Year-end "James Bond" Party

We gathered at Chad's place to celebrate the end-of-the-year with a James Bond theme party. Kudos to those who came dressed for the part, complete with toy-9mm, tux and all, and much thanks to Chad and Jillian for pulling the whole show together. No martinis, but we had plenty of interesting wine, some more on theme than others. Favourite of the night for me was the ever-reliable 1999 Winston Churchill, one of the many Champagnes that we popped. A great way to celebrate the season.

• NV Diebolt-Vallois Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 91 Points

  France, Champagne

  A subtle, classy NV - I really liked this. It had a lot of character on the nose: slightly yeasty, slightly meaty, with a good touch of umami, soy sauce notes swimming around a core of white fruit, kumquat and nice seashelly mineral aromas - this seemed quite developed. The palate was fresher, maybe simpler, and certainly slightly fruitier than the nose suggested, with supple lemon and lime flavours held in perfect balance by well-integrated acidity and a nice subtle mousse. Not the most complex in the world, especially when placed next to the Champagnes that came after it, but this was made in a very nice, very clean style that made it go down so easily. Good finish too, with a little lick of mineral around its white fruited core. Very yummy, and fantastic with oysters and smoked salmon. A great start to dinner.

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• NV Ruinart Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  Ruinart is nothing if not consistent with this bottling. I have always rather liked it without quite being bowled over, and this bottle did nothing to correct that impression. It had a very sweetly expressive nose, with whiffs of sugared almonds and white fruit, a touch mushroomy earth and bright spinkles of spice, with just a slight edge of reductive rubber scents at the sides. The palate was rather less accessible than the nose though, perhaps because of the reduction on the wine. Rather tight, it showed lithe notes of white fruit coiled around a minerally core. Only with time did it unfurl a little to show a sweeter, almost strawberry-ish lilt on the midpalate and a nice spicy tang on a decent finish. Bright acidity and fine mousse added a good sense of structure to the wine. This bottle was a bit tart and tight at the moment, but it was well-made and pretty interesting. All in all, decently good as ever.

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• 2000 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  This was absolutely delicious - a world away from the good, but rather tight bottle I had barely a year back. While the former was still mainly about potential, this bottle was singing. It had a beautifully exuberant nose, with rich drifts of umami showing in soy sauce and yeast, and then sweet notes of vanilla cream and ripe yellow fruit, all just brusting out of the glass. Really yummy on the palate too. Unlike the rather brusque Ruinart that preceded it, this was all smiles and warm friendliness, with a generously rich and fleshy feel to its mouthfilling flavours of ripe red apples, butter and cream, all swathed in a frothy mousse and balanced beautifully with supple acidity. It finished nicely too, with lick of mineral and white meat, and a touch of toasty nuts drifting away into the distance. A real success for the vintage, this was an excellent Champagne at a very nice spot.

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• 1996 Lombard & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Collection Extra-Brut 90 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

  This was a nicely interesting Champagne. Very similar on the nose to the 2000 Bollinger that came just before, this showed very expressive scents of rich white fruit, vanilla cream, and a good dose of umami, soy sauce-like inflections. The palate was a different animal altogether though. While the attack showed nicely developed flavours of dired kumquat and browned apples with a touch of yeast towards the midpalate, the wine went positively bone dry after that, more than living up to its extra-brut tag, with with lemony, limey acidity and a nicely fine mousse wrapped around an almost stern touch of mineral in the very bright finish. Still a bit primary, very citrussy towards the end, I thought this was a nice Champagne, but that it needed a few more years in the bottle.

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• NV Moët & Chandon Champagne Ice Imperial 86 Points

  France, Champagne

  An absolutely bizarre experience, this little piece of marketing by Moët is meant to be drunk on the rocks. I do not quite know what to make of it. It had a sweet nose, with some strawberries and cream, sweet white fruit aromas, and then a touch of lanolin and a little hint of smoky mineral notes. Actually quite complex for what it is. The palate was rather less so. Sweet, obviously with quite a bit of dosage in it, with simple, but (horror of horrors) rather pleasant falvours of strawberries touched with orange blossoms and a dollop of Chantilly cream. I found it rather un-enjoyable drunk neat, even when chilled, with low acidity and flattish mousse giving the wine a rather flabby feel. However, with a few ice-cubes as per instructions, it actually got a lot better, coming into balance more, with the sweetness toning down and some lemon and lime notes coming out. Maybe we were all just being a bit too serious about what is really a marketing ploy aimed at trendy hipsters! All in all - I would probably recommend getting a bottle just to see what this is all about - it really is not a bad party drink. But that out of the way - never again.

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• 1999 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 94 Points

  France, Champagne

  Wow. Second time round with this Champagne, and I was floored for the second time. This was not only the best Champagne on the night, beating out an excellent 2000 Bollinger, it was by some distance the best wine, red or white. It had a wonderful nose, just wafting out of the glass in wonderful rich aromas of toasted brioche and yeast, cream and vanilla, white fruit and flowers, earth and roasted nuts - a nose that really grabbed the attention. If anything, the palate was even more impressive than the last bottle we had. There was such great depth and presence on this wine for a 1999, with deep, rich flavours of fleshy white fruit, broiche and yeast, sprinkled with a subtle spice and a hint of toasted nuts on the midpalate. Declisious stuff. Yet, such was the fine balance on the wine and the lovely finesse in its mousse that it came across if not quite effortless, than at least with possesing a great sense of grace to go along with its obvious power. It had a super long finish too, where a toss dried earth played alongside creamy white fruit and white meat flavours as the wine pulled away in persistent, clinging ending that refused to quit. A spectacular Champage just about coming into its peak drinking window. This will be brilliant over the next 5-8 years.

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• 1989 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Very delicious. This was a bit of a skip up from the last, very pleasant bottle that I had a few years back. Lovely nose here, with sweet berry and dried cherry aromas mixed-in with nice drifting notes of capers and roasted capsicums, a touch of roasted meat and some sweet, woody garrigue scents. Lovely on the palate too. One got a feel with this wine that it was just coming out of its peak drinking window, but it was still absolutely delicious, with juicy flavours of dark cherries and blackberries seasoned with more capers, herbs and a little ring of smoke and earth. IThe tannins had mellowed into a nice, silky robe, but the wine was still carried by superbly fresh acidity. A nice kiss of dried cherry sweetness then emerged at the finish, alongside a touch of dried earth, a bit of spice and a nice meaty echo. A classic Cote Rotie. Not unexpectedly lacking the depth of Guigal's higher-end offerings at the same age, but a lovely wine nonetheless, and a great pairing with lamb. Time to drink up though!

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• 1983 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Gigondas 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas

  A real surprise – this was a really nice wine. Most of us thought it was Rhone, but could not pick out exactly where in the Rhone it hailed from. This had an enchantingly Provencale nose, with pretty scents of dried roses, and a hint of ash and earth hovering around some preserved black cherries and red berries, along with a touch of sour plums and some savoury black olive aromas. A really mellow, complex, attractive bouquet. The palate was no slouch either. Soft, well-integrated tannins formed a velvety backdrop for dark-fruited flavours of sweet dark cherries and berries, some cassis almost, leading into a much more savoury back-end, where notes of smoke and garrigue and some dried earth on the midpalate mingled with lots of black olives and a dash of peppery spice at the finish. This was not exactly the liveliest wine, with the acidity perhaps on the lowish side. Yet it was still decently balanced and drinking wonderfully well. Really nice stuff and perfectly enjoyable at the moment.

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• 2003 Godiolo Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva 91 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montepulciano, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

  A pretty good Vino Nobile. It seemed Tuscan, but I would have guessed a ripe Chianti more than anything else, especially on its very sweet nose, where the ripeness of the vintage showed in almost candied notes of sweet berries and maraschino cherries, a sprinkle of herbs and some exotic spice notes. The candied berry notes were taken up again on the palate, which was alsot a bit sweet on the attack. But even then, the wine had really decent balance for a 2003, with decent acidity showing up somewhat on the midpalate, and the sweeter candied tones mellowing into black cherry and flower accents amidst a nicely savoury backdrop of meat, herbs and spice. A touch of oak and a little chew of tannins still puckered the palate in a nicely lengthy finish. Pretty good now, but the structure and balance on the wine suggests that it will be even better over the next 5-10 years. Nice.

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• 2004 Lupi Ormeasco di Pornassio 90 Points

  Italy, Liguria, Ormeasco di Pornassio

  Another one of W's interesting Ligurian wines (Ormeasco is actually the local name for Dolcetto), this was pretty pleasant. Blinded, we all thought it was from Piedmont, with its sweet notes of blackberries and roses along with a toss of earth and spice on the nose. The palate was very drinkable, with super-fresh acidity and fine tannins racing through mid-weighted flavours of black cherries and blackberries, maybe a hint of sour plums, and some meat seasoned with prickly spice notes on the finish. A nicely balanced wine, nothing really complex, but good fun to drink at this point of its evolution. Nice.

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• 1999 Domaine René Engel Echezeaux 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru

  Pretty good, but even decanted for 3-hours, this was still some years away from being ready. I picked it out as a 1999 Echezeaux, but thought it may have been from Grivot instead, given how rich and structured it was. The palate was nicely complex, and clearly from the Southern reaches of the Cote de Nuits, with its dark-fruited black cherry notes wed to tons of toasty, smoky wood spice - cumin, cloves, sandlewood, peppercorns - with a good bit of earth and meat running underneath. An attractive bouquet, if just a bit on the toasty side. The palate was intensely structure, with firm, fine tannins and bright, juicy acidity forming a serious spine upon which rich black-fruited notes and savoury nuances of roasted meat, earth and more paprika spice rode into a long finish. The backpalate echoed the slightly toasty, woody note on the nose, but this was more an accent to the wine rather than an overwhelming distraction. Overall, I liked this, but it was clearly not quite ready yet. Give it another 5 years and it should be very nice.

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• 1998 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

  This showed far better than the last bottle we had earlier in the year, more or less confirming our suspicion that the previous one was going through bottle shock. Yet this too felt that it was somewhat unready to drink. Unlike the Engel Echezaeux that preceded it, where I guessed the vintage and vineyard correctly but got the maker wrong, I was quite positive that this was a Faiveley Clos des Cortons, but thought it was a 1995 instead, given the edge of austerity it still possessed. I must say I liked the nose here a lot more now than when I last tried it. This had the typical Faiveley notes of brambly, spicy stems, along with deep, masculine aromas of black cherries wed to nice earthy depth. The palate was just a small step behind I thought. Very fresh and clean, with bright acid and a firm tannic structure, this showed decent depth and a nicely pure expression of black fruit, with black cherries and dark berries wed to earth, spice and meat flavours pulling into a finish that still bore the slightly drying tannins that so many 1998s displayed in their youth. A classic Corton made in the classic Faiveley style, this was a vin de garde that still had an edge of slightly harsh austerity to it. There is certainly some quality here though, and I would hazard a guess that it will drink a lot better in say 5-6 years.

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• 1994 Château Angélus 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Absolutely delicious on the night, this was a lovely example of a right-bank from 1994. It had a beautifully aromatic nose, with fragrant wafts of cigar smoke and tobacco leaves, sweet capsicum scents, cassis and plums, all on a bed of damp undergrowth and a touch of meatiness - lush, lovely aromas. Quite a few of us picked it up as an Angelus given the theme for the evening and on that lovely nose alone. The palate was telltale 1994 though. It was a lot cooler and leaner than the nose, with fresh, bright flavours of black cherries and cassis on the attack, a touch of plums on the slightly light-weight midpalate, and then a long finish seasoned with sweet spice and tobacco notes lingering away gently. Obviously not from the strongest vintage then, but such a delight, with the slightly chewy tannins of youth softening nicely, and the wine showing lovely integration. Delicious – this was just drinking beautifully at the moment.

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• 1990 Domaine de Chevalier 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  A classic 1990 Graves, this was very good indeed. It had such an attractive nose, with green capsicums and a touch of tobacco leaf layered over lusher notes of cassis and sweet black plums, and then a whiff of leather, some dried earth aromas an, finally, light inflections of violets and milk chocolate. Nice. I really liked the palate too. I thought this was drinking at just about the perfect place, with soft, slightly powdery tannins and superbly integrated acidity lending the wine a fine, velvety texture as it glided across the mouth with black plums and cassis, and then a lovely waft of tobacco and spice, all against a nice meaty, earthy background. A lovely elegant backpalate rounded it off beautifully, with sweet black fruit notes seasoned with bits of exotic spice and lifted towards the finish with a nice touch of fresh acidity. While not the strongest offering in the vintage, I really enjoyed this.

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• 1996 Tahbilk Shiraz 1860 Vines 92 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Central Victoria, Nagambie Lakes

  This kicked-off a trio of new world wines with a bang. Nobody was in any doubt that we had an Aussie Shiraz in our glass with this one. However, while still young, I thought this was really nice – indeed amongst the strongest reds on the night. The sweet nose had a lovely attractiveness to it, with dried plums and cassis aromas wed to some meat and earth, a dash of spice and a little telltale lift of eucalyptus scents. Really lovely. It was still just a touch primary on the palate, but the flavours were nice and pure, with fresh, juicy acidity streaming through bright notes of cassis and blueberries, some sour plums, and then nicely savoury counterpoints of meat and earth and a swirl of cigarette smoke, all emerging from amidst the dark fruit on the midpalate. Nice depth, good ripe, richness, yet it was the energy and balance on the wine that really impressed me. Nice structure too, with fine tannins holding the backpalate up into a long finish seasoned with typical notes of menthol, eucalyptus and a touch of crushed ants. As interesting an old-school Shiraz as you could hope for. Really enjoyable, and it should be even better given another 4-5 years.

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• 1989 Seppelt Cabernet Sauvignon Partalunga 92 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley

  This was yummy. Another real surprise - a two decade-old Barossa Cabernet that was not only still alive, but showing really well too. It was clearly new world on the nose, with ripe aromas of black plums and bluberries, sweet vanilla cream, some violets and twist of menthol. Really nice though. The palate was in superb shape - wonderfully fresh and lively, still having a light layer of fine tannins, it showed yummy flavours of sweet blackberries and cassis, a bit of preserved plums, and a rather salty finish, where meaty, earthy notes were kissed by very Aussie tones of menthol and eucalytpus. Not the most complex of wines, but boy was this yummy in a warm, sunny, yet nicely mellowed and welcoming way. Very impressive for what it is.

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• 1997 Gallo Family Vineyards / Gallo of Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Northern Sonoma 91 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Northern Sonoma

  Another surprising wine from a name I more normally associate with mass-produced supermarket party wines. This was actually a pretty nice Cali Cab, with a nice nose of sweet blackberries, cassis and tobacco hints leading into a ripe palate, where sunny flavours of blackberries and cassis were nicely held up by decent acidity and slightly chewy tannins. While not the most complex, this came together very nicely, with the natural sweetness of the fruit wed nicely to the wine's structure. I thought it was almost primary, and will probably get better over the next 5-6 years. Decent finish too, with sweet dark cherries, berries pulling away. Pretty good.

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• 1990 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Le Haut-Lieu 94 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  Third bottle, and this has been consistently excellent. If anything, this was probably the best of the three I have had. It had such a beautiful nose, with layered aromas of mangoes and apricots, honey and flowers, with a nice waft of freshly-laundered lanolin running alongside. Lovely stuff, but the palate was even better. I thought it showed just a bit more developed than the previous two bottles, with a nice, malted honey note on the attack opening up into a lovely midpalate of sweet peaches and dried apricots. Glorious depth as always, this was mouth-coatingly delicious, but it was once again marked by beautiful balance, with well-integrated acidity guiding into a super-long, yet superbly focused finish. This was more open, more generously more-ish than I remembered from previous outings, yet even then, it felt easily 10, 20 years too young. A great wine, and one that will only get better and better with time.

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• 1977 Warre Porto Vintage 92 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  This was pleasant, good actually, but a bit behind some of the great 1977 vintage ports. It had a great nose, with dried figs and raisins, cherry liquer and a touch of earthy aromas. The palate was a little more lackluster when first poured. However, it did improve markedly after some 48 hours in the bottle. It was initially rather deep-set and reticent, even after some time in the decanter. However, it took on some depth over the next couple of days. Rather sweet, with markedly lowish acidity for 1977, it still managed to come across pretty balanced, with a nice sense of finesses to rather simple but yummy flavours of dried figs and raisins, some chocolate cake, moving into a herby, spicy finish, with sprigs of rosemary, thyme and sage - very garrigue like - mixed in with more typical notes of cinamon and cloves. I liked it, but thought it lacked a bit of complexity and overall oomph. There seems to have been a lot of variability in previous tasting notes, but this particular bottle still had some life in it and would probably have gone on nicely for some time yet.

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