Dinner at La Noce

This was extremely impromptu for E and I, but when your close friends have extra space at a restaurant week booking and both of us happened to be free, it was a great chance to catch up and destress over a nice midweek dinner. Boy I was glad we went - the wines, though not fabled names nor from great vintages, really shone. It was a night to savour.

• 2002 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Capellanía 91 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  An unusual occurrence - two Rioja Blancos in a couple of weeks. This was very impressive though. At 9 years of age, one gets a feeling that it has just about crept into its peak drinking window. Yellowish gold in colour, it had developed lots of character on the nose, with honey and beeswax tones at the fore followed up by aromas of cooked figs, nectarines and other stone fruity accents set over layers of spicy, earthy, soil notes with a little waft of flowers and herbs - a bit Rhone-like and very nice. There was just the slightest touch of oxidation at the edges that suggested sherry, but this seemed to add rather than subtract from the whole - a very attractive nose indeed. The palate had every bit as much character too. Quite rich, nicely honeyed, but with rather fresher stone fruit flavours than suggested on the slightly ripe, mustily flowered nose - there was a really nice, mouthwatering juiciness to its stone fruit flavours of preaches and nectarine that flowed alongside the honeyed tones. This juicy acidity really opened up the palate very nicely from the midpalate and into an energetic finish where a spike of citrus fruit tones - think green guavas - mingled with hints of saline mneral. A very nice, complex drink that went very well with a fried calamari dish. This was very enjoyable.

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• 1995 Domaine Philippe Naddef Fixin 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Fixin

  A beautiful Burg from an unknown maker and an unfashionable village - rare as it is, I am bowled over every time we find gems like this one. It had a beautiful nose, all lovely floaty flowers, luscious yet lifted scents of strawberry and cherry and a little touch of earth and sous bois - a glorious nose, classic Burg. With a super-impressive, knock-your-socks-off bouquet like this, you would almost half expect the palate to disappoint, but this really lived up to its billing. Beautifully developed, it danced across the mouth with a caress of silky tannins, leaving a trail of red cherries and strawberries in its wake. Not the most complex, but certainly not simple, this was very pretty and perfectly balanced by little dollops of acid. While ever so elegant, the whole wine was still underpinned by a firmness of structure and, in spite of the silk, a steely, stony almost stern minerality - just enough austerity to it for us to guess it as a 1995. Still tight at the edges then, but very together and very integrated and just brilliantly enjoyable. This was a lovely Fixin that was punching at the level of a 1er Cru from one of the more famous Cote de Nuits villages. Perfectly fine to drink it now, although I think it will happily go on for a few more years, even improving a little.

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• 1997 Château La Conseillante 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  I thought this was beautiful - a lovely Pomerol, quite at peak. I cannot imagine this wine being better anytime before, nor can I foresee it getting much better in the distant future, such a treat. Starting with a beautiful Bordeaux nose, this came wafting out of the glass in fragrant layers of tobacco, cigar smoke, roasted capsicums, lush earthy tones and beautiful red fruit tones. Lovely stuff, no one had any doubts that this was a Pomerol when served blind from that nose alone. The palate was pitch perfect - integrated, balanced, complete, it had a robe of silken tannins thrown over pure dark fruit flavours of blackberries and dark cherries flecked by mineral, spice, dark chocolate and earth. The "weak" vintage certainly worked in our favour tonight. It was clearly neither the most powerful, nor the most compelling La Conseillante, but was wonderful elegant and brilliantly drinkable. At a wonderful place now, this was a lovely drink that formed a perfect marriage with the roast rack of lamb on my plate.

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• 2003 Château du Domaine de L'Eglise 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Quite out of coincidence, the second Pomerol of the night. Blind again, but there was no disguising where it was from. The vintage was another matter though - this was actually very accomplished and pleasingly balanced and drinkable for a 2003 Pomerol. The nose smelt for all the world like a modern right-bank. Rich, yet seductive nose, it burst out of the glass with aromas of ripe plums and dark fruit ringed with some violet flowers, dried earth and a waft of cigar smoke. A bit of time and air later, it showed some green tobacco notes and a bit of toasty, chocolate and dusty mineral. After all that expressive richness on nose, the palate was really quite surprisingly fresh, with lively acidity prancing through bright yet succulent flavours of dark cherries and plums. So bright and fresh actually that none of us guessed it as a 2003 - my own guess was 2002. The finish was neither the most powerful or most persistent, but it had a nice linger of spice, earth and minerally earth framed in some silky tannins. A very enjoyable, and decent value for a Pomerol. While rather put in the shade by a 1997 La Conseillante that was quite at peak, this did give quite a lot of pleasure, especially when paired with a roast rack of lamb. Lots to like here - it should improve with some time, say over the next 5-8 years, but I do have doubts about whether it will continue growing far beyond that.

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• 2007 Tasca D'Almerita Capofaro Malvasia di Salina 91 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Salina IGT

  Very enjoyable - a lovely way to end the meal. This started out with just loads of pineapple aromas wafting out of the glass alongside notes of honey, some flowers and a tiniest toss of earth on the nose. Quite pretty indeed. The palate had plenty of sweetness to its dulcet honeyed tones, yet it was very well balanced, with a lot of freshness to it as flavours of pineapple, longans and rambutans spread across the mouth before ending with a touch of molasses and spice and a little sultana twang. Lovely - may not a great wine, but certainly a very good one.

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