Monthly Boys' Wine Night

Eight of us got together from our group of friends in the wine business or collectors. Hosted generously by Eric at his place because of the restriction on group dining during Covid-19. The food was orchestrated by Daniel with several contributors including Thibault, Pierre, Daniel and Manuele. Merci!

We were all really impressed by this Champagne.

• 2009 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Cote de Bechalin 92 Points

  France, Champagne

  Disgorged in 2016. Very light silver colour. Lively, sophisticated mousse. Light, lifted nose of different white flowers. Very attractive palate- not very vinious. Delicate white flowers, Dances lightly on the tongue. Very elegant and more-ish. I would buy this for sure.

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Wow some beautiful ham, dried sausage and Thibault's special Comte-infused savoury madelaines.

• 2016 Vigneti Massa Derthona Costa del Vento 89 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Colli Tortonesi

  From Piedmont - grape is Timorasso. Quite full yellow straw in colour. Nose is quite herbal...lemon balm. Palate is deep and rich, mainly bass notes, clover, honeyed but not sweet, Very smooth. Nice resonant weight. Good acidity. More subtle than a white cotes du Rhône but somewhat similar in general style. Needs food. Really interesting.

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• 2017 Domaine d'Ardhuy Corton-Charlemagne 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

  Silver-green colour....looks more like a Sauvignon Blanc. Nose is reticent but alluring.....white clover, white shoe cream, fresh lemons. Palate is quite sweet and carries much more weight than the colour or nose would suggest. Very rich blow-torched lemons but balanced by very fresh acidic grated lemon zest. Gunflint on the back end. Just gets better and better with more time in the glass and as it warms slightly. Light but heady resonance and resilience. I really like this. Knocking on 93 for me.

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• 2014 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Villero 90 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Light and totally transparent ruby colour. Nose is nicely perfumed...light coal tar soap, slight bicycle new rubber inner tubes. Palate is tart, initially slightly dilute but quickly opens out and fully blossoms into roses, tart minerality, nice gravelly finish. Not much tannin. All the elements are there but a bit disjointed. Elegant, feminine but I doubt it is a vintage to age beyond 10 years. Will always be on the Burgundian end of the spectrum, I suspect. Surprisingly resonant and reverberant for such a light wine. 90+

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Delicious!

• 1978 Tenute Cisa Asinari dei Marchesi di Grésy Barbaresco Martinenga Camp Gros 93 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

  Slightly dusky and faded transparent velvet at the edges. Nose is high piano notes of dried strawberries, nail varnish remover, herbs from an Italian hillside. Palate is oh so soft, rounded, seductive, huge amounts of rich bold totally seducing black and red juicy semi-sweet plum fruits... wow. Very pleasing on a leisurely and persistent finish like swinging in a hammock on a lakeside deck in the autumn mist. 93 easy

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• 1997 Argiano Brunello di Montalcino 94 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Semi-opaque deep black-red colour. Nose is immediately gorgeous and welcoming...damp woodland soil, dried hillside thyme and basil, sun-baked earth. Palate is fresh acidic attack that then immediately unleashes rich, plummy, belly-filling and gorgeous black fruits. Still a baby but the tannins are already beautifully softened and produce a very rounded and succulent mouth texture. A really luxuriant finish. Knocking on the door of 94.

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Wow....this was delicious with the lighter wines.

• 2014 Domaine des Miroirs (Kenjiro Kagami) Côtes du Jura Mizuiro 88 Points

  France, Jura, Côtes du Jura

  Silver-green in colour...very pale. Nose is powerful.. almost like a cattle stable of white straw and some Comte in there too. Palate is crisp and fresh with a lot of power on the swallow. Rustic but in a good well-made way. Almost like a light Sake. Victor from Caprice brought this. Apparently the only bottle in Hong Kong. Allegedly, it sells for Euros 650 per bottle. Annoyingly, I can start to appreciate its crisp subtlety now I know it’s price. But, blind, this is 88-89.

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• 2005 Domaine des Varoilles Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru La Romanée 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  Transparent on the tilt...lovely bright, jewelled ruby. Nose has the typicity of Gevrey with an extra touch of light elegance, peppery Asian spice and with some dry forest floor. The nose just gets more and more perfumed and spicy. Palate seems very young, light and fresh.. strawberries, a really nice minerality and a slightly dry chalky finish. Very young for a 2005 but already very composed. It has a light but very contemplative finish. Spicy signature. I thought this could improve a lot with 10 more years in the cellar but the 2005 vintage doesn't seem to be considered age-worthy.

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• 1985 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Late Library release after re-corking. Double decanted from my cellar for 6 hours. Totally translucent, jeweled black-red in colour. Nose is immediately classic seductive St Julien...cedar damp woods, deep confit blackberry and briar fruit. A touch of tertiary elements but still mostly secondary. Palate is fresh, lifted blackberry with hints of cassis and leather armchairs in a cigar lounge with no lit cigars. Savoury and some hints of ramen broth. Very long and resonant on the finish. Beaten on the night by the Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 1987 drank alonside it. 94 for me.

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• 1987 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 95 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Half-translucent, dense red-black colour. Nose is deep confit dark woodland wild berries fruits and the soil of the woodland. You can sniff and sniff this and get lost in its Johnny Depp darkness and depth. Palate is so linear.... integrated, but still like a flower bud rather than full-bloomed. Such huge depth of black-red semi-confit fruit. Quite similar to the preceding 1985 Ducru Beaucaillou but the Dunn has more ‘oomph’. Really savoury, very long and satisfying on the finish. Really long length. A really fab wine. 95 for me, easy.

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• 1988 Tertre Rôteboeuf 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Totally 'black slab' inpenetratable colour...looks like a 2005. Nose is very pencil lead and graphite purity, huge depth of black and red currant fruits, sweet/sour fruit that is unusual and interesting,. Slightly tart and still surprisingly tannic but which reflects the wet, sour vintage. A bit short on the finish.

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A new discovery for me was 'Valencay' - an ash-covered pyramid goat's cheese that is quite runny. Pierre recommends grilling it lightly on bread and serving with a Dordogne Walnut salad. I must try that.

• 1998 Tardieu-Laurent Hermitage 88 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Translucent red-ruby. Nose has a nice 'warm blanket' sense of soft, welcoming warm herbs and plump half-ripe plums. Palate is still tight, acidic, tannic and seems young. Not decanted beforehand, which may have been a mistake.

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• 2004 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 88 Points

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

  Translucent black-red, lightening at the edges. Nose is very reticent - new bicycle tyres and dark black plum fruit. Palate is ripe but very young. Too young and liqueur-ish for me. Rich finale but not much ‘echo’ on the final swallow. Should have been decanted, ideally but too many wines tonight and too few decanters.

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• 1998 d'Arenberg Shiraz The Dead Arm 93 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  Only briefly decanted after extracting the broken cork. Too rushed to make detailed notes after 14 previous bottles. Beautiful but needs another 10 years.. but almost silence-making. I loved this, as always.

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• 2005 Château Villa Bel-Air 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves

  2nd from a case bought on release. Decanted for 3 hours then re-bottled for 4 more before serving. Deep core of black-ruby but considerably lighter at the edge of the glass. Nose is white chocolate and blackberry but quite gravelly and austere. Palate is much more open especially because of the chocolate and blackcurrant. This is still tart and tannic... needs 10 more years.

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• 2001 Romano Dal Forno Valpolicella Superiore Vigneto di Monte Lodoletta

  Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Valpolicella Superiore

  Totally black-red except at the extreme meniscus. Nose is sweet extracted rather ‘old ladies perfume’ fruit. Some cigar box but again very sweet tobacco. Palate is really extracted late harvest fruit. Too rich and lacking dimensionality at this stage of its life. Heavy, heady and headachey on the finish. Will not score because it is out of my preference zone. Should have had a long decant.

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• 1977 Fonseca Porto Vintage 91 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  Long decant. With a cigar. Very mulled smooth nose. Palate is sharp but nicely clean cherry liqueur. Is smoother with more time in the glass. Always a pleasure...able to stand out even though the last of 17 wines tonight.

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A really great get-together with some very interesting new wine experiences.