Sunday 1 June 2014

A Hedonistic Evening With G-Max, SQN, Giacosa, Lafite, Masseto & More!

Well, what can I say - I was overwhelmed with impressions after last weeks dinner at Jeanette & Miran´s. Bottle after bottle with the most stunning juice kept hitting the table all night long.
A million thanks!!
All wines tasted double blind.

2012 Nierstein -P- Riesling Kabinett Auction, Keller
A cool, elegant and structured  nose with notes of green pears, slate, ice cream and a hint of diesel. A nice, easy going nose with a medium depth. Very good.
The taste is more focused and with fine notes of William pears, minerals, a hint of rubber and grass. There is a touch of vanilla pods in the long finish. Really good.
89p   (tasted 2014/05)



2011 G-Max, Keller
This giant is still an infant but with some time in the glass is starts to show what it will become. The nose is very deep, very concentrated and almost electric in its focus and precision. Lovely notes of grilled lemons, dried apricots, cucumber water, chlorophyll and birch leaves. A gorgeous salty note. And some iron. Very, very complex.
The taste is just wonderful with its intensity and focus, with notes of lemon peel, slate, unripe pears, grass and apricots. The acidity is of the charts. A very, very, very long finish. This will become a masterpiece, even though you can glimpses of that even today.
95p   (tasted 2014/05)

2005 Sancerre Le Monts Damne´s, Pascal Cotat
A young, fresh, tight nose with notes of herbs, oilcloth, chalk, white currants and gravel. Very refined. This is really good. The oilcloth note drew me to Chenin Blanc, but alas...
The taste also indicate Chenin, the acidity is high and focused, and there is notes of lemon peel, herbs, oyster shells and fennel. Very, very long. This is a stunning Sancerre, as it turns out to be... Still very young.
93p   (tasted 2014/05)



2007 Body & Soul, Sine Qua Non
And the guesses kept on not going my way - I had this pegged as a overripe, alcoholic Chardonnay from USA. Well, the country was right... The nose is massive, oily and heavy handed with notes of del Monte juice, popcorn, smoke, sweet flowers and lots of oak. Lacks balance.
The taste is big and brawny with an overload of sweet fruit, alcohol and oak. A oak bitterness in the finish alongside waves of alcohol. 71% Roussanne, 29% Viognier. A definite overkill.
66p   (tasted 2014/05)

2009 Scheurebe Spätlese, Schlossgut Diel
A lovely, deep and refined nose with notes of tangerines, blood oranges ice cream, slate, grapefruit and a fine spiciness. Very refined. A fine depth. This is good!
The taste is elegant, pure and fresh with notes of sweet/sour lemons, tangerines, some lychee and a the spiciness as on the nose. A fine acidity. Starts of medium dry but ends very dry. A lovely wine that drinks perfectly now.
93p   (tasted 2014/05)



The series of white was over and three decanters of red wine was presented. The debauchery had just begun...
1979 Barolo Riserva Vigna San Giuseppe, Cavallotto
A wonderful, sweet, mature nose with notes of red cherries, dried mushrooms, undergrowth, a hint of truffle and rosehips. Just lovely. A perfect rounded maturity. Smells like a autumn walk in a damp forest.
The taste is ripe, mature and steady with notes of lingonberries, red cherries, licorice, old tobacco, mushrooms and rose petals. A long, dry finish with some still hefty tannins. Very, very good.
92p   (tasted 2014/05)



1985 Barolo Vigna San Giuseppe, Cavallotto
The 6 year younger Cavallotto is a dream in a glass. A tight, deep and profound nose oozes up from the glass with gorgeous notes of black cherries, raspberry liquorice, truffles, violets and moist forest floor. Deep and seductive. Just stunning.
The taste is as the proverbial "iron fist in a velvet glove", with notes of black cherries, moist tobacco, liquorice, truffles and rosehips. The finish goes on and on with perfect rounded tannins. This beauty will surely stay at this level for 6+ years, but I would guess that it is on its peak now. A treat.
96p   (tasted 2014/05)

2004 Barolo Riserva Le Rocche del Falletto, Bruno Giacosa
And they keep on coming... The nose of this beauty is deep, majestic and impressive with notes of black cherries, chewing tobacco, dried rose petals, hard cherry candy and some bonfire aromas. Aristocratic and refined. Still a baby, this got a great potential.
The taste is taut, energetic and focused with notes of black cherries, autumn leaves, black trumpet mushrooms, hard cherry candy and tobacco. The tannins rumbles in the background. Very, very long. This needs some serious time in the cellar but will surely turn out like these older siblings.
95p   (tasted 2014/05)



A nice set of warm up wines... Now we got a total of five decanters for the main course - it is a tough life...:-)
2002 Château Lafite-Rothschild
Aaaah - Lafite - that´s not every day I get that poured to me. This one shows a tight, concentrated nose with lots of sweet black currants alongside notes of leather, vanilla pods, graphite and milk chocolate. A cool, laid back character. Very, very good. Still youngish.
The taste is tight and impressive with notes of fresh black currants, coffee, pencil shavings, leather and dark chocolate. A very long, persistent finish. This is very good, but it doesn´t rock my world and it is definitely not worth the tariff.
92p   (tasted 2014/05)

1998 Cabernet Sauvignon, Boris Lisjak
Talk about a surprise, not just that it was a Cabernet from Slovenia (which everyone of course guessed...), but that it held its own in this great line up. The nose is big and tight with notes of black currant compote, rosemary, dark chocolate and some bonfire. Deep and fine. Very, very good. Some maturity.
The taste is more mature than the nose with soft tannins and notes of black currant jam, black cherries, rosemary, old leather, autumn leaves and smoke. A long, velvety finish. This is very good and, I think, perfectly mature.
90p   (tasted 2014/05)



2001 Ermitage L´Ermite, Chapoutier
A Parker 99 pointer! Well, not in my book. As I have stated in the past, my juices doesn´t start to flow when it comes to the wines from Chapoutier. Very good wine making of course, but they lack a certain je ne sais pas to get me going.
The nose is deep, warm and meaty with notes of ripe red currants, raspberries, sweet licorice, Christmas spices and meat stock. A very fine sweetness to the fruit. Very, very good.
The taste is young, concentrated and warm with notes of raspberries, blueberries, leather, garrigue and liquorice. Some wood smoke and black pepper in the long finish. And some steady tannins that shows them selves in the end of the finish. Again, a very good wine, but I can´t see any 99p greatness in it.
91p   (tasted 2014/05)

1998 Masseto
This is on the other hand a bottle of true greatness. The nose is bottomless deep, focused and multi layered with stunning notes of the most precious black cherries ever, plums, corinthians, violets, Valrhona chocolate and a Tuscan gravel road on a hot summer day. So intense, so velvety and so utterly gorgeous!
The taste is all about purity, concentration and hedonism, with notes of black cherries, violets, fresh herbs, dark chocolate, plums, Zegna leather and warm tiles. The finish goes on and on and on. Some hints of maturity but this beauty has a long way to go. Even better than three years ago, and on the same level as the 2004. I could drink Masseto anyday anywhere!
98p   (tasted 2014/05)



2008 Zio Tony Ranch Pinot Noir, Martinelli
A deep, warm, concentrated nose with notes of crushed strawberries, raspberry liquorice, veal stock, resin and a nice peppery note. Very ripe. A lot of sweetness to the fruit. Very, very good.
The taste is massive with thick, sweet strawberry- and raspberry fruit with some additional liquorice, forest floor and chocolate notes. The finish is very long, sweet and with a hint of that 15,5% alcohol. Would need some more years in the cellar to either coming together or collapse...
90p   (tasted 2014/05)

1996 Clos des Goisses, Philipponnat
J & M thought we needed a pick us up before the array of sweet wines that were to follow. There were no complaints when this beauty was poured. A lovely, open, crisp nose with notes of red currants, summer flowers, elderberries, lime peel and toasted bread. Very elegant and with some maturity. This is good!
The taste is fresh like a mountain river with notes of red apples, summer flowers, lemon cream and bread. A fine, piercing acidity. Looooong and fine. This is drinking perfect now but there is no hurry drinking any remaining bottles.
93p   (tasted 2014/05)


Then came several bottles of sweet nectar (pictures below), but even though I had used the spittoon frequently, my notes on the sweet wines looks like there have been drunken ants crawling over the sides in the notebook, so I refrain from trying to decipher them...




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