve some dirty, earthy beet root, coca-cola notes. Warm. Chocolate biscuits.
The taste is warm, concentrated and a touch flabby with notes of raspberry jam, fennel, sweet licorice and moist earth. The taste is more harmonious than the nose. Good.
85p (tasted 2014/12)
2009 Bürgel Spätburgunder, Keller
A fine, young, seedy nose with blue- and raspberry fruit intermingled with notes of asphalt, dried flowers, dried spices and earth. A cool sweetness to the fruit. Very good. A bit seedy.
The taste is young, fresh and seedy with notes of a raspberry and blueberry smoothie, asphalt, licorice and gravel. A long and finely tuned finish. This is fine.
92p (tasted 2014/12)
2007 Barolo Marenca, Luigi Pira (magnum)
I obviosuly prefer the top of a magnum... This was not kind of Miran. Two decanters presented as two different wines, but in fact just a magnum split in two decanters. Did the two glasses differ? Yes, they did... Even after it was revealed, they did. At least, in my mind...
Anyway, the nose (in the better, first glass) is deep, meaty and earthy with notes of fresh mushrooms, ripe red cherries, rosehips and pipe tobacco. A lovely warmth to the fruit. Very, very good.
The taste is young, tight and concentrated with notes of hard cherry candy, rosheips, tobacco ashes, dusty earth and some leather. A very long finish with some distinctive tannins. This will turn out even greater with 5+ years in the cellar. Before we knew what it was I scored glass 1 - 95p, and glass 2 - 93p, so if you mix them together you get...
94p (tasted 2014/12)
2007 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Clos des Papes
This had been opened the day before and we got a taste of what was left. The nose is big and warm with notes of raspberry jam, raspberry liquorice, dark cookie dough, resin and fried herbs. Good.
The taste is broad and warm with notes of black cherries, raspberry jam, garrigue and meat stock. A long, very good finish.
88p (tasted 2014/12)
2003 Quarts de Chaume, Baumard
I had this pegged as a Vouvray from Huet, but alas... It has a deep, penetrating nose with lovely notes of oil cloth, hay, white peaches, dried apricots and rubber. Some earthy notes after a while. Very, very good.
The taste is big, sweet and concentrated with notes of lemon cream, hard candy, oil cloth, hay and some rubber. A long, fine finish with a cleansing acidity. Still young.
91p (tasted 2014/12)
1992 Vesuvio Vintage Port
Last up was this Port. The nose is young and slightly peppery with notes of bakelite, black cherries, figs, fried nuts and moist earth. Very tight and a bit unyielding. Needs time.
The taste is broad shouldered and steady with notes of sweet liquorice, figs, green raisins, dark chocolate and bakelite. A long, warm, generous finish. I think that this will need another 8+ years to reach some sort of maturity.
90p (tasted 2014/12)
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