A Long Wine Night

13 wines tasted seriously in one night. A bit much, but I lived to tell the tale.

At 1855 with M.

• 2011 Andeluna Cellars (Familia Reina) Chardonnay Altitud

  Argentina, Mendoza, Valle de Uco, Tupungato

  Aromas of toast, almond, and oak. On the palate, medium+ acidity, full body, and long finish. Flavours of ripe tropical fruits and butter. Ripe chardonnay but nothing special. Good standard Argentinian Chardonnay.

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• 2011 Apaltagua Carménère Reserva

  Chile, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley

  Aromas of green leafiness and ripe black cherries. On the palate, medium acidity, plump but smooth tannins, full body, long finish. Flavours of herbaceous green leaves, black cherries and plums, and some tobacco notes. Good plush mouth-feel. Actually if I had tasted blind I would have thought this was a Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot blend. I was thinking not bad, until the greenish herbaceousness became a bit meaner with more air.
  Overall, still a nice value wine at its price point.

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• 2009 Apaltagua Cabernet Sauvignon Signature

  Chile, Maipo Valley

  Aromas of blackcurrant, black cherries, and vanilla oak. On the palate, medium acidity, big tannins, full body, long finish. Flavours of ripe blackcurrant and dark cherries. No herbaceousness here. Robust mouth-feel. Ripe Cabernet Sauvignon for pairing with food. Good standard, nothing really special/outstanding.

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• 2006 Andeluna Cellars (Familia Reina) Pasionado Cuatro Cepas

  Argentina, Mendoza

  This had a lovely nose of sweet red fruits, oak and spices. Very nice blend of aromas. On the palate, medium acidity, big but round chewy tannins, full body, long finish. Good structure. Flavours of red cherries, plums, and spices. Quite spicy towards the finish.
  Nose was better than the palate. Could possibly be better in another 5 years.
  Blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc.

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• 2007 Château Branaire-Ducru

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Tasted blind. From M. Drank after many hours of air. Apparently was quite closed and tannic at first.
  By the time I tried, I got aromas of earthiness and black fruit. On the palate, flavours of plums, blackcurrant, blackberries, and graphite. Still quite tannic.
  From the dark fruit character I actually thought it was Merlot dominant and possibly Right Bank, but on further guidance to the Left Bank I guessed either St. Julien or St. Estephe.
  70% Cabernet-Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit-Verdot.

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• 2009 Louis Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet

  Pop and poured.
  Appearance is clear, light intensity, lemon yellow colour.
  Nose is clean, medium intensity, with aromas of smoky oak and saline minerality.
  On the palate, high acidity, medium body, medium- finish. Flavours of lime, smoky toasted oak, and saline minerality. Quite austere mid-palate with not much fruit except lime. A minerally Old World Chardonnay, not easy for everyone to appreciate. But nonetheless, quite good for a village level. Drink up soon.

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• 2009 Domaine de Chevalier 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Tasted blind.
  Appearance is clear, deep intensity, garnet colour.
  Nose is clean, pronounced intensity, with aromas of licorice, creme de cassis, and ripe black fruits.
  On the palate, medium+ acidity, big but somewhat silky approachable tannins, full body, long finish. Flavours of ripe dark fruit, plums, blueberries, coffee. From the rich fruit and flavour profile, I actually guessed that this could be an aged Aussie Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet-Shiraz blend.
  Surprised to find out that this was a Left Bank Bordeaux! How 'fail' of me.
  As Jancis said about the 2009 'Vintage of the decade/century': "This growing season seemed to have it all. A long, fine, warm summer but, crucially, with refreshing nights to help retain acidity. Dramatically ripe, voluptuous wines, especially on the left bank."

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• 1999 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Appearance is clear, deep dark intensity, ruby colour.
  Nose is clean, pronounced intensity, alcoholic fumes and aromas of chocolate, sweet fruit cake, and vanilla oak.
  On the palate, high acidity, massive tannins that jump at you as if this bottle has hardly aged, big full body, long finish with alcohol heat noticeable. Impressive intensity of fruits, with flavours of sweet red currants, cherries, blackcurrants, plums, licorice and cassis. Kind of makes you forget the oak and leather in the background. With more air, a bit of minty eucalyptus showed up.
  Leaves me wondering how many more years to achieve a more harmonious balance. Impressive intense fruits though.

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• 2010 COS Sicilia Pithos Rosso 92 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Sicilia

  Pop and poured.
  Appearance is clear, medium intensity, bright ruby red colour.
  Nose is clean, pronounced intensity, with aromas of smoky incense/burning joss sticks, earthiness (am I imagining volcanic?), some Chinese herbs, and red fruits. Very unique nose. Due to the fermentation in terracotta amphoras.
  On the palate, saliva-inducing bright high acidity, smooth medium tannins, medium body, and long finish. Quite a balanced and controlled wine. Flavours of pure red fruits - red cherries, raspberries, strawberries. A bit of a cola mouth-feel.
  Very enjoyable unique wine. Drink now. Blend of 40% Frappato and 60% Nero d’Avola.

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• 1973 Château Duhart-Milon 87 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Tasted blind.
  Appearance of medium intensity, garnet-brown colour.
  Nose is clean, medium- intensity, aromas of oak and earth.
  On the palate, medium acidity, fully integrated medium- tannins, medium body, short finish. Where have the fruits gone? Earthy notes with some oak and tannin. Palatable. I guessed a late 1970s or early 1980s (excluding the 1982s and 1983s) Left Bank Bordeaux way past its prime.
  My experience with Duhart Milon so far is that it tends to retain its primary fruits quite well with age. I think this bottle's performance can be explained by the weak vintage. Based on my research online: "1973 Bordeaux is the product of a cold, wet summer, which was made worse by a rain filled August. 1973 Bordeaux wine are not worth purchasing today. At best, they were light, early drinking wines when released. Time is never kind to Bordeaux wine produced in that style. Nor should it be. Perhaps 1973 Bordeaux wine could have been better if the chateaux had the money and desire to make the best wine possible. But as the Bordeaux market collapsed the previous vintage, producers did not have money to do the work needed in the cellars and in the vineyards to make better wine. Add to that, knowing there was absolutely no market for Bordeaux wine at the time, most of the chateaux gave up on the 1973 Bordeaux vintage, hoping to get on to the next year as soon as possible."
  Credit to: http://www.thewinecellarinsider.com

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• 2003 Château Sociando-Mallet 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Tasted blind. Apparently Davyd had already opened this a few hours before for dinner and this was the remaining half of the bottle.
  Appearance is clear, deep intensity, ruby colour.
  Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of green bell peppers, dark fruits, and earth.
  On the palate, medium+ acidity, high dry tannins, full body, long finish. Flavours of green bell peppers, black cherries, earth and tobacco.
  I guessed a 10 year old Left Bank Bordeaux.

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• 2006 Château L'Evangile 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Pop and poured. Took quite a while to open up. A bit tight.
  Appearance is clear, deep intensity, purple colour.
  Nose is clean, pronounced intensity, with aromas of sweet dark fruit and perfume.
  On the palate, high acidity, soft approachable medium+ tannins, full body, long finish. Flavours of blackberries and raspberries. Still tasting quite primary.
  Feels somehow younger than the 2007 I drank before. I think give this another 5+ years.

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• 2001 Château La Tour Figeac 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Pop and poured.
  Appearance is clear, deep intensity, garnet colour.
  Nose is clean, pronounced intensity, with aromas of sweet earthy barnyard and dark fruit.
  On the palate, medium+ acidity, smooth tannins, full body, long finish. Flavours of plush dark fruit, blackberries, dark cherries, vanilla oak, and sweet earthiness. Plush and rich mouth-feel, but somehow seems a little rough-edged.
  Tasted smoother and more balanced on day 2. So I think this is drinking well now, but will be even better with maybe another 2-3 years.

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