Christmas 2010
Lille, France
Tasted Sunday, December 26, 2010 - Wednesday, January 5, 2011 by pjaines with 942 views
Introduction
Wines drunk over Christmas and New Year in no particular order....
Flight 1 (20 Notes)
Closing
Best wine by far over the period was the La Tour Blanche 2003 followed by the Alion 2004 and surprisingly the Citran 1998. Special mention to the Ferragu Valpolicella which was like sitting in a fog of happiness.
1999 Gosset Champagne Brut Grand Millésime
France, Champagne
(12/27/2010)
Goodness, this is rich for a champagne but there is depth and breadth of quality here - nutty aromas with deep, toasted oak and almsot sherry like notes. Fine bubbles - almost still-wine at times. Long finish - this has years to go but if plump, juicy champers is your thing then this is what you need.
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1999 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
(12/27/2010)
Deep gold colour with big nose of melon, lemon, minerals. Rich and powerful palate but balanced - with time in the glass this becomes more refined with the citrus and minerals coming through. Excellent and plenty of years ahead of it.
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2006 Roc de Cambes
France, Bordeaux, Côtes de Bourg
(12/27/2010)
This is hitting all the right spots right now - soft, sweet fruit with caramel and low tannins. Good complexity here - lacks the depth to be a great Bordeaux but for a wine from a lesser Appelation this is excellent.
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2000 Château Léoville Las Cases
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
(12/27/2010)
Great expectations, but ultimately disappointing. Very shy nose, with rasberries and delicate spices. Very light in the mouth with feathery whispy fruit - wonderful balance. However the feeling lingers that there is an element of the emperors new clothes with this wine. Could it have been bottle variation? The notes below could point to that being true. Nice but I wouldn't pay the current market price for this wine.
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2004 Bodegas y Viñedos Alión Ribera del Duero
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(12/27/2010)
Grrrrrrr. This is a sexy wine - showing really well tonight and the fruit and structure are starting to blend together giving the wine a more polished feel without the chunky tannins of last year. Years ahead of it and probably 2-3 years from its peak, but no harm in popping a bottle now.
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1991 Château Gloria
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
(12/27/2010)
Fruit and structure are pretty much melted into one smooth, gentle wine. No tannins to speak of, just soft, mature Bordeaux fruit. Nice stuff. Drink now.
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1994 Château Grand Mayne
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
(12/27/2010)
This is why aging your Bordeaux for 10+ years is worth the wait. Resolved, mature fruit with liquorice and dusty chocolate notes. Surprising depth, and persistent finish but time to start drinking these now and over the next 2 years.
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1994 Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
(12/27/2010)
Showing it's age right now - fading fruit with a soft, alluring feel to it. Fairly generic mature Bordeaux palate but with enough complexity to keep it interesting. Drink now.
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1998 Château Citran
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
(12/27/2010)
See previous notes - wonderful example of cheaper Bordeaux that is allowed to mature. No signs of this little pup decaying yet but really is in an excellent place right now. This showed better than much more exalted wines on the night. Excellent.
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1999 Domaine Follin-Arbelet Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru Clos du Chapitre
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru
(12/27/2010)
Maturing nicely - gamey fruit with a touch of farmyard. Good structure - no rush to drink.
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1994 Château Léoville Poyferré
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
(12/27/2010)
From magnum. Mature, but still with enough structure to offer some grip on the teeth. Drink now.
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2006 Emblem Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford
USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
(1/1/2011)
Surprisingly light and vibrant for a US wine - touch of menthol and dark fruit with also some dry earth and burnt herbs in there. Good balance - nice tension between fruit and structure.
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2003 Château La Tour Blanche Sauternes
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
(1/1/2011)
Ah jeez this is such a good wine - packed full of sweetness and complexity yet still young and with years ahead of it. But it tastes sop good right now - hard to resist.
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2006 Carlo Ferragu Valpolicella Superiore
Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Valpolicella Superiore
(1/1/2011)
And to think I thought this wine was shutting down in my previous note!!! This is a monster of a wine that leaves you in a fog of alcohol that is warm and embracing and leaves you with a smile on your red red face. Just let it breathe for an hour or so then bathe in its warm glow and rejoice in how everything is wonderful in the world whilst the wine works it's magic.
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2006 Clos de los Siete
Argentina, Mendoza, Valle de Uco
(1/1/2011)
Starting to soften out and lose some of its more brutish edges, but you are still getting a generic fruit bomb. Bleh!
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2008 Château Pontet-Caillou
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
(1/1/2011)
10 Euros and for such a young wine not that bad - showed enough character at this age to warrant further drinking. Deep fruit but with a prominent green streak - persistent finish. Will reward another 2-3 years cellar time at least - to drink right now would be for the more ardent Bordeaux enthusiast.
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2006 Château Gloria
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
(1/1/2011)
From magnum. Bright, sappy red fruit with quite an austere, tarte finish - struggled to open up and there was not much depth. Perhaps needs another year or so, but lacks the depth for long term aging.
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2008 Shaw and Smith Chardonnay M3 Vineyard
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills
(1/2/2011)
Not sure I quite share the enthusiasm for this wine that others have - well made, good fruit but the oak is too prevalent for me. There are splashes of high quality Burgundy here with some nutty and buttery notes but lacks precision to be outstanding. Decent enough but a bit chewy after 2 glasses.
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2004 Rudd Cabernet Sauvignon Crossroads
USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
(1/3/2011)
A lot of blackberries and dark fruit on the nose - a little off balance on the nose but the palate is much more integrated. Soft, plummy fruit - easy drinking. Very much the cliched US cab sav (even down to the heavy, over the top bottle) to my Euro-centric palate. Decent enough though, but at £40 in the UK it is too expensive for what it is. Judged on it's own merits though it is pretty good and very much of it's type.
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2003 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Villero
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
(1/4/2011)
So tight and shut down that it is impossible to get anything out.
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