| | - 2013 Ridgeview Bloomsbury - United Kingdom, England, Sussex, West Sussex
Blind. Big body, very high mousse, yellow apples, creamy, good length, only moderate acidity. Were in not in England due to the lowish acidity. (89 pts.)
- 2010 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Rosé de Saignée Creux d'Enfer - France, Champagne
Blind. Rosé. A bit muted, but a hint of mature strawberries, big mousse, pronounced bitterness from the middle of the taste curve, long, intense. Seems very young. No idea what this was. Well not exactly what you drink often, with a production of only 370-500 bottles a year. (90 pts.)
- 2015 Casa D'Ambra Biancolella Ischia Tenuta Frassitelli - Italy, Campania, Ischia
Blind. Pale; crisp and herbal, grape fruit and some black currant leaves; quite high acidity, crisp, moderate body, bitter and fresh finish, long. Clean and uncomplicated. Some melon after a while, tropical. Absolutely no idea. (87 pts.)
- 1996 Jermann Vintage Tunina Venezia Giulia IGT - Italy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Venezia Giulia IGT
Blind. Quite yellow, high viscosity; high intensity, a hint of petroleum; smooth, bitter finish, moderately spicy, big bodied, butter, quite some battonage and malo? Again, no idea what this was. (90 pts.)
- 2012 Emidio Pepe Pecorino Colli Aprutini IGT - Italy, Abruzzi, Colli Aprutini IGT
Spicy and funky, high notes of yeast, almost complex after a while; moderate plus body and acidity, some bitterness, rather long. 90p (90 pts.)
- 1981 Robert Mondavi Winery Chardonnay Reserve - USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
Blind. Mature, wonderful Chardonnay smell, celery and nuts; good length, bitter finish, very dry, intense and long, full bodied, lingering, mouth-filling, low alcohol kept me in Europe. Perhaps lacking a bit in complexity. All guessed this as central burgundy pre preox period, me: 1985 Meursault or Chassagne. Big surprise when its identity was revealed. (92 pts.)
- 2010 Domaine Luneau-Papin Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie "L" d’Or - France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie
Blind. Sweetish smell, lemon, faint grapefruit, lemon candy (synthetic); rather high acidity, fresh, limited length, well, well... (86 pts.)
- 2003 Chateau Musar Blanc - Lebanon, Bekaa Valley
Blind. Most mature, camphor; smooth mouthfeel, orange peel, bitter finish, clean. Could have been a wine with some Semillon, but actually, no specific clue. No one was near the correct guess. 88p (88 pts.)
- 2012 Tissot (Bénédicte et Stéphane / André et Mireille) Savagnin Arbois Amphore - France, Jura, Arbois
Extremely mature and almost rotting apples, pronounces natural wine feel, bitter, abundance of tannin -- but also bitterness. Short, bitter finish. Absolutely not my cup of wine. NR
- 2012 Didier Dagueneau Silex - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Pouilly-Fumé
Blind. Sour-sweet smell, yet fresh, lemon candy; high intensity wine, long, some sweetness, bitter finish, rather high in alcohol (?), tropical. Lacks nerve and finesse. (88 pts.)
- 2013 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Meursault 1er Cru Charmes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Blind. Pronounced Chardonnay nose, barrel infused, butter, gun powder and rocks; despite the 'fat' nose -- considerably more sleek mouthfeel, a faint synthetic note, some sweetness though -- which grows with more air and higher temperature. A bit 'worked', still, an impressive wine. (92 pts.)
- 2013 Alexandre d'Almeida Buçaco Branco Reservado - Portugal
Blind. Deep, complex Chardonnay nose -- albeit with some sulphur, gun powder, very tight/structured, clever use of barrel, complex - although obviously very young, in the mouth: long, splendid mouthfeel, fresh, lingering, wonderful balance, some complexity in the finish. No none doubted that this was a Grand Cru Burgundy (and there was a gang of most experienced tasters). How absolutely, utterly, wrong we were! Encruzado 33%, Bical 33%, Maria Gomes 33%; 12 months on oak. Outrageous QPR (93 pts.)
- 2012 Jean-François Ganevat Dolium - France, Jura, Arbois
Blind. Gooseberry soup; decent acidity and intensity, a hint of complexity and some Eau de Vie aromatic notes (not necessarily the alcohol). Strange, but I liked it. (90 pts.)
- 2009 Scherrer Winery Pinot Noir Sonoma County - USA, California, Sonoma County
Blind. Moderate maturity, deep mix of dark berries (blackberries and blackthorn) and gun powder/minerals; (served a bit too warm), smooth, and moderate minus tannins, good acidity, grippy finish, moderate alcohol, more sweetness after a while. Good QPR (91 pts.)
- 2003 Giuseppe Cortese Barbaresco Rabajà - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Blind. Some pine tree; quite lot of tannin and acidity, rather structured. A success considering the vintage. (89 pts.)
- 1988 Braida (Giacomo Bologna) Barbera d'Asti Bricco dell'Uccellone - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Barbera d'Asti
Blind, from magnum. Mature and comforting wine, no tannin, modest acidity, tertiary notes -- but not decaying, actually verging on being complex, very soft edges -- not the most focused. (89 pts.)
- 1985 Georges Dubœuf Moulin-à-Vent - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Moulin-à-Vent
Blind. Drinkable, but, to be honest, over the hill (understandably so when the identy was shown) (FLAWED)
- 2002 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos des Porrets St. Georges - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
Blind. Deep, dark and 'hairy' PN nose, gunpowder blackberries, and some hint of blackthorn; tannic, angular. Actually unbalanced due to the high tannin, doubt that that this will ever come around before the fruit dries out (a will most likely not be around in 40 years to tell) (88 pts.)
- 1989 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Brunate - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Dark berries and gunpowder; a bit muted at first; High tannin and acidity, the structure is verging on overtaking the very fine (and dark) fruit below. Does not come across as a modernist Barolo. Still has potential. (92 pts.)
- 1999 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
Pop and pour - which was probably not a good idea. Tough, dark, concentrated, complexity emerging after some hours in the glass, and if you can get across the toughness and structure: sweet and complex fruit below. Will be glorious? (93 pts.)
- 1990 Château Gazin Pomerol - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Stupendous bottle. Fill 3 mm from the cork, which was only soaked 1 mm. the wine was likewise: youthful, clean, even some complexity shine through, tannic. Still has potential: their best wine ever? Served blind to the others, everybody was on the left bank -- Pauillac or St. Julien. I often find that people think that Merlot has to be softish (this has 90%), which is not the case, at least in Bordeaux. WOTN (95 pts.)
- 1990 Tenuta Greppo (Biondi-Santi) Brunello di Montalcino - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
Blah! Yet another over the hill BS (bottle looked fine, high IN fill) (FLAWED)
- 2002 Dom Pérignon Champagne - France, Champagne
Blind. As a mouth cleanser between reds and sweets. Initially served too warm, and the small pour when it was chilled made it difficult to judge. Seemed to have quite high dosage, youngish, smooth - yet tight/struxtured, elegant, and very good weight to it. Rating just tentative. (93 pts.)
- 2003 S.A. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Blind. Sweet, decent acididy, aromatic wise a Riesling; rather bland mouthfeel, lacks complexity. Guessed Mittelmosel due to the warmish feel; it was probably rather the vintage. (87 pts.)
- 2011 Joh. Jos. Prüm Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Blind. Honey, sulphur, sweetish with some warmth to it, moderate acidity, some flint/gunpowder. Guessed Mittelmosel, but was mistaken again due to the vintage. (91 pts.)
- 2015 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Blind. Very pale, sweet and sour, lemon candy; 'light as a feather can be', vibrant, this always have me think of a field filled with white flowers. No doubt what this was, but thought it to be an Auslese 2012-2013. Rating for now. (94 pts.)
- 1929 Pla del Fount Maury - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Maury
Complex, fresh, good balance. A distinct reddish hue: This must have been made from Grenache Noir, not Blanc. (92 pts.)
- 2001 Château Rieussec - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Blind. Smooth, limited acidity, complex, orange peel and toffee. Mature Sauternes, probably 1990 or 1989. Due to its richness: Rieussec? Big surprise when this turned out to be a 2001. (92 pts.)
- N.V. Campbells Muscat Rutherglen - Australia, Victoria, North East, Rutherglen
Blind. Some spice, toffee, big sweetness, round, intense and long, almonds, complex. I liked this a lot, even though a bit too sweet. (92 pts.)
- N.V. Rey Fernando de Castilla Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Pedro Ximénez "Antique" - Spain, Andalucía, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry
Blind. Motor oil, toffee, prunes, nuts, good complexity. The remains (half a bottle) of a half bottle was plenty for 10 people. (93 pts.)
Many of the whites were extremely difficult to identify; people had really made the task daunting by bringing odd wines. Standouts: The Portuguese 'hotel' wine: outstanding quality, a very youthful Gazin with lots of additional potential, a splendid Müller Scharzhofberger (as always), a high quality and drinkable PX, and a lively chard 1981 from Mondavi, to mention a few.
Let downs: Biondi Santi gone again, a strangely developed Rieussec 2001. |
