Lunch at Voyage

Theme was wines ending with the number "2"

• 2002 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 94 Points

  France, Champagne

  A lovely Champagne, perfectly paired with oysters and capers. It was surprisingly sweet and quite forward, but otherwise, this was just delicious. It had an expressive nose; fairly developed, with notes of sweet cream and ripe red apples, brioche and mineral, and just that little burst of lemon zest at the edges. Attractive stuff. The palate was delicious too - sweet lemons, ripe apples, honey drops, all wrapped in the gentlest, creamiest mousse and still very decent acidity. Nice weight, elegant shape, with a full creamy body, and a sneakily long finish that lingered and lingered with a little kiss of mineral at the end. Somehow a little sweeter than I expected, but really delicious and feminine and wonderfully integrated. A complete mouthful, showing very nicely now.

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• 2002 Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Cuvée Rare 94 Points

  France, Champagne

  Very nice. This stood toe-to-toe against a lovely bottle of 2002 Cristal that was served together. The nose here was a little earthier, a little more masculine, with notes of mineral and spice, earth and meat, floating around a core of ripe apple and melon aromas with a bit of yeastiness at the edges. A very vinous nose actually. The palate was delicious, and showing really well now. Sweet red apples, ripe lemons, a hint of honey and little yeast, all beautifully lined with fresh acidity and a lively mousse. Lovely finish too, with a nice creaminess to it and just that little hint of minerality that I really liked. This was a Champagne of unashamed power and girth, but one that was nicely tampered with an effortlessness and almost elegant strength underlying its muscle. A lovely bottle - a bit edgier and more sinewy than the Cristal, but no less delicious.

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• 2002 Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet 96 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

  An absolutely tremendous bottle of wine - this was far and away my wine of the day amidst a very strong line-up. There was a little reductiveness on the nose at first, but it opened up beautifully with deep draws of cream and white fruit, chalk and flint, almonds and spice. A super attractive bouquet. The palate was really lovely too - a wine of supreme balance, this just seemed to shine out of the glass with juicy notes of grapefruit and apple floating over deeper notes of light cream and roasted nuts. Yummy, full, broad-shouldered, yet this was depth with no weight, power without effort, all held in perfect integration and balance. The finish was superb too - effortless length, wonderful depth, just fanning out across the backpalate with lovely mineral notes. White Burgundy at its best, and drinking so well now. I was gobsmacked by this one.

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• 1942 Château Latour Grand Vin 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  What an absolute treat this was - a Latour made in the midst of WWII. It was amazingly alive, and very charming. This had a beautiful nose, with soft wafts of plums and cassis, earth and tobacco, mineral and spice. Classic Pauillac, classic Latour - masculine, fragrant, and absolutely alluring. The palate was still so alive too, not quite as strong as the nose, but still perfectly charming, with soft powdery tannins and fresh tannins forming a lovely backdrop for bright, juicy flavours of cassis and dried plums, earth and orange peel. A lovely little trail of tobacco along with hints of meatiness and a shadow of tobacco leaf then drifted away into a long, lingering finish. Wow. Gentle yet profound and so alluring. Amazing stuff at its age.

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• 1962 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru

  Gorgeous stuff. This had a beautiful nose, all heady scents of dark cherries and blueberries, dried violets and roses, earth and powdered spices. A wonderfully perfumed bouquet. It was lovely on the palate too, soft, velvety tannins and gently juicy acidity framing lovely, almost savoury flavours of earth and meat, dark cherries and blueberries, violets and gentle spice, all beautifully integrated and together at this point of its evolution, and trailing away into a charming finish that reminded me of Darjeeling tea. Lovely, and drinking so well now.

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• 2002 Nicolas Potel Romanée St. Vivant 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru

  Nice stuff. This was one of the better bottles of Potel's 2002 RSV that I have had. The nose was classic Vosne, with black cherries and plums, earth and wood spice, with a little kick of RSV's violets and a little shade of iron mineral at the edges. The palate was marked by fine tannins and bright acidity framing sinewy flavours of black cherries, blueberries and plums, again seasoned with a nice bit of powdery Vosne spices. There was a nice juicy, clarity to it, as well as plenty of depth and length. Some power too as it led into a full, round finish touched with some earthiness. Not the most elegant and filigreed example from the vineyard maybe, but this was very delicious. A yummy wine, starting to come into a nice drinking window.

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• 2012 La Pousse d'Or Clos de la Roche 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru

  Rather too young, even with a 3 hour decant, but otherwise a solid wine. The nose was very youthful, with deep draws of blueberries sprinkled with Morey spice - think cloves and cardamom - then a little toss of earth and a shade of violets. A masculine type of nose; still primary even after decanting. The palate was impressive though. Clean, clear, pure; with a lovely sense of depth and good breadth to it. It was still primary, but already showed nice flavours, with bits of savoury earth and spice dancing around a core black cherries and sweet berries - all this displaying a deep, dark depth wed to a nice purity and verve. The finish still displayed some structural elements - fine tannins giving some grip and good acidity - all muscle with trim elegance. If there was anything I could fault the wine for, it would be that it felt a little lighter on the back-palate and into the finish, petering away with a nice bit of Morey spice, savoury earth and bramble, maybe a fragrant twist of jasmine tea or two. There was certainly no lack of burgeoning complexity there though! This needs time ye; it was drinkable with 2-3 hours decanting, but 10 more years in the bottle will do it a world of good. A solid wine then, with a really nice sense of cut and purity to it.

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