Evening with Friends Matteo and Justin

No Flights but split into pre-dinner and during dinner which was a large steak!

• NV Egly-Ouriet Champagne Les Prémices 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  (Tasted sighted) Pale gold with fine tenacious bubbles. Pronounced autolytic notes of toasted brioche and hazelnut, intertwined with baked apple and ripe Williams pear, with some hints of chamomile and dried rosemary. Full bodied with a creamy texture and a core of pureed (slightly browned) apple that is on the oxidative side and complemented by a saline sprinkle and nut butter pastry with a confectioner’s custard filling. A vibrant acidity courses through the mid-palate, providing balance to the rich profile and leads to a long, savoury finish with lingering notes of apple tart and a hint of minerality.
  A blend of equal parts Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay, sourced from 40-year-old vines in the village of Trigny. Lees aged for 36 months with a low dosage of 1g/L.

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

• 2020 Dominio del Aguila Pícaro del Aguila Clarete Viñas Viejas 90 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

  (Tasted sighted) Pale pink hue with orange tints. Some struck match at first before notes of dried flowers, rose petals, red apple, melon flesh, and lighter red berries.
  Linear and focused, the wine has a medium weight with noted mineral and chalky textures, lightly spiced with a long finish. Maintains a slight, but positive, reduction throughout.
  14% alcohol. Alt: 800m. A blend of 35% Tempranillo and 35% Albillo Mayor, with the rest made up of other local grape varieties. Whole bunch pressed with 2 days of maceration. Spontaneous fermentation in larger oak for 8-9 months and matured in neutral oak barrels for a further 16 months.

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

• 2010 R. López de Heredia Rioja Rosado Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia 95 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  (Tasted Sighted) Unmistakably Tondonia with that oxidative lilt of melted toffee fudge sprinkled in nut granola (with that hint of coconut) with vanilla and dried cherry with a touch of sea salt. And yet, it has a purity to it that belies the oxidative note, with a round body and crisp acidity, contributing to its upright structure. Fabulous and difficult to categorise!
  A blend of 60% Garnacho, 30% Tempranillo, and 10% Viura, sourced from vines averaging 91 years of age. Spontaneous fermentation in old oak foudres before ageing in American oak barrels for a further 4 years.

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

• 2020 Rodriguez de Vera Moscatel Sopla Levante 92 Points

  Spain, Valencia, Alicante

  (Tasted Sighted) Pale lemon in colour with a slight haze, indicative of its natural winemaking approach.
  A medley of citrus aromas—lemon zest, grapefruit and yuzu—interwoven with sea salt, apple, herbs de Provence and Earl Grey tea!
  Medium-bodied, delicate with a lively acidity with mineral edge accentuated by salted lemon, blossom, Forelle pear and Pyrenean herbs. There is an airiness to this wine, airy and filled with ozone, evoking the sensation of sitting on a beach as the sea spray breezes in. Thrusting, lingering and flavourful.
  Actually, the vines are close to the sea in the La Mata Natural Park in Alicante, so it makes sense to the tasting note! Moscatel grapes that are 60 years old. They keep the grapes refrigerated for 2-4 weeks whilst the wine undergoes natural fermentation in stainless steel tanks and is aged on lees for six months. No fining and unfiltered, hence the slight haze.

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

• 2021 Tolpuddle Vineyard Pinot Noir 94 Points

  Australia, Tasmania, Coal River

  (Short notes with dinner) A mid ruby colour with an enticing blend of ripe black cherry, blueberry cheesecake and strawberry fool complemented by lightly infused chocolaty oak.
  Soft and utterly juicy with classic Pinot notes, the nose reflecting on the palate and a lovely, focused wine. Fine-grained plush tannins, long and yet fairly tight - a mineral element, this is compelling stuff!

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

• 1979 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde 83 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  (Short notes with dinner) A mid-garnet colour with mahogany rim. A tertiary bouquet of mostly savoury notes - earthy, pork scratchings and undergrowth- but little fruit. Medium-bodied the wine lacks much depth as it weedles its way to a short finish. Way past it prime.

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

• 1967 Viuva José Gomes da Silva & Filhos Colares Reserva Tinto 92 Points

  Portugal, Lisboa, Colares

  (Short notes with dinner) Fairly pale garnet towards mahogany. An evocative bouquet of dark, steeped berries, liquorice, toffee and soy sauce and that faint volatility.
  The palate reflects with sweet fruit flavours balanced by a piercing acidity, possibly accentuated by its VA bite. Yet it intrigues with a funkiness brushed with still fresh and sour cherry, liquorice and cranberry. There are tannins, but they seem absorbed yet still providing some structure as the wine winds its way to a long, enduring finish. Penetrating and concentrated as it opened, there was a greener quality - not mint but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it - complex! A little wild also, this is amazing for such an old wine, still retaining a primary gloss.
  Made from 100% Ramisco from Colares, which is dunes and sandy soils along the coastline of Sintra, are resistant to phylloxera and thus planted on their own roots.

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

• 2010 Cascina Fontana Barolo 94 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  (Short notes with dinner) Mid-garnet in colour, with floral menthol notes melding with ripe orange peel, steeped red cherry, and liquorice. The palate is medium-bodied and elegant but equally compact and powerful with a spine of lively acid and powdery to puckering tannins. Intense and deep, this is a harmonious wine, with the tannin almost resolving in the glass, still keeping it dry but providing a fabulous, complex wine that lingered on after the last sip. Terrific!
  Sourced from Cru Villero and Cru Valletti in Castiglione Falletto, and Vigna Gallinotto in La Morra.

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