Dinner for eight with friends at Cinco Bistro in Brisbane last night. Lovely company, lovely food ina bustling suburban bistro, and some lovely wines too. here are the wines at least.
93 Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Spatlese: What an excellent aperitif this is. Already written up on Vinoculation but here is the note from the ngit for completeness. Juicy acids do exactly the job required, and being from an age past where acids were greener than now really helps. Racy limes oranges, unripe pineapple and passionfruit with some petrol notes. Long and laserlike. Lovely start.
06 Louis Carrillon Puligny Montrachet 1er Champ-Canet: Served at room temperature. Matchstick and sulphur at the beginning. Cashews melon and peach are the palate entry. Its taut and has great presence. Vanilla and lemon elements join a savoury finish where the well judged oak becomes more evident. Lovely – give it time for the sulphur to blow off.
95 Jean Boillot et Fils Volnay 1er les Fremiets: Served Blind. This opened volatile and hessian like, and for the briefest moment I wondered about TCA. Not to be – some stewed plums and soy sauce emerge first. This is at the end of its life so fruit flavours are hard to distinguish, but the the acid profile says Pinot Noir and the tannic structure and fruit weight say burgundy. Volatile, and reflecting its year.
99 Hubert Lignier Morey St Denis 1er les Chaffots: Wow. I don’t drink 99’s very often, and if they are all like this, with good reason. It still needs years to come together! Rich and powerful, very primary in its fruit. Some aged scents on the nose, but all primary forest berries on the palate. This is elemental and not yet well integrated, and texturally not silky but richer – perhaps buttery. Leave for a long sleep.
Mystery wine: For reasons that become apparent ina few lines, I’ll describe the wine first and then reveal its identity. The nose on this is lifted and extremely pretty. I get violets initially (but no one else does) then raspberry, vanilla and honeycomb. Airtime brings purple berry fruit and nicely judged slightly nutty oak. Finely but powerfully tannic. The fruit here is intense dense and powerful. Me likey. Joy and bliss here in the glass. And the reason why a usually cautious blind note is so positive? The wine is the 07 Comte de Vogue Musigny. Respect.
01 Mugneret Gibourg Ruchottes Chambertin: More grand cru Burgundy…but not served blind this time. Densely coloured rich ripe red berry nose. Raspberry and cream palate. Lovely structure. Subtly tannic slightly nutty oak. Silky texture, but slight acid poking out.
05 Denis Mortet Gevrey Chambertin 1er: Plum, forest floor and black fruit along with some attractive perfumed elements. Bright and polished and almost prickly/spritzy when served. At the same time this is a mélange of berries, fine tannin and elegance. A lovely pure, fresh fruit driven wine in the end. Very tasty.
06 JJ Christoffel Urziger Wurzgarten Auslese***: Golden colour apricot and ripe orange nose. Palate is similar with vanilla, brown spices and apricot marmalade. Acids are all in the right place but this has a powdery texture and is disappointingly short . Big botrytis and toast. Bugger.
04 JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett: Straight after the sweet botrytised Christoffel this was hard going but everyone was still thirsty. Heavily sulphured - haven’t noticed this so much on other bottles, although it is the Prum way. Also tight and unyielding, less advanced than earlier bottles of this. Be patient with Prum…
and that’s all for now,
cheers
Andrew
I know what you’re thinking. Max, another bloody Sauv tasting note - when will you quit with this variety you harp on about so much? But seriously, the biennial anniversary has come around once again, and it’s time to dip into the methoxy lottery once again.
On this occassion, my latest Sauv foray comes after meeting up with my old mate Simon Kelly and his better half Tamra Washington - winemaker for Yealands. They gift me a bottle of the 2009 Yealands Res Sauv, without so much as a cursory glance or raised eyebrow - which would immediately bias a favoured view of my favourite variety - and, with chicken risotto on the menu later that evening, we give it a whirl.
If it was rubbish, just another Marlborough Sauv, tinned asparagus in battery acid brine, or all of the above, then I wouldn’t have been compelled to bother with a note - partly due to reading boredom, partly due to courtesy and respect to Simon and Tamra. But this is real, new wave, exciting Marlborough Sauv, in all its glory.
The aromas of freshly cut red pepper stand out immediately; intoxicatingly fresh and authentic. There is an inherent purity, weaved among threads of minerality, sugarsnap, gooseberry and just the faintest whisper of riper passionfruit. Complex and endearing; two words I never expected to associate with Sauvignon Blanc.
The palate is true to type, with just a few more textural nuances evident, though these are swiftly swept aside as the crisp undercurrent of acidity washes through. Deftly poised, the medium bodied weight is never overbearing or rambunctious, kept lively and graceful with impressive linearity and depth. The juicy finish only exemplifies the concentration of flavours and judicious acid balance.
Long story short - great wine. The label is minimal and professional, and this is also one of New Zealand’s few carboNZero wineries. The reserve label from Yealands is definitely one to watch in the future.