Cellar Raid at ES

Another cellar-raid. Good-sized group this time, with Hsien Min, Alex, William, KG and firend, Robert and Stephanie joining in. Dave popped by for a drink too. All wines served blind as usual. The really interesting thing about the tasting was the quartet of Pinots that quite coincidentally appeared. These could not be further apart from each other stylistically, from a Californian monster, to a light Sancerre, A Burg 1er and finally an Austrian. Very interesting.

• 2008 Lar de Paula Rioja Blanco 90 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, Rioja

  An extremely unusual wine to start the day off. The nose was marked by a rather oxidative wine-making style, with kumquats, preserved limes, dusky yellow fruit a touch of spice and plenty of chalky mineral. Intriguing. Palate was every bit as unusual. Very structured, lots of extract, so that it came across almost tannic, with a dry grippy feel. Less oxidative notes here, instead I got more lemons, some neutral white fruit and some savoury earth notes. Lots of depth and weight across the palate, but all accompanied by fresh acid, especially across the mid-palate, all lending a nice balance to the wine. Finish was longish, juicy, with a bit of heat and spice, but also with a nice linger of flowers and almonds. Very idiosyncratic, but I liked it. Very good with food too.

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• 2007 Sebastien Riffault Sancerre Rouge Les Quarterons 87 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre Rouge

  Yet another interesting wine. This Pinot was made by Etienne de Sebastien Riffault, the rather bigger and more famous Sancerre house. Not unplesant, but not all that great either - this came across almost like a Gamay. Nose had a lot of sweet, almost sticky fruit scents - cherries, raspberries, sweet flower scents and just a bit of asparagus. Charming enough. Palate was really simple though. Prickly, carbonic-maceration like feel on the attack was followed with cherry cola flavours, more raspberries and sweet strawberry fruit, and a little greenish edge at the mid-palate. Finish had a bit of menthol and winter-melon and just a touch of mineral. It certainly was juicy, fruity and fresh, but needed a little more depth I thought.

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• 2004 Salamandre Wine Cellars Pinot Noir Dijon Clones 86 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Arroyo Seco

  A monster of a pinot noir coming in at a whopping 16.6%. Like chalk and cheese when compared with the almost too light Sancerre Rouge that we had just before. The nose certainly showed off its new world roots, with a whiff of glycerol serving as an intro to candied blackcurrants, plum and stewed cherry scents, along with woody accents and a hint of flowers, all laced with an earthy funk. To be fair, you really could not tell the full extent of the 16.6% on the palate, but there was certainly some alcohol there. Lowish acidity, sweet, rich, with lots of brightly fruited plums and cassis and a rather caramelly touch - this was the qunitessential fruit-bomb. Tannins were slinky and smooth all the way into a shortish finish which showed oaky notes of spice and coconut. A full-on, steroid driven new-world edition. Not undrinkable, but not to my taste.

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• 2004 Albert Boillot Pommard 1er Cru Les Chanlins 91 Points

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

  This was quite a bit better than the last time I tried it at the Domaine, and certainly far better than the other two pinots that came before it. Nose was very high-toned, with lots of florals, in an almost fresh, grassy flowery way, along with fresh cherry scents, a touch of earth, mushroom, spice and stony mineral. Very nice, rather Volnay like actually. Palate had a similarly high-toned feel to it. Quite a bit of sweetness, with winter-melon notes, cherry, some cola and a little orangey, citrus lift. Good balance, nice and fresh, and good depth too. Finish had a dash of tell-tale 2004 Chinese herbs, along with more earthy sous bois notes and some spice sprinkled around the mid-length tail. I liked this.

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• 2006 Weninger Pinot Noir Kalkofen 91 Points

  Austria, Burgenland, Mittelburgenland

  Surprisingly good - this was the pinot noir of the day. Nose had a really nice savoury aspect to it, with hois sin sauce, dried oysters and conpoy and some earthy dirt tossed over dark cherry and floral notes. Palate was nice and high-toned, with fresh cherries at the fore, riding on a bed of earth and spice, and amply supported by ripe, if a little drying tannins, and nice juicy freshness. The dryness of the tannins became a little more pronounced towards the finish, which showed a twist of bitteersweet herbs and a little new world rubberiness just before the cherry flavours reasserted themselves. All in all, a really well-made wine, just about outshining the Pommard 1er Cru.

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• 2007 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Le Domaine 89 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

  A pretty pleasant Chinon. I guessed it as a St-Nicolas de Bourgeuil eventually, but strangely enough, no one else thought it was a Loire. Nose was extremely minerally. All earthy and stony, with lots of iron ore running though it. Underneath all that mineral, there was dark cherries, a little kirsch-like in its sweet aspects, some perfumy dark plums, and a spicy, garrigue and herbs note, a whiff of roasted capsicum and a strong, meaty accent running through all that. Very interesting. Palate was not quite as complex or challenging though. Nicely balanced, with some tannins, fresh acidity and simple dark cherry flavours and a touch of perfumy flowers in the attack. Beyond that, the palate also showed tons of mineral, with ferrous, almost rusty nail notes streaking through the fruit. Finish had lingering peppery spicness and a little tobacco note. Simple, but fun.

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• 2005 Vilafonté Series M 91 Points

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Paarl

  Not quite as impressive as when I had it in SA, but this was nevertheless still a clearly well-made wine. Clearly new world on the nose, with lots of plums and cassis wrapped in French oak scents of vanilla and cream. Some glycerol on the edges, but this was well under-control, along a little asparagus / roasted capsicum note and some savoury earthiness. Rather attractive. Palate was still extermely young, but it showed lots of polish and promise. Clean acidity and firm but very fine tannins formed the frame for dark cherries and cassis, along with Merlot spice and a touch of herbs - all very nicely put together, with the fruit showing lots of depth and quite a bit of focus. Finish was longish too, with licorice, spice and just that bit more capsicum. A very nice effort. Quite possibly the WOTD.

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• 2004 Oliver's Taranga Vineyards Shiraz HJ Reserve 88 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  Typical McLaren Vale. Big, rich and altogether fruity. Nose was very upfront about its origins - all rich plums, glycerol and lots of peppery spice, along with a little earthy lilt. What you sniff is what you get, because the palate just took off where the nose left. Plums, some cherry medicine, christmas pudding sweetness and spice, some chocllate and another little toss of earth, especially towards the finish, where the earthy notes were met by a little dash of menthol-ly herb. For all that, balance was decent, tannins were smooth. Not bad, but certainly not up my alley.

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