Winekakis' Dinner at Asia Grand

This was supposed to be an aged Volnay dinner, but it grew and grew until we had a really awesome line-up. 15 bottles of great wine for 10 lucky people. As always, company was great fun and food was good - what a night!

• 1999 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Riesling Beerenauslese 92 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  This had been opened for three days by the time I got to it. Still very lovely though - just not sure it has typical BA weight. Otherwise, a very enjoyable wine indeed. Nose opened with rubber and petroleum, followed by lovely honeycomb and Manuka honey notes, along with yellow flowers, earth tones and a grassy herb note - lemongrass I thought. Palate was still going very strong on the attack - lots of clean freshness, even a bit tightly coiled, before unfolding in charming flavours of apricots, honey and brown apples showing a touch of oxidation. It seemed to pick up weight on the midpalate, but looses power towards the finish. The freshness fades a little, so the sweetness comes up with more apricot notes lingering away. A bit long-in-the-tooth at this point I thought. Still, I enjoyed every drop.

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• 2000 Marc Colin et Fils Montrachet 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

  We expected fireworks from this wine. What we got instead was a slow unfurling of a very fine, very concentrated, powerful, yet super-focused and very understated Monty. Tons of class here. Tight at first, the nose opened up to show cream of mushroom, some earth, deep, deep white fruit notes, smoke notes, some preserved lime, musk and integrated oaky butter. Not quite as expressive as the 2001 Olivier Leflaive Criots-Batard, but very good. There was something rather inexorable about it in the way it just marched across the nose and into the palate. Tons of power here, yet my notes are littered with expressions like "pure", "clean" and "integrated". You could hardly feel the great weight and concentration the wine had - yet it was there in bucketloads, with a sticky, clingy mouthfeel. I think we broached it rather young though - flavour wise it was still rather primary, with ripe lemons, mushrooms and still indistinct white fruit riding on good acidity. Some sweet notes of honey and peach were just beginning to show. Finish had rather epic length. And yet, such was the focus and balance that it crept up on you rather than astounding the senses. I got a lovely seam of mineral from the mid-palate as the wine began to pull away, and the white fruit reasserted itself one mroe time in an open, integrated finish. Very, very nice indeed. This is a wine that requires time and interraction to truly savour its quality. A few more years in the bottle would certainly help as well.

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• 2001 Olivier Leflaive Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

  This was lovely on the day, just edging out a shyer 2000 Marc Colin Montrachet. Super expressive, playful nose. Truffles, earth, forest fern, some sea-shell minerality, ripe lemons, a dusting of vanilla, tons of honey and really interesting chrysanthemum notes. The palate took off where the nose left off - with a sticky Grand Cru mouthfeel with lots of chrysanthemum flavours melded with pear and other white fruits, a touch of smoke and white button mushrooms. Lovely complexity, lots of lush power, yet super integrated and treading a lovely balance between freshness and weight. Finish was long and delicious, and very interesting. A whiff of smokiness linger for awhile as the fruits receded in the mouth, and then the wine just took off again on a totally different gear with biscuity, breadfruit and potato notes. I think the Monty is just that bit classier and more noble, but this was just yummier and a lot more fun to drink at the moment.

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• 1986 Maison Leroy Volnay 1er Cru Santenots 93 Points

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

  The bottle was in pristine condition, and I really enjoyed its contents. This had the benefit of having more age than the 1996 in the same flight, hence it was drinking better - very nicely I would say. Although I do think that the 1996 has that bit more quality and will eventually surpass this. Lovely nose, chock full of Indian spices and incense - sandalwood, cardammon, clove, anise - along with bright red fruit laced with forest fern and flowers and a wet furry undergrowth tone. Very heady mix of high and low tones. I really liked it. Palate had lots of weight and power. Tons of red fruit tumbled out of the glass - haw flakes, cherries - held up by prickly acidity. Nice plush, silky mouthfeel as well. Finish was not the longest, but it faded gorgeously in the mouth with lingers of red fruit and Indian spice. The wine started falling off after half and hour or so unfortunately - with acidity starting to really stand out at the sides of the mouth and the finish plunging away rather suprisingly. It was really good while it lasted though.

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• 1996 Maison Leroy Volnay 1er Cru Santenots 93 Points

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

  Not showing as well as the 1986, but tons of quality here. Nose was very Leroy - little touches of funk, earth and umami, along with beautiful high-toned Volnay notes of strawberries, flowers, Indian spice and a dqueeze of orange. Very elegant. Palate showed a fine-boned structure. Tight and grippy at first, but opened up through the evening to display really good red fruit backed-up by lovely freshness. No screeching young 1996 acids here - just a nice integrated balance. It became immensely enjoyable as it opened up. Finish showed a dusting of powdery tannins along with a long pull of fruit with plenty of power. A touch of heat and alcohol here maybe, but otherwise a lovely wine. Could do with another 2-3 years in the bottle - this is just beginning to emerge from its shell.

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• 2003 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Champans 89 Points

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

  I don't know what to make out of this wine. As wines go, it was not bad. As d'Angervilles go, extremely disappointing. The nose was a dead-ringer for a new world cool-climate Shiraz-Viognier to me. Alocholic, sweet, with plums, blueberries, vanilla and some flowers. Attractive enough - but where was the Burgundy, let alone the Volnay in this? Palate was rather unyielding after an hour in the decanter - hard tannins coated and gripped the mouth. Acidity was not high, but at least the balance was decent. Flavours wise, I got rich blackcurrant tones, along with dried wood and preserved plums and cherries moving into the finish. Okay, but completely out of character for both the maker and the place.

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• 1998 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs 92 Points

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

  A very nice wine, but it needs patience. It took some time to open up in the glass even after being decanted for an hour and a half. Nose started rather alarmingly with varnish and glycerol. Thankfully that faded to show deep, dark tones of cherries and earth. Palate was rich and layered, with lots of concentration and power, yet plenty of elegance in its fine-boned structure and integrated acidity. Lovely deep flavours of earth and dark cherries, evolving into some cherry-flavoured liquer and gummy sweets as the wine opened up. Finish had lots of persistence, with orange peel tones riding on a bed of fine, teeth-coating tannins. I would give this a good 2 or 3 years in the bottle yet.

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Lake's Folly was served blind - had everybody calling it a Bordeaux!

• 1989 Château Chasse-Spleen 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc

  Very nice, classic Bordeaux. Nose was especially lovely. Warm and inviiting, it showed earth, leather, a hint of animale, mushroom, tobacco and cassis. Palate was richly textured and lovely to drink, with fine balancing acidity still. Flavour-wise, a little lacking on complexity, but otherwise, nice dried cassis tones, with pricks of spice and fine tannins moving into a grippy finish with a touch of smoke and dried woodspices. Very nicely integrated and balanced throughout. At its peak now.

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• 1999 Lake's Folly Red Blend 93 Points

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Wow. This was surprisingly good. By far the best Lake's Folly I have ever had. Bought this from Rodney Kempe at the cellar door a few years back, and the bottle was in perfect condition. Served blind, everyone thought it was a Bordeaux. I can see why too. Nose showed deep tobacco notes along with a leathery, animale touch and lots of sous bois. Only giveaway would have been the lovely cassis and blueberry fruit. It was never sweet though - just a little more fruit forward then one would expect from a Bordeaux - that got some people guessing a 2000 right-bank. Palate had lots of density on it, yet it came across balanced and integrated. Rich flavours of blackcurrants and cassis filled the mouth, along with a dusting of sweet berries and, moving into the plush lengthy finish, tobacco, vine leaves, leather and a touch of herbs. Plenty of power, yet lots of class and complexity. Excellent.

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• 2001 M. Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Barbe Rac 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  So very young, but an excellent CdP in the making. Lovely nose - very perfumed, with flowers, cherries, pepper, garrigue, earth and a little metallic ore note. Almost like walking through a vineyard in Provence. Palate was still quite tight, showing indistinct red fruit with herb and garrigue notes, but obviously had lots of quality. Some alcohol there, but the wine had a fine balance and good structure lent by powdery tannins that coated the mouth. Seamless from attack to finish, it showed an integrated beam of fruit riding on a plush mouthfeel. Good length too. Very nice, but I would wait 5 to 7 years for this to reach its peak.

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• 2001 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon 95 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Wow. I thought this was the best red of the night - and that is saying a lot given that our palates were a little tired by then. Subtle but very rich and complex nose - deep earth tones, roasted meat, leather, dried herbs, black olives and ferrous mineral. Palate just showed tons and tons of class. Powerful, yet clean and well balance, with the finest of tannins, it showed flavours of plums and berries along with black olives, earth and more roasted meat. Polished and superbly integrated, yet not a touch artificial or manipulated. Finish had stupendous length. SUper fine tannins coated the teeth as the wine pulled away in a gorgeous show of subtle dark fruit, cracked pepper, mineral, herbs and garrigue. Excellent. This is in a different league altogether than the 1999 I tried in London a few months back.

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• 1975 Oremus Tokaji Eszencia 96 Points

  Hungary, Tokaji

  This is serious nectar of the gods stuff. Especially, I must add, when drank out of Riedel's Sauterne glass. I tried it from my own red wine glass and it impressed me, but it completely blew me away when we switched to Henry's glass instead. Colour was a viscous dark brown - motor oil anyone? Beautiful nose, the type that would cause smiles to break out across the room - preserved plums, raisins, chocolate, Christmas cake spices, earth, mahogany - almost umplummable depth, yet with lots of freshness. Palate was thick and viscous as one would expect, even thicker than maple syrup, but had some freshness lifting a hugely concentrated flavour spectrum of apricots, prunes, dried figs, raisins and orange peel that just opens up and spreads in the mouth. The finish just about explodes, and keeps lingering on and on. A stunning wine. I actually preferred the 1995 Royal Tokaji Azsu Essencia that we had not too long ago because of the extra acid lift and freshness, but that is being a little pedantic - this bottle is one the very best sweet wines I have had in my life in its own right. And who would have thought, it was delicious when paired with cold crab roe.

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• NV Gralyn Estate Artizan 94 Points

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  Muscat, Pedro Ximenez, Tokay grapes (average age of 10 years). This was beautiful. Amber-brown colour with a tinge of green. Nose was deep, complex and rich, with figs and apricots, mahogany, spice, caramel, butterscotch and fruit cake, all super-fresh and alive. Palate had sticky, clingy feel wed to a great, fresh balance. It had interesting little whiffs of pungent tropical fruit - mango, durian, jackfruit - along with dried figs and sultanas. Maybe not quite as complex as the nose, but lots of concentration here, with the finish just lifting off into a long, long spiral of spice notes. Gorgeous wine.

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• NV Penfolds Grandfather Fine Old Tawny Port 93 Points

  Australia, South Australia

  Very good, but put in the shadows by the Gralyn Artisan and the 1983 Graham Porto. Otherwise, a lovely port in its own right. Nose was really fresh, with nice pinpricks of spice and mahogany, with lots of classic port notes of dried figs, dark plums and Christmas cake. Some alcohol showed on the palate, but nothing too distactring. Once you got past that, it had plenty pf power wed to a nice poise, with a thick concentrated mouthfeel filled with spice, dried apricots, raisins, honeyed nuts and some cholocate moving into a longish finish with an interesting note of mineral, smoke and more mahogany. Very nice.

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• 1983 Graham Porto Vintage 93 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  Beautiful showing this time round. Fresh nose, with chocolate, mahogany dried figs and dried cherry in a syrupy meld. Palate was clean and fresh too - with a lifted feel that set this somewhat apart from the Aussie Ports. Flavours were not that complex, but very yummy, with some mineral, dark cherries, mahogany and chocolate moving into a long, gentle finish with more little smoke and mineral notes. Very classy. Not quite as deep and concentrated as some of my other experiences with this wine, but this had great elegance and a lively, nervy feel to it that I really enjoyed.

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