Lazy Afternoon at Alex's

Alex and Fiona's in AMK
Tasted Saturday, July 5, 2014 by Paul S with 187 views

Flight 1 - WHITES (3 Notes)

  • 2010 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Riesling Spätlese 92 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    A nice wine, but still too young to fully enjoy - these 2010s will last just about forever I think. It had a lovely nose, very exotic, with sweet aromas of dried mangoes, passionfruit and flowers along with a core of red apple aromas. Gorgeous. I liked the palate too. It was big, fleshy and attractive, yet very juicy and energetic in true 2010 fashion, with red apples at the forefront wed to more exotic tropical notes at the edges - mangoes again I thought - and then sweet floral tones towards the finish. There was still some of the simple sugary character of a too-young German Riesling, but I am quite sure this will be a very nice wine indeed when its time comes. I would wait a good 6-8 years for this to hit peak I think.

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

  • 2005 Château Rieussec R 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux

    Decently good rather than great, this had far less of a Sauternes "mark" than the Y by d'Yquem. The nose was pleasant enough, with lightly honeyed notes floating amidst a core of red apple aromas and more lemony tones - smelling a bit like Hack's honey lemon sweets I thought - along with whiffs of tea and a little ring of iron. The palate was rather less complex. It had a very dry backbone, with quite a bit of citrus acidity running through flavours of red apples and candied lemons alongside more honeyed tones, before it finished with a flush of warm Rieussec spice. Not a wine I would go out of my way to find, but it was interesting enough to try.

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

  • 2007 Noyce Brothers Sémillon 91 Points

    Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

    Pretty good - this was yet another example of how much a home Semillon has found in the Hunter Valley. The nose had that unusual mix of lemon candy, caramel apples and lemon zest along with a touch of oaky butter notes (in spite of being matured in stainless steel), all drizzled with a little petroleum that only mature Hunter Semillon seems to have. The palate had lots of energy and character to it, with an attack full of stirring limey acidity and ferrous mineral notes. Past that though, the wine was starting to take on a more buttery texture, with a warm spiciness starting to emerge on the edges of the midpalate along with the more zesty, citrus character. It had a nice finish too - long, citrus and minerally, with a nice saline character to it. A nice wine, with quite a bit left in its tank too. It would be very interesting to try in 3-4 years' time.

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

Flight 2 - REDS (4 Notes)

  • 2001 Reignac 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur

    This was the darling of our tasting group a few years back - a great value wine, punching above its weight. Unfortunately, the bottles tired very quickly, and this was no exception - it seemed to be drying out slightly. It was still a good wine though, very pleasurable. It had a lovely nose, with a little layer of toasty oak alongside rather modern scents of cherries, perfumed flowers and a twist of herb. The palate came across as very fresh and open, with chewy cherry notes brushed with herbs and tobacco notes on the finish. There was a nice transparent feel to the wine, something that belied the more modern flavour profile, which one normally associates with thicker new world or garragiste type wines. The only thing that threw me off were the slightly powdery, teeth-coating tannins that felt rather drying at the finish. Time to drink up.

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

  • 1995 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Perhaps overshadowed by a beautifully drinkable 1959 Tempranillo on the night, but this was a subtle, classy and very, very good indeed. It had certainly developed quite nicely since the bottle I had a few years back. On the night, this had a beautiful nose of sweet tobacco, plums and black cherries ringed with sweeter floral tones. The palate still had a slightly tight, sinewy 1995 feel to it, but it was clearly starting to open up and develop into a lovely Graves, with gentle waves of sweet black cherries and plums and cassis, with spicy tobacco and black tea nuances emerging on the finish. With time, a nice streak of earthy mineral emerged as well. Very good indeed, and starting to drink very delicious. I think it still has 5-6 more years to peak though. The wine feigned to have a luxurious softness in the mouth, but there was still some of the structure of the vintage in the shape of fine tannins and well-integrated acidity lurking behind the more mellow tones.

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

  • 1969 Château Brane-Cantenac 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    I feared for the wine on first sniff - it smelt old and tired, with Chinese herbs and sultanas at the forefront, chased by deeper plums and a flush of tobacco alongside. The palate was still very alive and very enjoyable though, with lovely juicy acidity running through sweet notes of cassis, flowers and spice, along with a slight earthiness at the finish. Still lots of lovely bright fruit I thought, with only a slight edge of dried sultanas and a complete lack of tannins marking out its age. It lacked some complexity, especially given its age, but this was very enjoyable. Good time to drink now.

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

  • 1959 Señorío de Sarría Navarra Reserva 94 Points

    Spain, Navarra

    A beautiful, fully mature wine. When first poured blind, it was clear that this was an old Tempranillo, but we were all stunned by how old it actually was - it tasted far, far more youthful than one would expect. I must say that there was quite a bit of old cheesy funk on the nose to begin with, but it cleared up considerably to show more earthy tones, with savoury meat and whiffs of cigarette smoke, alongside a growing perfume of dried cherries and red berries and fragrant garrigue and wild herbs and dried summer flowers - really pretty. The palate had a lovely, youthful feel to it, with gone of fresh juicy acidity and the finest tannins giving the wine real vibrancy - it was clean, elegant, energetic, with effortless complex flavours of dried berries and red cherries dusted with just that little bit of earth and herb and smoky spice, all wrapped in a lovely floaty, transparent feel. What a gorgeous wine - it felt entirely ageless. Mature, yet so alive. A marvellous wine at a marvellous place.

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

×
×