France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
This had a buttery sweetish fruit nose with a hint of melon and a hint of mushroom. Round and open on the palate, initially it feels a touch simple, but left in the glass, with time it builds into something really quite full and complex, yet retaining an appropriate elegance. It worked well, not so much directly with the mullet, but with the residual flavours in the mouth after the food has been swallowed. Very Good Indeed/Excellent.
A very closed minerally, peachy nose. Immediately sweet on the attack, but this has really quite decent balance. Very long. A good, clean auslese for food: it really needs food - the marbling of guinea fowl and foe gras with cumbrian ham, wild mushrooms and baby leeks, toasted pain poilaine was a winning match, though any sort of terrine would be great, and it also went superbly with a demitasse of Mini French Onion Soup made with a fabulously rich meat stock. Just maybe suffering slightly from the 2003 disease. Very Good Indeed.
This had a very deep, raspberry fruit nose, but with a bit of heat and quite spicy. On the palate, it was realy very similar and just a touch hot. But two to three hours later, this had vastly improved when I returned to it with the Brie de Meaux with Black Truffle , with which it was a vastly better match than the '77 Dow. Given the time, Very Good Indeed.
This had a fairly powerful nose, though not overly muscatty and not really grapey at all: rather, a rich, honeyed and tropical nose. Deep and powerful on the palate, yet still with very lovely balance. Quite almondy and marzipanny on the palate. Just a touch disjointed on the finish, when the acidity and the sweetness just seem to separate out a bit too much. Very Good
The Dow had a very figgy nose with blackberries and a blast of spirit. Very much in the Dow style, which, with every bottle of Dow's I try, I increasingly think is not for me. The 1977 still felt quite young on the attack. Very deep, chocolatey fruit, but also a lot of spirit. Good length. Could have done with being opened and more aggresively decanted rather earlier than it was (around 4-5 hours earlier). Very Good+
I thought this was going to be far, far too young, tight and infanticide. But actually, it was very giving and open. A very, very fresh, crisp nose with just a touch of biscuit and a nice hint of strawberries and cream. Crisp and clean on the attack, it develops a nice creaminess and depth, with lots of interest. Very Good Indeed/Excellent.
NV Louis Roederer Champagne Brut Premier 89 Points
France, Champagne
The Roederer NV had a nice, and somewhat surprising, richness and roundness that made it rather moreish.
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2001 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Perrières 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
This had a buttery sweetish fruit nose with a hint of melon and a hint of mushroom. Round and open on the palate, initially it feels a touch simple, but left in the glass, with time it builds into something really quite full and complex, yet retaining an appropriate elegance. It worked well, not so much directly with the mullet, but with the residual flavours in the mouth after the food has been swallowed. Very Good Indeed/Excellent.
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2003 Meulenhof Erdener Treppchen Riesling Auslese 89 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
A very closed minerally, peachy nose. Immediately sweet on the attack, but this has really quite decent balance. Very long. A good, clean auslese for food: it really needs food - the marbling of guinea fowl and foe gras with cumbrian ham, wild mushrooms and baby leeks, toasted pain poilaine was a winning match, though any sort of terrine would be great, and it also went superbly with a demitasse of Mini French Onion Soup made with a fabulously rich meat stock. Just maybe suffering slightly from the 2003 disease. Very Good Indeed.
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2002 By Farr Pinot Noir 89 Points
Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Geelong
This had a very deep, raspberry fruit nose, but with a bit of heat and quite spicy. On the palate, it was realy very similar and just a touch hot. But two to three hours later, this had vastly improved when I returned to it with the Brie de Meaux with Black Truffle , with which it was a vastly better match than the '77 Dow. Given the time, Very Good Indeed.
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2002 Araldica Piemonte Moscato Passito Palazzina 85 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Piemonte DOC
This had a fairly powerful nose, though not overly muscatty and not really grapey at all: rather, a rich, honeyed and tropical nose. Deep and powerful on the palate, yet still with very lovely balance. Quite almondy and marzipanny on the palate. Just a touch disjointed on the finish, when the acidity and the sweetness just seem to separate out a bit too much. Very Good
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1977 Dow Porto Vintage 88 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
The Dow had a very figgy nose with blackberries and a blast of spirit. Very much in the Dow style, which, with every bottle of Dow's I try, I increasingly think is not for me. The 1977 still felt quite young on the attack. Very deep, chocolatey fruit, but also a lot of spirit. Good length. Could have done with being opened and more aggresively decanted rather earlier than it was (around 4-5 hours earlier). Very Good+
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1999 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 93 Points
France, Champagne
I thought this was going to be far, far too young, tight and infanticide. But actually, it was very giving and open. A very, very fresh, crisp nose with just a touch of biscuit and a nice hint of strawberries and cream. Crisp and clean on the attack, it develops a nice creaminess and depth, with lots of interest. Very Good Indeed/Excellent.
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