Post CNY wine tasting dinner

Wine tasting dinner organized by friend and fellow cellartracker. A very impressive line up of young wines. Unfortunately no detailed notes: too many wines in too nice of a company...
There were two nice German Rieslings to start with but I arrived a bit late and did not get to see the producers and vintages.

• 2005 Domaine de L'Arlot Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru

  First red flight. The Arlot NSG was a dark, earthy and well rounded wine. Medium finish. The Drouhin took a few minutes to settle but then showed much brighter red fruit and floral aromatics. Long finish. Very nice! Arlot 91. Drouhin 93+

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2009 Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

  First red flight. The Arlot NSG was a dark, earthy and well rounded wine. Medium finish. The Drouhin took a few minutes to settle but then showed much brighter red fruit and floral aromatics. Long finish. Very nice! Arlot 91. Drouhin 93+

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2008 Penfolds Shiraz St. Henri 92 Points

  Australia, South Australia

  Second flight. While not really my kind of wine, I thought the St. Henri was showing better than the Renaissance. Obviously very rich with the expected sweet, dark fruit it had a long and intense finish. Could have done with a bit more accuracy and delineation but very nice nevertheless. The Renaissance had a wonderful nose with pepper and grilled meat but found it less impressive on the palate, tightly wound, fairly tannic and did not find the finish particularly long. St. Henri 92. Renaissance 91+

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2010 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas Renaissance 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

  Second flight. While not really my kind of wine, I thought the St. Henri was showing better than the Renaissance. Obviously very rich with the expected sweet, dark fruit it had a long and intense finish. Could have done with a bit more accuracy and delineation but very nice nevertheless. The Renaissance had a wonderful nose with pepper and grilled meat but found it less impressive on the palate, tightly wound, fairly tannic and did not find the finish particularly long. St. Henri 92. Renaissance 91+

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2010 Domaine Grand Veneur Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes 95 Points

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

  Third red flight. Building upon the previous flight this moved the game to the next level. The Saint Cosme was style-wise a bit like the Renaissance but bigger with earthy notes, herbs, plenty of fruit but also some bitterness and a fair bit of tannin on the palate. Very good length. The Grand Veneur was perhaps the perfection if you like this style of wine. Very big, highly concentrated, but not too heavy due to matching acidity. An incredibly round and smooth palate however with plenty of structure and complexity despite the obvious youth of the wine(s). Excellent length. Saint Cosme 93+, Grand Veneur 95+

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No

• 2010 Château de Saint Cosme Gigondas 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas

  Third red flight. Building upon the previous flight this moved the game to the next level. The Saint Cosme was style-wise a bit like the Renaissance but bigger with earthy notes, herbs, plenty of fruit but also some bitterness and a fair bit of tannin on the palate. Very good length. The Grand Veneur was perhaps the perfection if you like this style of wine. Very big, highly concentrated, but not too heavy due to matching acidity. An incredibly round and smooth palate however with plenty of structure and complexity despite the obvious youth of the wine(s). Excellent length. Saint Cosme 92+, Grand Veneur 95+

  Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No

• 2000 Château Hosanna 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Fourth red flight. Finally the Bordeaux. Similar to how I remember the last bottle of 2000 Bon Pasteur, the Hosanna showed again the excellency that was achieved in 2000 in Pomerol. A rather modern style of Bordeaux with rich dark fruit, dark chocolate and still a fair bit of oak it certainly has the structure to continue developing further. Long finish. The 2002 Mouton was obviously very different given the vintage and I suppose also the style of the Chateaux. Dark, still very tightly wound this was very elegant and noble. I was wondering whether it also could use a few more years but perhaps it will only turn out more austere a few years down the road, which is just how it started to show when I got back to it at the end of the dinner. Hosanna 93-94, Mouton 92

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No

• 2002 Château Mouton Rothschild 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Fourth red flight. Finally the Bordeaux. Similar to how I remember the last bottle of 2000 Bon Pasteur, the Hosanna showed again the excellency that was achieved in 2000 in Pomerol. A rather modern style of Bordeaux with rich dark fruit, dark chocolate and still a fair bit of oak it certainly has the structure to continue developing further. Long finish. The 2002 Mouton was obviously very different given the vintage and I suppose also the style of the Chateaux. Dark, still very tightly wound this was very elegant and noble. I was wondering whether it also could use a few more years but perhaps it will only turn out more austere a few years down the road, which is just how it started to show when I got back to it at the end of the dinner. Hosanna 93-94, Mouton 92

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 1985 Château Canon 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  Last flight. After all these young tannin and fruit monsters this was a bit challenging to taste. The 85 Poyferre was the more evolved wine with all secondary/tertiary flavors: a nose with barnyard, then cedar and mushrooms on the palate. Fairly long finish. The 85 Canon tasted 5-10 years younger with nice fruit, also entirely integrated tannins and a medium finish. Seemed a notch below the oustanding 89 Canon but then I don't think I would have fully appreciated such subtle difference at such late stage of the night. Poferre 92, Canon 91

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 1985 Château Léoville Poyferré 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  Last flight. After all these young tannin and fruit monsters this was a bit challenging to taste. The 85 Poyferre was the more evolved wine with all secondary/tertiary flavors: a nose with barnyard, then cedar and mushrooms on the palate. Fairly long finish. The 85 Canon tasted 5-10 years younger with nice fruit, also entirely integrated tannins and a medium finish. Seemed a notch below the oustanding 89 Canon but then I don't think I would have fully appreciated such subtle difference at such late stage of the night. Poferre 92, Canon 91

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

A very nice evening. While those young wines were very impressive and a real treat to taste, in terms of drinkability the Bordeaux, and particularly the two 85s and the 02 Mouton, were hard to beat. Would love to drink this line up again in 10 and 20 years from now!