Kat and Yuwen's
Tasted Tuesday, December 23, 2014 by Paul S with 495 views
Kat and family just got back from Hokkaido with a ton of Japanese food in two - uni, ikura, tako, kani, cheesecake, whisky, chocolates (Royce chocs made with Yamazaki 18 sherry cask, the "best whisky in the world" at that) - and she invited us over to have "supper". It was more like a feast! Great stuff, all washed down with a nice flight of blind wines, including two lovely old reds. A great way to start the festive season.
2006 Marguet Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésimé 90 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
An interesting Champagne. Disgorged in the Autumn of 2011, so still very young, but already quite forward and pleasant. The nose was very expressive, with yeast and white fruit and a sweet and sour tang of apple cider. The palate was clearly dominated by Pinot Noir (no surprise given the Ambonnay Grand Cru sites), with a round, powerful depth and red fruited cherry and red apple flavours nestling alongside notes of white meat and mineral. This is certainly a Champagne built along fleshier, more powerful lines and richer tones built through an extended time on the lees. It was still decently balanced though, with a nice mousse and decent acidity keeping it honest. Oberall, pretty nice and with quite a bit of character on it, but you must like the style to fully enjoy this.
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NV Equipo Navazos La Bota de Fino 18 "Macharnudo Alto" 92 Points
Spain, Andalucía, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry
A bit simpler than what I am used to with these Equipo Navazos bottlings. Indeed, a bit less exciting than even the last bottle of No.18 I had a few years ago. Still though, this was a very nice wine that went beautiful with Uni (sea urchin) and Ikura (salmon roe). The nose was pure Fino, with saline notes of seashell and salty seabreeze, along with fig peels, lime zest and a whiff of sweet lemons, all traced by a hint of some stony mineral - lovely seaside smells I thought. The palate seems to have mellowed somewhat in the intervening years since the last bottle. It had a lovely round attack, with lemons shading into appley flavours, and then a lovely spicy midpalate laced with that saline, saltiness first picked up on the nose. There was decent complexity along with a nice sense of strength and effortless depth as the wine moved into a long, freshly balanced finish. Still very good, but about time to start drinking these up I think.
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2002 Rene Rostaing Condrieu La Bonnette 92 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu
Somehow much better than the last bottle we had just a few weeks ago - this was very enjoyable indeed. It had that same richly expressive nose, with a complex melange of sweet cream and white peaches and pear, alongside chalk and lentils and spice, with floating notes jasmine flowers and something a little citrus running alongside. Lots going on here. Like the less bottle, the palate showed a good weight and richness, with its creamy texture and fleshy notes of white fruit laced with a floral sweetness. What set this apart for me though was a much more pronounced sense of freshness, which really helped to bring a balance and poise to the wine and made it a far better drink. It had nice complexity to it too, with tons of chalky mineral past the midpalate, and then a little saline note with limestone and chalk and just that drizzle of beeswax right at the finish. Very nice, and drinking quite well.
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2005 Château de Puligny-Montrachet Bourgogne Blanc Clos du Château 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc
I had quite forgotten having had this some two-and-a-half years ago. Served blind again, I was once again knocked over by this wine - it is a superb little Bourgogne, punching way above its class. It had a lovely nose of ripe apples and white peach, some chalky aromas, and nicely lifted spice and floral accents. Very nice and quite complex - certainly not a bouquet one would expect from a wine at this level. The palate was a lovely drink too. It had a nice white fruited depth edged by sweeter stone-fruit shades, an nice chalky mineral counterpoint and good, fresh finish with a blush of spice at the end, all held together with a nice freshness that was very surprising for a 2005 white. This was not super complex, but it was certainly not a simple, facile wine either. It has lost some of its sunny fruit that I liked so much in the last bottle, but there is still a lot to like here. Given the balance and feel of the wine, I do not think it is at any risk of going downhill soon either. A great Bourgogne Blanc, drinking nicely at the moment.
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