House-Cooling Party at Brian's

Brian is one the verge of renting his lovely place out, and the gang gathered for a dinner party at his place to mark the occasion. Wines were all blind as always and paired with some delicious home-cooked Peranakan food. As befitting the occasion, the wine theme was "Wines that reflect Brian". Lots of interesting theories were attached to why the wines were suitable, but as always, we had a great time with good friends.

• NV Ulysse Collin Champagne Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut (2008) Les Roises 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  I thought this was excellent. Freshly disgorged on 5 march 2012, this was still very young. But even so, it was far more approachable and rather better than the Blanc de Noirs Les Maillons from the same vintage. Served blind, this was as clearly a BdB as I have come across, with a very white-Burg smelling nose, where ripe apples were wed to mushroom and cream aromas, a little floral hint and a touch of sweet oak, all underlined by a smoky, flinty, minerally whiff. Very nice. The palate drank as you would expect from a young Extra Brut, with a really firm backbone of bracing acidity and dry extract that formed a solid spine for the wine's ripe flavours of red apples and sweet lemons. There was a lot of depth and presence and quite a bit of ripeness on this, so that the fruit still gave a lingering impression of sweetness even though it was super-dry, with the whole package wrapped in a very fine mousse. I found it to be a very interesting, delicious mix. This is still tremendously young - something that was especially obvious in the whole lot of primary citrus notes that perked up as the wine led into a powerful finish just before it broadened out with deep pull of apple fruit and a serious undercurrant of minerality. A really solid Champagne, full of character, this is excellent stuff that it worthy of cellaring. I would love to try it again in ten years.

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• 2000 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

  This has always been my favourite 1er Cru from Leflaive and this bottle, which had been opened a day or so ago, was absolutely gorgeous. It had a very creamy nose, almost clotted cream-like at the start, and then opening up with some chalk and earth, bits of saline mineral, some red apples and a waft of perfumy flowers. A typically Leflaive nose, and quite the quintessence of a Puligny with that lovely bouquet. It was a rich, powerful wine on the palate, with an almost oily texture to it, yet it was also wonderful poised and balanced, with an elegance to its lovely depth and presence that spoke of the Pucelles terroir. Right from the attack, perfumy flowers floated around a core of creamy, buttery notes and ripe, powerful flavours of apples, melon and honeyed pears. While not exactly zippy, there was a good amount of acidity knitted into the wine that kept it decently fresh, especially for a 2000. The finish ended with a delightful twist of spice and mineral and final waft of flowers weaving their way through more pure white fruit and creamy flavours. There was wonderful length here, with the wine just refusing to quit. A complex, compelling bottle at a lovely place on the night. Beautiful stuff. My first guess when blinded was a Leflaive Pucelles, but the wine was so good that I changed it to a 2000 Batard-Montrachet instead. This was my favourite of the many good whites on show tonight.

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• 2007 Weingut Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck Riesling Spätlese 92 Points

  Germany, Rheingau

  Opened half-a-day before serving, this was really lovely. It had a beautiful nose, with sweet apples and pears, white peaches and nectarines, a nice floral note, maybe drizzled at the edges with a little touch of petroleum and a hint of earthy. Really nice. What struck me about the palate was how it had a lovely balance for a 2007 Rheingau, with a fresh purity to its delicious flavours of apples and white peaches blessed with more flowery nuances. It certainly was round and fleshy for a Spätlese, almost perched at the egde of Auslesen territory I thought, and it was still rather sweet and primary, but there was just this lovely purity and transparency to it that set it apart from the run-of-the-mill Spatlesen. I love the finish too, where the sweeter apple and stone fruit flavours receded, and a nice long tail of more citrussy lemon notes with a little rivulet of minerality came to the fore. Very young still, but this was delicious.

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• 2002 Snoqualmie Vineyards Chenin Blanc 90 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  This was really interesting, and for a cut-price wine, really good quality. It had a very full-on nose, where little accents of pork fat and salted meat mixed with saline sea-spray, figs and fruit zest scents and a little whiff of persimmons. It could almost be a sherry I thought. The palate was off-dry and very developed, with quite delicious notes of honey, nectarines and persimmons, along with some red apples and sweet lemon hints. There was a whiff of petroleum in there somewhere as well. Really nice complexity for something of this ilk. It was certainly made in a fleshier style, yet had a nice linear focus and fresh acidity to it as it wound its way into a finish with some earth, spice and more salty highlights. The only thing that really shook it was a bit of noticeable alcohol that floated around. Otherwise, this was a very intriguing wine that we all enjoyed quite bit.

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• 2000 Domaine Ernest Burn Pinot Gris Goldert Clos Saint Imer La Chapelle 91 Points

  France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

  Pretty good. I am used to having Ernest Brun's wines look a lot darker than they would be at their age, but this really looked prematurely old with its orangey, amber coloured tones. We were a bit shocked when it was unblinded and revealed as a 2000. The nose was clearly quite developed, with some malted honey botrytis aromas wafting around sweet tones of sultanas, kumquats, orange peel and a whiff of banana alongside some deeper, earthier accents. The palate was rather rich and creamily textured, with a fleshy, lowish acid feel to its sweetish flavours of ripe apples at the fore. These were lifted by some lemon and kumsquaty notes on the midpalate, which also had a little more tropical sweetness at the edges. There was nice depth and a good bit of complexity. Quite delicious, and though I thought it could use with a bit more acidity, it certainly was not flabby or ponderous. The finish was pretty decent too, ending with a little kiss of spice and bittersweet lime zest. A good, decently enjoyable wine, nothing to shout about but certainly enjoyable with a spot of spicy food. Quite about time to drink up I would say.

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• 2002 Hubert Lignier Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Les Chaffots 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis 1er Cru

  I thought this was a lovely little wine. It does not seem to have developed much since the last bottle I had a couple of years back though! In spite of being opened for almost a day, it was still pretty shy on the nose, with a nice bit of earthy sous bois and stony minerality floating out of the glass alongside nice bits of red plums, dark cherries and a little bit of spice. Nice, if just a little reticent. The palate was just a little more expressive, with sweet red cherries and raspberries at the attack, with an undercurrant of plums on the midpalate, where the fruit was met with touch of earth and the tiniest hint of meat in the background. There was lots of finesse and elegance to the wine, and it was perfectly balanced, with a beautifully structured feel lent to it by a fine tannin backbone and lovely fresh acidity. Lovely definition on the finish too, which had a nice stream of mineral leading into a flowery tail. Lovely stuff - this was all about definition, poise and and minerality. Unlike the previous bottle, I did not think this was a Chambolle, but it was certainly a very elegant expression of Morey. It is drinking well now, but I would probably give it a couple of years more in the bottle.

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• 2000 Château Durfort-Vivens 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Good without being quite great - this is one of those second-growths that has fallen from grace, but from a blinded bottle, it was actually quite a delight to drink. It had a very pretty nose, with fresh capsicums and violet flowers drifting out of the glass alongside lifted cassis tones and a bit tobacco and cedar. It was mid-bodied on the palate, rather unusual for a 2000, where you would expect a bit more weight and oomph, but there was a lovely sense of clarity to it, with more pure, lifted tones of fresh cassis on a subtle backdrop of leather and tobacco and another hint of violets. Lots of juicy acidity and very elegant, silky tannins made it a very elegant, friendly drink indeed. A bit simple really - this was neither the deepest nor the most complex 2000 left-bank you would encounter, but it had bags of charm and was a real delight to drink.

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• 1975 Tenuta Col d'Orcia Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 93 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Excellent. This had been opened some six hours or so before serving (Ming who brought the wine said it was really tight when he first popped it). By the time it was in our glasses, it showed a very matured nose of iron filings and bloody meat aromas buried in some wet soil and undergrowth, along with a generous sprinkle of brambly Italian herbs and spices, some savoury scents of preserved plums and black cherries, and a whiff of coffee grounds. Clearly Italian, and pretty nice. The palate was wonderfully alive, with lots of fresh acidity and supple tannins running through pretty rich flavours of plums and prunes, a touch of raisins, some dark cherries, all beautifully pure flavours with an almost juicy, succulent, gummy character to them. There was a lot of complexity too. The fruit was surrounded on the midpalate by a little floral halo and then backed up with a layer of earth and baking spices before the finish drifted away with a savoury linger of smoked meat and spice. I thought that it was a bit weaker on the finish than the attack, but that would be nitpicking. This was really quite a beautiful wine at a very nice place for drinking. My favourite red of the night by some distance.

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• 2001 Il Poggione (Proprietá Franceschi) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 92 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  This was way too young. It obviously had a lot of quality to it, but it was just too sweet and primary to be really enjoyed at the moment. The nose was led by sweet, dark fruited aromas of ripe plums and prune and black cherries layered like a thick paste over more subtle earthy scents of earth, with smoke and spice and some dried herbs, all topped of with a bit of cocoa powder. A really big, rather in your face nose. After that though, the palate was quite a surprise with its bright acidity framing really pure flavours of dark fruits and black cherries - there was tons of depth as suggested on the nose, but also a lovely transperant clarity to it all, so that there was not a single impression of heaviness in spite of the wine's obvious weight and presense. Quite remarkable actually. Unfortunately, it was all still very simple and primary, so that all that one got was the sense of great quality on the fruit and lovely balance to the wine without much complexity. The finish had tremendously length, going on and on and on. However, it too was still really tight, so that it was a layer of firm, slightly powdery tannins still held court here along with hints of menthol and a touch of tobacco smoke. This had great, great promise. It is telling that it was pretty drinkable even in its obdurate, surly state. I would give it at least another 10 years though, and I think it will probably develop for quite a bit longer than that.

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• NV Chambers Rosewood Muscadelle (Tokay) Special 93 Points

  Australia, Victoria, North East, Rutherglen

  This is one of those crazy Aussie stickies that are just so hard to rate. Really delicious stuff, but they are just so outside the normal frame of references that it is hard to assess them qualitatively. A rich motor oil brown in colour, it had a lovely nose, full of thickly swirling aromas of figs and raisins, coffee and dark chocolate, and a little bit dried herb in there as well. Lots going on there. Same thing could be said of the beautiful palate too. Rich, viscous, this layered the mouth with melting notes of warm caramel, honeyed figs, poached pears, raisins and chocolate, all perfectly integrated into a beautiful whole. Perhaps lacking a little in complexity, with a rather one-noted sweetness. But while it was certainly deep and weighty, it was held in such good balance that it was never cloying or even sticky, with each sip actually called out for another all the way into a long, creamily textured finished seasoned with warm spice notes. A lovely wine, and a great way to end the night. This was sweet wine and dessert all to itself.

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