Salil Benegal
Salil Benegal
Had an old friend from Chicago visiting for a celebration/sendoff before I move back to the east coast soon. We had a few special bottles we'd been saving to drink with each other at various points and various things to celebrate, so this became an occasion to open a few of them over a day and a half of leisurely drinking.
2001 Müller-Catoir Haardter Bürgergarten Riesling Spätlese #2134
Superb wine, though comparison is very much the thief of joy here. It's a tremendous Riesling with striking power, piercing intensity, and impressive balance from the acidity. At the same time it doesn't show the freshness and the more exotic/flamboyant notes that I've experienced in many other bottles of this, and it just shows a hair below several of my other experiences with this wine. Still outstanding, but I hope one of my remaining bottles recapture the "holy shit" experience that I've gotten from multiple bottles before.
1990 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron
Opened and poured over several hours (no decanting), and it's a joy to see how the aromatics keep evolving - rich red and black fruit with those classic earthy/tobacco/cedary notes initially, more leathery notes that gradually emerge, and then the savoury graphite/cedar notes become even more intense after its been open a few hours. Love the palate presence here as well - it's more medium bodied and gentle than I'd expect from the combination of Baron and this vintage, but absolutely compelling and I'm glad I have a couple of these in the cellar.
1975 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese
What an absolutely monumental wine. There's no way to describe all the layers here - the fruit's still remarkably fresh and bright, but merging into a seamless whole with an array of other floral, honeyed, savoury, and various non-fruited mature flavours. The fragrance is absolutely haunting, the palate presence is so silky and polished showing power with no sense of weight, and the overall package makes for one of the most thrilling wines I've ever had in my life. Cannot imagine Riesling - or wine more generally - being any better.
1985 Chateau Cheval Blanc
I'd enjoyed this wine once before as part of a big dinner with 20+ wines at a big table. It was amazing then, but to sit and explore a bottle of this over a few hours with dinner and a good friend is a special treat. The perfumed descriptor is absolutely spot on here - it's one of those wines I could sit and just breathe in for a while, with dark fruit, leather, cedar wood, and lightly greener forestal notes coming together into an incredible scent. It's at a plateau of maturity - the tannins seem fully integrated and very silky, and most of the structure seems to come from the acidity. Wonderful to follow over a few hours, though it feel a touch bitter and leaner in my last glass of the night (about 6 hours after it had been opened).
2000 Noël Verset Cornas
I've had this wine a few times before and always loved it, but this was a truly exceptional bottle that outperformed even my high expectations. It conveys the wildest, most feral and meaty elements of Syrah with a finesse and gentleness that really nobody else in the Rhône can pull off for me. Almost seems to float on the palate with barely any sense of weight, despite the amazing palate presence and the intensity of its flavours. One of the best bottles of Verset I've ever had and I'll just hope that some of my remaining bottles of the '00 show similarly in the future.
It's so much harder to open these wines these days given the prices for these bottles. I used to drink these a lot more regularly about 8-10 years ago but haven't opened a bottle from my remaining stash in about 4 years and have thought more than a few times about selling. But this was an experience that made me glad I have these and makes me want to hold onto my remaining few.
1986 Chateau d'Yquem
Opened earlier in the afternoon but served late night with a tray of canelés to cap one of the best lineups of wine I've ever explored. (A side note; they've become one of my favorite desserts to make/experiment with in the last couple of years, and suddenly I find myself wanting to own/open a few more Sauternes/Barsacs instead of reaching for Auslese (or richer) Riesling or Madeira every time I want a dessert wine.)
It's classic d'Yquem with its rich, luscious palate presence and an array of tropical and citrus fruits accented by honeyed, orange marmalade, and spicier botrytis notes. The botrytis here does overwhelm the other flavours on the finish where it feels a touch bitter and detracts slightly from the rest of the wine, but this is still a tremendous wine and (unsurprisingly) a perfect pairing for canelés.
2001 Müller-Catoir Haardter Bürgergarten Riesling Spätlese #2134
Superb wine, though comparison is very much the thief of joy here. It's a tremendous Riesling with striking power, piercing intensity, and impressive balance from the acidity. At the same time it doesn't show the freshness and the more exotic/flamboyant notes that I've experienced in many other bottles of this, and it just shows a hair below several of my other experiences with this wine. Still outstanding, but I hope one of my remaining bottles recapture the "holy shit" experience that I've gotten from multiple bottles before.
1990 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron
Opened and poured over several hours (no decanting), and it's a joy to see how the aromatics keep evolving - rich red and black fruit with those classic earthy/tobacco/cedary notes initially, more leathery notes that gradually emerge, and then the savoury graphite/cedar notes become even more intense after its been open a few hours. Love the palate presence here as well - it's more medium bodied and gentle than I'd expect from the combination of Baron and this vintage, but absolutely compelling and I'm glad I have a couple of these in the cellar.
1975 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese
What an absolutely monumental wine. There's no way to describe all the layers here - the fruit's still remarkably fresh and bright, but merging into a seamless whole with an array of other floral, honeyed, savoury, and various non-fruited mature flavours. The fragrance is absolutely haunting, the palate presence is so silky and polished showing power with no sense of weight, and the overall package makes for one of the most thrilling wines I've ever had in my life. Cannot imagine Riesling - or wine more generally - being any better.
1985 Chateau Cheval Blanc
I'd enjoyed this wine once before as part of a big dinner with 20+ wines at a big table. It was amazing then, but to sit and explore a bottle of this over a few hours with dinner and a good friend is a special treat. The perfumed descriptor is absolutely spot on here - it's one of those wines I could sit and just breathe in for a while, with dark fruit, leather, cedar wood, and lightly greener forestal notes coming together into an incredible scent. It's at a plateau of maturity - the tannins seem fully integrated and very silky, and most of the structure seems to come from the acidity. Wonderful to follow over a few hours, though it feel a touch bitter and leaner in my last glass of the night (about 6 hours after it had been opened).
2000 Noël Verset Cornas
I've had this wine a few times before and always loved it, but this was a truly exceptional bottle that outperformed even my high expectations. It conveys the wildest, most feral and meaty elements of Syrah with a finesse and gentleness that really nobody else in the Rhône can pull off for me. Almost seems to float on the palate with barely any sense of weight, despite the amazing palate presence and the intensity of its flavours. One of the best bottles of Verset I've ever had and I'll just hope that some of my remaining bottles of the '00 show similarly in the future.
It's so much harder to open these wines these days given the prices for these bottles. I used to drink these a lot more regularly about 8-10 years ago but haven't opened a bottle from my remaining stash in about 4 years and have thought more than a few times about selling. But this was an experience that made me glad I have these and makes me want to hold onto my remaining few.
1986 Chateau d'Yquem
Opened earlier in the afternoon but served late night with a tray of canelés to cap one of the best lineups of wine I've ever explored. (A side note; they've become one of my favorite desserts to make/experiment with in the last couple of years, and suddenly I find myself wanting to own/open a few more Sauternes/Barsacs instead of reaching for Auslese (or richer) Riesling or Madeira every time I want a dessert wine.)
It's classic d'Yquem with its rich, luscious palate presence and an array of tropical and citrus fruits accented by honeyed, orange marmalade, and spicier botrytis notes. The botrytis here does overwhelm the other flavours on the finish where it feels a touch bitter and detracts slightly from the rest of the wine, but this is still a tremendous wine and (unsurprisingly) a perfect pairing for canelés.
