Nick visits Albany

Châteauneuf-du-Salil, Albany
Tasted Wednesday, December 11, 2024 - Thursday, December 12, 2024 by salil with 141 views

Flight 1 - Night 1 (12 Notes)

  • 2014 Delamotte Champagne Blanc de Blancs Millésimé 89 Points

    France, Champagne

    (12/11/2024)

    Lovely wine, brightly fruited with lively pear and citrus flavours accented by more savoury yeasty and toasty notes. Not super complex, but very easy to drink with the acidity and effervescence giving it a sense of energy and refreshment.

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

  • 2022 Müller-Catoir Haardter Bürgergarten Muskateller 94 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    (12/11/2024)

    Fantastic wine, as good a dry Muskateller as I've had in a long time. The aromatics are pure Muscat - bright, floral, grapey, with a tropical exuberance and intensity that brings to mind the old Catoir wines. Air brings out more herbal, Scheurebe-like elements, and the aromatic depth here is really something. The palate is lovely - dry but never feeling austere, full of bracingly tart fruit and stony minerality, finishing with impressive length. It's packaged in a taller/heavier GG bottle, but has a drinkability and sheer joie de vivre I rarely ever find in GGs.

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

  • 2001 Alfred Merkelbach Erdener Treppchen Riesling Auslese #10 95 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    (12/11/2024)

    Everything I could expect from Merkelbach - gentle, understated, delicate, a classically styled Auslese for drinking that feels lighter than many modern Spätlese. It's still remarkably young with a faint green tint to its colour, and a youthful freshness and energy to the fruit. But there's also plenty of savoury and faintly creamy development apparent, and a gentle herbal element that stands out on the aromatics and on the back end.

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

  • 2016 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine 95 Points

    France, Champagne

    (12/11/2024)

    This was terrific from the first sip but just kept getting better with more time open. After a couple of hours, the aromatics were just spectacular with an array of rich fruit, toasty and lightly nutty scents, and sweeter brioche and doughy notes all coming together into a stunning fragrance. Love the palate presence - broad and powerful, yet managing to convey a delicate touch and sense of refreshment at the same time. Flat out fantastic.

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

  • 1978 Nervi Gattinara Vigna Molsino

    Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara

    (12/11/2024)

    Found this a little tired for my taste, more tertiary than I usually enjoy. Gentle, somewhat faded red fruit beneath dried herbal and balsamic elements.

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

  • 2014 Nervi-Conterno Gattinara Vigna Molsino 92 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara

    (12/11/2024)

    Bursting with bright red fruit, lots of cherries and tarter pomegranate flavours here accented by pretty floral notes and a lighter herbal/savoury character that emerges with more time. Fascinating contrast with the Valferana, this seemed much more fruit forward and easy to drink whereas that came across more reserved and also more earthy/savoury.

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

  • 2014 Nervi-Conterno Gattinara Vigna Valferana 92 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara

    (12/11/2024)

    Opened alongside the 14 Molsino, this was much more reserved and much less fruit forward in contrast. There's pretty red fruit here but it's quieter, and plays a supporting role to the array of other savoury earthy, faintly tarry/gravelly, and herbal elements alongside. Needed more time to show its cards, but the last glass late in the evening was really aromatically compelling.

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

  • 1985 Gaja Barbaresco 94 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

    (12/11/2024)

    This was wonderful, though I think I liked it more than a couple of others at the table (perhaps birthyear bias on my part). Fully mature, in an ideal zone for my taste with savoury earthy, dried floral, and balsamic notes around a core of gentle red and dark fruit flavours. The tannin feels mostly resolved, and the structure here comes largely from the acidity, which adds a nice sense of lift and energy on the palate. Drinking beautifully right now; a gentle, serene wine that's perfect with the rich pasta.

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

  • 2006 Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Romanée St. Vivant 93 Points

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

    (12/11/2024)

    Tightly wound and rather unyielding at first. After it's open an hour or so, the aromatics start to develop with an array of spicy and herbal elements emerging around a core of dark fruit, but the palate's still forbidding with the tannin really standing out on the back end. A few more hours and it finally started to show its cards with the aromatics being matched by a similar depth of flavour on the palate. At that point we finished it off.

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

  • 1997 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 96 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    (12/11/2024)

    Boom. This is in such a great place right now, so easy to drink and full of mature, savoury meaty, gamey, and smoky elements around a core of bright red fruited flavours. The tannin feels mostly resolved, it's on a plateau of maturity (though with no danger of heading downhill), and so easy to drink.

    Read 1 Comment / Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 2002 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 94 Points

    Germany, Nahe

    (12/11/2024)

    Deep gold in colour, darker than I expected, but showing wonderfully right now. Feels fully mature, with layers of fruit, spice, honey, and mineral all coming together seamlessly. So elegant and graceful on the palate with a lightness of touch I always enjoy in the older Dönnhoff wines, just fantastic Auslese at its plateau of maturity. My last bottle, and glad I waited on this until now.

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

  • 1993 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707 92 Points

    Australia, South Australia

    (12/11/2024)

    Late night cellar pull to blind David and Nick. This was terrific, surprisingly green and forestal (in a very good way), enough so that there were a couple of guesses towards the Loire/Cabernet Franc. Beneath the green herbaceous character was a core of gentle red and black fruit with more mature earthy and faintly leathery elements coming through on the back end. Lovely wine, drinking beautifully now with the tannin mostly integrated.

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

Flight 2 - Night 2 (7 Notes)

  • 1984 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill 92 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain

    (12/12/2024)

    Very pretty; layers of developed cedar, tobacco, and savoury earth around a core of mature black fruit. It's not a big wine, it comes across medium weight on the palate with the tannin mostly integrated, and bright acids beneath giving the flavours lift. Delicious stuff and very easy to drink.

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

  • 1984 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard Flawed

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

    (12/12/2024)

    Bottle #6427. Unfortunately lightly corked - some debate about this at the table, as there was still a decent amount of fruit evident beneath, but a faint TCA/wet newspaper like element on the nose. That got more apparent with time, and the leftover bottle the next day smells much more strongly of TCA.

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

  • 2005 Vietti Barolo Lazzarito

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    (12/12/2024)

    Powerhouse of a Barolo; this is just packed with tannin and the initial taste right after it was opened felt like drinking a barrel sample. Double decanted right after, and the aromatics start to emerge an hour or so later - intensely rich, deep black fruit, spice, menthol, and florals, though still immensely tannic on the palate. The tannin finally starts to ease up and make it more accessible a couple of hours later, although this still seems painfully young and in need of a lot more time.

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

  • 1998 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Santo Stefano 97 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

    (12/12/2024)

    Oh hell yes. This is spectacular; a gorgeous wine at the outset and it only kept getting better later in the night. So aromatically complex - there's no sense trying to catalogue the different flavours, but it has all things fruit, floral, herbal, and earthy, and an incredible perfume that just keeps building and getting more expansive with air. The palate is remarkable - powerful and intense, yet so graceful and elegant at the same time. Stunning wine, and my favorite of the night (ahead of the Hermitage by a hair).

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

  • 1998 Domaine de Vallouit Hermitage Cuvée Spéciale Les Greffières 96 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    (12/12/2024)

    And now we go old school. This is proper Hermitage, all warm red fruit, blood, iron, and olives/saline notes, a powerhouse that still has a bit of grainy tannin on the back end. Regal and rustic at the same time. Every bit as good as the '97 Chave from the previous evening, though I got more visceral pleasure out of this (and I'm glad to have a few more bottles of this in my cellar). Truly a soil to glass transfer wine, as JLL would put it.

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

  • 2005 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru La Chatenière Blanc 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru

    (12/12/2024)

    Really liked this. Impressive richness and power; bright citrus and white fruited flavours layering with chalky minerality, understated oak, and sweeter vanilla butter and faintly honeyed elements. Bright acids give it plenty of energy, and the whole package is very easy to drink.

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

  • 2014 Dureuil-Janthial Rully 1er Cru Vauvry

    France, Burgundy, Côte Chalonnaise, Rully 1er Cru

    (12/12/2024)

    This brings the funk! More than a bit of barnyard here; there's a lot of leather and gameyness, but also plenty of bright red fruit and savoury mushroomy/earthy flavours beneath. Still quite youthful with plenty of richness to the fruit, grainy tannin and bright acids underneath, but a lot of fun to drink now.

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

×
×