Birthday lunch for Mike and Andrew

A lunch hosted by Mike and Cathy to celebrate his and Andrew’s birthdays. All wines served blind except the Bouchard.

• 2009 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Les Ursules

  France, Champagne

  En Magnum. A lovely, complex Champagne. Colour peach with pink highlights. An attractive bouquet. Strawberries and cream with a mineral base. In the mouth, silky texture caresses the palate. The entry shows the fruit sweetness. There is a lot of ripe, rich fruit here, but the wine is taut. Detailed flavours of citrus, peach, strawberries and crème brulee, again with that minerality in the background. Good acidity running across the palate. Well balanced. Not high phenolics. A relatively forward Champagne. Seemingly not a Champagne for really long term cellaring.

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• 1995 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill

  France, Champagne

  Absolutely superb! A beautiful, complex bouquet, showing appropriate, attractive evolution. A nose of grapefruit, butterscotch, pear, peach, honey, brioche and minerals, with hints of dry autumn leaves. Very fresh and precise on palate but complex and multi-layered with flavours reflecting the bouquet and a distinct dried pineapple note. Showings its evolution with a slightly maderised edge (people were guessing that this Champagne was from the early 1990s), but with excellent acidity. This bottle could have been cellared for many more years.

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• 2000 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill

  France, Champagne

  Served to me blind, I did not pick this as a 2000 Winston. However, it was obvious, once the Champagne was revealed. I could see the 2000 potentially developing on towards something like the 1995 in five or so years. The bouquet not showing the complexity or evolution of the 1995. A fresher, more citric and malic nose with some savoury, yeasty, caramel and mineral elements. In the mouth, there was a little development and a leesy, almost creamy component. However, it was much tighter, and less oxidated, than the 1995. Quite intense with good mid palate weight. I’m holding my bottles for at least five more years.

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• 2004 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Served beside the Raveneau. Light gold colour. A bouquet of straw, lemon and stonefruit with wet limestone in the background. A relatively opulent nose, not showing strong saline or oyster shell aromas classic for Chablis. In the mouth, clearly showing some development. Grand Cru fruit weight, structure and complexity on palate. Excellent precision, balance and focus, with that volume of ripe, juicy fruit. Many tasters thought the Dauvissat better than the Raveneau but I preferred the greater linearity, tension and minerality of the latter. Years ahead of this wine.

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• 2004 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Lighter gold than the Dauvissat. A pure and beautiful citric, chalky and mineral bouquet. On palate, pinpoint precise and beautifully poised. Gorgeous acidity. Intense with great balance and length. The palate was showing some development, which added to the complexity and interest. Clean, pure, citric and very chalky and mineral. Also, some gentle spices in evidence. Good mid palate stuffing. Reflecting the vintage, I wouldn’t think this Raveneau will be ultra-long lived but again there is no immediate hurry needed.

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• 2007 Trimbach Gewurztraminer Cuvée des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre

  France, Alsace

  Served blind, this wine was obviously a classy Alsatian Gewurz. A lovely bouquet of lychee, Turkish delight, pineapple and wild flowers. Its best feature was its silky, viscous, tactile mouthfeel. It has the right degree of fruit sweetness on entry, unctousness and lovely texture across the mid palate, finishing on some attractive apricot kernel bitterness. Excellent structure and acidity. Hedonistic now but obviously a long term cellar proposition.

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• 2000 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  A change of speed with this wine. Deep golden in the glass, with noticeable legs suggesting high alcohol (but I detected no alcohol burn on palate). Served blind, a layered, gorgeous bouquet of blanched almonds, acacia flowers, honey, citrus, apricot and dried herbs took me straight to JL Chave Hermitage Blanc. There were also kerosene-like notes, showing some oxidation. On palate, the glycerol, unctuous texture and apricot notes put me in mind of a great Sauternes (albeit, dry, of course). Complex and multi-dimensional favours, showing appropriate development. Excellent fruit weight, structure and acidity. Drink or hold for more secondary nuances to emerge.

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• 2013 Dard et Ribo St. Joseph Blanc

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph

  A mystery wine, seeming clearly again to be from the Rhone. A perfumed, lovely bouquet of garrigue, hay, grapefruit and apricot. The palate did not quite deliver on the bouquet, I was expecting more fruit sweetness and weight. It had a good acidic backbone and finished on those bright acids. In quite an oxidative style, that said to me ‘drink soon’.

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• 2006 Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Reignots

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

  Onto the reds … A precise nose of raspberries, redcurrants and blackberries with gentle spices. Also a little slatey minerality on bouquet. A very attractive, Vosne bouquet. Similar on palate. Very precise, laser-like focused and persistent. Complex flavours of melange of small berries, particularly blackberries, raspberries and blackcurrants, with minerals and chalk on the long finish. Sparkling acidity, that took me straight to 2006. Superb! Seemingly at the start of a very long drinking plateau.

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• 2001 Gros Frère et Sœur Clos Vougeot Musigni

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

  A bouquet of blackcurrants, blackberries and other berries. In addition to black spices there was a little animale quality to the nose, described by tasters as black truffle or sous bois. On palate, clearly a Grand Cru quality Burgundy, albeit perhaps a little below medium weight. It made up for this with its verve, precision and interest. Flavours of dark fruit, earth and brushwood. Tasters commented on the slightly hot ferment character (I associate with the house) and also that, although the wine was good, it was a little artisanal, not elegant. The tannins could have been more refined. However, it was enjoyable enough. The terroir here is excellent (not too far from real Musigny) and this wine seems to be improving each vintage. The 2001 is about there now for drinking.

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• 2006 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Tâche Grand Cru

  A beautiful, fragrant bouquet. Intense, precise and high toned. Complex and multi-layered including aromas of violets, gentle mixed spices, black and red berries, minerals etc, framed by discreet vanillin oak. In the mouth, intense perfection. It achieves that rare combination of real power with lightness of touch that only great wines can. It is very pure and clean and yet the flavour profile is detailed and multi-layered, with a seam of rocky minerality throughout. The serious architecture is disguised in the sleek, seamless package. The acidity is gorgeous and the tannins are superb, ultra-fine grained and suave. It’s only a baby of course. Hold it for as long as you have the patience. I guessed it was a 2002 and then a 1998 La Tâche – it seemed inconceivable it could come from any other Burgundy vineyard. Thanks Mike.

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• 2003 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

  Again a beautiful bouquet but this time, served blind, speaking of Gevrey Chambertin. Red fruit – especially ripe red cherries and plums – earth and dry underbrush aromas were accompanied by smoky gibier and some typical Gevrey funk. Similar on palate. A lot of opulent, ripe fruit with good fruit sweetness and flavours of red and dark cherries, plums, earth and a touch of forest floor. The 2003 character expressed itself as a slightly burnt edge to the fruit. Still, a large scaled and big volume wine in good balance. Well proportioned. Relatively refined and elegant. The oak was visible but relatively well absorbed by, and integrated with, the fruit. For the vintage, surprisingly good, racy acidity. Very long. Seriously good. Ideally I’d cellar this wine for a minimum of five more years but it was very enjoyable on the day!

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• 1998 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Costa Russi

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC

  A perfumed nose of dark roses, road tar and red cherries marked this wine out as Nebbiolo. The spicy oak in the background suggested a more Modernist producer. Rich and full on palate with quite a sweet entry. Flavours of red and black cherries, balsamic, barbequed meats, earth and dry brushwood. There was also serious oak here – suggesting Gaja as the producer – but it was in proportion with the serious structure, fruit weight and depth of the wine. The tannins were silky smooth and refined and the acids were acceptable. I picked 1998 as the vintage but the wine was drinking quite young, seeming to be at the very start of its long drinking plateau.

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• 2001 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  This is a favourite house and cuvée, so it was nice to be served a 2001 blind. A savoury nose of creosote, earth, red berries, dry earth, roses and underbrush with a top note of violets. A classic Barolo bouquet. Similar flavours of red cherries, tar, earth and underbrush with savoury, balsamic and umami nuances. Excellent structure and integration. Broad with good mid palate depth and power, fine grained tannins, good acidity and excellent length. Very compelling. Drinking well now but years ahead of this Cavallotto, of course.

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• 2013 Trinity Hill Homage

  New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay, Gimblett Gravels

  The bright purple red colour of this wine stood out from all others served. An aromatically explosive nose of bright dark cherries, dark spices, black pepper and lavender. On palate, clearly top quality cool climate Syrah (actually, 1.3% Viognier). I thought about whether it could be Northern Rhone before concluding it must be New World. Very primary, bright flavours of dark cherries, blackberries, earth, iron ore and black pepper. Medium weight but with great energy and power. Good architecture and length. Beautiful, fine grained tannins. Relatively accessible now, I don’t know if it will close but I’d hold it for 5-8 years. From the outstanding 2013 Hawke’s Bay vintage. In my opinion, the best Homage yet and one of the best Syrahs ever produced in New Zealand.

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• 2013 Weingut Robert Weil Kiedricher Gräfenberg Riesling Großes Gewächs

  Germany, Rheingau

  A Riesling to accompany the cheeses … A very pale colour. A pure, intense bouquet of Meyer lemons, steel and minerals, with a whiff of kerosene. Also very clean and pure on palate with citric, white fruit, flinty and steely flavours. Glycerol. Good weight, drive and length. Ripping acidity across the palate, finishing on the acidity. Very good, it just needs time (5+ years).

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• 1995 Château Lynch-Bages

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  The colour at the rim beginning to break down and brick. After a spritzy element on bouquet blew off a pleasant, traditional Left Bank Cabernet nose of dark cherry, blackcurrants, cedar, old leather and earth emerged. Tobacco and sous bois notes indicated a Bordeaux from the 1990s. On palate, a more traditional, leaner type English Claret of the type I often enjoy. Elegant with good acidity. Certainly no fruit bomb or blockbuster. The flavours reflected the bouquet: blackcurrants, cassis, earth and dry underbrush. The oak and tannins were totally integrated. One of our more regular Bordeaux drinkers said he was “disappointed” because it “lacks concentration”. Fully open for business now but, personally, I’d have no problem holding this wine, in this style, for 10+ more years. YMMV.

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• 2003 Château Rieussec

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Very dark golden colour. A nose of apricots, burnt butterscotch, toffee apple, grapefruit and brown sugar. Also, a slight dry herbs component to the bouquet. On palate, lovely with flavours of brown sugar, apricots and (as one guest said) “essence of barley sugar”. Also, flavours of marmalade on buttered toast, crème brulee and that slightly singed toffee note. Seemingly quite advanced for a 2003 Rieussec. Very enjoyable with dessert but only the low acidity probably holds this back from being a top Riessec (as compared with say the 2001). Drink or hold.

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Thanks to Cathy and Mike for hosting and to all of those who brought wine!