3 flights and 7 courses

Three flights of wine on different themes. My responsibility was to design a flight with 4 classic grapes in super-typical expression. I failed so badly that only one grape was discovered... Food was GREAT as usual and the great test for any wine.

Amusée bouche (mjummy olives, grand cru tomato gegga, brillat-savarin on cracker with coriander paste), Salade nouvelle extraordinaire E.B. and Fruits de la Mer Tarte á la B&H.
Food was fantastic!
I found this flight a little stumbling from the Bordeaux side. According to the literature and the knows-it-alls'es: this flight should have seen a higher quality level with a different winner...

• 2009 Château Le Boscq Saint-Estèphe 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe

  Young, purplish color. Fatty young nose with oil-paint and dark berries. Per os this is young, tart and tannic with a thin mid-palate. Not terribly interesting Merlot-dominant St Estephe. 88p for now, may gain a few points with maturity.

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• 2008 Château Prieuré-Lichine 86 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Young, dark color. Nose is very Cab sauv with Bordeaux style earth-sulphur. Greets you with a loud and über-friendly welcome, but has little to back up the initial high claims. Typical in style, but medium quality level. 86 and limited upside seen from my horizon.

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• 2010 Château Cantemerle 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Violet. Started out as a non-exciting, small, berried nose that after ~1 hr started to display Cab Sauv characteristics, Bordeaux earth and dark fruit. In the mouth acids take over in a too strong manner, disintegrating the promises made by the nose. However, acidic as it may be (today), it still holds quite some promise. Rich and concentrated, but still too young for me to determine if there are layers and complexities to look forward to. 89p today with almost certain upside. I chose Batailley before Cantemerle for the concluding en primeur case of the 2010 vintage. Maybe I will regret my choice, but still haven't tried the Batailley...

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• 2009 Château Duhart-Milon Moulin de Duhart 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Very young coloring and a thin Et-OH nose don't do much to impress nor did it develop during the evening. But on the palate... Mjuff! Structure of a truly great wine! Very well balanced, tannic, perfect acids and by far the most balanced and promising wine of e flight. Quite a great example of why Pauillac is my friend, and via a nicely priced 2nd wine at that. Surprising in a fantastic way. Many of us agreeed that there is tremendous upside to be expected from this one. Bewildered applause! I really wish I had some for many years of pleasure and development!!!

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Fois gras physicale, sausisse avec roman et chipotle.
Yummy food extravaganza!
This flight presented Priorat as a region producing consistently high quality under a strong sun. Some found the wines self-redundant. I think that the wines were all just simply great expressions of the geography and terroir. The wines expressed rather different takes on maturity of grapes: all appealing. (At least to me, however, my impression was that most others would agree.) All still very young and all amazingly appealing to me.

• 2005 Cims de Porrera Priorat Classic Garnatxa 91 Points

  Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

  Just like the 1st Bordeaux in the previous flight, it showed off some oil-paint on the nose, but graced us with dark fruits, evidence of ample sun and ultima rich aromas promising a tremendous nose in the future.
  On the palate this is a show off, with its rich sun drenched style in a well composed manner. M++ tannin set the scene but acids come through well in this sapling. This padawan should develop well over quite a few years. Married tonight's food. 91p for now but with very strong upside for the patient among us.

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• 2005 Bodegas Mas Alta Priorat La Basseta 92 Points

  Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

  Still young coloring. Shows off nail polish and dried figs in a slightly cooked/oxidized manner on the nose. In the mouth it reaches both high and low. Upbeat acids play well with the red fruit whilst the early mature dark fruited forest floor work out with the ample tannins. Significant layering and complexities evident already in this 8 yr old Priorat power house. Has a very appealing dramatic verve. Really wish I had some of this! Quite a find. Keep! 92p now, but really has the future before it.

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• 2007 Mas Martinet Priorat Clos Martinet 94 Points

  Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

  The best Priorat so far in my life and WOTN. Competition included 1993 Pajzos Essenczia and 11 other red contestants.
  Opens up with a tremendous nose sporting calvados, sun, mature berries, kirsch and warm herbal aromas towards garrigue and rosemary/thyme. In the mouth showing already some mature components including dark berries, darkness, earth and sarsparilla. SA-tannic yet balanced like a prima ballerina posing. Has a well-reigned, restrained composture. Like a chamaelion, nuances blink in and out as the wine changes character with every sip. Astonishing! Quite attractive today, but will probably make it for the real stars with some more years of rest. Wish we had a case of this breathtaking beauty... At this quality level, the QPR is rather attractive! (Acquired by M.E. in Barcelona.) 94p today and may very well go further: "Up and beyond!"
  
  The luxury of having a daughter living in Barcelona means, we now have 3 btls in our cellars. Ad next one is scheduled for 2016, expecting a young, vibrant wine in early maturity. Yay :-)

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• 2007 Arrels del Priorat Priorat La Guinardera 90 Points

  Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

  In this fantastic sun-drenched flight, I simply didn't have the mental capacity to assess this great wine also... Tannic, honest and well structured, but not quite as interesting as the others. I put it aside. Did well with food and a clear 90p. The best QPR of this flight. Had it been in the Bordeaux flight, it would have been treated differently.
  "Ibland har man otur. Timing är allt. Livet kan vara så orättvist..."
  Nevertheless, possibly this evening's high-score on the QPR scale.

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Soupe de saison á la Biggan, Chabu-chabu catastrophe á la Suède avec deux sauces traditionelles japonaises.
The task was to set up a flight of 4 classic grapes and make it super-super-simple to figure them all out. Unfortunately, ppl had had 8 glasses of wine each before this flight, and it was a little tough to collect all the unruly students for this practice and its lessons :-(
...but La Velona shone like a star ! ! !

• 2007 G.D. Vajra Barolo Albe 89 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  A very quiet wine this evening. Didn't come out to play at all. 89p now, but will come out with guns ablazing in several years' time. My next btl in 2015-16.

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• 2006 La Velona Brunello di Montalcino 93 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Chosen for this flight in lieu of how fantastic and typical we find it, the recent low scores on CT and my own severe case of discrepophobia (fear of bottle variation). All agreed to this wine's high qualities. Was WOTE for at least one person. It did VERY well tonight. My second wine for the night, leaving 1993 Pajzos Essenczia in 3rd place.
  Could be described as: cherry, tart cherry, baked cherry, hefty structure, tannic back bone cherry tart baked cherry with perfect acids for not only Italian food. Yummy-yum-yum!
  (Admittedly, it's a little alarming that we're moving one point down for each bottle we open. This way, our last bottle may become an 87 point bottle...)

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• 2011 Pierre-Marie Chermette Fleurie Poncié 84 Points

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie

  Most appropriare comment of the eve: "It's almost as if it's a wine!"
  One of the better Beaujolais I've tasted, but... Fantastic mineral tones play beautifully on the nose, but there is not much of a wine when you look under the hood...
  Final bottle in 2020.

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• 1998 Torre de Oña Rioja lat 42 Gran Reserva 60 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alavesa, Rioja

  Quite a unique wine in its prime: in the most negative senses of these words. Those in the group that had had this wine earlier, pin-pointed it immediately. This is actually an incredibly disgusting wine and the only btl not to be emptied by the Nördic Volk at the tasting. Upon emptying the few glasses with leftovers in to the drain, the dill-overdose kept presenting and re-presenting itself. Terrible. Avoid this atrocity!
  60p = a 10 point drop since last encounter.

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This was a much anticipated moment because of the tremendous uniqueness of Essenczia. Cheese plate *Mjyms* á la M.E. Dessert was deemed an act of terror and banned. Ending with a perfect Truffe au Chocolat. No coffee on the premises and tea was forgotten.

• 1993 Château Pajzos Tokaji Esszencia 93 Points

  Hungary, Tokaji

  From 500ml btl.
  Looks like motor oil in both color and viscosity.
  This wine will give you Diabetes Type II. Golden towards browning. Halfway to syrup in its rich viscosity. Rich rich rich nose with aromas that speak the Tokay language: botrytis and rose hips with a slight caramelized tone, matured calvados, tobacco, dark syrup, molasses, brown sugar, orange rind, orange marmalade, citrus flowers and that untouchable "Tokaj-aroma"...
  In the mouth it is first and foremost incroyable sucré... But since it has a very high level of acids, it still manages to hold itself together. Not cloying, but very demanding. Aromas from the nose and caramel, caramel, some vegetables, candy from the days of yore and rosted almonds. Maybe we had expected more layers and complexity? As great as it is, unfortunately, noone fell off his/her chair from this wine. Tonight's presentation was very far from 100p. (93p)
  With all due respect, (of course) none of us had had the previous privilege to enjoy true Essenczia and we all found it impossible to assess it for what it is. With good hopes for the next encounter with final btl on my 70th birthday.

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Once more, opening a bottle of La Velona eases my discrepophobia. The flight of the Priorat wines underline what a fantastic place that is for wine. Yay! Me like! Throughout the evening, many important topics were covered together with both grave seriousness and rich laughter. I woke up with muskelvärk from all the laughter and merriment. WHAT A FANTASTIC EVENING! Already looking forward to the next occasion. Great food, great wine and great company is such a fantastic