Santiago Achaval from Achaval-Ferrer in Mendoza was in New York and we had a small dinner. I don't drink much Argentine wine, but since first tasting Santiago's single vineyard, high altitude Malbecs three years ago, I've known them to be quite special and, to the extent of my limited experience with wines from Argentina, the best wines exported from there.
2006 Lafouge Auxey Duresses Les Boutonnieres - When I opened this wine 24 hours prior, I found it to be too big, with lots of toast and hazelnuts. A day later, it was much better, more focused. Good purity, white fruits, flower blossoms and vanilla, backed by moderate acidity. Quite nice.
1998 Muller-Catoir Riesling Spatlese - green apple fruit, some petrol, good acidity, enjoyable.
1999 Domaine de la Solitude Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc - macadamia nuts, mushrooms and wood polish, on an oily texture, yet it's quite dry in the mouth. Mature and interesting, but ultimately not compelling enough to spend much time here.
1999 Jasmin Cote Rotie - Boy has this filled out and put on weight and density since the last time around (Jan 07 in Cancun, if memory serves). More medium to full bodied than the lighter style of Cote Rotie that the 99 Jasmin has shown in the past, more blue and black fruit than the red I recall. There is still structure here, but it has started to give way, resulting in wine that shows hearty, dense fruit in the midpalate, on a dusty, slightly resolved frame. Violets, grilled meat, a bit of black olive, good richness and impressive length, just a lovely, middle-aged Syrah.
1998 Beaucastel Chateauneuf - This wine saw no decanting, yet only needed about twenty minutes to open up. Terrific wine. Still quite young, though not as primary and unevolved as the 2001 Beaucastel I had last week (with the 01 Clos de Pape alongside it). Smooth in the mouth, showing good underlying strength and lots of forward fruit, cocoa powder, lavender and garrigue, and a hint of orange rind. I would give this one more time in the cellar.
1999 Usseglio Mon Aieul Chateauneuf - Ive had this wine many times, and while Im happy to sip it, I dont love it enough to own it or seek it out. I find it to be a bit too big, a little too slick. Tonights bottle showed a lot of melted fudge and a hint of caramel mixed with the dark fruit, and perhaps therein lies my issue with this wine: Chateauneuf should not taste like dessert.
2004 Pegau Chateauneuf - I think I last had this when I brought it to Mastros in LA a year or two ago, having bought a bottle at Woodland Hills to check it out. The wine did not impress me then, and I didnt buy any, and it didnt impress me much this time around either. This is a feminine wine, smooth in the mouth, mellow, but not complex or especially interesting and not one for many years in the cellar. Not a strong vintage for Pegau, I believe.
There was also a 2005 Tablas Creek Panoplie in the Rhone flight, but I didnt pay much attention to it.
A flight of Spanish wines followed. The 2000 Flor de Pingus from Ribera was quite nice, but towered in comparison to the others in the flight, the 2001 San Roman from Toro, and the 2004 Sierra Cantabria Amancio from Rioja. I thought these were both horrid and that the winemakers disrespected the grapes by smothering them in too much new oak. In the case of the Amancio, the size and weight of the bottle did not make up for the crap wine inside of it.
Finally, Santiago treated us to the 2007 Achaval Ferrer Finca Bella Vista Malbec- Bottled less than two months ago, from a bottle that had not yet been labeled. A black hole of cool blue and black fruit, but the new oak is showing a bit much today. Needs, I guess, some four years to absorb the oak, but when it does it should be very impressive.
2006 Lafouge Auxey Duresses Les Boutonnieres - When I opened this wine 24 hours prior, I found it to be too big, with lots of toast and hazelnuts. A day later, it was much better, more focused. Good purity, white fruits, flower blossoms and vanilla, backed by moderate acidity. Quite nice.
1998 Muller-Catoir Riesling Spatlese - green apple fruit, some petrol, good acidity, enjoyable.
1999 Domaine de la Solitude Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc - macadamia nuts, mushrooms and wood polish, on an oily texture, yet it's quite dry in the mouth. Mature and interesting, but ultimately not compelling enough to spend much time here.
1999 Jasmin Cote Rotie - Boy has this filled out and put on weight and density since the last time around (Jan 07 in Cancun, if memory serves). More medium to full bodied than the lighter style of Cote Rotie that the 99 Jasmin has shown in the past, more blue and black fruit than the red I recall. There is still structure here, but it has started to give way, resulting in wine that shows hearty, dense fruit in the midpalate, on a dusty, slightly resolved frame. Violets, grilled meat, a bit of black olive, good richness and impressive length, just a lovely, middle-aged Syrah.
1998 Beaucastel Chateauneuf - This wine saw no decanting, yet only needed about twenty minutes to open up. Terrific wine. Still quite young, though not as primary and unevolved as the 2001 Beaucastel I had last week (with the 01 Clos de Pape alongside it). Smooth in the mouth, showing good underlying strength and lots of forward fruit, cocoa powder, lavender and garrigue, and a hint of orange rind. I would give this one more time in the cellar.
1999 Usseglio Mon Aieul Chateauneuf - Ive had this wine many times, and while Im happy to sip it, I dont love it enough to own it or seek it out. I find it to be a bit too big, a little too slick. Tonights bottle showed a lot of melted fudge and a hint of caramel mixed with the dark fruit, and perhaps therein lies my issue with this wine: Chateauneuf should not taste like dessert.
2004 Pegau Chateauneuf - I think I last had this when I brought it to Mastros in LA a year or two ago, having bought a bottle at Woodland Hills to check it out. The wine did not impress me then, and I didnt buy any, and it didnt impress me much this time around either. This is a feminine wine, smooth in the mouth, mellow, but not complex or especially interesting and not one for many years in the cellar. Not a strong vintage for Pegau, I believe.
There was also a 2005 Tablas Creek Panoplie in the Rhone flight, but I didnt pay much attention to it.
A flight of Spanish wines followed. The 2000 Flor de Pingus from Ribera was quite nice, but towered in comparison to the others in the flight, the 2001 San Roman from Toro, and the 2004 Sierra Cantabria Amancio from Rioja. I thought these were both horrid and that the winemakers disrespected the grapes by smothering them in too much new oak. In the case of the Amancio, the size and weight of the bottle did not make up for the crap wine inside of it.
Finally, Santiago treated us to the 2007 Achaval Ferrer Finca Bella Vista Malbec- Bottled less than two months ago, from a bottle that had not yet been labeled. A black hole of cool blue and black fruit, but the new oak is showing a bit much today. Needs, I guess, some four years to absorb the oak, but when it does it should be very impressive.