Two Bottles

On new years eve eve eve a small group of us assembled to see out the year with some top quality food and wine. Without much further ado here are some notes on the wines we knocked off. Don’t mind the scores too much. It is almost insulting to some of these wines to put numbers against them.

1996 Dom Perignon - This was a very curious bottle smelling very sulphidic and rubbery. The palate was good. Seemed richer than normal but the smell of burnouts quite put me off. 90 points

1990 Krug - This is the best showing I have ever seen of this wine. A perfect bottle. Very intense and more full-bodied than just about any other champagne. Worked beautifully with seared scallops. Very wine like and very long. Sensational. 98 points

1985 Haut Brion Blanc - A very rare wine. They only make about 400-500 cases. Looking very youthful in colour. Smells beautiful and complex with aromas of candle wax, melon, honey, cinnamon quills, peach, lemon. Still fresh on the palate with rich full bodied flavours of peach/melon, spice and oak. Improved over the night and was best at room temperature. I described this wine as being very ‘glossy’. It makes sense to me anyway. Absolutely lovely. 97 points

1988 DRC Grands Echezeaux - Red fruits, mint, bark and earth, spicy charry oak, flowers. Bright fresh acid and fine sandy tannins. Quite dry and boney. Some beetrooty flavours. Hmmm that does not sound too attractive but this was a very good wine. 93-94 points

2001 DRC La Tache - Very aromatic. Foresty with rich dark cherry/blackberry fruit. Caramel oak. Licorice too. Rich sappy and well built but supple too. The fruit quality is extra-ordinary. Very long. I can only but imagine how good this wine will be in (say) fifteen years time when it is mature - nevertheless a great treat now. 96+ points

1970 Chateau Palmer - Magnificent old Bordeaux nose. Slightly dusty with intense blackcurrant, capsicum, mineral, licorice root and cedar. Beautifully poised and balanced this is a very exciting wine. The fruit is still sweet and the tannins are fine and resolved. Incredible condition this wine. 97 points

1990 Cheval Blanc - Sweet grass, black licorice, smoky oak, raspberry. Lots going on here. Rich ripe palate with melting tannins and raspberry, dried herb and licorce flavours. Just kept getting better and better in the glass. Very long. I wished my glass would never end! 98-99 Points

1985 Chateau Lafleur - Blackberry, black cherry, plums, roasted herbs, smoke, mint. Lovely smelling wine. After the luxurious Cheval you notice the acidity and tannin here yet the wine IS rich and full bodied and very sexy by any normal measure. If I had any bottles I would wait another five years before opening. Exceptional wine. 96-97 points

2002 Kracher No 12 - This was just too rich and honeyed for me. I appreciate what it is though. At only 4% alcohol I won’t rate it as a wine. 99 points as an ice-cream topping though.

after dinner we opened

2000 Leroy Romanée-Saint-Vivant - The glasses could have been much better but this wine really got me going - blathering things like “basking in autumnal warmth”. The others called me an idiot and told me it was a wine that recalled springtime. Well I guess. Bright ripe cherry, vanilla, asian spice, soy and flowers. Lovely smell. Rich round palate backed with citrussy acidity and tang. Very long. Intensely pleasurable to drink. 97 points.

and a second bottle of the 1985 Lafleur was opened……

Thanks to everyone for their generous contributions. Talk about ending the year on a high note.

Rated : 99 Points

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