By: AJ McClellan
Dave has dropped in for the next few days and you know what that means – Good times and good wines. For his first day in town we had a classic group around the table and popped some great bottles of wine.
2001 San Felice Poggio Rosso Chianti Classico – A classic Chianti with dusty red cherries and a bucket of forest floor. There was a nice spice box nuance on the back end of the palate that completed the finish of this wine nicely and made us open a second bottle just because.
2008 Domaine Bertagna Vougeot 1er Les Cras – A wonderful white wine that has thoroughly impressed me. One of the only whites to be produced out of this region of Burgundy, this wine has a nose of white summer flowers and banana bubble gum. The palate is intriguing and complex showing a crisp minerality of limestone and schist followed by tropical fruits and notes of peaches and cream. There is an impressive weight on the palate and a soft lushness that make the wine a treat to drink. While this bottle is amazing right now, I can’t wait to see how it is drinking in 5, 10, and 15 years.
1987 Beringer Private Reserve – Old Beringer is always a pleasure. Crushed red fruits on the nose with cedar and cloves. The palate shows a light tobacco and leather notes with dried red fruits and a handful of cooking spices.
2008 Petite Petite – Massive. This wine is jet black in the glass with a nose of plums and pepper. The palate was surprisingly soft for such a young wine. Black pepper, black fruits, and currants are blatant on the palate with a subtle note of tar and tobacco.
2001 Magrey Fonbrauge – Still very tight, when I tasted this wine I thought that it was a 2008 that I had under my nose. The wine was highly extracted and almost sweet showing rich red and black fruits and notes of dusty earth and cigar box. The palate was thick and very heavy weighed down by massive tannins that are still wound tight. My advice is to not touch this bottle for another 10 years.
1986 Santa Cruz Mountian Vineyard Estate Pinot Noir – I might have to call this “Wine of the Night”. An amazingly complex old Pinot that when blinded tasted like old La Chapelle. Smoke and bacon were first to the nose but after you got over breakfast there was notes of crushed red currants and black raspberries, old earth, and crushed rock. The label noted that the wine is 100% Pinot Noir but I am not fully convinced…
1996 Pichon Lalande – This Pichon was drinking great as usual. It was in need of a few hours in the decanter because of the unusually high amount of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, but after it opened up the rich black fruits spilled out along with graphite, cassis, and toasty oak.
2006 Hourglass Cabernet – I rather liked this wine, although some others around the table were doubters. Big ripe extracted fruit but balanced with well structured tannins and a pleasant acidity.
2005 Pignan Chateauneuf du Pape – I was pleasantly surprised by this bottle. Smoke, meat, game, pepper, raspberries, and beef jerky. Classic CDP in all of its glory.
1963 Grahams – One of my favorite ‘63 Ports I have had to date. Soft and well rounded, a little hot at first but it mellowed out after a few minutes in the glass. Sweet currants with dried leather and dusty spices.