BYOB HT14#2

Tasted Sunday, October 12, 2014 - Monday, October 13, 2014 by Lilja with 554 views

Flight 1 - The Whites (5 Notes)

  • 1996 Roger Brun Champagne Grand Cru Reserve Familiale Extra Brut 93 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    (10/12/2014)

    #BYOB - Really enjoyed this Champagne! Big, mature vocal nose full of ripe apples, mashed apples, canned corn, nuts, pine resin and lots of yeast. Amazingly focused acidity, crazy high but still round and perfectly integrated. Really good intensity and a long aftertaste. More oxidised than other champagnes I've had with the same ages, I'm not very familiar with Brun so it could be a part of their style.

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  • 2005 Bouchard Père et Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières 94 Points

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

    (10/12/2014)

    #BYOB - Absolutely fantastic right now. Lots of oak, but with an amazing depth on the nose. Stony sulfuric minerality, popcorn, coffee, browned butter, cream and green apples. High just slightly tart acidity with a round and creamy body. Impressive concentration and a long, long finish. Not usually a big fan of oak, but this sits just right with me tonight!

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  • 2009 Château de Puligny-Montrachet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières 93 Points

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

    (10/12/2014)

    #BYOB - Less oaky compared to the Meursault it partnered with. Dominated by minerality, flint, smashing stones together and matchbox. All more or less derived from sulfuric components. There is also lots of funk and tropical fruit, pineapple and star fruit. Great palate with a high fresh acidity, long lingering intensity. Really nice and apparently great QPR as well!

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  • 2012 Spier Creative Block 2 87 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region

    (10/13/2014)

    #BYOB - Classic Sauvignon blanc nose. Green grass, elderflower, asparagus, grapey and some rubber mineral. High acidity, but with less edges than the white Burgundies that came right before it. More fruit, rounder, fuller body with a good length and just a tad warm finish. The bigger impression had me thinking new world but couldn't get further than that.

    No big fan of the SB nose in general and even though this is a very good wine I wouldn't go look for it.

    Just now looking it up properly this is apparently a white Bordeaux aspirant with 80% SB and 20% Semillon. Beats me why they just don't bottle it in a Bordeaux bottle then! The wine spent 5 months on its lees but without any contact with oak whatsoever.

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  • 2007 Josmeyer Riesling Le Kottabe 88 Points

    France, Alsace

    (10/13/2014)

    #BYOB - This stood out as an odd ball in the white flight. Much lower acidity on the palate with a round, almost oily full body and lacking slightly in the intensity compartment. There is distinct Riesling aromas on the nose, apples, pears, redcurrants, mushrooms and a good portion of petro-chem.

    I would love to say I enjoyed this as I've tasted some of Josmeyers stuff before and loved it, but tonight this is not good enough. Side by side with some lovely white burgundies this just feels flabby and unfocused.

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Flight 2 - The Elio Altare Vigneto Arborina vertical (8 Notes)

  • 1982 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato 92 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    (10/13/2014)

    #BYOB - First wine and reference wine in a vertical of Elio Altare Vigneto Arborina.

    Very mature nose with lots of cabbage soup, black tea, leather, peat and prunes. For me this is over the top aroma-wise. The oxidation takes over and ruins some of the complexity. Still very nice and enjoyable.
    The palate is more vital with round mature fruit, good acidity but with almost no tannins and a medium body. Very good length and intensity.

    This collected most points from the other participants and won the WOTN-award. Not my WOTN though.

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  • 1985 Elio Altare Barolo Vigneto Arborina 91 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    (10/13/2014)

    #BYOB - Lots of maturity going on here. Nose is very dried with leather, tobacco, cherries, hay, earth, dirt and raisins. Very similar on the nose to a mature vintage port. Distinct tannins on the palate, but fine and in no way grippy in their structure. Fruit is somewhat rescinded but with a really good intensity and length. Tasty!

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  • 1986 Elio Altare Barolo Vigneto Arborina 92 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    (10/13/2014)

    #BYOB - What surprised me the most during this Altare Vigneto Arborina vertical was how different some of the wines were. Had imagined them to be a lot closer to each other.

    This could almost have fooled me for a lighter, matured northern Rhone Syrah hadn't it been for the very grippy Nebbiolo tannins. Nose is full of spices, pepper, perfumed flowers, fermented sausage, mushrroms and earthy barnyard. Palate is dominated by the tannins, but with a medium body, great intensity and mature fruit. Really liked this one, but without food this was a bit to tannic. With the Gabagoul and Serrano this was pure heaven!

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  • 1988 Elio Altare Barolo Vigneto Arborina 95 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    (10/13/2014)

    #BYOB - This was the WOTN for me.

    Lots of meat on the nose, tartar steak, liquid smoke, sour cherries, barnyard and tar. The palate is not without tannins, but a lot rounder and in great balance with the wine. Great intensity and length.

    For me this was in perfect harmony and tasted just fabulous on its own. Not something I can say about some of the other wines in the vertical.

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  • 1993 Elio Altare Barolo Vigneto Arborina 94 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    (10/13/2014)

    #BYOB - For me the fight tonight was between this wine and the 88' vintage. Had a touch of the meatiness that the 88' had, but with a lot more dirt and forest undergrowth. Dried green herbs, oregano and basil together with marmite. A very foodish nose! But there is also hints of oak, coffee and butter.

    Slightly rounder tannins than the 88', but still quite astringent. Good round mature fruit with a great length and intensity. Right up my alley!

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  • 1996 Elio Altare Barolo Vigneto Arborina 93 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    (10/13/2014)

    #BYOB - Lot more classic Barolo character to be found here than in the previous wines. Cherries, with a hint of raspberry candy, fennel, olives and stony minerality. Very tannic on the palate, gripping and coating the entire mouth. Behind this there is a great intensity and a very good length.

    But for me the tannins take away some of the enjoyment. With some food this really shines though!

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  • 2001 Elio Altare Barolo Vigneto Arborina 92 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    (10/13/2014)

    #BYOB - If the 96' was showing a lot of tannins this is just a step above. Outrageously astringent. High fresh acidity and high quality intensity and length. This is a stunning wine, but needs some years in the cellar to get rounder and more pleasant. The nose is the most typical Piemonte Nebbiolo in the flight with slightly candy cherries, raspberries, flowers, oak and cookie dough.

    It says a lot that my least favourite in the flight scores 92!

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  • 2005 Elio Altare Barolo Vigneto Arborina 93 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    (10/13/2014)

    #BYOB - This is a very rich and concentrated Barolo. All the classic aromas are there, cherries, cranberries, rose petals, tar and raspberries. But there is also lots of bretty barnyard and plastic rubber smell. The tannins are pronounced and somewhat floating on top of the wine. Behind them is a medium body with high intensity and a very focused acidity. Long, long aftertaste. This has a promising future to look forward to!

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Flight 3 - The bonus bottles! (7 Notes)

  • 2006 Diesel Farm Breganze Nero di Rosso Flawed

    Italy, Veneto, Breganze

    (10/13/2014)

    #BYOB - This was even worse than the previous bottle. Nose is completely ruined by oxidation. Cabbage soup, the juice you get from defrosting frozen strawberries, more cabbage, prunes and some funk. Palate is just slightly better with mature, dried fruit, distinct acidity, some astringency and a light body. Had this been a cheap red burgundy from the early 80's it had been ok, but this shouldn't be this mature.

    I will be nice and call it flawed, but this is the third bottle and all has been prematurely oxidized. And considering they want about 100€ for the latest vintage I would have expected more.

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  • 2012 Schubert Pinot Noir Marion's Vineyard 88 Points

    New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa

    (10/13/2014)

    #BYOB - Typical new world pinot nose with christmas spices, cinnamon, pepper, clove, liquorice and blood orange. Quite fruity on the palate with a high, but soft acidty and a decent length. Was slightly surprised to learn that this was a NZ Pinot, would expect a bit more structure and freshness. Still quite nice and easy drinking.

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  • 2005 Château Fourcas Hosten 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Listrac-Médoc

    (10/13/2014)

    #BYOB - Tasted this wine earlier this year, and even though I liked it then it really impressed me a lot more tonight. Very much Bordeaux on the nose with cedar cigar box, coffee, blackcurrants, barnyard and a touch of raw bell pepper. Good acidity and a good intensity. Some tannins but still very approachable right now. I liked this a lot!

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  • 2008 Roger Sabon Côtes du Rhône 87 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône

    (10/13/2014)

    #BYOB - A decent CdR with all the expected attributes. Syrah pepper on the nose together with some matured red Grenache fruit, olives, bay leafs and prunes. Good structure and good intensity but nothing to get excited about.

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  • 2005 Louis Latour Corton-Clos de la Vigne au Saint 89 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

    (10/13/2014)

    #BYOB - This was very nice, but I thought it lacked a bit of structure and was a bit to fruity for a red Burgundy. Still a very nice Pinot nose with some spiciness, toasted oak and lots of red berries. Very fruity on the palate with a good but very round acidity and no tannins to speak about. Decent length. Don't really see in what way this is a 40€ wine, but then again we are talking about Burgundy...

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  • 1999 Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Josephshöfer Riesling Auslese 85 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    (10/13/2014)

    #BYOB - Hard not to like, but hard not to get disappointed when you know how fantastic it could be. Nose is right there with the Petroleum, honey, apricot, citrus but the palate is not. No freshness at all and some were even entertaining the idea that this could be some poor attempt at a Sauternes.

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  • 1996 Bonny Doon Vineyard Roussanne Flawed

    USA, California

    (10/13/2014)

    #BYOB - Completely oxidized. Had I had it blind I would have guessed some sort of Sherry. Decent palate though and I'm sure it was a good quality wine from the beginning.

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