Various notes from the holiday season.

[Claudius2]

It has been a typically Singaporean holiday season.
Hot, wet, balmy. It tends to sap the energy and makes me want to stay indoors.
So with some friends I've drunk quite a lot of wine with a few surprises.
I think I now need a detox for this week. Oh well.

2015 Remoissenet Givry.
Last bottle from the case. Bright gold, nose is nicely fruity with citrus and stone fruit, some honey and quince.
Palate is medium to full, low in acid and with lots of fruit. Not particularly complex.
Could do with a touch more acid and minerality but I'd be happy to drink it anytime.
Rated good+

2015 Remoissenet Meursault Les Cras 1er Cru
A more expensive wine though it offers a lot more in terms of complexity, minerality and interest.
Quite full bodied with lots of fruit - pear, stone fruit, tangerine and lemon.
There is some French oak evident which frames the wine and it is quite fruit driven.
The palate is long, the acid is cleansing and the fruit remains for some time.
Excellent wine though the 2014 was finer.

2019 Penfolds Bin 2 Shiraz Mataro 14.5% ABV
Penfold still call Mourvedre "Mataro" probably to not confuse buyers.
Very dark colour, the nose is sweet, with lots of brambly fruit, some dark plums and cherries.
There is some vanilla oak in the background, though it is sweetly fruited.
Yhere is a touch of alcohol heat though it does tend to be overpowered by the fresh, ripe fruit. Luckily.
It has popular appeal - lashings of sweet (though not overly sweet) fruit.
I found it to be a good wine but not one I'd run out and buy (a friend brought it for lunch).
Rated good+ though it will almost certainly improve - give it 5 years or so.

2010 Chateau Haut Bergey Pessac Leognan
Okay, okay, I know this wine has been criticised here.
It is a chimera of a wine. Each bottle offers something different, and this is the fifth time I have drink it in the last year.
Good dark red, no browing and the nose offers typical Graves/Pessac earthiness.
Drunk directly after the Penfold, it actually seemed more balanced and interesting than I remembered it.
Lots of dark fruit, earth, oak and a touch of spice.
As it warmed, the alcohol heat did start to show and it seems higher to me than 14%ABV - I noticed it more than in the Penfolds.
Overall, it was liked by the group (N=6) and suited the rustic food.
So on the day, I rated it as very good-, and this bottle was nicer than the last two. C'est la vie.

Mumm Corton Rouge NV
Not sure when I bought this, but probably 3-4 years ago, and that ageing has enabled some development.
I often find this wine to be boring - light, lacking complexity, neutral and bland.
This bottle offered some citrus, toast, good acid balance and low sweetness.
It still needs a bit more depth but on the day, it was pretty tasty.
Rated good+ to very good- and miles better than the last few bottles I've opened.
It had been forgotten in the back of the wine fridge - didn't even know it was there - just saw it when pulling out another wine.

2002 Laustau Jerez.
I bought this in 2019 at the cellar door in Jerez de la Frontera.
100% Palamino though it seems like black Sherry in some ways.
Very nutty, caramel/brown sugar, raisins, prune, and maple syrup.
Whilst quite sweet, it wasn't cloying and with dessert, it was pretty good - though not what I had expected.
Rated very good despite my surprise at the style.

2012 Savaterre Beechworth (central Victoria) Chardonnay
I have bought this wine since the first vintage (2001) and was given a bottle as a member of a retailer tasting panel. I knew nothing about it, including the price, though I loved it from the start. Every vintage is different and shows the character of the year not just the style of the wine. It is always a complex and intriguing wine and for my palate, one of the best Chardonnays in the world. I import white Burgundies direct from Beaune and seriously, if this had Batard Montrachet or PM Pucelles on the label, I would not have been surprised.

I have just pulled this out of the storage unit. In perfect condition, with very good light gold colour, looks younger than it is.
Nose was initially a little reticent and reduced. Some swirling revealed an array of aromas - citrus, tangerine, red apples, pineapple and spicy, nutty French oak. As it warmed, the nose became quite enticing - each sniff revealed more notes.

In the mouth, it is medium to full bodied and very complex, with a lot of viscosity. The front palate shows citrus, apple, tropical flavours and a character that reminds me of preserved orange or tangerine. As it warmed, honey, quince and toasty, nutty oak was more evident. There is some vanilla, spice and cream. Yet it remains powerfully fruity, and a tiny drop on the tongue explodes with all sorts of flavours. The acid is firm and there is some minerality to it, and I expect it will easily age another 5-8 years.

I cannot recall a wine I've drunk this year that I enjoyed as much as this. I even emailed the local importer to try and buy the local vintage - alas, sold out. The price is about SGD120 here, or about USD85.

Rated outstanding - and I rarely give such ratings.

2014 Justin Girardin Savigny Les Beaune Peuillets 1er Cru
I'm quite a fan of this producer and have quite a lot of his wines.
This particular bottle did not show well compared to others from the same case.
The colour is ruby red, slightly thin at the rim, and with a faint cloudiness - I always worry when I see that.
The nose was savoury and earthy, with typical undergrowth, dried herb and red fruits.
There is some French oak on the back palate.
The fruit seems a bit muted and I don't know it it is just a bad bottle or maybe it did not taste so good on the day.
Whatever, it was rather plain and lacks intensity and complexity.
Not rated as I think this bottle isn't representative.

2016 Chateau Galius St Emilion GC 14%ABV
A fairly priced St Emilion, with lots of plummy Merlot fruit (90%) and some tobacco and dried herb.
The acid is rather low and it is a round, fruity wine that is nice with most meats or cheese, and not one for careful analysis.
Good+ and no point keeping it longer.

2015 D''arenberg Galvo Garage McLaren Vale Cab blend
I'm not really a McLaren Vale lover though this is a reliable producer.
However, it is 15%ABV and it shows in very ripe fruit and some alcohol heat.
I've had previous vintages at lower ABV that were nicer.
There is no shortage of fruit, however - lots of cassis, plums, redcurrants and mocha oak.
Acid is low, tannins are moderate and the wine is a bit sweet, though not at all cloying.
If the ripeness could be ramped down, I'd like it more - it is a friendly, fruity wine that is a crowd pleaser most of the time.
But not really this time. It is okay to good, but I'm in no hurry to drink more. Oh well.
Other happily gulped it down but it didn't attract a lot of comments.

Cheers
Mark

[DavidG]

Nice report. That Savaterre Chardonnay sure sounds interesting. Not seeing it for sale in the US on WS.

[Claudius2]

Nice report. That Savaterre Chardonnay sure sounds interesting. Not seeing it for sale in the US on WS.

Very little leaves Australia and it tends to sell out a week or so after release. I will have to wait for the 2020 and grab it soon.if you ever fly Qatar it is sometimes served in first class.

Not everyone likes it and some of the old Australian group I used to taste with didn’t like it as it was never a traditional Aussie style.

Cheers
Mark

[Ianjaig]

Thanks for the notes, Mark. I haven't had a D''Arenberg in years (last one was a Dead Arm I think). I meet the winemaker at a tasting in London once. Chester I think his name was, nice guy and pretty flamboyant - had his own line in clothes.

[Claudius2]

Ian
D’arenberg is a pretty reliable estate with lots of rather comical names for their wines. I generally like them but not too often. I like the Dead Arm but sometimes it is far too oaky and with that vanilla & coconut character of American oak.

The region itself is quite good to visit. Not far from Adelaide and close to the beaches. However there are numerous subregions and it is quite hard to generalise about it.

I picked up several D’arenberg labels t a clearance sale here and the retailer has clearly got many older wines - the 2015 was picked up only a few weeks ago.

Cheers
Mark

[AKR]

d'Arenberg wines sometimes come over here too. I would have thought more would have shown up beyond a small flurry 6-12 mos ago, when it seemed like some Asian supply was redirected to the states. I suppose they have more concern about damaging the long run brand value if prices are cut to move the wine. I like their informative back labels.