Salil Benegal
Salil Benegal
Various highlights from the last couple of weeks
2007 Coudert Fleurie Clos de la Roilette Cuve Tardive
A little tight at first but was really awesome after a while in the decanter with gorgeous cherry and strawberry flavours over earth, and faint meaty and floral notes that develop with some air. Silken in the mouth with really good acidity, light, refreshing and fantastic with Pepe's pizza.
1989 Domaine Monpertuis Chteauneuf-du-Pape Cuve Tradition Vieilles Vignes
Notable for being the first bottle I've come across that was so bretty that the fact that it was badly corked as well wasn't apparent straight away!
1992 Trollat St. Joseph
Surprisingly dark in colour, showing no signs of its age with youthful dark fruited and black olive flavours merging seamlessly with leather, green herbs, ashy and earthy notes. There's a sense of calm here with a lightness of touch on the palate and good acids giving the flavours plenty of freshness.
2007 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph
Really great stuff, an incredibly silky, seamless package of black and white pepper, red and dark fruits and meaty/leathery notes with lots of finesse and clarity.
2008 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Sptlese "Anrecht"
Fantastic wine that I cannot drink enough of; packed with youthful apple, citrus fruit and peach flavours over a bed of minerals, with really good acidity giving it a sense of incredible brightness and energy in the mouth. Great balance and very light on its feet - I'm glad I have more as this is stunning value at under $25, and hard to go wrong with under a screwcap.
2008 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling "Rotlay"
Picks up where the 'Anrecht' leaves off but with a lot more intensity and power across the board. The fruit feels even riper and richer here (while still feeling incredibly fresh and precise) with some exotic floral and spicy elements also emerging with some air, the slatey minerality is even more intense and the finish is absurdly long and all slate and flowers. Amazing wine, probably my favourite from '08 so far.
2006 Joh. Jos. Prum Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese
AP #14-07. Opened several hours ahead of time to let the sulfur clear, and this is a really remarkable wine as this shows none of the heavy richness or botrytis I've seen in almost every higher-pradikat bottling in 06; instead the bright pineapple/other tropical fruit flavours come across as incredibly light and precise with faint touches of honey and flowers adding complexity, and an intense slatey mineral character underneath. There's a bright acid spine here that balances the sweetness very well and keeps it very elegant and light, to the point that it's shockingly food friendly for an '06 Auslese.
2008 Christian Ducroux Rgni Sans Soufre
Starts out with very tart, slightly underripe red berry fruit flavours over a spine of high acidity. With some air it fleshes out a little, gaining a little weight and showing some more interesting gravelly flavours, but generally remains quite bitter, stemmy and not particularly pleasant to drink.
2000 Pierre Gaillard Cte-Rtie Cuve Unique Viallieres
Frustrating as there's a nice core of rich plummy fruit accented with leathery, smoky and faintly gamey notes, but it's obscured by dominant oaky and vanilla flavours that blur out most of the other nuances here. Very disappointing, as I've liked some other Gaillard (regular) bottlings in the past but this was just ruined by its oak. (North Berkeley Import, fwiw)
2005 Dnnhoff Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Sptlese
Incredibly fun to drink, packed with bright peach, lime and pear flavours mingled with floral notes and touches of honey. Underneath there's really bright acidity and an intense minerality giving it an almost crystalline texture; light on its feet, precise and finishing very long.
2007 Coudert Fleurie Clos de la Roilette Cuve Tardive
A little tight at first but was really awesome after a while in the decanter with gorgeous cherry and strawberry flavours over earth, and faint meaty and floral notes that develop with some air. Silken in the mouth with really good acidity, light, refreshing and fantastic with Pepe's pizza.
1989 Domaine Monpertuis Chteauneuf-du-Pape Cuve Tradition Vieilles Vignes
Notable for being the first bottle I've come across that was so bretty that the fact that it was badly corked as well wasn't apparent straight away!
1992 Trollat St. Joseph
Surprisingly dark in colour, showing no signs of its age with youthful dark fruited and black olive flavours merging seamlessly with leather, green herbs, ashy and earthy notes. There's a sense of calm here with a lightness of touch on the palate and good acids giving the flavours plenty of freshness.
2007 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph
Really great stuff, an incredibly silky, seamless package of black and white pepper, red and dark fruits and meaty/leathery notes with lots of finesse and clarity.
2008 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Sptlese "Anrecht"
Fantastic wine that I cannot drink enough of; packed with youthful apple, citrus fruit and peach flavours over a bed of minerals, with really good acidity giving it a sense of incredible brightness and energy in the mouth. Great balance and very light on its feet - I'm glad I have more as this is stunning value at under $25, and hard to go wrong with under a screwcap.
2008 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling "Rotlay"
Picks up where the 'Anrecht' leaves off but with a lot more intensity and power across the board. The fruit feels even riper and richer here (while still feeling incredibly fresh and precise) with some exotic floral and spicy elements also emerging with some air, the slatey minerality is even more intense and the finish is absurdly long and all slate and flowers. Amazing wine, probably my favourite from '08 so far.
2006 Joh. Jos. Prum Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese
AP #14-07. Opened several hours ahead of time to let the sulfur clear, and this is a really remarkable wine as this shows none of the heavy richness or botrytis I've seen in almost every higher-pradikat bottling in 06; instead the bright pineapple/other tropical fruit flavours come across as incredibly light and precise with faint touches of honey and flowers adding complexity, and an intense slatey mineral character underneath. There's a bright acid spine here that balances the sweetness very well and keeps it very elegant and light, to the point that it's shockingly food friendly for an '06 Auslese.
2008 Christian Ducroux Rgni Sans Soufre
Starts out with very tart, slightly underripe red berry fruit flavours over a spine of high acidity. With some air it fleshes out a little, gaining a little weight and showing some more interesting gravelly flavours, but generally remains quite bitter, stemmy and not particularly pleasant to drink.
2000 Pierre Gaillard Cte-Rtie Cuve Unique Viallieres
Frustrating as there's a nice core of rich plummy fruit accented with leathery, smoky and faintly gamey notes, but it's obscured by dominant oaky and vanilla flavours that blur out most of the other nuances here. Very disappointing, as I've liked some other Gaillard (regular) bottlings in the past but this was just ruined by its oak. (North Berkeley Import, fwiw)
2005 Dnnhoff Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Sptlese
Incredibly fun to drink, packed with bright peach, lime and pear flavours mingled with floral notes and touches of honey. Underneath there's really bright acidity and an intense minerality giving it an almost crystalline texture; light on its feet, precise and finishing very long.