| | Jonathan is in the town so as usual, we have a wine dinner to welcome him! Second visit to Paradise Pavilion and I must say the service and quality of the food dropped for quite a bit compared to my 1st visit. After all, great company and wines made my day! Aperitif - N.V. Thierry et Muriel Fournier (TMF) Crémant de Bourgogne F Blanc - France, Burgundy, Crémant de Bourgogne
This was quite delicate on both nose and palate. Not a champagne and we thought this was a cremant for the not so fine moose as well as the lacks of volume. Yeasty, citrusy with herbs and earth. Simple and a bit sharp on the palate with touch of green herbs, liquid likes mineral and citrus fruits. Short simple finished. Very dry. (84 pts.)
Flight 1 - White Burgundy - 1999 de Ladoucette Sancerre Grande Cuvée Comte Lafond - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
This is really enjoyable and a surprise for the quality. The wine is definitely benefited from 12yrs of bottle aging. It displays lovely complexity of roasted nut, yeast, slightly oxidize and iron note yet remained fresh core of citrus lemon. There is additional layer of herbs, white flower and mineral at the background too. Medium bodied, touch of honey intermixed with grassiness, quite bold on the mid palate but turning crispier toward the finished with rich lemon honey, nut as well as mineral. Lovely juiciness yet it is quite dried with mineral tailing at the medium length finished. I like this quite a bit. (87 pts.)
- 2006 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Les Forêts - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Alcohol :: 13%
Decanted for 2 hours. Light golden. This is unmistakably a Chablis and to be exact, Raveneau! Always a treat to have Raveneau on the table. Such elegant aromas of sea-shell, gun powder with expressive notes of lemon, citrus and pear, so fine and perfume. Almond and beewax notes emerged when it got more air. Medium bodied. It flows onto the palate with effortlessly with its silky and velvety texture. Very fine. So intense yet so weightless. Medium scale with complex layer of nuttiness, sea-shell, salted mineral, white and yellow fruits all supported firmly by its fine structure. Good harmony, long attractive finished. What I like about Raveneau is it never be sharped on the palate even there is huge mineral backbone. Delicious. (90 pts.)
Flight 2 - Cult Etna Duo - 2006 Graci Etna Rosso Quota 600 - Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
Alcohol :: 14.8%
altitude 600meter. Pre-phylloxera, un-grafted vines (50-100yrs old). Opened for 8hrs. Garnet core, brown hue. This has the wildness and funky character, due to un-grafted old vines? Bitter, herbs, dark and red cherries aromas that is quite pungent and powerful. Medium bodied, loaded with energy and freshness. Tannin is firm but already show good integration. Soil, earth with a touch of grounded coffee bean, dark chicolate bitterness. Some red cherry and blackberry fruits hiding underneath. Quite long, but bitter which I don't really enjoy. (85 pts.)
- 2008 Fattorie Romeo Del Castello Etna Vigo - Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
Altitude 700meter. 50-100yrs old vines. Brighter and younger red. This too display hint of bitterness but not as heavy as the Graci. Fruits was hiding and I can only get earth, smoke and nut out of it. The bitterness appears on the palate too. Good bite and structure. This wine does packs a bit more power and also tighter than Graci. Grounded pepper and coffee beam, along with very bitter finished, medium length. (85 pts.)
Flight 3 - Spain - 1975 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Valbuena 5° - Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
Alcohol :: 13%
Light pinkish red with brownish hue. Soft and expressive bouquet of plum, leather, red cherry, sweet herbs, earth. There is also this raisin note in the core. Medium bodied, still fresh and firm but rather simple, lacks a bit of depth. Still lively and in fact, drinking very well now with medium length finished, quite juicy. (86 pts.)
- 2001 Rotllan Torra Priorat Tirant - Spain, Catalunya, Priorat
30% Grenache (90-100 years old), 25% Carignan (90-100 years old), 25% young vine Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah, and 10% Merlot. This is rather interesting wine. Served blind and our guessed include Burgundy, Bordeaux as well as Italian. Despite of so many grape varietals being blended in this cuvee, this was actually very delicious and everything was wonderfully balance. Dark ruby red display complex aromas of sweet blackberry and blackcurrant fruits with a melange of ink, cedar, smoke and earth. Medium - Full bodied. Firm structure and almost opulent in the mouth with its super rich, dense blackberry and blackcurrant fruits. Layers with leather, earth and soil note. Sweet and rich but there is this underlying freshness to prevent it being OTT. Firm tannin leads to long powerful finished. This has good sense of elegant despite of its power. Excellent. (91 pts.)
Flight 4 - Red Burgundy - 1986 Gilbert et Christine Felettig Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Light brownish. Slightly alcoholic and almost Tokaji likes bouquet especially the black tea and raisin note. Added some dried fig and forest floor. Medium bodied, soft, good acidity and still posses quite a good amount of fruits. Medium length finished that is quite heavy. Not bad. (85 pts.)
- 2002 Domaine Taupenot-Merme Mazoyères-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Mazoyères-Chambertin Grand Cru
Alcohol :: 13.5%
The color is cloudy, garnet which is weird for such a 2002. Condition problem? The nose was pretty expressive and complex with perfume red flower intermixed with cherry cola, blackberry fruits, earth and wild meatiness. On the palate this is definitely a power house. Structure, powerful but with mouth coating tannin that is quite rustic. A wine that built to age but I can't find any finesse nor purity in it. According to my friend, Merme's style should be more feminine and elegance. Thus, something wrong with this bottle?
Flight 5 - Red Bordeaux - 1983 Château d'Issan - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Dark brownish. The aromas is perfume, not deep and intense though. Fig, wild, herbish, cedar, graphite and blackcurrant. Quite old. Medium bodied. Cedar, tobacco, blackberry likes of acidity. Firm tannin, but a bit rough, good acid and some fruits left on the finished. Quite simple and start to loosen up at the very end. (85 pts.)
- 1969 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
My second 69 to date and while this is a simple one, this is definitely still alive. Consider Fresh with forest floor, lots of earthiness and smokiness. Nothing much on the palate though, simple and dominated by mushroom, tea leaves, earth and cedar. Mellow structure, medium length finish, quite elegance but simple. (84 pts.)
Flight 6 - The lonely new world - 2005 Cheval des Andes - Argentina, Mendoza, Lujan de Cuyo, Vistalba
No detail note but this was pretty good. Rich and concentrated in style. Black cherry liqueur with smoke and loaded with vanilla oak. Powerful, sweet, oaky, chocolaty. Medium length finished. (85 pts.)
Flight 7 - Dessert to end - 2009 Equipo Navazos Montilla-Moriles Casa del Inca Pedro Ximénez - Spain, Andalucía, Montilla-Moriles
Alcohol :: 15%
This amber color PX boosted intense bouquet of dried raisin, prune, salted plum and honey, almost caramel like at the background. Powerful and sweet but not pungent nor OTT, this wine has pushed the envelop to the limit. Full and viscous. The richness of this wine is stunning yet remained focus with its acidity and structure. It offer fullish mouth feel and huge depth on the mid palate with dried raisin, prune and a hint of autumn leaves. Really not bad but I regret not to open this the night before which the wine would only benefit with more air! Medium to long finished that is juicy and sweet with no sign of alcohol heat despite of its 15% alcohol content. (88 pts.)
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