Great Wines to start the New Year
Ngaio, Wellington, New Zealand
Tasted Wednesday, January 6, 2016 by Marc with 463 views
Introduction
A superb dinner with great friends was a wonderful way to begin 2016.
Canapes : Tuna with Szechuan Peppercorns, Prosciutto and Melon
Grilled Zucchini, sage, pine nuts, parmesan
Roast Rack of Lamb, Cauliflower Puree, Green Beans, Grilled Aubergine
Cheese board
Tropical Fruit Salad, Coconut Sorbet
2008 Pol Roger Champagne Blanc de Blancs 93 Points
France, Champagne
New release. Very young and taut. Brilliant verve and focus with an intense mineral aspect. This is bright, yet savory; long, yet light. While just a baby, this wine is drinking so well now, that I would be inclined to enjoy it for its freshness and intensity.
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2011 Fromm Chardonnay Clayvin Vineyard Marlborough 93 Points
New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
Tasted blind, this came across as a Chablis inspired wine with uncommon focus and great length. The oak handling is very subtle, but adds an almost imperceptible creaminess to the finish. The acids, while bright, are suave and supple and did not come across as "Marlborough" in style. I picked this a a NZ wine, due to a unique beeswax/honey aspect, which reminded me a little of Alsace - kind of an amalgamation of bright chardonnay and honied riesling. Our knowledgable host called the winery NZ's finest chardonnay producer and I can certainly see it with this uniquely styled wine.
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2011 Bell Hill Chardonnay 90 Points
New Zealand, South Island, Canterbury
Quite reductive in style, with a significant sulfide aspect. This is an outstanding wine that may improve, but it is also an intensely manufactured wine that relies too heavily on sulfides and toast character to introduce complexity. I have noticed this with a few Tasmanian chardonnays, as well. On the plus side, the wine has great power and balance and is certainly going to develop in the cellar. If you open one now, I would suggest a rather long decant. A disappointment, considering the maker. 89-90+?
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1982 Château Mouton Rothschild 100 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Served blind, the nose leapt out of the glass, fairly screaming, "Pauilliac". This is all pencil shavings, cigar tobacco and Spanish cedar with an extraordinary ripe and focused aroma. The palate is simply perfection. Equilibrium, intensity, opulent, yet perfectly structured. Drinks far younger than 34 years and is clearly a candidate for further decades of aging. Coming back to this wine throughout the evening did nothing to dispel my view of the wine. It is simply without flaw and possesses uncommon character in the style of Pauilliac. Drunk ten years ago, I felt the wine needed time and tonight I certainly felt the wine was at a brilliant apogee that shows no sign of leaving. The ripeness of the vintage is very clear but the wine speaks of its terroir as well as any wine I have drunk.
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1986 Château Léoville Las Cases 96 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Drunk blind and next to the Mouton Rothschild 1982, this came across as slightly more monolithic but also deeply expressive of its vintage. Like most great 1986a I have drunk, this wine is stern, backwards and linear. It also hides its elevage in a way the Mouton, with its creamy oak and blackcurrants did not. The Leoville is very savory, mineral, dark and tannic. Very intense, very large-scaled. Incredibly complex but somewhat inexpressive, this is showing more bottle age character than the Mouton but it is also more backwards. I love the intellectual style of the wine and imagine that it will always be somewhat hard and structured when it finally enters its ultimate apogee of development. Always first growth standard. 96+
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2000 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Ermitage Cuvée Cathelin 95 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Served blind, I was unable to identify this. The intensity level of the wine is as great as I have ever experienced but the varietal expression of the syrah and its terroir did not make themselves known to me. Completely closed, with a tightly-wound nature that is impressive but not yet fully expressive. Superlative fruit and the tightest-wound rendition of Hermitage I have drunk. When I think of the regular cuvee of Chave, I always think of an intense wine that is light on its feet, slightly rustic with bright acids and flinty complexity, wound up in its animal, raspberry fruit. This luxury cuvee is a very different beast, with a focus on fruit intensity and off the chart power and density. I would leave this one alone until 2025 to 2030 and drink it with a regular cuvee.... Or at least wait to drink this after all the regular cuvees have been drunk. Not sure if it is better than the regular cuvee, but it certainly delivers on its luxury cuvee status. Might be difficult to match to food.... 95+++?
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1999 Joseph Drouhin Musigny 97 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru
Extraordinary Musigny. A brilliant, forthcoming nose of cherry, mineral, forest floor, smoke and leather aspects. Approachable, but really in need of another decade, this is a tannic wine but also has textbook fruit, a seemingly limitless array of layers and a long, modulated and mineral finish. The proportion of sweet fruit to savory aspects is especially well managed in this wine. I see this improving with time, as it still has primary elements that will develop and improve with further age.
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2001 Dr. Loosen Erdener Prälat Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 92 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Fresh as a daisy with an uncommon balance between the fruit sweetness and the acid spine. This is so alive and vibrant and finishes in an utterly refreshing manner without a hint of cloying quality. Kaffir lime, honey, wet slate and green apple notes can be discerned in its complex and tightly-wound nose and palate. Just a baby.
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