Celebration Lunch at Kel's

The gang gathered for an impromptu Saturday luncheon at Kel's. We had a lot to celebrate on the day: M&M's engagement, E and I expecting our first child - it was a good chance to bring out some fun wines. Blind and BYO as usual, I was once again surprised at the serendipitous choices we made.

• 2010 Castell d'Encús Costers del Segre Ekam 91 Points

  Spain, Catalunya, Costers del Segre

  It is the second time I have been surprised by the quality of a Riesling from this house. This had a pretty little nose, with chalky mineral scents dancing around a light core of white flowers, nectar and sweet white peach aromas. The palate was held in lovely balance, ith mre citrussy flavours of lemon and lime at the fore rather than the peach suggested on the nose, only broadening out into gently sweet stone fruit notes at the edges of the midpalate. It was a very fresh and juicy wine, really nicely balanced all the way into a nice finish that showed a seam of mineral amidst the fresh fruit. Very pleasant if not the most complex of wines.

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• 2006 Vie di Romans Flors di Uis 92 Points

  Italy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Friuli Isonzo

  This was an interesting and very enjoyable blend of Malvasia, Riesling, Tocai Fruilano and Chardonnay. It had a really expressive nose, full of lychee and roses with a little hint of mineral and exotic spice behind. I thought it smelt for all the world like Rose Ispahan macarons. Nice.The palate had the creamy, waxy texture of a white Rhone, with another lovely waft of lychees and rose on the attack and midpalate, and a great dose of sweet spice running alongside - my initial guess was Rousanne, but this was not oily or rich enough, leaning out nicely on the finish, with a gentle acidity lending a touch of freshness and a nice touch of minerality emerging. It was certainly substantilal at 14% alcohol, but you really did not feel it on the palate. A nice, interesting wine, full of character. I liked this.

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• 1997 Nicolas Potel Clos de la Roche 93 Points

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

  I have had some surprisingly lovely 1997 Burgundies in recent times, and this was one of them. It had beautiful nose, full of sweet red fruited aromas - cherries and raspberries, strawberries even - and then a layer of earth and meat, and lovely drifts of violets and spice. Complex, lovely stuff. The palate did not quite have the depth of a great CdlR, but it was still very impressive for the vintage, with a nice sappiness to its juicy flavours of red cherries, rapberries and strawberries, all underpinned by a gentle savoury note of earth and meat. It did not have the brightest acidity, but was still nicely balanced and posied, with fine tannins lending a nice sense of structure to the wine as it pulled away into a lovely finish with more violets and spice. Great stuff and seemingly at peak, this was a very pretty, feminine version of Clos de la Roche. While not exactly the most powerful wine, it had impressive depth for 1997, with a lovely mouthfilling perfume and warmth to it. Not bad at all for a vintage that I had started consigning to history.

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• 1989 Vadey-Rameau Clos Saint-Denis 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru

  This was a real treat. It is not every afternoon that one gets the serendipitous coincidence of a Clos de la Roche and a Clos St. Denis being served blind back-to-back, and two excellent bottles at that. This had a lovely aged bouquet, showing lush notes of sous bois and mushrooms over sweeter aromas of blueberries, dried flowers chased sweet Morey spice, bramble and a twist of coffee grounds. Nice stuff. While the palate came across as rather less polished, maybe more rustic than the 1997 Potel Clos de la Roche that we drank alongside, it nevertheless quite clearly bore the hallmarks of a stronger vintage. This was really yummy, with sweet, sappy flavours of blueberries and cherries and peppery spice displaying clear Grand Cru depth along with all the sunny ripeness of 1989 fruit. Yet for all that, the wine was also wonderful alive and blessed with a beautiful bright balance and soft, silky tannins that tapered away into a lovely finish with a waft of sweet spice and dried flowers. Gorgeous stuff. This is at peak now.

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• 1990 Domaine Henri Richard Charmes-Chambertin 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru

  From such a solid vintage, this really should have been the equal of the Clos de la Roche and Clos St. Denis pair that preceded it. Unfortunately, this was mediocre - a wine seemingly sprung from the weaker end of a sometimes inconsistent Grand Cru. The nose was really super-funky, with lots of balsamic notes, layers of wet earth and undergrowth, bramble and boiled herb - it was almost hard to pick out any fruit on the nose. Not very pleasant actually. Thankfully, the palate was far more alive than the nose suggested, with some dried plum and cherry flavours maybe, all still quite fresh. However, here too, the wine was more about secondary notes, with undergrowth, bramble and herb, spice and dried earth, moving alongside the dried fruit into a decent enough finish where fresh acidity and still chewy tannins lent the wine some structure. It was actually quite pleasurable at points, but it was certainly not the strongest wine. Served blind, most of us thought it was a decent village wine from the 1970s.

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• 2001 Bodegas Montecillo Rioja Gran Reserva 90 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, Rioja

  I thought this was pretty nice. It had a classic Rioja nose, with dark cherries and blackberry aromas showing a little ripe, almost raisined edge. These were wed to a nice ring of dried earth and spice, with a touch of ash hovering around. Rather developed for a 2001 I thought. The palate though was still very youthful. It was bright and juicy with 2001 acidity laced through clear flavours of black cherries and dark berries flecked by earth and smoke. Some savoury sour plum notes brought up the rear. This was still primary, still a bit simple, but it was also beginning to mellow and integrate, leaving behind just a little trail of fine tannins towards the spice-infused at the finish. All in all, a nice, elegant Rioja. While I do not think it will ever be anything earth-shattering, it should age quite nicely over the next decade.

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