Saturday lunch at Jade Palace with KG

I had not caught up with KG for some time, and when we had to pass him some wines, it was a perfect occasion for a relaxed Saturday lunch over a few blind bottles of wine. Kelvin, Alex, Melvyn and Elsa formed the rest of the table. We had some pretty nice wines, and the kitchen was on top form for some reason, meaning the food was fantastic too. A couple of the whites were rather affected by oxidation, but thankfully not so much as to completely warp them. Reds were very good.

• 1998 Château de la Maltroye Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Grandes Ruchottes 90 Points

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

  I thought there was a hint of cork taint on this wine, but no one else agreed. What was clear though was that there were clear hints of oxidation on it. But for all that, this was still going strong, starting with a pretty nice nose that, tiny shade of cardboard aside, showed honeyed flowers, pears and gentle shades of spice and mineral. The palate was rather advanced and was quite at the right place to drink, with a nicely honeyed weight to its apple and stone fruit flavours. There was a nice spine beneath that, with tons of spice and mineral underneath the midpalate. This was a rather muscular wine actually, but it all seemed to have been tired just a little by the oxidation, and just maybe a little scalped by TCA. Still though, this was a pretty balanced and focused package, and certainly very drinkable. Still very pleasant, but not a great wine.

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• 2010 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Perrières 93 Points

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

  Good stuff. This was markedly minerally, rather Sancerre-like, even when one consider how the Perrieres terroir usually produces more reserved and minerally young than most other vineyards in Puligny. The nose was very flinty, very slatey, with a slight grassy edge running through neutral white fruit scents laced with more citrussy aromas. The palate, however, where was this wine really shone. Pure, focused and glowing with energy, this had some nicely fleshy white fruit scored through with a brilliant minerality - all flint and granite and chalk, leading into a bright, citrussy finish, where a nice sprinkled of white flowers peeked out. There was still tons in reserve in this wine, and it seemed to have lots of coiled up tension at its core - this needs years and years yet, but it should be smashing. Try in 2020.

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• 1996 Marc Sorrel Hermitage Blanc 89 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  An interesting wine, but a bit difficult to appreciate. This had a very unusual nose, rather alkalic, quite saline, all in all pretty volatile, with shifting shades of oyster shells and lemon zest, some fruit pips, than some oxidative brown apples, all surrounded by a halo of spice and earth, and a touch of florals, and a little beeswax. An interesting nose to say the least. I was quite sure it was a white Rhone, but really could not place it exactly. The palate was euqually intriguing. It seemed very ready for drinking from the attack on. There was nice complexity to it, with little layers of spice, earth, beeswax, and just tons of lemon zest undergirding it all, and then a long finish, with tons of lime and mineral. I liked some parts of this, but it was also very acidic and almost a bit thin for a Northern Rhone – showing the weaker side of the 1996 vintage perhaps. One just got a feeling that the wine must either be going through a very awkward stage, or that its best years were left behind at least a couple of year ago. Still though, it was a decent enough drink, a very engaging wine and, as a surprise bonus, a great pairing with pork dishes.

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• 1998 Domaine Jean-Michel Gaunoux Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

  Good, but tired. This was unfortunately mildly oxidized, with the lightest umami chicken stock and soy sauce notes. Otherwise, it smelt almost like an old Sauternes, with tons of honey, dried apricots and caramelised apples. All in all, still pretty pleasant, just not what a completely clean 1998 Meursault Perrieres should be smelling like at this point of its evolution. Thankfully, the palate was still very strong, with mouth-coating depth wed to tons of acidity. It showed very expressive flavours of spice and honey drizzled onto over-ripe apples almost shading into stone fruit territory. A little haunting edge of oxidation hang over the whole thing, but not quite enough to distract from the overall quality and feel of the wine. It had a lovely finish too, with more citrusy notes of sweet lemons, more spice, a touch of vermouth-like herb, all layered with another dab of honey over it all. Lovely complexity here, but it was definitely time to drink up this bottle before the creeping oxidation ruined the whole wine.

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• 2006 Louis Jadot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots 93 Points

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

  There have been rather mixed reviews on this wine, but drank blind, I thought it was excellent. There was a very complex nose here, with a touch of herby stems acting as an entry into a panoply of dried rose petals and toasty spice, earth and meat, and deep aromas of dark cherries and plums – quite a few of us guessed Vosne on that nose alone. Great palate too. This had a lovely depth of sappy red fruit, with red plums and crunchy dark cherries, then a waft of flowery perfume. I loved the purity on this, as well as the complex little notes of herb and wood spice trailing behind into an elegant finish built on slightly powdery tannins and well-integrated acidity in the background. While the wine did show some flesh, I thought it was rather spare and elegant for a 2006, showing good punchy structure and lots of energy. In fact, while this may not have the power of the best examples, it was a particular elegant expression of Suchots. Delicious stuff. Enjoyable in its relative youth, and should continue to drink well over the next decade. Like Alex H, I really liked the style of the wine.

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• 2002 Domaine Charles Thomas Chambertin 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru

  There was a whole kaleidescope of spicy notes on the wine’s bouquet from first pour - camphor, anise, cinnamon – even spicier than the Vosne Suchots that preceded it. Past the spice, deep deep wafts of black cherries, ripe plums drifted out along with a meaty, bacony edge. A bit in-your-face, but rather attractive. The palate took off where the nose ended, with a deep pull black cherries and plums. This was a big, burly, muscular wine, with rich intensity, Grand Cru depth and a rather pronounced ripeness for the 2002 vinatge. I thought it lacked a bit of finesse, but then again, it was certainly balanced, even keeping a decent sense of purity in its black-fruited expressions all the way into a strong finish, where more of the spice emerged. Nice length here. This seemed to be drinking at peak and was the best of several bottles we bought in auction.

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• 2001 Rotllan Torra Priorat Tirant 92 Points

  Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

  Very good, but this was neither as expressive nor as impressive as the bottle I had almost exactly a year back, which had the benefit of some time in the decanter. In fact, this wine seemed to have regressed, showing a lot more youthfully than the previous outing. It started with a very Bordeaux-like nose – black plums, a touch of meat, some cigar smoke. But as it opened up, more Mediterranean notes started emerging, with wild spice and hints of garrigue floating out of the glass. The palate veered even further away from Bordeaux. It was very dense, with rich, ripe, sunny fruit in the form of black plums and cherries. Some slightly powdery tannins carried the wine towards into a finish with rather lovely licks of spice around a core of pure black fruit. Sweeter than Bordeaux, clearly from a warmer climate then, and still very primary. This was impressive, with a nice elegance in spite of the rich, sweet fruit. I thought perhaps new world Cab blend at first. However, there was a clarity and transparency to the wine and a finesse in its structure that turned me back to Spain to Italy. Nice, but it needs lots of time yet. I would try it again in 10 years or so, and watch for it to age for quite a bit beyond that.

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