There is nothing like opening up some fantastic wines to pull you through the dog days of summer. This week we have opened some stunning bottles that are worth mentioning and definitely worth seeking for your own if you have not yet had them. As you all probably already know and are experiencing for yourselves, 2012 Napa Cabernets are blowing everything out of the water and the 2012 Dominus is nothing short of amazing. After a few hours in the decanter, it opened up with insane power but with incredible balance. The fruit was concentrated and dense, but there were plenty of other elements that complemented the perfectly ripe black berry and black cherry fruit, while making their own contributions to the richness by coating the palate with dense dark spice, wild herbs, toasted cedar and slate. A mere infant indeed; but a beautiful one that will grow into that much more of a stunner with decades in the cellar.
My white wine of the week was a striking bottle, the 2011 Leroy Puligny Montrachet Premier Cru Sous le Puits. From the most northwestern corner of Puligny Montrachet, Leroy takes the steep Premier Cru hillside Sous le Puits into another world… But I guess she does that to wines from just about any vines she nurtures. This is a white to decant. With air and time, it became intricately layered and complex. Starting with lemon rind and lime blossoms, it opened up to yellow apples, green pears and tart yogurt. There was purity in its intense minerals that cut through the palate, more like soft flint and river rocks. There is something so wonderfully profound in every Leroy bottle that is rarely paralleled by others in the world, much less in Burgundy. Give this bottle more time in the cellar and it will blow up into a whole new ballpark of yet another beautiful bottle of Leroy.
The ’94 Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva is one that rocks my wine world! When I first tried it a few months back, Ryan and I tried it against a ’75 Ducru Beaucaillou and with the age of the Rioja and the even more significant evolution of the Ducru, it was like splitting hairs. So it was quite a treat to revisit this Spanish sovereign. Beautifully aromatic and ridiculously silky, this 21 year old Rioja greeted us with fresh notes of candied cherry, ripe red plum, fresh bay leaves while soft iron, dried oregano, dill and sage, smooth leather, creamy vanilla and dried tobacco sealed the deal well into the finish. The flavors are seamless yet expansive, a complete balance of the perfect elements you would want in a great bottle of Rioja: fresh fruit followed by lively minerality and deep savory herbs and spices. And did I mention it is simply Yum!!
Other Fantastic Bottles We Enjoyed This Week…
2012 Darius II
2012 Espectacle de Monstant
2013 Muller Catoir Haardter Riesling GG Breumel in den Mauern
2010 Le Macchiole Paleo
1997 Nicolas Potel Volnay 1er Cru Santenots
1995 Domaine Ponsot Chapelle Chambertin
2005 Grand Puy Lacoste
2010 Chateau Montelena
2008 Jack Quinn
2007 Tardieu Laurent Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Speciale