Weekend 12-14 February 2021

  • 2001 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva Especial - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja (11/02/2021)
    Mid ruby with a touch of deep garnet at the rim. Starting to settle comfortably in to early maturity. Mellow mulberry and damson fruit, velvety frame, hints of leather and spice and still a healthy dose of vanilla on the nose. Lovely, very drinkable now but years ahead. **** (93 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker

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Tonight I'm having this italian Barisel.which was on offer at the local wine box.lovely floral notes on the nose and perhaps a bit of spice.
Sour cherry and blackberry with a fine ballance of acidity and tanins.its a full 13.5%Abv, but you wouldn't know it. It feels soft and quite gluggable.
A nice wine for the money!
Cheers everybody!
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Well, this was a turn up for the books. My previous bottles over the past eight or so years have been dull to borderline poxed, some more than borderline so. Consequently this was opened more in hope than anything else, and it was a revelation. A worryingly full colour given previous form, but actually, clean, and really very lovely rich, full tradictionary-style burgundy. Went beautifully with a turbot steak and a champagne, cream and caviar sauce.

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This is lovely. Creamy, with a nice balance of citrus, stone fruit and tropical going on. Hard to define grape varieties but I'm not sure that's the point with this wine (pinot Gris, pinot blanc and aligoté blend). Tasted blind I'd be hard pushed to tell the composition, though its origin seems far more obvious.

I find blends like these really hard to evaluate or be hugely geeky when tasting them. Perhaps that's the point though, either enjoy or not enjoy and leave it at that. Certainly compared with musings over 100% varietal where one can draw comparisons with similar wines far more easily

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Produttori del Barbaresco, Barbaresco Riserva Asili 1996.
Typical translucent brown/orange with a touch of red. Nose not remotely tiring or even properly mature. Still has plenty of black and red fruit, black pepper,white pepper, a whiff of truffle, all topped with heady rosey pot pourri. There‘s great aromatic depth here, proper contemplative wine. Palate still has pretty mighty structural components, but the tannins have at last softened enough to allow a way in. There’s still tons of fruit and acidity too, the latter zesty and freshening so there‘s balance in a wine that has a great gnarly texture. This is enjoyable with food now but loaded with potential that feels (finally) like it might be realised within a normal human lifespan.
 
Few nice bottles last night. Sandhi Blanc de blancs was very good. Definitely a hint of oxidation, quite rich and full rendition of bdb. I really enjoyed it, my wife wasn’t quite so enamoured. The Granges des Peres was lovely. All mellow and easy to love. Distinct herbal edge that I expect from this part of the world. A real treat. The Van Loggerenberg Graft Syrah was beautiful. Very young, but delicious now and plenty of stuffing for a good few years. Quiet night tonight!
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Decided to have our Tom Kerridge valentines dinner this evening as we have our usual family roast planned for tomorrow. The dinner was superb.

Harrow & Hope. Some pink fizz to start from Marlow seemed a good match for Tom’s restaurant location and indeed the salmon starter. Strawberry and cream.

Leoville Poyferre 2001. Third bottle from a case and this is showing really well. As previous bottles this is very structured, precise and elegant. Cassis on the nose.... pencil shavings and tobacco dominate the palate.
 
Well, this was a turn up for the books. My previous bottles over the past eight or so years have been dull to borderline poxed, some more than borderline so. Consequently this was opened more in hope than anything else, and it was a revelation. A worryingly full colour given previous form, but actually, clean, and really very lovely rich, full tradictionary-style burgundy. Went beautifully with a turbot steak and a champagne, cream and caviar sauce.

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Lucky you!
 
Tempier Rose last night and a drop tonight with our starter of skate, purple sprouting broccoli and red wine, anchovy and garlic dressing. Lovely wine as always - just delightfully drinkable. I've also opened some Craggy Range Sophia 2009 to accompany beef wellington and it's done nothing to improve my mood (Tish asked for the dish and I've obliged but it seems an extraordinarily awkward way to waste a piece of beef). The wine tastes glossy, plush and expensive but really does very little for me. It doesn't speak of soul or place.
 
Nyetimber Classic Cuvée - this was really good, better than I remembered. Annoyingly worth the premium over other English Sparkling I've tried.

Burlotto Barolo 2015 - the normale from a 375, the 4th of 12. Going through these too fast, doesn't help that I don't have enough very useful half bottles. Very young and obviously tannic but still very enjoyable. Floral aromatics, cherries and spice, like a sophisticated bakewell tart.
 
Krug 164
It‘s getting more interesting. Still loud acidity there but not as screaming as couple years ago.
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Yquem 2007
When tasted in Yquem master class it was really good and decent value (well, comparatively). While when I opened two halves in offlines, I found them good but not as good as in my memory. Now I see it‘s the format. Bottle is superior than half. It still has the 2007 roundness and spiciness, but the palate is much smoother and more linear, and a great light weight feeling which is why Yquem so special. The halves compared to this were heavier and got a hint of amyl acetate (do people call it pear oil here?) smell.
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It’s Lunar New Year here in KL and friend decided to push the boat out a bit.
The Drappier was a revelation for me. A classic, lithe BdN with a slight pink hue. Very refreshing without the raspiness I often get with zero dosage. It was much more enjoyable than the heavier Clouet served later in the precedings. I had a Drappier Grande Sendree earlier this year which was also excellent so will be seeking out more from this house.
The Coche was a classic of this genre. I guessed 2005 Genevrieres so was close. Drinking about perfectly I would say. The d’Auvenay was quite a bruiser in comparison. Very intense and concentrated, at first this reminded me of a Rousanne VV. After an hour of so it calmed down and started to show coffee grout and white chocolate. Of the two, the Coche was the crowd pleaser.
Charles Lachaux’s Aligoté also performed well. We gave it a six hour decant which dramatically improved its texture and rounded out some of the more green elements that the grape sometimes shows. A lovely wine.
For me, DRC GE 01 bested Lalou’s CV 93 although each in their own way was a great wine. The nose on the GE was magical with a constantly changing red fruit profile married with orange zest and cedar.
Foillard 18 showed the Syrah side of Gamay. It was big and burly and took some time to mellow. As it warmed up the alcohol became more intrusive so we needed to keep in chilled.

Gong Xi Fa Cai !

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Charles Lachaux’s Aligoté also performed well. We gave it a six hour decant which dramatically improved its texture and rounded out some of the more green elements that the grape sometimes shows. A lovely wine.
I greatly enjoyed a bottle of this last week-a splashy decant and a long time exposed to the air is indeed essential, it was at its best 24 hours later which integrated everything and sharpened its edges, toning down the not necessarily aristocratic fruit that is typical of the grape and in its stead bolstering its structure and stone elements. A wine that's really alive and quite 'natural' in the modern way. My only disappointment is that it's not really much like the D'Auvenay version Lachaux is professedly trying to emulate at all!
 
  • 2019 Domaine de la Cras (Marc Soyard) Bourgogne L'Equilibriste - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne (14/2/2021)
    Marc Soyard worked under Bizot for a while and the vineyards are almost next to the urban centre of Dijon. A low intervention and low alcohol wine (11%), clearly natural style with a little spritz but very clean winemaking here. Dark ripe fruits of cherries and bramble, more dark Bojo than Burgundy but worth a try if you can find this at a good retail price of around 50 SGD.

 
VALENTINES WEEKEND WINES - (14/02/2021)

Experimenting with single bottles from cases thanks to Lay & Wheeler. Lots of fun drinking mid-ranking wine just coming into its stride, among other things.
  • 2012 Alain Jeanniard Nuits St. Georges Les Poisets - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges
    First bottle from a case - bought in order to make up an allocation. Lovely stuff - surprisingly expressive nose, some red fruits, and on the palate Pinot loveliness. Some sour cherry but in balance - a really well put together villages burg.
  • 2001 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva Especial - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
    Popped and poured. Drunk too quickly with lasagne. Colour - purplish-red. On the nose - vibrant, oak and forest floor and a hint of red fruits. On the palate - the American oak is clearly there, but well integrated, and there's an acidity to it that gives everything definition and makes it almost thrilling. Not as enjoyable as the 1989 of this wine I drank over Christmas, but I feel that this will be a better wine when it gets to that age. Hopefully I will be able to exercise sufficient restraint to have some of this left in 10-15 years time.
  • 2015 Fratelli Grasso Barbaresco Vallegrande - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
    Drunk over two nights. A decent Barbaresco, complex enough to be interesting. A real joy to drink, and carries its 15% abv well.
  • 2009 Château du Cèdre Cahors Le Cèdre - France, Southwest France, Cahors
    The more I think about it, the more I like this wine. Still a brooding dark colour, and on the nose like walking through the woods on a frosty morning - dark fruits and forest floor - but you have to sniff deep to get anything. On the palate - somewhat austere, well put together, the fruit is still there but is restrained by the forceful tannins. I found this much more enjoyable than I'm making it sound. Used to drink a lot of Cahors back in the day - and this is why. Grown up wine for grown up people.
Posted from CellarTracker
 
Funnily enough I opened a LRA Ardanza 2001 last night Leon and pretty much agree with your note. I was glad the oak finally has lost its glossy feel and much more integrated and in tune with the fruit which is bright and energetic. Fruit red in profile, cherry and redcurrant. Very much in the zone and a joy to drink.

I've kept back a couple of glasses to go with the roast chicken today which will be interesting. But definitely plenty of life in it and I think another 20 years left in it.

Edit: after a day opened this showed no serious signs of ageing and worked well with the rich herbal gravy achieved with slow roasted chicken.
 
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This is lovely. Creamy, with a nice balance of citrus, stone fruit and tropical going on. Hard to define grape varieties but I'm not sure that's the point with this wine (pinot Gris, pinot blanc and aligoté blend). Tasted blind I'd be hard pushed to tell the composition, though its origin seems far more obvious.

I find blends like these really hard to evaluate or be hugely geeky when tasting them. Perhaps that's the point though, either enjoy or not enjoy and leave it at that. Certainly compared with musings over 100% varietal where one can draw comparisons with similar wines far more easily

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  • 2017 Au Bon Climat Hildegard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley (07/08/2020)
    Mid straw; plenty of oak, polished; glossy, full bodied, unrestrained, juicy acidity; may need more time, though monolithic. (90 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker

Jim Clendenen is 'appearing' in 67 PM session on 2 March. He is very entertaining, though I may have another commitment (as hard as it is to imagine, in current circumstances).
 
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