At our last monthly tasting groups get to together, Roderick poured an interesting flight of wines. This is the third time he has arranged this, what he calls "Parker Calibration".
The setup is easy enough - we get to know that 5 wines will be poured with, in this case, Parker points of 95, 96, 97, 98 and 99. Our job is to guess what the wines are, what point Parker has assigned and what score we give the wines.
Here we go!
Glass One
A rather big, outgoing nose with some maturity and notes of blackberries, herbs, choclate biscuits and some peppery aromas. A fine warmth. Very, very good.
The taste is warm and spicy with notes of fried herbs, dark cherries, warm tiles and dusty gravel. A long, warm finish with some nicely evolved structured tannins. Drinking fine today.
I was leaning to a more modern Barolo with some age and barrique aging, but no, it is a 100% Sangiovese, more specifically 1997 Cepparello, Isole e Olena. Judging from this bottle, should not be kept for much longer. Much more impressive three years ago. I guessed that Parker had a 95 point score on this, and so it was. I am more moderate and give it
92p (tasted 2016/11)
Glass Two
A fine, deep, somewhat mature nose with notes of ripe cherries, bay leaves, smoke, stables and dark chocolate. Very, very good. Complex and deep.
The taste is tight and sandy with notes of ripe black currants, gravel, dry tobacco and graphite. A long, lingering finish with velvety tannins. This is really good.
It has to be a Cabernet, but from where? I jotted down Bordeaux? and Tuscany?, and finally settled for Bordeaux. But no, a fine 100% Cabernet from Italy in the shape of 1997 Cortaccio, Villa Cappagio. Contrary to the Cepparello, this was better today than three years ago. Parker point? 96 is my guess, and that is correct. I am almost as enthusiastic.
95p (tasted 2016/11)
Glass Three
Everyone was surprised when the bottle was revealed. I had this pegged as a Châteauneuf-du-Pape... The nose is deep, warm and creamy with notes of asphalt, cooked blackberries, wood smoke and assorted herbs. Not bad at all but somewhat lacking in character.
The taste is big and concentrated with a fiery black fruit and notes of undergrowth, dark liquorice, herbs and some animal notes. A long finish with some charcoal notes.
All signs of a big Ch-du-Pape that the Monkton guy likes (but I usually don´t). What!? 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon, Philip Togni. No f....g way! There must be something wrong with this bottle, everyone was surprised, not a guess even close. Not a bad wine per se though. 97 from Parker. Ah well, I´ll give it (with a big question mark)
88p (2016/11)
Glass Four
Oooh boy! What a wine. The clear winner in the line up. A great nose oozes up from the glass with notes of perfectly ripe black currants, liquorice, expensive tobacco and a beautiful perfumed scent. Very deep and handsome. It feels luxurious. Great wine.
The taste is tight and concentrated with notes of ripe red and black currants, lead pencil shavings and tobacco. A long velvety finish with some nicely polished tannins underneath the ripe fruit. A great mouthfeel. Just entering maturity.
I was dead certain that this was a top notch California Cab or a more modern style Bordeaux, and when pressured I went for Bordeaux. Ok then - there is some Cabernet in this wine, but the rest is Grenache, Carignan and Syrah... The wine? 2001 Clos Mogador, René Barbier. Parker? 98p, and guess what, I´m almost there myself. A stunning wine.
97p (tasted 2016/11)
Glass Five
Well, this is something extra. The nose explodes from the glass with notes of vanilla coated blackberries, mint, ripe flowers and glue (more specifically "björnklister", which everu Swede know what it is). Lots of warmth. A bit all over the place. Very deep.
The taste is broad amd big with notes of raspberry liquorice, blackberries, toothpaste and burned almonds. A long, hot finish that ends with a alcohol sense. Too big for my liking even though it holds together nicely, even when it gets warmer in the glass.
My guess? An over the top Shiraz from Aussie land, and it is 2005 Carnival of Love, Mollydooker. I got one right at least :-) 17% alcohol... A Parker 99 pointer, that´s about ten points too high.
89p (tasted 2016/11)
No comments:
Post a Comment