Dinner to celebrate the arrival of my wines in HK
Crown Wine Cellars
Tasted October 17, 2008 by Wrighty with 657 views
Introduction
Dinner with Mark, Mark, Allan, Graham and Danny who was down from Beijing. The wines were those I new I'd be drinking i.e. no inkling of selling them so thought it worth breaking open some of the cases and putting a marker down.
Flight 1 - Pre dinner drinks (2 notes)
Danny generously brought the Krug along which was a lovely way to start the night. I though it better to drink up the Leeuwins after the last two bottles but this one was still OK and showed none of the oxidisation of the others.
White
1997 Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay Art Series
Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River
Golden but less than previous two bottles - more aged than oxidised. Nose went flat quickly. Bronw butter and baked apples palate. Nutty notes came later. This was lovely.
Flight 2 - With baked portebello mushroom (3 notes)
The Barolo stood out here and actually held up against the other wines through the evening. The burgs were not as hoped. They were bigger and more structured than other bottles I've had but none of the beauty people talk of. Will have to keep looking!
Red
2002 Domaine Drouhin-Laroze Clos Vougeot
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Decanted for 4 hours before drinking. Tight woody nose, seems closed. Fine tannins followed by a quick shot of fruit. Good medium length finish.
At the end of the night though this had dried out and the alcohol was predominant on the nose.
Red
2004 Domaine Drouhin-Laroze Clos Vougeot
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Decanted 4 hours before drinking. Soapy nose, floral. Turns tighter after a while. PAlate is dry and tight but this had a great finish.
At the end of the night this was dried out and vinegary!
Red
2000 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Bussia Soprana
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Decanted 4 hours before drinking. Wonderful nose, initially some tar and liquorice then sage and fennel. Palate is good too with some plum. This was really well balanced.
This was still drinking well by the end of the night.
Flight 3 - With rack of lamb (3 notes)
Three very good wines. The La Mission pulled itself up later in my eyes but others liked it from the start and found the Las Cases the weakest. The Lynch Bages as a little worrying, its behaviour reminded me of the Clos des Papes 03.
Red
2001 Château Léoville Las Cases
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Decanted for nearly 5 hours before drinking. This was giving more than I expected. There is an intensity even on the nose with hints of tobacco. Palate has a black currant back bone with some fine herbs.
Actual found this quite hard to pin down and describe.
Red
2002 Château La Mission Haut-Brion
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
This had a good nose on it but difficult to define. There was a bit of green pepper to it and a 'bare' streak in the mid palate. Palate had redcurrant notes and capsicun again,
This filled out later and the 'bare' streak went.
Red
2003 Château Lynch-Bages
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Decanted for nearly 5 hours. Picked up the violets quite early, then a big berry fruit nose, then pepper, then burn. Palate is a bit disjointed, some smoky tannin. this was very volatile and changed a lot throughout the evening.
By the end of the night it was shot through.
Flight 4 - With baked apple pie and cheese (2 notes)
A lovely way to finish the night and thanks to Mark for the Port. The Guiraud had a worrying dry spot but it disappeared which I hope will go as age fills it out.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2001 Château Guiraud
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Nose had honey, honeysuckle, then flamed mandarin/crepe suset. Orange and honey palate. Initially it had a drying finish but this filled out with time and I hope disappear with age. I could still taste this in the morning.
Closing
There was a lot of wine and it turned out to be a really good night.
The Dow seemed to be the WOTN; there was a mixed view on the Bordeauxs, mostly between the La Mission and Lynch Bages but the Burgs were disappointing - are we just drinking poor examples?
© 2003-24 CellarTracker! LLC.
