Another relatively quiet week with quite a few AFD's.
Seppelt Dorrien 1994
Solid dark ruby core with plenty of bricking in the edges. Mature, integrated bouquet of freshly-sawn cedar, sandalwood, savoury plums, chocolate and polished saddle leather. Ready to rock and roll, the medium-bodied palate offers up a melange of sweet red and black fruits (mainly plum and blackcurrant), more of the chocolate, leather and cedar found in the nose, nicely framed acidity, fine-grained tannins with a meaty/savoury oak backdrop. Resplendent with a creamy old-vine texture this excellent drop finishes with might and stupendous length. I can still can taste the savoury plum and gorgeous ripe tannins several minutes after swallowing. Marvellous enough to bump it to an
Outstanding rating. Could not of picked a better moment to try my first bottle, don't you think?
Monday had a very long lunch at Dijon with Tony Wynd and the Radioactiveman -
5 courses for $27.50 per head - unbelievable deal, terrific food, excellent service, fine glassware, wonderful ambience and with good friends - a real treat.
The Wines
Domaine Servin Chablis 1er Cru Montee de Tonnerre 1996
Very bright pale lemon/white gold with green flashes. Intriguing nose of seaspray, oyster shell, cheese rind, underipe green melon and a slate/shale/mineral character I found hard to pinpoint. No discernible oak input. Steely, tight palate with shy fruit leaning more towards 'minerale', predictably well-endowed with acid, good balance and a moderate, crisp finish. Somewhat enigmatic, this wine seemingly needs more time to strut its stuff.
Recommended.
Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile Riesling Vendange Tardives 1990
Still garnishing an infantile, starbright colour, this wondrous late-picked Riesling from Alsace leaps from the glass with a plethora of amazing scents - a written critique cannot do it full justice. For a wine to display such aromatic purity, focus and precision whilst so much multifaceted intensity attacks the olfactory senses is a balancing act only a handful of the world's finest producers could emulate. The bouquet reveals a potent mix of complex "sweet" florals, exotic spices, overripe yellow peach, kaffir leaf, limes, apricot and passionfruit, all butressed by a haunting minerality (something I only find in the finest whites from this region) and later, a perplexing petrol-like quality. Likewise, the palate fails to disappoint. Blessed with outstanding extract replicating the sublime nuances found in the bouquet, this mouthfilling beauty dances all over the tongue and is surprisingly light on its feet with seamless, balancing natural acidity providing a superb near-dry, refreshing finish that persists for nearly a minute.
For over 20 years I have been lucky enough to taste many great white wines, yet I cannot think of one that betters what we sampled this afternoon. For sheer Alsatian hedonistic pleasure, this bottle surpasses everything (this includes Trimbach's Clos St. Hune and some dazzling examples from Zind-Humbrecht from the great years of 1983, 1989 and 1990) I've tried to date. Rated as
The Ultimate, I'm confident, on today's showing, for this to last at least another 15 years.
Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir 1998
Light to medium ruby with some age showing throughout, this attractive Pinot Noir offers up mainly sweet plum, sap and savoury oak in the bouquet with a touch of strawberry loitering at the death. Rounded, soft and supple in the front- to mid- palate with sweet plummy fruit, this relatively straightforward example has some fine, assertive tannins that belatedly kick in to provide a little structure. Moderate persistence. A little disappointing considering my expectations after trying the (much better) Bindi Original Vineyard from the same vintage a few months back.
Recommended.
Frederic Esmonin Chambertin Grand Cru 1998
Solid core, medium ruby hue fading to brick red in the outer edges. Intense meaty, savoury nose over plenty of spicy, savoury (newish) oak. Perhaps a little shutdown. The palate confirms this viewpoint - fine mouthfeel, ample acidity and powerful powdery tannns dominating an explosive finish with dark plummy fruit lurking sheepishly behind the imposing structure.
Highly Recommended with a question mark on the fruit content/balance at this point.
Ch. Coutet Barsac 1997
Glorious bright, very light gold colour. Way too young for immediate gratification, this
Excellent, elegant Sauternes displays the prerequisites for future enjoyment offering up layers of honey, pineapple, nectarine, mandarin, subtle oak and toasted almonds with a strong underpinning of bright acid throughout. Probably best left alone for at least 5 years, this wine should drink impressively during the second decade of the new millennium.
The other wine enjoyed this week was an
Excellent bottle of
Pol Roger 1995 Vintage.
Cassis, cassis, mint, flowers, everything. What a wine!! Needs another 10 years, but I'll probably drink the rest soon, given this showing.
