Simple Series X: Red Burgs, White Germans and Others

Jiatong convened this dinner (to celebrate his birthday perhaps ). Small group this time, just the six of us, but what a wonderful night it was, with a great line-up of interesting wines and some really nice food at Wo Peng, which we visited for the first time.

Theme was Burg and German wines, all served blind as usual, but there was a trio of pretty decent outliers as well, with the Aussie Sweet taking the WOTN gong.

• NV Bellavista Franciacorta Cuvée Brut 89 Points

  Italy, Lombardia, Franciacorta DOCG

  Rather impressive for a sparkly coming out of Italy. Methode Traditional, 80% Chard, with the rest being Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc. The nose was rather serious in very Champenois fashion, with notes of yeast, ripe white fruit, dried kumquats and some oxidative hints. However, there was some fizzy prosecco-ness in the mousse that so very clearly said that this was not champagne. Otherwise, a very accomplished sparkly in its own right. It showed some ripe sweetness that suggested a hint of residual sugar as it opened up into a ripe lemony attack and then sweet red apples on the mid-palate. There with just that hint of savoury earthiness, mineral and yeast at the finish. Acidity was there, but it was melded into the wine in soft, plush, almost silky package that just caressed palate. Almost too soft at the finish I thought, as the wine slid easily away with one last linger of minerality. Not the most structured of complex of wines - but this was a super friendly, and quite yummy start to the meal. Went very well with our fried fish skin and superior broth appetiser too.

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• 2009 Wagner-Stempel Siefersheimer Heerkretz Riesling Großes Gewächs 93 Points

  Germany, Rheinhessen

  A highly regarded wine, and I can see why. This was young, but had lots of stuffing in it. Unsually for a GG, it had super, super rich nose on first pour. Almost a tropical fruit basket I thought, with alluring scents of pineapples, longans, lychee and rambutan. But underneath all that fruit, there was a nice line of mineral and a little hint of nuts that persistently crept out of the glass. One sip, and wow, what a powerful, muscular attack, with more pineapples, rambutan and then lemon and green apple mid-flavours and finally some passion fruit and guava tones. Lots and lots of lovely fruit, but then it shifts gear at the midpalate, showing nice precision and focus as it throws off the initial impression of fruit sweetness and sheer power and instead takes on nice minerality and spice with some floaty flowers accompanying the wine as it tailed off in a beguling finish. All power and muscular on the attack, but that back-palate showed quite a bit of class. This was a serious wine that can easily stand head to head with some of Keller's bottlings. Just a little clumsy compared to the supremely elegant and suave Schloss Lieser we had alongside and still a bit loosely knit at parts, this needs plenty of time to come around - I am sure glad to have a snapshot of it in its youth though. Something to revisit in a decade or so.

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• 2009 Schloss Lieser Niederberg Helden Riesling Großes Gewächs 94 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  A superb bottle of Riesling. Nose was a bit tight at first but was already very clearly Mosel, with savoury earth and mineral stylings alongside some guava-ish and green apple fruit scents. With time, a nice flowery chamomile lilt emerged from the more minerally notes. It was the palate that really caught the imagination though. Not quite as serious as the Schloss Lieser BJS GG I had a few months back, but this still displayed lovely clarity and precision, with laser-like focus and lovely freshness that almost disguised the palate-staining intensity of the wine by giving it a dancing lithness across the mid-palate. Flavour-wise, there was white fruited guava and apples giving way to lovely Mosel mineral as the wine pulled away in a long, juicy and perfectly integrated finish. Just a touch of sweetness at the very end I thought, but what really struck me most was the wonderful length there, with fruit and mineral just tumbling one over another as the wine went on and on in the mouth. With time, some interesting Indian incense notes peppered the wine at its very tail. This was not as obvious as the Wagner Stempel we had alongside, but quite a bit better I thought. It just had more control, precision and finesse. A wonderful wine even though it was in its infancy - I can only imagine how good it will be ten years down the road.

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• 1996 Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

  A lovely Burg, and one that was still many years from peak. It was one of the first wines poured and it kept changing in the glass, taking on different characteristics each time we came back to it. Lovely nose from the get-go, with lush scents of sweet dark berries and cherries, stewed herbal notes, earthy mushroomy tones and drifting spice notes wafting out of the glass. With time, some meaty tripe notes started emerging alongside a touch of vanillin. By the very last pour, the herbal notes faded and the meatiness came to the fore. We all guessed it was a Vosne 1er Cru at the very start, but the Leroy-ness only really started coming out more and more with time. The palate, for instance, was quite a bit leaner than the nose would suggest at first. Impeccably balanced, with ripe, slightly toasty dark fruit wed to lush if not exactly fresh acidity and fine, slightly powdery but nicely rounded tannins. However, the mid-palate was a little hollow at first, with subtle dark fruit finishing with a little linger of spiciness. With time though, the wine grew to fill up the corners and opened up with nice dark fruit seasoned with typical Vosne spiciness. Another half an hour later, it had taken on a thick umami richness which is telltale Leroy. This had quite a bit of power in the tank actually! Finally, at the very end of the dinner, the wine really stretched out with a nice long tail of smoky bacon bits and fresh orange peel pulling away impressively with juicy and lip-smacking length. I certainly would not have guessed it as a 1996 given the richness of the wine and the soft suppleness of the acid structure. Unlike the Jadot Clos Vougeot though, this was far from peak, there were just too many elements that seemed to need some time to emerge and to integrate. On the day, it was highly impressive, but perhaps more in an intellectual rather than sensual way - I would love to try it again in another 5-6 years or so.

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• 1990 Louis Jadot Clos Vougeot 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

  A beautiful Burg, quite at peak. Nose hinted towards the Vosne-Romanee side of things, with hints of wood spice, earth, sous bois, sweet fleshy dark cherries and blackberries and little touches of bramble. Lovely aged, savoury notes - I really liked that. The palate was ripe and had a lovely juicy softness, with clearly Grand Cru fruit which was clean, clear and transparent with ringing cherry and berry tones finishing with a bit of spice and some hints of dried fruit just hinting at the wine's age - really solid stuff. I thought it might be shortish at first, but it had a lovely sneaky length that just crept up on you with a with a lovely kiss of dried cherries. Just that tiny hint of alcohol at the back-end hinted at the hot vintage. Apart from that, this was a really, really good Clos Vougeot, with an elegance belying its terroir. Beautiful with the roast goose dish as well, this stood toe to toe with the younger and much more "big-name" 1996 Leroy VR Beaux Monts until it started fading after a couple of hours. I really liked this.

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• 2006 Les Forts de Latour 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  A very good, if far too young second wine. From a 375ml, even after decanting for an hour or so, it was hard to get past the oak and structure of the wine. On first sniff, it smelt for all the world like milk chocolate spiked with thick, sweet cassis scents, hints of vanilla and mocha and just that tiniest touch of brambliness. The palate had a very noble sense of structure, but somehow still came across as young and slightly disjointed. It attacked with more juicy sweet cassis notes soaked in milk chocolate, with flecks of spice and graphite dotting the finish alongside more mocha and vanillin tones. Super rich and pretty intense I thought, made me think Italian Bordeaux blend given the sweet ripeness on the fruit, but it was definitely well balanced with nice acid and quality structure. Should last for many, many years yet. One of the best young second-wines I have ever had.

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• 2006 Dönnhoff Schloßböckelheimer Kupfergrube Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 95 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  What excellent stuff. This was an absolutely superb Auslese, batting the more famous Dellchen out of the park. The nose showed a couple of years older than one would expect, with drops of petroleum, some rubber and then plenty of noble tones, with sweet honeyed notes, some lime scents, green herbs and a nice minerality that made me suspect that it might be a Mosel. The palate was all youth though, It had a gentle sweet softness but also had such beautiful balance that it was quite incredible - just brilliantly integrated acidity laced through rich flavours of peach and nectarine, and a touch of grapefruit and finally some ripe sultanas at the end. It was at once fresh, but also gloriously, meltingly delicious as it spread across the palate. My only negative comment (if it could be counted as that) was that the wine did not have the longest finish in the world, but it was certainly respectable, with plenty of depth and expression as the wine gracefully stole across the back-palate. Yum!

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• 2006 Dönnhoff Norheimer Dellchen Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 92 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  Lots of quality, but a bit too sweet for my tastes at the moment. We all agreed that the Kupfergrupe GK was far more balanced and impressive on the day. This wine certainly had a very expressive nose - sweet guava, grapefruit, honey, nectar and spice. Very nice indeed. The palate was ultra-rich though. Lots and lots of honeyed tones, apricots and sweet nectarine layered across the mouth. Great breadth of flavours, depth and concentration, but I thought it lacked the requisite amount of acidity for all that weight, so that it became a bit cloying on the finish. This needs a lot of time in the bottle for all those deep flavours to calm down a little and for the sweetness to tone down. No doubt it will make a good wine in time, but it is all a little too much at the moment.

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• 1961 Talijancich Julian James Reserve 96 Points

  Australia, Western Australia, Greater Perth, Swan Valley

  Another incredible bottle of this wine. An outlier that was quite unanimously the WOTN in the midst of some very tough competition. It had the colour of engine oil and was certainly rather thick, viscous when poured. The nose exploded out of the glass with dried figs, raisins, mahogany wood, molasses and dark chocolate scents. Oh so complex, but the palate was even better. So rich, layered and profound with its concentrated depth, yet superbly fresh, balanced, almost elegant, with complex layers of figs, raisins, dried cherries and molasses all ran through with nicely integrated acidity. The super, super long finish filled the mouth with melting notes of chocolate, molasses, caramel and little hints of boiled Chinese herbs. Unforgettable - this was a wine that caused us all to pause, savour, and take in one small sip at a time. A brilliant way to end a brilliant dinner.

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