Weekend drinking - 3rd to 5th September

Last night we opened a couple of good bottles over dinner at our neighbours' house. A Le Grappin Beaune 1er cru blanc Greves 2013 (***1/2) was attractively evolved and the perfect rendition of a Beaune 1er cru blanc. This wine always has a bit of Meursault fatness about it. In a very good place for drinking now, although this will hold. Sealed under DIAM 5. A big step up in quality and complexity from the straight Savigny blanc. Chateau Pontet-Canet 2004 (***1/2) was also in a good place although it would have benefitted from a decant. This was quite a dark, extracted wine for 2004, but all in balance and with plenty of elegance. The tannins are softening, which makes this very drinkable. There's still plenty of dark red fruit at the core of the wine and it is only just secondary; the tannins seem to be melting just a little faster than the fruit is evolving. An attractive wine to drink over the medium term.
 
Some big hitters for a friend's birthday, some showed better than others. I brought the Bernaudeau which I was rather confused by, but the Fritz Haag was magnificent.

YVELIN'S BIRTHDAY - (5/9/2021-6/9/2021)

  • NV Bérêche et Fils Champagne Reflet d'Antan - France, Champagne (5/9/2021)
    2015 base. Classic Bereche notes of green apples, but I didn't enjoy this as much as the other bottlings that I have tried. Possibly shut down as this was rather unyielding and the dominating flavour I had was straw.
  • 2018 Domaine de Vaccelli Ajaccio Granit - France, Corsica, Ajaccio (5/9/2021)
    First time having Corsican wine and was very impressed by this. 100% Vermentino, good weight of fruit but still remaining fresh, very Chardonnay-like actually.
  • 2018 I. et S. Bernaudeau Les Onglés - France, Vin de France (5/9/2021)
    I had to double check that I brought the correct bottle, this showed like a Riesling instead of a Chenin. Some petrol on the nose, very overt tropical fruit but still had a good backbone of acidity. Some hints of botrytis. Good, but confusing. Not sure if this is worth the ridiculous secondary market price.
  • 2017 Domaine de Vaccelli Corse Sirocco - France, Corsica, Corse (5/9/2021)
    Made in a natural, glou-glou style with no structure that I am not a big fan of. Some sweet red fruits.
  • 1999 Coppo Barbera d'Asti Pomorosso - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Barbera d'Asti (5/9/2021)
    Even better than the bottle last year. Think we went to Italy on this one immediately, some earthiness and sweet red fruit. Excellent acidity and showed fresher than the bottle last year.
  • 1995 Clarendon Hills Astralis - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, Clarendon (5/9/2021)
    Bordeaux-like on opening with strong cassis notes but put on Syrah characteristics with time. Nice juxtaposition between the savoury elements of Syrah and the sweetness of fruit from the new world, very serious wine that I enjoyed but lacked the x-factor of the Jim Barry last month.
  • 1999 Tenuta San Guido Bolgheri Sassicaia Sassicaia - Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri, Bolgheri Sassicaia (5/9/2021)
    Very green on both the nose and palate, dissipated slightly on the palate over time to give a well-integrated wine with impeccable balance underneath. Very good quality but I could not get past the herbaceous quality that I don't mind usually. No other notes point to this though so possibly a flawed bottle?
  • 1996 Château d'Yquem - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes (5/9/2021)
    Good, but not as stunning as the 1985 I had a couple years ago. Classic Sauternes notes of honey, apricot, some orange peel, but that was my problem as it does not transcend a typical Sauternes.
  • 1998 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel #9 - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (6/9/2021)
    From 375ml, leaky cork. Drinking very nicely at plateau, mature fruit is receding to give a calm and reassuring presence. Fantastic length..

 
Richard Zambuni said:
Chateau Pontet-Canet 2004 (***1/2) was also in a good place although it would have benefitted from a decant. This was quite a dark, extracted wine for 2004, but all in balance and with plenty of elegance. The tannins are softening, which makes this very drinkable. There's still plenty of dark red fruit at the core of the wine and it is only just secondary; the tannins seem to be melting just a little faster than the fruit is evolving. An attractive wine to drink over the medium term.
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I’ve had this a couple of times this year and your notes align with our experience Richard. I may have had the tannins more advanced/resolved. Very enjoyable.
 
Nuits St Georges Les St Georges 2014 from Alain Michelot was already enjoyable, to my slight surprise. There is not a speck of sediment but a lot of really lovely tannin on the finish. It is slightly one dimensional for now but I don't see any reason for it not to open out more expressively in the future, in fact given past performance it really should be left quite a long time. Excellent wine without at the moment seeming at the pinnacle of what LSG can achieve.
 
On Friday we opened. Everything I like about red Burgundy.

  • 2014 Philippe Gavignet Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Chaboeufs - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru (03/09/2021)
    Pale; classic Burgundian nose, genteel red fruit, sous bois, enticing; some initial CO2, it settles quickly, medium bodied, an attractive bite, refreshing acidy; that NSG foursquare shape on a finish of substance. Drink over next 5+ years.
    (Would've benefitted from a Fourrier shake/swirl). (91 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
 
Some nice wine over the weekend.

Friday
2009 Meerlust Merlot - very agressive, VA? Definitely some kind of fault, down the sink.
2009 Merlust Rubicon - more like it. Really lovely - definitely carrying its 14% abv but a well balanced wine. Paired with Five Guys takeaway and What If on Disney Plus.

Saturday
2017 Fratelli Grasso Barbaresco Vallegrande - a generous gift. Delicious but crikey - 15.5% abv and you can feel it in your gums. Invited friends round to share the bottle as more than a glass and a half would be too much.
2009 Château du Cèdre Cahors le Cèdre - much more like it. A little vegetal, definitely substantial, just as it should be. Really nice wine.

Sunday
2015 Domaine de la Taille aux Loups Montlouis-sur-Loire Clos de Mosny - off the list in a pub in Marylebone. Super precise but with a length there. Really good but I am not sure how much longer it would have ahead of it.
2018 Mullineux Cabernet Sauvignon Leeu Passant. Woof. This was delicious. A hint of greenness - pretty sure blind I would have called some cab franc in the blend - everything one could want from this type of wine. Surprisingly ready to go now, but surely this will get better.
 
Outstanding lunch at Glasgow's Unalome yesterday and we drank really well. Charles Heidsieck Brut was on really good form I thought, enough reserve wine richness but full flavoured and pin-sharp, then the Crystallum Agnes Chardonnay 2020 that was superb; really so much value. I am sure the many Burgs on the list would have been excellent, but what a lovely, full, sufficiently buttery but focused wine. The Domaine Drouhin 'Laurene' Pinot Noir 2018 was so elegant and refined, but again not lacking in pleasurable fruit and weight. Unfortunately the restaurant knows me and always slips in extras, and this was compounded by us dining with a Michelin starred chef who they also know, so there was an embarassment of food and wine riches with their compliments, including a bottle of Amarone Brolo dei Giusti 2011 from Cantina Valpantena - 16% abv, but really outstanding and among by greatest Amarone experiences I would say, then glasses of Offley 20-year-old to finish us off (almost literally).
 
Few this weekend:

2020 Westwell Pet Nat - Very light fizz, super ripe apple & stone fruit on nose and palate. Dry but with a certain sweetness, hard to describe. Not really to my taste, preferred the other pet nat they released made from the 'traditional' sparkling varieties (this was Ortega)

2020 Tillingham Pinot Noir (Oaked) - V pale ruby with cherry & strawberry nose. Initial tertiary notes and light fizz quickly settled. Strawberry & cherry on the palate too along with some vanilla. Improved with time in glass and was better further on day 2. Probably improve a bit with time, arguing with myself whether i can justify getting another bottle....

NV Jean Lallement & Files Cuvee Reserve - Lovely gold colour with fine persistent bubbles. Brioche, red berries, red apples & citrus nose. Super balance with integrated body, acidity and mouthfeel. Similar palate of red apple, red currant, brioche & lemon. Good length. Really very nice indeed.

2011 Raymond Lafon (half) - Golden with tropical nose of banana, pineapple, caramel, raisins. Weighty mouthfeel and good acidity with banana, burnt caramel, raisins. V. sweet and long. Lovely treat.
 
A few recent ones

  • 2020 Foradori Manzoni Bianco Fontanasanta - Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT (8/27/2021)
    Bottle with colleagues at Lady of the Grapes

    Nose of sweet pineapple, pink grapefruit, ripe apples
    Palate doubles down on the ripe apple and lemon spritz, grapefruit peel. Long finish. Lovely and refreshing.

    Looking at my notes this is quite different to the the 2019, firstly no waft of reduction off the bat and a little less spice. I’d say that after the sulphur had blown off the 2019 was more interesting though this is still a lovely wine (90 pts.)
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Posted from CellarTracker

  • 2020 Arianna Occhipinti SP68 Rosso - Italy, Sicily, Terre Siciliane (8/27/2021)
    Bottle at Lady of the Grapes with colleagues

    Translucent purple
    Nose reminds me of gamay (this is a Nero davola and Frappato blend) Sweet Strawberry, a little briary but very light

    Palate delivers on the nose sweet crunchy red fruit, light and vibrant. Medium acidity and low tannins.

    This would have been better slightly chilled but a good “crushable” wine (89 pts.)
    1b944b36-d8ff-4026-b00d-39df0258f64d.jpg
Posted from CellarTracker

  • 2010 Ségla - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux (9/6/2021)
    Second of a case here

    Nose of blue fruit, powdery violet and a little pencil shavings

    Palate brings juicy blue plum, Parma violet and graphite. High acidity and fine tannins.

    All very primary and much less exotically spiced since I last had this and far more classically Margaux. Still delicious but a little less interesting. (90 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
 
I've just opened in advance of a youthful birthday gathering a magnum of Savigny VV villages 2019 from Guillemot. I fear the guests will be very lucky if there's any left by the time they arrive, it is still purple and quite ridiculously delicious, the very purest essence of pinot. If Willy Wonka had offered cask samples of burgundy on his famous factory tour it would have tasted exactly like this but it is still miraculously an adult drink.
I'm sure it will be fantastic in fifteen years time but if one's not going to wait that long then one should get stuck in now, it can't possibly be as lovely in three, five or ten years time.
 
Thom Blach said:
I've just opened in advance of a youthful birthday gathering a magnum of Savigny VV villages 2019 from Guillemot. I fear the guests will be very lucky if there's any left by the time they arrive, it is still purple and quite ridiculously delicious, the very purest essence of pinot. If Willy Wonka had offered cask samples of burgundy on his famous factory tour it would have tasted exactly like this but it is still miraculously an adult drink.
I'm sure it will be fantastic in fifteen years time but if one's not going to wait that long then one should get stuck in now, it can't possibly be as lovely in three, five or ten years time.
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The 19s I’ve tried so far are certainly quite ripe, but feel nicely balanced with some structure and line as well as the padding. I assume the Guillemot style has helped keep some freshness? I only bought the Serpentieres in halves, but I shall dig one out…
 
Thom Blach said:
I'd open another in a flash but they have to ask.
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I'm enjoying a (75cl) bottle as I wait to cook supper. I didn't have to ask, which demonstrates that there are some advantages to losing one's youth.

The 2019 Rapet, Pernand 1er Cru Les Vergelesses, also from A&B, is similarly joyous, albeit in a brighter register.
 
Saturday I attempted to chew through the rest of my Rollin 93 Pernand Vergelesse magnum that I had opened on Friday . These wines are brutally acidic and hard as nails. I would say I received probably close to zero pleasure from this bottle. 4 magnums to go!! Maybe they will soften by the time they hit their 50th year.
 
Paul J a i n e s said:
Saturday I attempted to chew through the rest of my Rollin 93 Pernand Vergelesse magnum that I had opened on Friday . These wines are brutally acidic and hard as nails. I would say I received probably close to zero pleasure from this bottle. 4 magnums to go!! Maybe they will soften by the time they hit their 50th year.
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I'd forget about them completely, Paul, you may get a nice surprise one day.
 
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