A few good things yesterday. I am afraid I got rather drunk so notes will be brief. The Clos St. Hune was most disappointing.
Grande Annee 1996, Bollinger
Perfectly balanced on the edge of maturity and freshness. Really good fruit and acidity with a fine mousse. This was excellent and in top condition. Even though this had mature tones I am in no rush to drink my last bottle. Aged Grande Annee is so much better than Bollinger RD.
Riesling Smaragd Achleiten 2004, Prager
Excellent ripe Riesling nose with lots of minerality. It didn’t have the white pepper character that most Austrian wines seem to have. The palate was very complex with great fruit and minerality. Very long, too. This was a really good bottle of wine.
Riesling Clos Saint Hune 1997, Trimbach
Oddly mature, petrolly nose, I was surprised this smelled so forward. The palate was bloody awful, weird fruit, poorly integrated acidity and surprisingly little length. It was very concentrated, but didn’t taste nice at all. Most disappointing. I have no idea what went wrong with this bottle.
Pinot Noir Mills Vineyard 1996, Calera
Really up for drinking, this had a beautiful nose of ripe, smooth fruit and earthy tones. The palate was really silky and smooth, with great fruit and a really complex finish. Really good harmony and great style. An excellent bottle of Californian Pinot Noir, I bloody loved it.
Volnay Premier Cru Clos de Chateau des Ducs 2000, Lafarge
An utterly beguiling nose of pure fruit and minerality. This smelled simply superb. The palate was similarly beautiful, light and refined but not lacking any concentration. The acidity was perfectly balanced and it was showing really well. This was a top bottle of Volnay that I deeply loved.
Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru les Brulees 2001, Domaine Rene Engel
Ah, an old favourite. Wonderful Vosne fruit and real complexity. Very stylish with great persistence of flavour and great harmony. Top premier cru Vosne.