TNs: Tavern time

[Michael Malinoski]

Three of us descended upon the Tavern to sample their fantastic fare and to share some wines from our cellars with one another.

NV Pol Roger Champagne Brut Réserve. This bottle was purchased back in May of 2007 we’re told, so it definitely has some bottle age to it. It’s pleasant on the nose, with typical aromas of lemon zest, light herbs, sunny meadow, apple and graphite coming through. In the mouth, it’s easy-going and airy, but still showing some minerally prickle and foamy lift that help the citrus, chalk and shell flavors along. It hangs in there fine, but I don’t think there’s much point to aging it, at least not any longer than this.

2011 Monastero Suore Cistercensi Coenobium Ruscum Lazio IGT. I brought this orange wine to the festivities, and could not have been any more disappointed. I’ve loved this wine in past vintages, finding it stunningly unique and wildly compelling on multiple levels. Here, though, the nose is kind of flat and oddly muddled, with some interesting but disjointed aromas of toasted orange peel, rust, persimmon, peach cobbler, toasted caramel, copper pan and steel. In the mouth, it’s on the far side of oxidative, with flat-lined acidity and dull cut. There are no high notes, no lift, no excitement, no wild side, just flavors of oranges, steel and herbs sitting there. I’d love to know if this is just a bad bottle, but I’d rather not invest in a second one if it shows like this again.

2001 Hexamer Riesling Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg Hochgewächs Nahe. On the other hand, this wine doesn’t disappoint one bit. It possesses a fabulous nose that’s loaded with gorgeous petrol, slate, mineral, white peach, kiwi and lime aromas. In the mouth, it’s even better—succulent, juicy, creamy, giving and delicious, full of white peach, quince, kiwi, lime and mango flavors. There’s also a great inner mouth florality to it and a subtle petrol sensation that’s present throughout the palate journey. It’s very well-crafted, at ease with itself and dangerously chuggable.

1999 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes. I absolutely adore the bouquet of this wine, with its wonderful saddle leather, clean horse barn, dried sweat, crème de cassis, wild berry, lilac flower and soft oak aromas. In the mouth, there’s a lot to like, too, but it seems to be getting a bit long in the tooth, with the fine flavors of charred wood, black cherries, black raspberries and toasted spices lacking a bit of concentration at this stage and finishing surprisingly short and a bit bitter-tinged. I suggest drinking up soon.

1999 Domaine Bois de Boursan Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée des Félix. This wine gets better and better on the nose all night long, delivering deep, rich and densely-packed aromas of meat drippings, charred leather, black cherry and funky undergrowth that are quite inviting. In the mouth, it’s tremendously good--with perfect concentration to the flavors of kirsch, black raspberry, herbs and smoke that are carried along by a smooth and pliant texture. Again, it gets better and better as the evening progresses, with bright acidity, great fruit to earth balance and sneaky but fine-grained tannins showing it has a long way yet to go. In fact, I suspect this will be even better 5 years from now, though I’d be hard-pressed to keep my hands off.

1997 d'Arenberg Shiraz The Dead Arm McLaren Vale. This big, bold, fun wine draws the taster right in with intoxicating and heady aromas of black and purple fruits, eucalyptus, peppermint dust, menthol leaf, mulling spices, woodshop and fresh-baked brownie. It’s not one big blast, but rather interestingly layered and faceted in a way that’s quite appealing. In the mouth, it’s much the same thing—fun, boisterous and exuberant, with tongue-coating flavors of spiced plum, black fig, and wild blueberries leading the way. It’s relatively low-acid, but stays fresh and upbeat all the way through. The oak and tannin make themselves more apparent as the night goes on, but this is just fun to drink.

2003 Saxum Broken Stones Paso Robles. This is an inky-dense opaque purple color, pushing out rich aromas of coffee cake, Christmas ribbon candies, vanilla paste, mint and chocolate cookies. In the mouth, it is incredibly dense and concentrated, sweet and pasty. The blackberry, prune and wild bramble berry fruit is impressive and showy as hell, and the texture is polished and buffed. It’s loaded with flavor and a bit sweet in tone right now, but I think really it’s probably just a pup at this stage. I am no expert with this style, but I would prefer to maybe wait on this.

2004 Pax Syrah Griffin's Lair Sonoma Coast. Right upon pouring, this is just incredibly stanky, almost offensively so. It takes a while to “settle down” to reveal wild but messy aromas of electrician’s tape, bicycle chain grease, cracked black pepper, bacon fat, olive brine, peat bog, toasted grape stems, chocolate mole sauce, grilled herbs and wild cherry. I mean there’s a ton going on, but it ain’t all good. In the mouth, it tastes like olive brine extract of some kind, with notes of bloody meat, rubber, black pepper and black fruit that are just impossible for me to connect with for whatever reason.

1976 Moulin Touchais Coteaux du Layon. I’ve been fortunate to try quite a few vintages of Moulin Touchais over the years, but the last bottle of 1976 I had about 6 years ago was probably the very best of them all. This bottle doesn’t quite live up to that high standard, I’m afraid, but it’s delicious and a treat to drink nonetheless. The nose is unique and thought-provoking, wafting up out of the glass with scents of pistachio nuts, green coffee beans, burnt sugar, baked peaches, nectarines, lanolin and an odd sort of petroleum jelly note. It’s more classical in nature on the palate, where it delivers lovely flavors of glazed honey, kaffir lime, lemon ball candy and crème brulee topping. It has decent lift and brightness, but the intensity of flavor seems to be sliding downhill at this stage. It’s refined, poised and very tasty, but I would have to say it’s pushing your luck to hold this much longer. Still, what a great way to cap off a fun evening!


-Michael

[AKR]

I drank a lot of that 99 Marcoux, back when it was young. Thanks for bringing back those memories.