Brian's Birthday Dinner

We celebrated Brian's dinner at Buono - a place we have not been back as a group since our first wine dinner years ago. Blinded and BYO as usual, the wines fell into a pleasing symmetry, with a couple of Champagnes, two Malconsorts(!), a couple of earlu 1970s Grand Cru Burgs and some very good interludes along the way. Great way to celebrate a great guy's birthday.

• NV Pol Roger Champagne Brut Réserve 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  A pretty good NV. This obviously had quite a bit of bottle-age on it, which certainly helped. It had a very buttery, creamy nose, with bits of yeast and bread and fleshy white fruit scents running underneath the fresh dairy aromas. The Pol Roger house style was easy to pick out on the palate. Rich, big, flavourful, this was not exactly a subtle Champagne - it packed a real punch with powerful flavours of white fruit, sweet apples and lemons sliding into a mid-length finish where the wine showed more matured notes of figs, brown apples and honey underlined by nice minerailty. Big, but still decently balanced, with a good amount of acidity and a rather chunky mousse. It paled in comparison to a solid Selosse NV alongside, but at 1/3 the price, this was not bad at all.

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• NV Jacques Selosse Initial 93 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Disgorged 7 December 2009, this was yet another very good showing - it just about blew a good bottle of Pol Roger NV Reserve out of the water. Still though, fresh out of the bottle, it did seem a little younger and less developed than some of the smashing bottles of Initiale that we have had over the years, making it just that shade less impressive. Nevertheless, this was a very nice Champagne indeed. Slightly oxidative on the nose in line with Selosse's style, it showed sweet apples with a just a shade of browning on the nose, along with a touch of white meat and dulcet tones of dried flowers, honey and a string of minerality alongside. Quite a gorgeous bouquet. The palate came across as still rather young and tight. More primary than the nose, it had lots of lemony flavours on the attack supported on a base of fresh red apple notes. On day two though, the primary youth gave way to a delicious panoply of flavours on the leftover wine, with a gorgeous honeyed sweetness to its juicy apple and stone fruit notes, with meaty notes peeking out at the sides. There was lots of depth and breadth to this, yet it was beautfully balanced with good acidity and a very effervescent mousse. Lovely finish too, long and spicy and minerally, with a kiss of sweet fruit and mint along the way. Excellent stuff.

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• 1992 Hospices de Beaune Bâtard-Montrachet Cuvée Dames de Flandres Clement 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

  This was lovely - at just the right place for drinking too. It had a beautiful nose - toffee and caramel and honeyed tones melted over lovely sweet scents of, apples and peaches, pineapples maybe, with a nice curl of butter and cream, and a touch of nuts and mineral at the sides. Absolutely lovely. It was still really alive on the palate too, with lovely fresh acidity racing through bright notes of apples and peaches and nectarines, and then a midpalate seasoned with little notes of cloves and cinamon. Most of us found the palate, for all its nice flavours, to be rather more restrained than the exuberant nose, coming across as very controlled and balanced. But make no mistake - this was a true Batard, full of power and depth, with a creamy, buttery texture coating the palate beautifully under the lighter fruit notes. It was only right at the finish that I thought the wine lacked a bit of authority, showing a nice linger of honey, nuts and spice, maybe a touch of roasted nuts, but certainly less full and powerful than the attack or midpalate. Overall, a real treat though. Lovely stuff.

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• 1990 Maison Albert Bichot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Malconsorts Domaine du Clos Frantin 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

  A pretty good wine, but just a bit disappointing for a Malconsorts from such a good vintage I thought. The black fruit on the nose had faded into the background somewhat, leaving the bouquet to show lots of blood and metal notes at the fore, with subtler scents of blackberries and black cherries and a good amount of smoky, bramble and spice notes at the sides. There were more sweet dark fruited notes on the palate though, with plums and berries on the attack chased by more blood and metal, and then a lot more Vosne spice on the midpalate. The structure on the wine suggested that it could go on for some time too, with really fresh acidity and fine tannins leading into a minerally finish flecked with wood spice and menthol, with the lightest hint of violets at the side. Nothing spectacular, but this was a good, enjoyable wine.

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• 1992 Domaine Thomas-Moillard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

  A rather tired wine, quite past its prime, but still pleasant enough. It had a sweet nose of preserved cherries and blackberries tossed up with scents of dried earth flowers, sweet spices, and just hint of musty cardboard that disturbed it somewhat. Otherwise, very pleasant aromas. The palate started out rather ripe and fleshy, with sweet flavours of black cherries and blackberries echoing the black fruited scents on the nose. On the midpalate though, it was rather low on the acidity and tannins, so that it came across a bit lacking in energy and structure, especially towards the finish, where it petered out with a bit of woody spice. Still decently drinkable, but it would have been better 5 to 6 years ago.

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• 2006 Gaja Barbaresco 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

  Many years, even decades too young, but this was pretty impressive. Popped and poured, it showed a very ripe, very forward nose, with a deep Southern Rhone-like aromas of black cherries and cassis, dried herbs and violets, with just that little whiff of smoky tar in the background. Toned down with time though, and about an hour later, there was a beautiful clarity on the bouquet, with lovely notes of black cherries ringed with gentle smokey scents. The palate was still far, far too young. The quality was clear, with a delicious purity on the wine's rich flavours of black cherries and cassis and a lovely finesse to otherwise very firm, grippy tannins. However, this was remarkably primary and rather one-dimensional at the moment. I really did like the balance and feel on this wine - it had a wonderful mouthfeel and texture, all the way into a long finish of dried violet, herbs and smoke. Very good indeed, even though I would certainly not recommend drinking this at the moment. Try again in at least 10 years time. If you have patience, 15-20 may be more like it.

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• 1973 Daniel Moine-Hudelot Musigny 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru

  An absolutely delight - this was unanimously voted the wine of the night, and by some distance too. It had such a beautiful nose, with lovely lush notes of mushrooms and damp earth, sweet cherries and raspberries, with a smoky, toasty edge at the fringe of the bouquet. On to the palate, and wow, this was ridiculously good, with the sappiest, juiciest gobs of cherries and raspberry jam, ringing with a wonderful purity on the attack. It was beautifully complex too, fanning out into a peacock's tail of a midpalate, where the delicious red fruited flavours were wreathed in glorious notes of dried flowers and blueberries, earth and violets. Not quite as dense or powerful as a great Musigny from a top vintage, but this was nevertheless wonderfully full and lush on one hand, and yet impeccably balanced and structured on the other, with fresh acidity and velvety tannins tightly woven into the texture of wine. It closed in a fittingly long finish, with a lovely warm spice lapping against brighter notes of sour plums and orange peel notes. Absolutely beautiful now, this was a sheer delight to drink.

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• 1974 Bouchard Père et Fils Clos de la Roche 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru

  A solid CdLR, especially coming from a less than spectacular vintage. This started-off a bit rough though, smelling very old and a little tired when first popped and poured, with funky mud, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar notes floating around a core of dark fruited, plummy notes with a slight toasty, burnt accent. Thankfully, the funkier notes cleared up in awhile, revealing prettier aromas of violets and blueberries. It was never the nicest bouquet though, especially when compared with the ravishing 1973 Musigny that we had alongside. Thankfully, the palate was a whole lot better. Here, there were delicious flavours of sour cherries and fresh blueberries, with licks of undergrowth and spice, fresh cut flowers and orange peel, all still really fresh and lively, if not quite possessing the authority and depth of a great Clos de la Roche. It was lovely though, with great charm wed to a masculine structure that still gave the wine a rather stern grippiness as it moved into a fresh finish, where black and blue fruit were wreathed with generous wafts of spice and violets. Very enjoyable, and probably at a good place to drink now, though I could see this still going on for quite a few more years.

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• 1982 Château Trotanoy 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  This was truly delicious - I could not help myself from quaffing down a few extra pours. It had such an arresting nose, with deep wafts of coasted capsicums, reams of spicy, cigar and tomato notes, and a core of lovely black-fruited aromas - cassis, black plums, dried cherries - I really liked this. Excellent on the palate too. This was every bit a child of its vintage, with ripe tannins wrapped around wonderfully pure, juicy, almost transparent notes of sweet cassis and plums, earth and tobacco, and then spice and mineral on the backpalate. This just filled every cranny of the mouth with is wonderful flavours and juicy freshness. Great finish too, with long draws of tobacco and smoky, roasted capsicum notes pulling away. At almost 30 years of age, thits had a wonderfully integrated and resolved structure, with a lovely silkiness to it. Yet for all that, it still seemed so young, almost primary at points. Other tasters have noted that some bottles of the 1982 Trot are starting to go downhill, but I would easily have given this bottle another 10 years at peak drinking. It was such a lovely wine. Too many Bordeaux in a row over one dinner can get a bit boring, but coming as it did after a series of Burgundies, this was outstanding.

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• 2001 Château Coutet Barsac 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  A very nice Coutet, but this does not seem to have moved much from when I had it 2 years ago. The nose had a little smoky, rubbery twang that made E guess it was a Coutet, along with sweet scents of dried apricots and more tropical tones of preserved mangoes and candied ginger. Pretty nice. I liked the palate too. Very fresh, brilliantly delineated, this was very impressive for a Coutet, with a really good depth and moreishness to flavours of dried apricots, sweet lemons and spice to go along with the wonderfully integrated acidity of the vintage. It had a nice, rich finish too, with treacle notes sprinkled with some spice and a handful of roasted nut flavours. Very good, but just a bit lacking in complexity and interest at the moment. This should be really nice in ten years or so though, and it certainly has the bones to age well into its third, fourth or even older decades.

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