Voge and Friends

Thoroughly lovely evening with great company, mostly superb wine and an opportunity to try out a new (to me) restaurant. The food, the vibe and the service were all great. Huge thanks to RZ for herding the the cats and to my fellow diners for making it just a lovely evening.

• 2010 Louis Roederer Champagne Blanc de Blancs

  France, Champagne

  On opening, a whiff of parmesan which soon vanished. There's real grip and precision here - someone said "racy" and that seemed right - the fruit is at the forefront but it's all in balance and there's substance behind it. Lovely champagne - it was not allowed to be voted for later on, which would have changed things...

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• 2005 Domaine Durand Cornas Empreintes Flawed

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

  Slight bricking at the edge. On the nose, a little scorched - the palate tells the same story, there's a baked character here. Suspect a bad bottle.

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• 2009 Alain Voge Cornas Les Chailles

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

  Evidently this cuvee sees no new oak. A real explosion of purple, red fruit on the nose. On the palate - darker fruit maybe. This is really joyous wine - there's a lovely tannic structure to it that the fruit shines through - someone said that this offers "less of the full orchestra" than the great wines from Cornas - this is fair but - playing very well for me now. The table's 4th WOTN.

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• 2004 Alain Voge Cornas Les Vieilles Vignes

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

  Purple / garnet colour. Lovely nose - just a hint of earth, some dark fruits. On the palate - grippy, some discussion of oakiness at the table but I didn't really perceive that. There's a lightness to but it's not dilute - jolly nice stuff. The table's #4 and my #3 WOTN.

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• 2006 Domaine Courbis Cornas Champelrose Flawed

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

  Ouch. A baky nose, and an early finish. Not quite as bad as the 05 but DNPIM for me. Some discussion at the table as to whether this was actually faulty or just not the nicest.

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• 2001 Domaine Courbis Cornas La Sabarotte

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

  First of a brace of anagrammatic Sabarottes. Garnet. Lovely earthy nose, there's a bit of blood here too. On the palate - more of the same, this is lovely cornas, fully mature. A dissenting voice (a renowned quercophobe) described this as having a "muddy finish" - no no no, I can't get on board with that but...yes I can see that there is a slight lack of focus that one doesn't get with the very best wines from Cornas. This though is lovely and I'd be thrilled if I had some in the cellar. The table's and my #2 WOTN.

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• 2010 Domaine Courbis Cornas La Sabarotte

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

  Lovely nose - dark fruit, just a hint of earth, like a younger version of the 01. On the palate - still lovely, concentrated fruit, someone said "dulce de leche" and yes - a hint of that, but in harmony with the fruit, not overpowering it. Will it become something like the 2001 in 9 years time? I think it might still be a little glossier, but also I have a sense the fruit here is finer. Lovely stuff. Interestingly the class quercophobe rated this better than the 2001 which preceded it. The table's #3 WOTN.

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• 2007 Alain Voge Cornas Les Vieilles Vignes

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

  Double decanted in the afternoon, threw off a great deal of sediment. This is just in the zone now - easy to get on with but not *too* easy to get on with. Lovely nose, autumn earth, the leaves are starting to decay. Dark fruits. Lovely mouthfeel. No rush to drink these I don't think but really in the zone just now. The table's and my WOTN.

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• 1967 Viuva José Gomes da Silva & Filhos Colares Reserva Tinto

  Portugal, Lisboa, Colares

  Ordered off the list, for the very reasonable reason that it was there. A type of wine I know nothing about, and real taste of history. Evidently the grapes are grown on very sandy soils, almost sand dunes - and they were grown 7 years before the carnation coup liberated Portugal.
  
  Anyway - the wine itself. Some marzipan there. Sone VA. Incredibly vibrant fruit still. Someone said "sandwich" - which I took to mean that biting through it you get very different tastes and textures, which to me seemed spot on - but it's so clean for such a venerable wine. Served from 650ml bottle and the label states 11% abv.

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