Weekend Drinks: EUROVISION WEEKEND!! Friday 13th... to Sunday 15th

Potel Volnay 1er Cru Caillerets '07 - pretty red nose, balanced, red fruits, nice sense of layers in the middle, well proportioned but all quite dialled down. Nice wine but not really a top class Caillerets on this showing.
I still don't think the mystery of which 07s Potel made has been unravelled.
I've got some Nuits Vaucrains I haven't tried yet and despite racking my brains have no idea at all how I came to possess it.
You remind me that I've still got a last magnum of Nuits Roncieres 2000-it has been really very good.
 
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A radiant beauty that charms from start to finish. You could be forgiven for thinking last nights Confuron-Cotetidot Echezeaux was a Barolo and this Cappellano a very respectable red burgundy. Rose petals, wild strawberries and not an ounce of Nebbiolo malice. Concentrated but so light on its feet and an overall sense of poise, elegance and sheer refinement. It is hard to believe this is a Barolo and even harder to believe it comes from Serralunga.
 
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I had planned to try a bottle of 2005 Robert Arnoux's pinot fin, but I'm confused on the current value – any suggestions, please?

Far from second best, the Mercurey went well with pork tenderloin with pak choi. Still relatively tight on opening, but opens nicely to reveal red fruit and spice.
 
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I don't think the Arnoux is worth much, Christopher, it's from before 2015 when the remarkable changes kicked in and that Bourgogne, of which there is loads, was very widely distributed. I'm not a huge fan of the older style(not talking about pre-Pascal Lachaux). Mind you, I don't know how far the madness has gone!
 
Vilmart Rubis 2011. Rubbish year apparently but they did pretty well with this and I’ve posted before. Really enjoyable and fun.

2014 Kumeu Mates Chardonnay - first of my bottles I’ve opened and now in a good place as often felt a bit young and oaky,
maybe lost a bit of power on the finish but that may not be a bad thing. Still oak on the nose and on the finish with a touch of spice.

still have some Teeter Totter for later. Side project US red with a touch of lift and freshness. Not amazing but will see how it’s doing today.
 
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Enjoying this with Eurovision

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Anne et Jean-Francois Ganevat La Graviere Chardonnay2018
First of a case. This is from Ganevat’s negotiant arm.

Nose of pear, yellow apple, orgeat and some wet stone. Lovely palate - ripe fruit, a pleasant waxy element but still good minerality and freshness
This doesn’t have the cidery aspect of Les Cedres - I much prefer this as it’s closer to the Ganevat’s domaine wines but as others have said lacks the real depth of those wines that gives them their cult status. Nonetheless this is a great Jura Chardonnay and very enjoyable.
 
Friday night was risotto, Jamie Oliver’s minted Asparagus and pea risotto.
Initially ‘Arneis‘ lovely melon and yellow plum , crisp not overly complex but fresh and food friendly.
Toms picture of Goldgrube prompted me to reach for a wollenweinder, 2012 Kabinett
initially upon opening very grassy ,settling into delightful perfumes, steely,racy citrus flavours,finishing with brown sugar spice. Only sweet in the middle palate , completely dry and lingering finish.

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Delicious vosne by CLF last night. The nose fills the room with flowers and spice, I could just sit and sniff this all night. The palate doesn’t disappoint either. Tannins have resolved to give a wonderful plush feel. A heady mix of stony minerals, cherries, cinnamon and dried flowers. The acidity on the finish just makes you want to keep drinking. Delicious and ready to go.
 
Last night we had some friends over to celebrate the birth of our daughter, so it was an evening on the “good stuff”.

Krug 168 was as Krug-like as ever. Digestive biscuits and apples. Just lovely.

The Dom P was a bit of a gamble at a bargain basement price from a collection of 1980s. The cork telling us I’d gambled well as it was 1982. In remarkably good condition, still bright and absolutely incredible. Don’t think I’ll drink another 82 so this was a real treat.

GPL 99 was classic Paulliac. In a great place and fully ready to go. A perfect accompaniment to a huge T-bone from Ginger Pig.

The Ducru was a late entrant to proceedings and the cork was fully wet through - ut oh. However, 20 minutes in the decanter and the funk melted away to reveal a whole host of red fruits. Really delicious and young for a 36 year old wine.

Overall, we were well blessed by the wine gods and had a thoroughly good evening. The Ducru surprisingly perhaps edging the battle of the reds for me.

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Some esoterica on a Sunday afternoon….

1. JJP WSRA GC 49. A perfect aged Riesling. Remarkable spices and red fruits on thr nose. Some kerosene, but not as oily as some older Rieslings
2. Venissa Dorana 14. Grown in the Venetian lagoon from the saline-resistant Dorona (“golden”) grape. Bitter almonds and honey on nose. The palate is quite salty with a very drying finish. Perfect hard cheese wine
3. Clos Joliette Sec 70. An extraordinary nose. Sweet / sour, dry/ salty, fruity/ meaty. Dried porcini dipped in honey. It doesn’t get much better in white wines 7FAEE841-7CAA-490A-BFD4-EF6ED684BAD0.jpeg
 
‘09 Rougeard Saumur-Champigny - Everything is great about this wine except price. This bottle smelled like a Chambolle Musigny and tasted like a Grand Cru Burgundy while it normally smelled like a Cheval Blanc and tasted like a Grand Cru Burgundy. My assessment of this wine was so wrong in ‘15, shame on me.

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Last night we had some friends over to celebrate the birth of our daughter, so it was an evening on the “good stuff”.

Krug 168 was as Krug-like as ever. Digestive biscuits and apples. Just lovely.

The Dom P was a bit of a gamble at a bargain basement price from a collection of 1980s. The cork telling us I’d gambled well as it was 1982. In remarkably good condition, still bright and absolutely incredible. Don’t think I’ll drink another 82 so this was a real treat.

GPL 99 was classic Paulliac. In a great place and fully ready to go. A perfect accompaniment to a huge T-bone from Ginger Pig.

The Ducru was a late entrant to proceedings and the cork was fully wet through - ut oh. However, 20 minutes in the decanter and the funk melted away to reveal a whole host of red fruits. Really delicious and young for a 36 year old wine.

Overall, we were well blessed by the wine gods and had a thoroughly good evening. The Ducru surprisingly perhaps edging the battle of the reds for me.

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Congratulations!
 
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1993 Domaine Henry Pelle Menetou-Salon Morogues rouge. A random bottle from my aunt's cellar, brought home to open and see if its siblings are worth keeping or should be poured down the sink to open up some space. I must confess I knew nothing about this wine until 15 minutes ago - not the grape or even where it was from. I now know that it's a Loire Pinot. But is it still drinkable? Hmmm. There's some bricking around the rim but the colour is still pretty good considering its age. The nose is quite muted but definitely smells like aged Pinot. Very, very light in the mouth - bordering on watery - but what flavour there is is perfectly pleasant and there's a faint line of acidity to wake up the taste buds. The tannins are completely resolved and the finish is very short. So, to sum up, yes, it's drinkable, but there are an awful lot of wines I would prefer to drink.
 
A day of wine trade golf at Woking GC yesterday had us drinking some Bertrand Ambroise Nuits Saint Georges Les Cras 2005 at lunchtime. Generously provided by The Bar golf society. The wine was In a great place. Great depth of sweet earthy fruit. A nice amount of rusticity. It made for a very enjoyable if slightly less skilful afternoon round!
Back at home in the evening I had a taste for burgundy with some age, so reached for this Albert Morot Beaune Teurons 2002. What a wonderful wine. Delicately built but hugely satisfying. Not sure why I chase the grander villages when I drink bottles like this.
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I still don't think the mystery of which 07s Potel made has been unravelled.
I've got some Nuits Vaucrains I haven't tried yet and despite racking my brains have no idea at all how I came to possess it.
You remind me that I've still got a last magnum of Nuits Roncieres 2000-it has been really very good.
Inspired by this I found and opened a Potel, which is Cailles not Vaucrains. I'm almost certain it is not a Nicolas bottle but it was surprisingly really delicious if not in the class of superb bottles from Chevillon and Bouchard.
 
Bit of a turn up, found a restaurant in Crete with a very nice wine list.


Went for the Arnoux Lachaux but it’s somewhere between here and France so 2014 Pergole Torte was ordered instead. Beautiful nose, floral complexity. Palate not quite as good, lacking a bit of vim and jot as elegant as I remember but still lovely. This bottle was more mature than expected with tertiary flavours starting to appear but there is a fresh cherry long finish.

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Food was pretty good too.
 
N.V.H Billiot Fils Champagne Grand Cru Rose.
Lovely apperitif at last nights Japanese BBQ. Medium salmon color, fresh strawberries on the nose, floral too. Crisp, dry long finish, delicious, strawberry, medium bodied. Bravo.
 
Saturday lunch at the Waterside in Bray. -

2019 Gadais Muscadet Sur Lie - Simple but refreshing, 'pour la soif'.

2018 PYCM Rully 'Les Cailloux' - Another successful '18 for me, think the PYCM style in this vintage floats my boat, and further confirms for me that you don't actually have to go all the way up the pecking order to get that.

2004 Vieux Chateau Certan - Absolute class, intense aromatics and a silky and luxurious texture, but super refreshing. If any criticism maybe a little short on the finish but overall a real treat. Fair price on the wine list given the way the market has gone.

Know the Waterside gets some mixed opinions but have to say on a sunny day with good company it's a pretty special place to be.
 
Quick notes from a combo of a tasting and a dinner:

Dom Perignon 2004: Fresh nose but deep, intriguing. Bassy. Unusual. Some lemon meringue. Really liked this...Champagne. 6/7

Puligny Folatieres, Ch de Puligny Montrachet 2016: Big, rich nose, very much top end Burgundy. Palate a bit too big and oaky at this stage, needs time, will it soften? 5+/7

Puligny Chalumeaux, Ch de Puligny Montrachet 2014: Noticeably lighter, more zip, gd acidity, decent length, in a very nice place, cracking drink. The Folatieres may surpass it in time, but for now a much more enjoyable glass. 6-/7

Charmes-Chambertin, Camille Giroud 2016: Nice, clean, pure Burgundy, quite delicate, persistent, almost enough to restore my faith in Burgundy after the 2002 debacle. 6/7

Clos de Vougeot, Grivot 2013: Bigger wine, stricter, juicy but shorter, v pleasant but not in same league as the Charmes. 5+7

Latour 1995: Gorgeous nose, deep, classic, fine cedar. Slightly disappointing after that, woody, a bit hard, structure loose. Worth it for the nose alone but fully mature. 6-/7

Leoville Las Cases 2000: This is the exact opposite to the Latour with a shy nose, gently subtle but nothing to grab you. Thereafter it builds and builds, has impeccable balance and tremendous complexity. Clearly very young but have a feeling this could be special in time. 7/7

Cheval Blanc 1983: From a bottle with a completely knackered label, from a previous one I thought this was going to be 1981 but the cork gave me a very pleasant surprise. Everything everyone says about Cheval 83 is true - it's one of the very top vintages for this chateau and still delivering fabulous pleasure. Accessible but intellectual at the same time. Love it. 7+/7

CdP Celestins, Bonneau 2006: Nose is attractive, deep and subtle, but just sets off a quiet alarm about overripeness. Palate similar, it's just on the right side but only just. Apart from that it is beautifully savoury and fans out spectacularly at the end. This is probably never going to be the greatest Celestins, but it's a pretty good one and apart from Rayas, I doubt there's a better 2006 CdP. 6+/7

Crozes-Hermitage, Thalabert, PJA 1990: Another phenomenal showing for this immortal Crozes. It's somehow wrong that this wine should be quite as good as it is. No sign of fading. Wonderful. 7-/7

Barolo, Bartolo Mascarello 2009: Now a feted wine, it's one I confess I have never got. Very old school, VA, austere but still all over the place structurally. Juicy middle. Decent enough, but take a look at the price... 5/7

Vina Tondonia Reserva 2005: This on the other remains an absolute bargain: fine, deep, Rioja, traditional but not forbidding, delicious nose, ripe, primary and still needs time to show its best but clearly a super wine. 6+/7
 
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