TNs: A not-so-manic Monday

[Michael Malinoski]

A little while back, four of us got together over at Ed’s house on a Monday night for a whole bunch of take-out food and some good wines. There was a general consensus to drink some Southern Rhones followed by some Syrahs, and while perhaps a bit jarring to go from the former to the latter, in the end it was all good. I was able to take a few of the bottles home at the end of the night, and where there were notable changes overnight I was able to take note of those.

Starter wines:

NV Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Cuvée St. Anne. This bottle disgorged in June of 2007 delivers a rather fine and filigreed bouquet revolving around classy aromas of struck flint, chalk powder, lemon rind, yellow apple and chopped herbs. It’s delicious in the mouth, quite creamy, relaxed, toothy and tongue-coating with its tasty flavors of apple, lemon candy, smoke, chalk and limestone. It has very nice lift and a lot of outstanding elements coming together in fine harmony at this particular moment in time.

2013 Giuseppe Quintarelli Bianco Secco Ca del Merlo Venezie IGT. This is quite pretty aromatically, featuring scents of mountain flowers, rose water, cantaloupe, white peach, kiwi, chalk dust and little hints of tropical fruits. In the mouth, it feels sort of spherically slippery, almost oily in texture and feel, with a fine concentration of yellow tropical fruit flavors surrounded by fine perfumed floral notes. It has very good length already for such a young wine, with interesting layering just starting to show. It’s definitely still quite young, though, so try one now but plan to hold a few, as well.

1971 Kirchmayr Neuburger Neusiedlersee Konig Altwein Solist. There’s a very healthy, limpid yellow color to this wine, with a nose that is redolent of steeped lemon, Korean tea, bergamot, white peach, grapefruit, limestone and minerals. In the mouth, it has softened a bit from the last time I had it two years ago, with a little more relaxed structure to allow the lengthy flavors of verbena lemon, cantaloupe, pear, apple and dried grapefruit to flow forward. It’s still a bit pliant and sticky-textured at times, but the finish is more welcoming than with any of the previous 3 bottles I’ve tasted since 2012. All and all, it’s a treat to drink, as always, and is in a very fine spot right now.

Flight 2:

1998 Bosquet des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Chantemerle Vieilles Vignes. The bouquet here is quite nice, delivering fine layers of dark chocolate, black raspberry, baked cherry, pimento loaf, bacon bits, cracked pepper and wilted red flower aromas that are sweet and savory in just the right ratio for me. Not so much on day 2, but on this night the palate is really dominated by a strong hickory-smoked bacon and kielbasa meatiness that supports the core flavors of sweet kirsch and warm cherry fruit. It shows surprising vitality and a velvety tannic structure all the way through, leading to a very smooth, rounded and rewarding finish. It has a lot of character to it, and is drinking quite well for my tastes.

1998 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes. This is the darkest-colored wine in this initial trio, and it follows that up by showing similarly dark on the nose—putting forth smoldering aromas of earth, espresso roast, charred wood, blackberry, toasted oak, vanilla, ash and anise. In the mouth, it’s fairly thick-boned and densely-textured, showing loads of intense blackberry, black currant and toasted spice flavors carried along by nicely lifted acidity. The tannins stay mostly hidden, but do come on more strongly on Day 2. Although I would put this in 3rd place in this trio based purely on personal taste, it’s a very good wine and in very good shape.

2001 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Oh man, this is just lovely on the nose, with an almost lactic creaminess to the aromas of dried cherries, red currants, red flowers, pounded rawhide leather, mushrooms, creosote, tobacco leaves and subtle sweet funk tones. It’s just gorgeous, with a decided nod toward top-flight red Burgundy, at least to my way of thinking. In the mouth, it’s medium-weighted, airy and refined, showing pitch-perfect poise from entry through to the finish. The perfectly-balanced flavors of strawberry licorice, red currants, creamed cherries, baking spices, toasted herbs and fine chocolate have a delightful flow and creamy texture to them that are just tremendous. It’s a truly harmonic wine, lighter and more elegant in personality, but with some wonderful flourishes that are a delight to the senses.

Flight 3:

1990 Château Rayas Côtes du Rhône Château de Fonsalette Syrah Reserve. This is cool, dark and meaty on the nose, full of smoked cherry, singed leather, porcini, cracked pepper and fireplace ash aromas. In the mouth, it’s a real beauty—showing medium-weighted but with plenty of structure and fine-grained tannins in support of cherry, cranberry, funky earth and leather flavors. It’s all carried along by well-controlled acidity to an impressively lasting finish. It’s just very nicely done all around.

2006 Domaine Jean-Louis Tribouley Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes Orchis. Deeply dark and opaque in color, this wine presents bold, black-toned, almost treacled aromas of black olive brine, blackberries and tire rubber that aren’t really my thing, I’m afraid. In the mouth, it’s young and intense, sticky and tannic, rich and pasty—just overly strident and unwelcoming at this point. It’s a massively inky babe that needs a lot of time to come around, in my opinion.

Flight 4:

2001 Planeta Syrah Sicilia. This wine is big and zesty on the nose, with white pepper, salami, black olive, oak spice and leather scents riding atop blackberry, dried plum and cherry paste aromas. In the mouth, it’s more medium-bodied than full, but with an excellent kick of cherry paste, bright raspberry and cassis flavors accented by herbal overtones. It’s well-resolved and gently-textured, drinking nicely now with that big burst of fruit flavor.

2002 Sean Thackrey Orion Rossi Vineyard California. This is a bit unusual on the nose, showing savory and slightly wild aromas of green olives, pimento loaf, tarragon, sausage and eucalyptus swirling around a core of bright cherry fruit. In the mouth, it’s more directly fruity—with a creamy-textured core of spiced cherry, cranberry and raspberry flavors that are rich and generous. It’s solidly-built, free-flowing and provides lasting pleasure despite lightly chewy tannins playing out on the finish.

2002 Alban Vineyards Syrah Reva Alban Estate Vineyard Edna Valley. The nose here is intensely bold and sexy, with strong aromas of spiced blackberries, prunes, licorice and incense atop notes of bacon fat and pink peppercorn that combine into a bit of a wild-tinged package. There’s a ton going on in the mouth, too, with rich, sweet-toned raspberry, cherry and oak flavors that occasionally veer into funk and beef edgings. The finish is liqueur-like and a bit toothy still, and to be honest I’m not sure this has really evolved much at all since the last time I drank it 5 years ago. I’d say this has a long way to go.

2002 Two Hands Shiraz Ares Barossa Valley. This is unabashedly plush, lush and slutty on the nose, oozing out of the glass with aromas of blackberry liqueur, fig paste, blueberry jam, dried plums, creosote, incense, toasted spices, brownie batter and musky sweat. In the mouth, it’s super-creamy, plush and mouth-coating, with saturated, soft-edged flavors of plum, blueberry, blackberry and fig fruit to go along with oak and spice notes. It’s loaded up to the brim with generous flavors and depending on your mood it’s either great fun or a bit over the top. Either way, it’s a wine sure to grab your attention.

Sweet wines:

1971 Weingut Adolf Rheinart Riesling Ockfener Bockstein Herrenburg Auslese Mosel Saar Ruwer. This is quite lively and lifted on the nose, with possibly a bit of volatility in play but otherwise sporting bright and high-toned aromas of tropical fruits, lime, kiwi, ribbon candy, slate and diesel fuel that are interesting and modestly complex. It’s showing some age on the palate, but there are nice layers of effortlessly sweet lime, kiwi, poached peach and caramel flavors to go along with a minerally slate and petrol streak. This is pretty darned nice.

1976 Arthur Hallgarten Riesling Siebeldinger Königsgarten Beerenauslese Rheinpfalz. This is sort of a pale brown or light mahogany in color. It features delightful but controlled aromas of caramel cream, light honey, lime zest, apricots, iced tea, toasted orange peel, prunes and fine baking spices. It’s quite enjoyable on the palate, with cool acidity keeping the sweet unctuous flavors of dried pineapple, apricot, yellow raisin, molasses, crème brulee topping and botrytis spices in line. It’s plushly-textured, finely mouth-coating, and has interesting burnished overtones throughout. I like it plenty, and I found it to be a great way to put a wrap on a long and leisurely evening of modest excess.


-Michael

[AKR]

Rayas and Bonneau? wow

I've had those very few times in my life.

Some deep cellars there.