Finnish birthday celebration DAY (eve)

Jussi is now close to mature, so after tonight's practice, we went for a great time, great food and the opportunity of fabulous wine... Tuesday, he goes back to Finland...

The first btl to be emptied was the Rioja GR. Quite an affectionable wine. Me likes!

Two pizzas,
Two pastas,
Two plates of Angus beef..........

• 2007 Château La Commanderie de Mazeyres 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  As Pjaines so aptly puts it, not the brightest Ginger relative you could ever wish to forget anywhere. (Label and capsule are definitely ginger...) But we quite enjoyed its quirkiness. This is an awe-inspiring wine given the facts that the vintage was completely sucky-sucky and that it's our first go with this particular chateau.
  
  Medium red with beginning maturity on the robe.
  Nose is just young fruity with a small behind of cow (Brett) and fine vegetal hints from the load of CF doing its job JUST right.
  In the mouth, this is rather thin and just doesn't quite qualify as "medium bodied". Has several medicinal aromas in the aroma spectrum that makes this wine a little 'cumbersome'. But it's balanced, well made and ... a wine I'm happy to not have more btls of. However, it has risen our curiosity of what this estate just may deliver in a better year.
  
  Must say: Well made for the poor vintage, especially as so many others face-planted much much much worse. For instance: VCC, for the price of 4 btls of this per btl is not at all performing according to any credible source.
  
  Wife: preferred the Rioja GR.
  
  Wine-Searcher score was (some yrs ago) 81p. That is just unnecessarily harsh and completely non-objective. Maybe the scores were collected from GUYS with cloudy balls, as in crystal balls.
  
  At La Verdura (Yokohama) celebrating 勇士さんのお誕生日 with 須田先生。

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• 2005 Bodegas El Coto Rioja Coto de Imaz Gran Reserva 92 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, Rioja

  ...what a fantastic wine from a very dear friend's serving!
  
  Colour is a transparent ruby red.
  Nose is difficult to assess because of its youth and the (SILLY!) smoking other guests at the restaurant.
  Taste profile goes towards M+ tannins and M+ acids, elegant, balanced, moderate complexities and a medium body constitution. Aromas go towards the red and brown berries as well as concentration and "early-end-station-arrival".
  
  A great vintage, but not an incredibly awesome wine. However, I'd hate to see myself dissuading anyone to buy a great wine like this, at the price that it's being offered at...
  
  Wife: preferred this Rioja GR.
  
  At La Verdura (Yokohama) celebrating 勇士さんのお誕生日 with 須田先生。

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• 1999 Two Hands Shiraz Ares 91 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  Dark, rich, overwhelming robe, Nase und Hatch.
  
  Not particularly elegant or subtle, but delivering a fabulous amount of concentration that made tonight's very fine '05 Rioja GR and '07 Pomerol behave like prancing pony Beaujolais Nouveaux...
  
  Aromas are dark, extracted and superbly attractive. Well extracted from great grapes. Asphalt, herbs/spices, olive brine, licorice-licorice (w/out the anise seed aromas) and some very dry crumbling Australian clay that at least one Wallaby humped (jumped?) on. The aromas didn't suit all at the counter. Tannins are there, but melting away. Acids are much lower than previous btl (go figure!) and the general impression is of a great Oz wine that fits garlic, steak and all kinds of crude pleasures. A round and fabulous kiss! Lacking in complexity to merit a higher score.
  
  Cork was absolutely perfect and would have easily gone for another 15 yrs.
  
  Yay!!!
  
  Much more enjoyable than previous btl. Has oomph left, but not much wiggle room when it comes to evolutionary expectations. Will surely be around for at least 5 more yrs.
  
  Wife: preferred the Rioja GR.
  
  At La Verdura (Yokohama) celebrating 勇士さんのお誕生日 with 須田先生。

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what a GREAT Night :-)))