CK's farewell dinner

CK's farewell, wines kindly supplied by EN.

• 2001 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 93 Points

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

  An excellent wine, but not quite the best example I have had of the 2001 Beaucastel. This had a lush, lovely nose, with savoury aromas of meat and earth and a little layer of funk wafting out of the glass alongside dusty garrigue and subtle tones of dark, ripe plummy fruit. Wow. Great palate too. This seems to have put on a bit of weight and flesh from the last bottle I tried. However, what marks this vintage out for me more than anything else, and indeed what marked this bottle, was how the wine was full of vibrant energy, with a bright, tingly freshness running through its lovely, pure flavours of dark cherries and berries underlined by earth and mineral, a brambly undercurrant and a little soupcon of spice towards its chewy finish. This was just a lovely drink - wonderfully integrated, wonderfully balanced and poised, a beautifully elegant expression of Beaucastel that married a nice depth to a great sense of focus and clarity. Unlike a bottle we had a in Paris a couple of years back though, this still did not seem completely resolved, so that it still had a touch of austere chewiness at points. Still though, it was great with good and very enjoyable on the night. This will be great in a few years.

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• 2010 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 91 Points

  New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough

  A very soundly made new world Pinot. Rather too young to drink I thought, but it showed quite a bit of quality. Tight at first, it opened up in the glass to show earthy, rather meaty tones that could almost have been Burgundian, before the wine opened up even more into sweet notes of cherries and flowers with a bit of herby New Zealand character. There was a nice freshness on the palate, which served well to keep its fleshy flavours of black cherries and berries relatively light on their feet in spice of a noticeably new world ripeness and plush thickness in its mouthfeel. Quite enjoyable really. Velvety tannins then carried the wine into a decent finish, where a nice touch of savoury meat and a toss of earth towards added a bit of interest. Pretty good, and should get better over the next decade or so as well.

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• 2006 Inniskillin Vidal Icewine Oak Aged 90 Points

  Canada, Ontario, Niagara Peninsula, Niagara Peninsula VQA

  These Inniskillin Vidals always seem to show great depth and unctuous deliciouness when young, but fair slightly poorer in terms of balance and complexity. It was much the same story with this 375ml bottle. It had a very pretty nose, with sweet lychees, flowers and dried apricots. However, the palate was really sweet. Thick, viscous, intensely honeyed, this was chocked full of dried apricots and lychee notes dripped with sticky nectar. Quite yummy, but only in small sips. I enjoyed it quite a bit with our dessert, but by the time the glass was half-gone, I was quickly beginning to tire of the wine. All in all, however, this is always a pretty good wine, and a yummy way to end the meal. Leave it for 10 years or so though, and it should make a really nice treat.

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