Celebrating a Promotion

Thank God for wonderful wives. The Mrs put together a small, impromptu surprise at our place to celebrate my promotion to jp today. It is such a joy to have good friends around at a time like this. We opened a few nice wines, the best of which was, by some distance, a spectacular Chianti. Props to the delicious Canary Islands fortified Malvasia too - that was a real surprise.

• 1996 Domaine Amiot-Servelle Clos Vougeot 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

  Nice. Meaty, sous bois nose, with lots of damp earth, sweet Vosne spice and a nice whiff of raspberries and dark cherries. Very nice. Palate was at a lovely place. The strident acidity of the 1996 vintage had toned down into a bright but gentle freshness lapping against a core raspberries and cherries touched with a bit of earth. There was a nice sappiness to the midpalate too, not quite top notch Grand Cru in terms of depth, but certainly at least a good 1er Cru. The finish was still tickled by a bit of fine tannins and a hint of coffee, rounding the wine off beautifully. An elegant interpretation of Clos Vougeot. Very nice - a really delicious wine.

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• 1985 Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva Il Poggio 95 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG

  Wow. This is quite definitely the greatest Chianti I have ever drunk to date. Beautiful nose, clearly masculine with funky, slightly barnyardy notes, wet earth and stony mineral, yet this wed to lovely wafts of dark roses, smoky tar, rust and black cherries. Very lovely – so much so that almost everyone guessed Nebbiolo instead of Sangiovese. The palate was tremendous. It had reservoirs of deep, rich, succulently sweet dark cherries and berries, yet it had a wonderful clarity and energy lent to it by juicy acidity, so that it wore its weight so very elegantly. Past the midpalate and into the long, powerful finish, the wine unfolded in a glorious flow of limestoney mineral and spice couched in well-resolved yet still gummily chewy tannins. A complete wine at a wonderful place. A mind-bogglingly good Chianti.

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• 1997 Barossa Valley Estate Shiraz E & E Black Pepper 93 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  Yummy. It had a very nice nose with a shifting, sliding bouquet of blackcurrants, dark cherries and a toss of earth lifted by bits of kumquat, eucalyptus and mint and a dash of the eponymous black pepper. All very bright. There was just a touch of VA in there, but it was really pretty nonetheless. The palate was delicious, with a blast of sweet blackcurrant fruit at the attack, almost like chewing into a Roundtree’s Blackcurrant Pastille spiked with black peppery spice and lifted by a delicious mouthful of fresh acidity. There was a touch of meat on the midpalate, a touch of earth and a little robe of fine tannins bringing up the rear as it stretched into a delicious finish kissed by a hint of eucalyptus. Balanced and really yummy - a delicious wine. Amazingly, it not only seemed to hold, but got better in the bottle over the next two days, drinking beautifully into day 3, where the sweetness mellowed a little and a lovely minerality emerged. Lovely now, but I can actually see it improving over the next three to four years.

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• 2006 Teneguia (Llanovid S. Coop. Ltda.) La Palma Malvasía Dulce 92 Points

  Spain, Canary Islands, La Palma

  This was surprisingly delicious. It had a wonderful nose, full of dried mangoes, honey and gentle spice notes. The palate was even better though. Impeccably balance and wonderfully proportioned, it was a delicious mouthful of candied orange peel, white chocolate and dried mango notes sprinkled with a touch of cinnamon and clove spice and a little nutty finish. While sweet, it was so well balanced that each sip called out for yet another - a lovely way to end the meal. So well balance indeed that it was yummy and eminently drinkable even when a tad too warm. My only issue was perhaps that it lacked a bit of depth and length at the finish, but that would be nitpicking. A joy to drink on its own, this was even better when paired with Christmas fruit cake, with the spice on the wine and the spice on the cake singing in a lovely duet. Yum.

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