Wednesday 4 January 2017

The Wines Of New Years Eve

New Years Eve with friends, good food and some nice wines. All drunk with food and non blind, but I jotted down some impressions of all wines non the less. The Barolo´s got some air time, all the other bottles were just popped and poured.

2002 Comtes de Champagne, Taittinger
We started of really well. One of my absolut favourite Champagne´s, the Comtes de Champagne always delivers the goods. The nose is deep and complex with notes of ripe oranges, white flowers, chalk and a beautiful smoky scent. Really, really fine.
The taste is young, tight and focused with notes of almond paste, hard lemon candy, chalk and minerals. A long, structured finish with a lovely acidity. This is stunning now but will surely get even better with 6+ years in the cellar.
We had this bottle with a apple- and foie gras capuccino and a seafood sallad.
97p   (tasted 2016/12)


2007 Meursault Genevrières, Bouchard
We drank the two following bottles with a lobster gratin, the most yummy dish of the evening. The Bouchard sports a deep, seedy nose with notes of sweet/sour lemons, rubber, elderberry soap and smoke. Very, very good.
The taste is forward and pure with notes of grilled lemons, gravel, dark fudge and dried up vanilla ice cream. Long and fine. Some maturity. From a half bottle.
92p   (tasted 2016/12)


2006 Corton Charlemagne, Faiveley
A wonderful, concentrated and pure nose with notes of lemon cream, tangerines, cap gun smoke and sweet minerals. Very handsome. Rich and refined. This is gooood!
The taste is just brilliant in its intensity, focus and concentration. The finish is very long and full of grapefruit, sweet/sour lemons and dried flowers. Great wine!
96p   (tasted 2016/12)

30 Años Oloroso, Victoria Regina
The next course was a celeriac soup and I opened this Sherry to go along. It was a fine match but I also had some left in a bottle of 1968 Verdelho, Blandy´s, which was opened almost a year ago, and that was an ever greater match with the soup.
The Sherry showed a deep, nutty nose with notes of dark liquorice, cooked wheat, nougat and masonite, Interesting and complex.
The taste is mature, broad and dry with notes of fried nuts, bakelit, candied orange peel and dried up coffee. Long and intense. Very, very good.
91p   (tasted 2016/12)


1964 Cuvée Speciale Rosé, Domaine Ott
How about throwing in a 52 year old Rosé? A spur of the moment buy and even if it comes from The Greatest Vintage ever this wine was not great...
The nose is old and wrinkled with notes of dusty mature red apples, undergrowth and gravel. Rather thin, but still hanging in there, which must be recognized.
The taste is dry and rather short but manage to show of some notes of old apples, dry tobacco and road dust. Still alive, but barely so.
70p   (tasted 2016/12)


1999 Morey-St-Denis 1er Cru Aux Cheseaux, Domaine Arlaud
Next up was a dish with pancetta, goat cheese and beet roots, and we drank two bottles of Burgundy with it.
The first one has a deep, dark, old fashioned nose with notes of plums, ripe strawberries, moist forest floor and even some meaty aromas. Very, very good. Deep and dark.
The taste is deep and ripe with notes of stables, wild raspberries, asphalt and warm rocks. Long and warm. An oldtime fashion of a wine. Drinking great today.
92p   (tasted 2016/12)


2002 Corton Clos du Roi, Domaine de la Pousse d´Or
The Corton opens a bit shy but keeps on evolving all night long. The nose is young and seedy with notes of ripe lingonberries, fresh herbs, forest floor and with a low keyed, yet intense perfumed aroma. Very, very fine.
The taste is tight and taut with notes of hard raspberry candy, gravel, beet root and rosehips. A long, stern, focused finish. A lovely acidity. A keeper.
95p   (tasted 2016/12)

1964 Barolo, Giuseppe Sordo
The three Barolo´s complimented a white truffle risotto and then a saddle of venison with salsify, mushrooms and a Madeira sauce.
The 64 from Giuseppe Sordo has a deep, round, mature nose with notes of dried cherries, manure, dried mushrooms and old wood. Some rosehips with more time in the glass. Very, very good. A fine maturity.
The taste is soft and mature with notes of dried cherries, fir wood, rosehips and warm tiles. A long, almost velvety finish, although the presence of some rugged tannins at the end of the finish. Has kept well over the years.
89p   (tasted 2016/12)


1978 Barolo Riserva, Giovanni Sordi
Giuseppes son, Giovanni is responsible for the 78, and he has done a great job, for this is a stunner. The nose is deep, racy and complex with notes of sweet/sour cherries, ceps, sweet root vegetables and lots of liquorice. Very deep, almost meaty, yet refined. Great!
The taste follows the taste with a combination of elegance and a deep, old fashioned farm feeling. Lots of dried cherries, undergrowth, tobacco, gravel and more. The finish is over a minute long with some still sturdy tannins. Would love to have more bottles if this. Could go on for 20 years.
94p   (tasted 2016/12)

1993 Barolo Vigna Rocche, Erbaluna/Severino e Andrea Oberto
There were some debate over which Barolo was the best on this night - the 78 Sordo or this one. I could not make my mind up, sip to sip they each had their own, fine virtues.
Here is another stunner from the overlooked vintage of 1993. But hey, more bottles for me! The nose is more lively than the Sordo wines and with lovely notes of ripe cherries, rose petals, warm hay, tobacco and a hint of dark caramel. Very, very good. A fine nerve to it. Some maturity.
The taste is focused, semi mature and pure with notes of red and black cherries, salmiak, hard cherry candy, rosehips and sunwarm rocks. A very long, fine finish. Again, wish I had more bottles.
94p   (tasted 2016/12)


2009 Grande Réserve Brut, Michel Genet
To end this evening we opened this bottle as a refresher and to watch 2016 turn into 2017. It has a fine, round, outgoing nose with notes of fudge, candied lemons, Lily of the Valley and a hint of tobacco. Very good.
The taste is fresh and dry with notes of dried up lemon curd, smoke, dried flowers and hard lemon candy. A fine acidity. Drinking good now and the coming 5+ years.
90p   (tasted 2016/12)




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