Alex's Surprise Birthday Dinner

Fiona organised a surprise Birthday Party at Imperial Treasure for Alex. We had five pretty nice bottles of wine amongst the five of us! Wines were not planned, with everyone bringing random bottles, but they came out in a rather nice symmetry.

• 1999 Pol Roger Champagne Vintage Brut 91 Points

  France, Champagne

  Serious champagne, good stuff, but a little stern at the moment. Golden yellow coloured. Nice bead. nose had a touch of cream and a lift of grassy, aspaagus like notes and layers and layers of flinty mineral overlaying white fruit and a hint of biscuit. Very classic. Palate was super-zippy abd bright, a bit too much at times, with the acid coming across a bit eye-closing. Otherwise, very nice, with lemons, lemon zest, white fruit and flinty mineral in a grippy package. Finish was dry and flinty, with more lemon-zest and a touch of bitersweet mineral. Nice and serious, but a bit edgy with all that acidity. A few more years in the bottle to round-off the rough edges would do it a great deal of good.

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• 2002 Louis Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet

  Pretty decent, but rather disappointing for a 2002 Carillon at first, showing even less well than the last time. Thankfully, it opened up quite nicely in the glass with time. Nose was lovely - butter, creamy mushrooms, earthy, chalky mineral, a caramel undertone. Almost Montrachet like I thought. But the bouquet really flattered to deceive. Palate was big and buttery, had nice minerality, fresh acidity, but was somehow al over the place at first. Acid a little sharp, big-ness a little obvious, all not very integrated. It came together with time, to show nice lemon cream flavours along with honey tones and some Puligny nuttiness moving into a decent finish. But even then, it was a good wine rather than a great one.

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• 1999 Domaine Matrot Volnay 1er Cru Santenots 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

  Good. Plenty of quality here, but still rather young when we got to it. Nose opened with smoky wood notes - a bit too smoky and woody for my taste. Thankfully, those receded into the background rather quickly to show mushroom, plenty of dried earth, bright cherry fruit and dusky minerals set against a backdrop of sandlewood. With time, some pretty, high-toned flowers slowly emerged. Palate also opened rather smoky, cigarette-like. Like the nose, that faded somewhat, and we got plenty of high-toned, ripe 1999 red fruit like cherries and strawberries - with some power to them too. There was still a layer of fine, slightly coating tannins, but all with a Cote de Beaune plushness to it, along with high natural acidity giving the wine a fresh balance that belied its age. Only a dash of alochol marred it. Otherwise, a nice wine all the way into its fresh, roundish finish, which showed woody herbs and another touch of smoke. Would be much better in 2-3 years I would think, and would develop in bottle for quite a bit longer than that given its structure.

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• 2000 Château Batailley 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Very nice, well-developed wine. If anything, rather advanced and pretty ready to drink. Nose had restrained Pauillac notes of wet undergrowth, damp leaf, meat, earth, leather and cigar, along with a layer of rather ripe cassis fruit and some chalky mineral. Palate was clean and balanced, with vibrant acidity still present along with plush, silky tannns. Again, the cassis fruit expression was rather ripe, but everything was nicely balanced. Finish was okay, showing some backbone and a touch of cigar. Not the most complex of wines, but a real pleasaure to drink. Should evolve more in the bottle, but this really is quite ready.

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• 2000 Château Monbousquet 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  Modernly styled, but really excellent. Lots of ripe plums and prunes on the noes, hints of spice, touch of meat, earth and tobacco, flowers, and touches of cocoa and oak. Modern interpretation for sure, but very pretty and feminine, especially when tasted next to a Pauillac. Equally modern on the palate, with big, rich, voluptuous sweet plums and stewed cherries flavours wrapped in an ultra-plush, succulent structure. Nothing OTT though. Instead, it was fresh, impeccably balanced and finely structured indeed, with touches of secondary flavours like tobacco smoke and flowers giving a bit of interest. A very complete wine. Even the finish was impressive, with dark chocolate, spice and smoke rounding the wine off very satifactorily. Excellent now, but with years ahead of it before it reaches its peak. Not my style, but I would drink it anytime - a yummy wine, with tons of quality.

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