5.6.40
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Diary index

Italian themed offline at the Vintners Rooms 29/10/2008 (TNB)

Wine group at D.W's 27/10/2008 (TNB)

26/10/2008 (TNB)

20/10/2008 (TNB)

A couple of Italians from Raeburn Fine Wines 12/10/2008 (TNB)

A dinner at D.L.'s 04/10/2008 (TNB)

The Diary - October 2008

Italian themed offline at the Vintners Rooms 29/10/2008 (TNB)

What follows is not the drinking order.
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 01/11/2008   Return to top

Wine group at D.W's 27/10/2008 (TNB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 09/11/2008   Return to top

26/10/2008 (TNB)

  • Barolo Cannubi 1993 (Prunotto) Really quite fine, floral fruit with quite challenging succulent tannins. Very drinkable to my mind, and rather good. Top ***
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 26/10/2008   Return to top

20/10/2008 (TNB)

  • Rasteau 1998 (Dom. Gourt de Mautens) I guessed there was a fair slug of Syrah in this but some research suggests it is 70% Grenache and the remaining 30% is quite a mixture. It has though quite a serious wine gamyness and minerality. Good balance too - not something universal in the Southern Rhone in 98, in my experience. Very good. Top ***
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 20/10/2008   Return to top

A couple of Italians from Raeburn Fine Wines 12/10/2008 (TNB)

  • Carso Malvasia Selezione 2000 (Kante) This takes a little time to open out, which is perhaps surprising at this age. Slightly musky peach and apricot fruit, honey overtones too, on quite a flat, broad base. Good persistence, but like a lot of Italian whites you need to concentrate a bit. Very good. Top ***
  • Torbido 2001 (Cascina Ebreo) This is essentially Barolo - 100 per cent Nebbiolo from Ravera. It is made in a very traditional Barolo way too with substantial ageing in old barrels, but for some reason the estate does not want to be part of the system. Whatever, this has lovely pure fruit, quite high-toned, with substantial structure. But it is a pleasure to drink even now because although the tannins are very marked, they are also of fantastic quality. Lovely wine, very much authentic tar and roses Barolo. Excellent. Easy ***(*)
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 12/10/2008   Return to top

A dinner at D.L.'s 04/10/2008 (TNB)

  • Pol Roger 1988 Quite evolved, brioche and river water nose. Nice mousse, long and flavoursome too. ****
  • Chardonnay 2005 (Kante) Very rich, quite dense, some minerality but restrained and currently a bit closed. Very pure and concentrated. An interesting Friuli producer. *** and rising.
  • Chablis 1er cru Montee de Tonnerre 1991 (Duplessis) Flinty, slightly bitter and vegetal yet very fresh with a fantastic finish. While many producers now seem to be struggling to make wines that last five years, this is very fine at 17 years old. ****
  • Chablis grand cru Les Clos 1999 (Duplessis) Quite rich for Duplessis, but gorgeous fruit. Very fine authentic Chablis. **** and improving.
  • Clos St Denis 1986 (Chezeaux/Ponsot) Good colour. Great raspberry fruit with a slightly rough edge being the only symptom of being made in a dire vintage. Fine Burgundy. ****
  • Leoville Las Cases 1983 Very much a point now, with a very nice balance which by all accounts this property has lost in recent years. Lovely. Bare ****
  • Sammarco 1996 (Rampolla) Berryish fruit, succulent, slightly rustic wine. Rather good. Top ***
  • d'Aleco 1996 (Rampolla) I think this was the first vintage of Rampolla's Bordeaux blend super-Tuscan. I have mixed feelings about it: there is a suave purity about the fruit and extra structure compared to the Sammarco, and yet it doesn't have quite the sense of authenticity the admittedly lesser wine has. It's pretty good - say ***(*) with reservations.
  • Chianti Classic Riserva Il Poggio 1985 (Monsanto) Creamy texture, gentle sweet leafy fruit. Very delightful. Top ****
  • Cote Rotie 1991 (Gentaz-Dervieux) Gamy, yet sophisticated, fragrant yet meaty. Wonderful wine still on the up. Bare ****(*)
  • Niepoort 1970 Very intense honey flavours of a quite unusual sort overlaying fine port fruit. Very nice, and interestingly unusual, but not as good a bottle as the stellar example drunk a couple of years ago. Bare *****
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 12/10/2008   Return to top