Lo-hei dinner with the monthly group

Canning Room, Grand Park City Hall
Tasted Thursday, February 12, 2009 by Paul S with 627 views

Introduction

Allen hosted us this time for an unusual post CNY lo-hei. Nice wines all round.

Flight 1 - Bubblies with appetisers (3 Notes)

  • NV Pierre Jourdan Grande Réserve Flawed

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Franschhoek Valley

    Wet cardboard aplenty. What a disappointment.

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  • NV Moët & Chandon Champagne Brut Impérial 89 Points

    France, Champagne

    Very decent NV. Nothing much to write about, simple, all lemons and apples on the nose, lemons and apples on the palate, with some sweetness. Decent bead, decent finish and nice balance though. Very friendly.

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  • NV Laurent-Perrier Champagne Grand Siecle 93 Points

    France, Champagne

    Drank from a magnum. This was probably rather younger than the last bottle that I had, still a fantastic champagne. Lovely, rich nose with buttered toast, some oily foaccia smells, lots and lots of caramel and butterscotch, along with a whiff of smoke floating around rich yellowish fruit. Lovely crisp snappiness on the palate, with fresh lemon flavours, lemon curd, breadfruit and some apple. Beautifully, hedonistic stuff, but really fresh and superbly balance.

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Flight 2 - Something sweetish for the Lo-hei (1 Note)

  • 2006 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese 93 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    Had this with Lo Hei - went pretty nicely. The wine was quite beautiful on its own though. A bit of sulphur on the nose which took a while to blow off, after that, it was just lovely. Very gentle, not overly showy, but very nice, with notes of fresh cut grass, nectar and white fruit. Very fresh and alpine-like, like taking a stroll in the mountains. A bit indistinct at the moment, but hinting of great things in the future. Nicely round, rich, creamy palate. Good Auslese weight and sweetness, with more nectar, sweet apples, custard and a long, gentle that showed a breath of fresh acidity and the slightest touch of mineral. So much in here now - great balance, nice and fresh when young, it should really blossom with time.

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Flight 3 - Burg with the fish (1 Note)

  • 2003 Geantet-Pansiot Gevrey-Chambertin en Champs 89 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

    After a string of really good 2003 Burgs, this bottle reminded me of how difficult a vintage the year was in Burgundy. The wine obviously showed off the heat of the year, with sweet, almost preserved cherries on the nose, along with a whiff of alcohol and a touch of earth. Not unpleasant, but a little one-dimensional. Much the same on the palate - dried fruits, primarily cherries, pinned to a stiff tannic structure. Slightly cooked finish - like stewed cherries or cherry liquer. In spite of the obvious heat though, there was plenty of fresh acid still. Not horrible, not new-worldly, not even bad - just not the most enjoyable wine.

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Flight 4 - Clarets with the beef (3 Notes)

  • 2002 Château Coutet (St. Émilion) 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

    Surprisingly good. Nothing mind-blowing, but a pretty little wine. It did not seem out of place next to a 2001 Lynch-Bages and a 1996 Leoville Barton. Nose showed dark cherries and a touch of flowers along with earth and bramble tones. Lots more sweet cherries on the palate, which was nice and clean with nice, fresh acidity. Simple, but very well balance. Finish was a little muddled, but nevertheless an enjoyable wine.

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  • 1996 Château Léoville Barton 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

    An excellent wine, still young, but clearly moving into its drinking window. We decanted it for about half an hour - another hour or so would have done quite as nicely.The three words that come to mind with this wine are clarity, percision and cleaness. Still a dark, plush claret colour, it had a beautifully lifted and very expressive nose of green pepper, musky tobacco leaf, earth and a touch of cassis. Noticeably younger on the palate, it showed a wonderful fresh acidity and super-fine tannins that are well on their way to being resolved, adding structure without biting grip. All this made for a really clean and focused palate, with clear flavours of fresh cassis, cracked black pepper, green capsicum and leaf, all very lfted and fragrant. There was plenty of power to go around to, with the wine showing a nice persistence from the attack to the long finish dosed with a leathery whiff. Very enjoyable indeed.

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  • 2001 Château Lynch-Bages 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    This was decanted for about a couple of hours. Still rather monolithic, but clearly a good wine, full of Pauillac power. Nose showed notes of vanilla weaving in and out of green pepper, grassy leaves, and rich, warm, earthy notes. Warm and rich are probably two words I would use to describe the wine actually. The palate showed plenty of drive and power, with full cassis and tobacco leaf flavours wed to clean acidity. First class finish with more cassis notes and bittersweet smokiness. Excellent, but just shaded by the 1996 Leoville Barton on the night - that wine had the benefit of 5 years more age though, I have no doubt this will be very nice in the next half decade.

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