Pre-CNY Lunch at Brian's

I popped in and out of this lunch to meet with some friends for another get together. The wines were thus a bit rushed, but it was nice to chill out with good friends at the start of a long weekend.

• NV Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut 87 Points

  France, Champagne

  It is quite amazing how a Champagne house that is capable of making really beautiful wines can consistently churn out such an underwhelming NV. This was not undrinkable, just mediocre. The nose was pleasant enough, with bright scents of green limes, lemons and apples with a bit of flower and some minerally aromas at the edges. It was the palate that I took issue with. Very simple, with slightly tart flavours of lemons, limes and green apples again and nothing much more, this was once again a bit of a letdown. In fact, I thought that it strayed over into being a but too tart and citrussy at the finish when drank without food. A forgettable bottle, like just about every other bottle of VC NV I have had over the past several years.

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• 2002 Domaine Michel Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chaumées Clos de la Truffière 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

  I enjoyed this very much. It took a bit of time to open up in the glass, but when it did, it showed a rich nose with notes of cream and mushrooms, earth and mineral alongside a core of fleshy red apple scents and a little bit of smoky, toasty oak. I thought it may have been a Puligny at first, but a little while later, touches of very Chassagne honey and honeysuckle started emergin on the bouquet as well. As would be expected after that richly scented nose, the palate was weighty, with an almost oily depth to its fleshy white fruit flavours on the attack. However, for all that, it always remained very clean and well balanced, with a real sense of focus and delineation. The midpalate than brightened up with touches of lemon and lining of a seriously steely minerality. With all that weight and power held in such nice balance and finesse, we had a good suspicion that this must be a 2002. I thought the finish lacked a bit of length at first, but it too opened up with the nose to show a vanilla-touched tail that stretched on for some length. A lovely bottle of Chassagne just about creeping into a nice drinking window. I have no doubt that it will be an even more rewarding drink in 2 to 3 years' time though.

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• 2005 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de mon Aïeul 93 Points

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

  This was great. It had been opened several hours before I got to it and seemed to have benefitted from the air. It had a lovely nose. Still a bit tight, a bit subtle, but it showed some lovely aromas of sweet black cherries and plums, plenty of dried earthy nuances and bits of incense and garrigue. A perfect introduction to its euqally delicious palate. Again, it was still tight, even more so than the nose in fact, so that it was still a bit simple, but there was already a burgeoning sense of complexity in its black cherry flavours underscored by a lovely earthy minerality and a nice bit of spice, smoke and black tea moving into a long finish. I enjoyed this, but what was really impressive was a superb sense of purity, poise and balance to all that, with clean acidity and the finest tannins lending the the wine a refined, polished sense of structure. Still clearly in its childhood, this has shut down quite a bit since I tasted it shortly after its release, but it does have wonderful potential. A superb wine in the making. 93+

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• 1999 Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona Brunello di Montalcino Vigna di Pianrosso 93 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  This had been sitting in the decanter for a couple of hours before I got to it. I thought it was very good indeed - a slight step up from the 2001 Argiano that we had alongside. The nose was still a bit tight, but it showed classic BdM notes of slightly dried blackberries, strawberries, and plums wreathed with notes of dusty earth, smoke and dried Italian herbs, all patted down with damp earthy aromas. A bit reticent there, but I thought that the palate was quite lovely, with its deep black fruited flavours shading from black cherries to plums. Plump, fleshy, but these were couched in firm but still super fine tannins and wonderfully balanced with juicy acidity. It had a pretty finish too, with some flowery accents wed to the black fruited undertones. Like the Argiano, this is still very young, but there is a lot going on here and I am sure it will be a beautiful wine given enough time in the bottle. One to try in say another 5 to 6 years.

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• 2001 Argiano Brunello di Montalcino 92 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Very consistent notes with the previous time round - this was an impressive young BdM that still needs quite a bit of time. The nose was a bit on the sweeter side, with ripe dark cherrise surrounded by a halo of dusty earth and sundried herb aromas along with little woody undertones. Not completely together there - it gave the sense that the wine needed some time of knitting into a whole. Much the same on the palate. More slightly woody tones framed a midpalate with plenty of ripe cherries and some plummy notes. There was a nice sense of quality on that fruit, and it was balanced out with a lot of fresh acidity. It was on the finish where the youth of the wine stood out most - this was still coated by a layer of fine tannins as if drifted awat in whiffs of wood smoke and spice. Lots of quality here and it is far from unapporachable, but even then, it was clearly still a baby. I would give it ten years at least, by which time it should be very nice indeed.

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• 2003 Leeuwin Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Art Series 90 Points

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  I thought this was a nice wine that was drinking beautifully now. There was no mistaking it as anything other than an Aussie Cab on the nose alone, with its bright scents of eucalyptus and vanilla wrapped around a core of sweet cassis and blueberries, with maybe a little bit of smoke flaoting around in there somewhere. The palate seemed quite at peak, with rich cassis and plums flavours wrapped in a perfectly balanced robe with very plush tannins for company. There was just a bit too much sweet oak with its coconut and vanilla inflections on the back-end for me. Otherwise, this was a very enjoyable wine. Nothing too deep or complex, but eminently drinkable.

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• 1998 Alpha Domus The Aviator 88 Points

  New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay

  A pretty nice example of a NZ Bordeaux blend. It smelt very much like modern-styled Bordeaux, with a ripe melange of green peppers, cassis, tobacco and earth. The palate was rather more new world with a quite touch of sweetness to it though, but it had a nice freshness to its ripe cassis flavours touched with very classic cab tobacco and cigar notes at the finish. Good depth and mouthfeel, but a bit patchy at the edges, especially towards the finish, which seemed a bit rustic. All in all, a pretty decent wine but a bit overshadowed by a more immediately pleasing 2003 Leeuwin Art Series darnk together.

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• 1988 Château Guiraud 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Not the greatest Sauternes we are likely to drink this year, but it was certainly very pleasing on the day. The nose was nice, but not terribly expressive, with gentle notes of honey and caramel, orange blossoms, apricots and yellow sultanas. Pretty attractive, but nothing special as old Sauternees go. I liked the palate though. It seemed a decade or more younger than its 23 years, with a lovely pure balance to it. It was a bit light, but very fresh, with lively tangerine, apricot and peach nuances wed to a little touch of banana. All rather mid-weight flavours, but it was friendly and delicious from the attack all the away into unexpectedly lingering finish with pretty notes of chamomile tea and honey. Charming. I am not sure how long the fruit will hold up, but I do think this bottle would have benefitted from a few more years of age.

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