Fine Wine Diary

29/10/1999 (TNB)

Echezaux 1987 (E. Rouget) Hedononistic, yet fine enough not to cloy at all. First-rate Burgundy!

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 29/10/1999 Return to top

Wine group @ E.McC's 25/10/1999 (TNB)

Coudelet blanc 1995 High-toned, but quite oaky (?), tropical fruit. Quite good length. At least
Coudelet blanc 1993 Spicey, young Alsace riesling nose. Marzipany, dry. Good length. Another easy
Pouilly Fuisse La Roche 1997 (Manciat-Poncet) Light fruit, elegant, decent.
Pouilly Fuisse La Roche 1995 (Manciat-Poncet) Dense fruit, again good length. Melony.
Pouilly Fuisse La Roche 1994 (Manciat-Poncet) Long (again) but anonymous (again). Peachy.
Pouilly Fuisse Hore Classe 1994 (Ferret) Tropical fruity - a step up from the previous producer. Drinkable.
Pouilly Fuisse Tete de Cru 1994 (Ferret) More Burgundian. Slightly toffeed. Easy
Barbaresco San Stefano 1995 (Castello di Nieve) Currenty, v. tannic, will be pretty good.
Barbaresco San Stefano 1994 (Castello di Nieve) Toffeed nose, creamy palate, but a bit dull. (The vintage, in retrospect.)
Barbaresco San Stefano 1993 (Castello di Nieve) Better fruit this time. Well structured. Its just a bit hard to believe that these young wines are going to be quite as good as the three very lovely older wines that follow.
Barbaresco San Stefano 1978 (Castello di Nieve) Smokey, tarry, almost like a port. Excellent.
Barbaresco San Stefano 1976 (Castello di Nieve) Lighter, but very fine. Complex, balanced, long. At its peak.
Barbaresco San Stefano 1974 (Castello di Nieve) Lovely, possibly less complex than 78, but another impressive effort.
Schlossbockelheimer Felsenberg spatlese 1983 (Crusius) Light, fruity, not amazingly long, but classically elegant.
Schlossbockelheimer Kupfergrube spatlese 1983 (Staatdomain) Weightier but less elegant. Still a pleasant wine.
Sandeman 1965 Very sound, maturish. Quite structured. (Apparently Sandeman didn't declare the vintage, but a bit was bottled. To judge from this, it's not at all a bad year.)
Rebello Valente 1966 This is very serious, delicious, balanced port, barely drinking yet.

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 25/10/1999 Return to top

23/10/1999 (TNB)

Barbera 1993 (Sandrone) This bottle at least has lost the curious old-socks edge that I remember. The excellent fruit it always had has mellowed to an almost Cabernet roundness. Quite a lot of vanillin oak, well applied. A good drink.

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 23/10/1999 Return to top

Burgundy, mainly 1997, at OFW, 21/10/1999 (TNB)

Pouilly-Fuisse Perriers Tete de Cuve 1997 (Ferret) Slightly acetatey, decent concentration, reasonable finish. 17:49
Chardonnay 1997 (Tarra Warra) Quite rich and chewy - slightly flashy, lots of oak. Hint of aniseed. Pleasant, but tiring without food perhaps. 14:99
Puligny-Montrachet Champ-Canet 1997 (Carillon) Fine fruit. Lacks the last word in concentration perhaps, but supple oak and decent finish. 33:99
Puligny-Montrachet Chalumeaux 1997 (Ch. de Puligny) Tropical fruity, a shade short. Perhaps a good choice of style for the vintage. 23:99
Puligny-Montrachet Referts 1997 (Sauzet) Might be closed, but lacks grip, and perhaps just not very good. Is it opening a shade in the glass? I'm not sure, and I'm not risking it at 39:99 For now
Corton Charlemagne 1997 (Chapuis) Rich, good length. Nice length and balance. Very good (and even good value in the current context) but not great Corton Charlemagne . 34:99
Mercurey 1er cru VV 1997 (Lorenzon) Red fruits (if any), not very pinoty. Light in the mouth and austerely tannic. Others were less harsh on this. 19:99 (We seem to have arrived at 20 quid Mercurey!)
Pommard Epenots 1997 (Obiers) Those tannins again. Fruit a bit better this time - still redfruity. Is there a bit of class here? 29:99
Clos Vougeot 1996 (Bertagna) Good fruit, excellent balance. Proper Burgundy. 47:99(!)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 21/10/1999 Return to top

17/10/1999 (TNB)

With RJB, who has not vetted these notes!

Gosset Grand Reserve Presented blind, this seemed almost off-dry, but I think that may be my palate on the day. Quite a rich, complex style, oak-influenced wine. Pretty impressive.
Lanson NV A bit light beside the Gosset, but perfectly sound.
Chassagne Montrachet Caillerets 1988 (J-N. Gagnard) Old-fashioned, very oaky, but in balance. Interesting, but is it going anywhere?
Meyney 1986 Coming round to drinking - quite merloty, tannins evident but not too intrusive. Quite good.

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 17/10/1999 Return to top

09/10/1999 (TNB)

Gosset Grand Reserve Tasted several times from halves on a recent holiday. Always tasty and interesting. Occupies an odd market position above the grand marque NV's but short of Krug, etc. Justifies this position.
Gruner Veltliner Steinfeder 1998, Terrassen Thal Wachau, Freie Weingartner Which the vineyard, which the producer? I haven't a clue. Good old G.V. - always the best of the run-of-the-mill grapes. Unremarkable, but the acidity saves it. The only wine of a week's sojurn in Vienna. (Added later: Frank Drew E-mailed to tell me that Freie Weingartner is a Co-operative which he finds to be pretty good.)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 09/10/1999 Return to top

09/10/1999 (RJB)

Taittinger 1990 Drinking nicely and without some of the opulence it had in youth. At peak, but no rush to drink up.
Herrenweg Gewurztraminer 1989, Zind-Humbrecht From a half. Good to have this after a break from this style of wine. No real signs of age - big extrovert wine ideal in half bottles. Fine with Thai fishcakes.
Chateau l'Enclos 1982, Pomerol This has reached maturity and has liquorice and berry flavours.
Chateau Cadet Piola 1982, Saint Emilion Doing better than the Pomerol above. Quite gutsy wine in its younger days, and now maturing well.
Chateau Bastor Lamontagne 1986, Sauternes From a half. No signs of being past it. Good light to medium weight Sauternes. Just
Piper Heidsieck Brut OK fizz, but not one I'd rush out to buy.
Brundlmayer Brut 1990 This is aging well (that is, it has no real signs of age), however, I'm not really sure it's a style I like. Lacks the elegance of Champagne, yet has a mineral quality.
Herrenweg Gewurztraminer 1990, Zind-Humbrecht From a half. Not as good as the 1989 mentioned above. Possibly past it, or at least heading that way.
Chateau Sociando Mallet 1986 This has lost some of its fruity silkiness and is gaining maturing claret flavours. Most enjoyable.
Chateau Bastor Lamontagne 1988, Sauternes From a half. No signs of being past it. Good light to medium weight Sauternes. Same note as the '86 above! Just