TKQP wine-tasting II

Another tasting session to choose wines for our firm's 10th Anniversary dinner. I found the range of lower-end wines rather impressive. All of them were well-balanced and immensely drinkable - just the sort of wines one would need for an event like ours.

• 2007 Domaine Deméocq Bourgogne Blanc 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc

  Pretty decent Bourgogne Blanc. Simple, but fresh and well-balanced. Nose showed a touch of herbs, white fruit, some gooseberries, musk, melon and a sprinkle of flowers. Some sweetness on the palate, but nicely balanced out with freshness. Nice, roundish texture too, with neutral white fruit flavours and slatey mineral moving into a decent finish. Not a top-class wine, but good QPR for what it is.

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• 2007 Georges Vernaud Pouilly-Fumé 88 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Pouilly-Fumé

  Decent Pouilly-Fume. Classic Sauv Blanc notes of grass, herbs, gooseberries and yellow fruit on the nose, along with a toss of earth and a touch of flowers. Lovely balance on the palate. Nice round flavours of berries and white fruit along with a grapefruity zip at the midpalate and a little ream of smoke, all nicely balanced off with juicy acidity. Lots of liveliness, especially at the zippy finish, which closed off with some summery herbs and a hint of mineral. A great summer tipple at its price.

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• 2006 Domaine Deméocq Pouilly-Fuissé 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Pouilly-Fuissé

  Another decent white from this domaine, just a shade more complexity and interest tham the straight Bourgogne Blanc. Nose showed buttery, nutty tones along with a touch of white meat - smoked ham almost, pepper and a sweet, almost flowery tone, all laced with slaty mineral. Palate had a round, juicy balance to it, showing honeysuckle, red apples, musk melon and sweet ripe lemons at the finish, just before a subtle nuttiness came to the fore. Again, great QPR.

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• 2005 Château Mourgues du Gres Gard Terre d'Argence 90 Points

  France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Gard

  Interesting blend of 50% Viognier and 50% Marsanne. I really liked this, lots of charm here. Nose was just a melnage of perfumed flowers and a touch of grassy herbs tumbling over one another, along with a hint of flinty minerality and a little smoky, oaky backdrop. Nice palate too. Quite a bit of complexity in sweetish ripe gooseberry, apricots. beeswax and hibiscus tones laced through with a dry, minerally backbone. Just a touch of heat here and there, but not enough to mar the wine. Finish had a lovely linger or flowers, spice and lots of mineral. Very nice wine, with some serious quality.

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• NV Domaine Paul Buecher et fils Crémant d'Alsace Brut Prestige 88 Points

  France, Alsace, Crémant d'Alsace

  Made from Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and some Riesling. A very tasty wine, lots of personality. A real surprise. Interesting nose showe orange peel, preserved lime and some earth. All of which carried into the pleasantly round and giving palate, where a pleasantly fizzy mousse formed the backdrop for flavours of orange, musk, red cherries and sweet, ripe lemons. Finish was decent, with a minerally backbone and some orange gummy tones. Quite impressive for a cremant at this price!

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• NV R. Dumont et Fils Champagne Tradition Brut 89 Points

  France, Champagne

  86% Pinot Noir in this, and it showed in the serious structure and power of the wine, which was a very nice NV Champagne at its price. Nose showed deep earthy notes, along with subtle yeast tones and a umami, steamed chicken breast note at the back of the bouquet. Palate was also subtle and serious, with some depth to its ripe lemons and pear profile. Nice roundish mousse and a juicy, sappy mouthfeel carried the wine into a slatey, mineral finish with dry, lemony acidity. Not bad at all.

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• 2007 Domaine Deméocq Bourgogne 86 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne

  Super-friendly, sex-bomb type of wine. Decently balanced, but a little too sweet and obvious for my tastes. Nose just had lots and lots of candied, almost medicinal maraschino cherries and light perfumy flowers dancing above that. Good acidity on the palate, which was more or less dominated by the same sweet, candied cherry fruit. Finish had okay length - Some rubber tones, some dried wood here and there, but overall a really simple wine.

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• 2005 Charles Costier Crozes-Hermitage 88 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage

  Not a bad wine at all at its price. Really interesting nose - I have never had such pronounced cassis tones on a wine before. Sweet, sappy cassis fruit, almost Roundtree Blackcurrant Fruit Pastilles like, just came tumbling out of the glass. Much the same on the palate as well, light-medium bodied, very primary, almost monolithic, with tons of cassis laced with a brambly note. Still though, very pure fruit expression and very nicely balanced.

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• 2005 Forts de Lanvet 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion

  I doubt many people would have heard of this producer before. Still though, a very, very decent wine. A little light and rather forward for a 2005, but very pleasant drinking. Nose showed classic notes of bramble, sweet cassis tones, earth, a touch of sous bois and some smoky, toasty oak. Palate was marked by nice, fine tannins and a silky texture. Cassis, plum and cherry tones were nicely balanced with fresh acidity. Finish was nice and round, with a touch of earth and some spice notes. All in all, a rather simple, but immensely drinkable wine. A bit too easy for 2005, but no complaints really given its price.

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• 2004 Charles Costier Châteauneuf-du-Pape 89 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Charles Costier is the trade bottling for Colombier's wines. This was pretty good, and very impressive QPR, certainly a step up in terms of complexity and interest from the Crozes-Hermitage. Nose showed classic Southern Rhone notes of meat, dark cherries, strawberries, brambly garrigue, spice and a touch of mushrooms. Palate was clean, smooth and silky, with flavours of plums, dark cherries, earth and meat. Nicely balanced, except for a little heat at the fringes. Otherwise, very pleasant dirnking. The spicy finish was just a little short, but had a nice juicness to it. A nice wine, and really good value.

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• 2002 Château Saransot-Dupré 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Listrac-Médoc

  Another little heard off property. This was pretty nice drinking. Nose showed bramble, cassis, pepper, sour plum and some toasty notes. Clean and well-balanced on the palate, with silky tannins forming a backdrop for cassis and bramble notes, with just a little iodine note moving into the smooth, fruity finish. Good Bordeaux for a casual drink.

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