It was my turn to host the Tuesday Night Supper Club dinner last night. A few of the regulars couldn't make it, so a few locals got lucky invites for pot roast at my place. Bill Lawrence, Sarah Kirschbaum, Leo Frokic, Michel Abood and Chris Kravitz all brought lovely wines and their wit. We ate and drank well and had an altogether smashing time.
2002 Joh, Jos. Prm- Riesling Sptlese, Wehlener Sonnenuhr
Like my niece, who now has one less birth year wine, this wine is showing a lot of youth. Still a little spritzy and showing some sulfur, it's pretty tight at this stage, revealing not much more than flinty mineral, green apple and citrus and riveting structure. I put a cork on the remainder and on night two its loosened up a bit and broadened, showing rounder peach notes and a more floral character. Lose these in the cellar awhile. A-.
2004 Raveneau- Chablis Monte de Tonnerre
Bill mentioned he was bringing a Chablis and I had a hunch it might be a Raveneau, so I switched my appetizer from scallops in a tarragon cream sauce, to scallops in a morel cream sauce and the wine ended up working really well with the dish. Quite vibrant acidity in this wine. More so than I can recall experiencing in some time and the acidity really gives the wine a nice edginess. There's a wonderful saline, oyster shell quality that really married itself well to the scallops, with lemony citrus, mineral and a touch of smoky oak. A-.
1995 Domaine LAiguelire- Coteaux du Languedoc Montpeyroux Cte Rousse
I was excited to have picked up a few bottles at auction recently as I really liked this wine on release. The estate enjoyed great success with their 94 and 95 bottlings, but I really haven't seen it around since the 98 vintage, which I think was the last vintage Skurnik imported. Made from 100% Syrah, on first opening I got the familiar burst of violets that this wine has always shown, with garrigue and red fruit. On the palate however, there was an initial rush of fruit, but soon after the wine seemed to dry out before our eyes. Indeed, I was the sole champion of the wine from the get go, but soon even I thought maybe the wine had seen better days. Well, fast forward to tonight, when I spied the bottle twenty-four hours later, still 2/3 full and without a cork and decided to see if anything had changed. What a difference a day makes! The wine had softened, harmonized and suddenly has fruit! Beautiful, raspberry fruit, to be exact, with a bit of meat, garrigue and herb. There's a wonderful sauvage quality to it, but with a rather silky texture. This is more like it! A-.
1981 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande- Pauillac
Helen Mirren in a bottle. Classy, refined, elegant and showing some age, but can still take names and kick some ass. I just love the harmony and balance in this wine. Herb, black fruit, tobacco and earth in a wonderful dance. My WOTN and I think the groups, too. A/A-.
1990 Ren Rostaing- Cte-Rtie La Landonne
Bacon! Bacon, bacon, bacon! Plenty of pork belly here, with pleasant red fruit, earth and spice. This bottle is showing about the same as one I had three years ago with Chris, but I've never really been wowed by this wine. Its well-made, correct and tastes good, but it's low acid and soft in structure and doesn't have a personality that excites. Its really rather boring, if you get right down to it. It certainly beats a sharp stick in the eye, but I always want more than it delivers. Drink up. Low A-/B+.
1995 Vieux Tlgraph- Chteaneuf-du-Pape
Always a favorite of mine and drinking in prime time the past couple of years. Its a wonderful example of all that a CDP can offer. There's wonderful cherry fruit, with a little bit of an animal quality, spice and garrigue. On day two the fruit turned more raspberry in profile and the wine took on a more noticeable mineral character. The structure has softened a bit, though is still quite present, but the moutfeel has benefited nicely from the change. Beautiful wine. A/A-.
1977 Graham's- Porto
I've always had issues with this wine. The alcohol has always been out of balance to me, frequently showing blowtorch tendencies. I've seen recent reports about how it finally seems to be integrating, so when Bill showed up with it, I was happy to have the opportunity to try it again as its been some years since I last had it. Well, the reports seem to be true. While it's not a blockbuster Graham's and the alcohol is still pretty apparent, it is much better integrated than it was even five years ago. Arguably fairly mature, depending on how you like your Port, with pleasant cherry, raspberry, baker's spice, licorice and hints of toffee. A lovely match with the poached pears with zinfandel syrup and gorgonzola dessert it was brought to go with. A-/B+.
2002 Joh, Jos. Prm- Riesling Sptlese, Wehlener Sonnenuhr
Like my niece, who now has one less birth year wine, this wine is showing a lot of youth. Still a little spritzy and showing some sulfur, it's pretty tight at this stage, revealing not much more than flinty mineral, green apple and citrus and riveting structure. I put a cork on the remainder and on night two its loosened up a bit and broadened, showing rounder peach notes and a more floral character. Lose these in the cellar awhile. A-.
2004 Raveneau- Chablis Monte de Tonnerre
Bill mentioned he was bringing a Chablis and I had a hunch it might be a Raveneau, so I switched my appetizer from scallops in a tarragon cream sauce, to scallops in a morel cream sauce and the wine ended up working really well with the dish. Quite vibrant acidity in this wine. More so than I can recall experiencing in some time and the acidity really gives the wine a nice edginess. There's a wonderful saline, oyster shell quality that really married itself well to the scallops, with lemony citrus, mineral and a touch of smoky oak. A-.
1995 Domaine LAiguelire- Coteaux du Languedoc Montpeyroux Cte Rousse
I was excited to have picked up a few bottles at auction recently as I really liked this wine on release. The estate enjoyed great success with their 94 and 95 bottlings, but I really haven't seen it around since the 98 vintage, which I think was the last vintage Skurnik imported. Made from 100% Syrah, on first opening I got the familiar burst of violets that this wine has always shown, with garrigue and red fruit. On the palate however, there was an initial rush of fruit, but soon after the wine seemed to dry out before our eyes. Indeed, I was the sole champion of the wine from the get go, but soon even I thought maybe the wine had seen better days. Well, fast forward to tonight, when I spied the bottle twenty-four hours later, still 2/3 full and without a cork and decided to see if anything had changed. What a difference a day makes! The wine had softened, harmonized and suddenly has fruit! Beautiful, raspberry fruit, to be exact, with a bit of meat, garrigue and herb. There's a wonderful sauvage quality to it, but with a rather silky texture. This is more like it! A-.
1981 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande- Pauillac
Helen Mirren in a bottle. Classy, refined, elegant and showing some age, but can still take names and kick some ass. I just love the harmony and balance in this wine. Herb, black fruit, tobacco and earth in a wonderful dance. My WOTN and I think the groups, too. A/A-.
1990 Ren Rostaing- Cte-Rtie La Landonne
Bacon! Bacon, bacon, bacon! Plenty of pork belly here, with pleasant red fruit, earth and spice. This bottle is showing about the same as one I had three years ago with Chris, but I've never really been wowed by this wine. Its well-made, correct and tastes good, but it's low acid and soft in structure and doesn't have a personality that excites. Its really rather boring, if you get right down to it. It certainly beats a sharp stick in the eye, but I always want more than it delivers. Drink up. Low A-/B+.
1995 Vieux Tlgraph- Chteaneuf-du-Pape
Always a favorite of mine and drinking in prime time the past couple of years. Its a wonderful example of all that a CDP can offer. There's wonderful cherry fruit, with a little bit of an animal quality, spice and garrigue. On day two the fruit turned more raspberry in profile and the wine took on a more noticeable mineral character. The structure has softened a bit, though is still quite present, but the moutfeel has benefited nicely from the change. Beautiful wine. A/A-.
1977 Graham's- Porto
I've always had issues with this wine. The alcohol has always been out of balance to me, frequently showing blowtorch tendencies. I've seen recent reports about how it finally seems to be integrating, so when Bill showed up with it, I was happy to have the opportunity to try it again as its been some years since I last had it. Well, the reports seem to be true. While it's not a blockbuster Graham's and the alcohol is still pretty apparent, it is much better integrated than it was even five years ago. Arguably fairly mature, depending on how you like your Port, with pleasant cherry, raspberry, baker's spice, licorice and hints of toffee. A lovely match with the poached pears with zinfandel syrup and gorgonzola dessert it was brought to go with. A-/B+.
