Notes from a pot luck dinner with my usual blind tasting lunch group.

1997 Remoissenet Renommee Bourgogne Blanc – medium colour, nice lemony
nose with hints of caramel, and a nice long clean finish. Purportedly
a blend of declassified Puligny and Meursault. Very nice mature Burg
at a bargain price.

Antech Cremant de Limoux 'Emotion' (nv) – soft pink bubbly for summer
drinking, full and crisp with some decent yeastiness in the nose.

The next two wines were so different and yet both so interesting and
were served with a wonderful lobster salad.

1999 Nigl Gruner Veltliner Privat Senftenberger Piri – great white
pepper and pear nose had us all heading for the Rhone, though less
usual in a white. Well made wine with good weight and fruit and a
suave palate presentation that would shame many a white Burg. Long
clean finish.

1996 Huet Vouvray sec Le Haut Lieu – I brought this because we had
tasted a 2006 Lieu-dit recently and I wanted to show what age in a
good vintage could do. Lemon yellow with a waxy grapefruit and floral
nose and a bit of richer fruit underneath – hint of passion fruit?
Great fruit in the mouth, a lemon cream confection that finished long
and with great acidity.

2002 Louis Michel Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre – uplifted nose
with some citrus – turned definitely to lemon with a bit of time, soft
but balanced ending with a nice flush of clean acidity.

2004 Jadot Santenay Blanc Clos de Malte – similar colour to the
Chablis, but the nose totally different with medium sweet oak and
creamed corn (not my descriptor but very apt). Big mouth feel and
excellent length and acidity. Performed above its pay grade.

1989 Talbot – the nose on this wine was very good- big, rich and
mature, with hints of briar and green. Sweet on palate with lively
acidity. No rush.

1986 Talbot – brought by chance by another participant. Excellent
mature nose with some currant and vanilla, great balance, lots of
stuffing, exceptional length, and the tannins now abated to a degree
that makes it hard to argue for more cellar time. I am fortunate in
having both vintages in my cellar, so far untouched!

1999 Tenuta Roccaccia Fontenova - an IGT all Sangiovese wine from
Tuscany, with a big cocoa nose, sweet attack and slow clean retire.
Very pleasant wine and one that I see from my cellar list is also
residing (somewhere) in my cellar and I must search it out as it is
drinking so well now.

2003 Quintarelli Primofiore - pepper in the nose, and a big entry
with ripe fruit, and this ripeness is also the theme in midpalate,
followed by a medium long finish.

1997 Joseph Swan Wolfspierre Vd. Sonoma Pinot Noir – I should preface
this note by saying that I have sought out and enjoyed Swan’s wines
for a couple of decades now, back into the interesting Zinfandels from
the 70s, assorted cabs and chards, and the odd Pinot Noir. Which
nicely brings me to the wine at hand, because this Pinot Noir was very
odd indeed! A dark wine with a sweet minty nose that had us thinking
Australia, some raspberry in the nose, but on palate oddly disjointed
and totally un-Pinot like. This wasn’t (IMHO) good, though it wasn’t
a bad wine, it was just a very strange wine that made you wonder what
(or if) the winemaker had been thinking. Great for blind tastings, as
other than the hint of raspberry, there was zero clue as to varietal.

On Jun 5, 10:28*am, "Bill S." > wrote:
> Notes from a pot luck dinner with my usual blind tasting lunch group.
>
> 1997 Remoissenet Renommee Bourgogne Blanc – medium colour, nice lemony
> nose with hints of caramel, and a nice long clean finish. *Purportedly
> a blend of declassified Puligny and Meursault. Very nice mature Burg
> at a bargain price.
>
> Antech Cremant de Limoux 'Emotion' (nv) – soft pink bubbly for summer
> drinking, full and crisp with some decent yeastiness in the nose.
>
> The next two wines were so different and yet both so interesting and
> were served with a wonderful lobster salad.
>
> 1999 Nigl Gruner Veltliner Privat Senftenberger Piri – great white
> pepper and pear nose *had us all heading for the Rhone, though less
> usual in a white. Well made wine with good weight and fruit and a
> suave palate presentation that would shame many a white Burg. Long
> clean finish.
>
> 1996 Huet Vouvray sec Le Haut Lieu – I brought this because we had
> tasted a 2006 Lieu-dit recently and I wanted to show what age in a
> good vintage could do. *Lemon yellow with a waxy grapefruit and floral
> nose and a bit of richer fruit underneath – hint of passion fruit?
> Great fruit in the mouth, a lemon cream confection that finished long
> and with great acidity.
>
> 2002 Louis Michel Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre – uplifted nose
> with some citrus – turned definitely to lemon with a bit of time, soft
> but balanced ending with a nice flush of clean acidity.
>
> 2004 Jadot Santenay Blanc Clos de Malte – similar colour to the
> Chablis, but the nose totally different with medium sweet oak and
> creamed corn (not my descriptor but very apt). *Big mouth feel and
> excellent length and acidity. *Performed above its pay grade.
>
> 1989 Talbot – the nose on this wine was very good- big, rich and
> mature, with hints of briar and green. Sweet on palate with lively
> acidity. No rush.
>
> 1986 Talbot – brought by chance by another participant. *Excellent
> mature nose with some currant and vanilla, great balance, lots of
> stuffing, exceptional length, and the tannins now abated to a degree
> that makes it hard to argue for more cellar time. *I am fortunate in
> having both vintages in my cellar, so far untouched!
>
> 1999 Tenuta Roccaccia Fontenova - *an IGT all Sangiovese wine from
> Tuscany, with a big cocoa nose, sweet attack and slow clean retire.
> Very pleasant wine and one that I see from my cellar list is also
> residing (somewhere) in my cellar and I must search it out *as it is
> drinking so well now.
>
> 2003 Quintarelli Primofiore *- pepper in the nose, and a big entry
> with ripe fruit, and this ripeness is also the theme in midpalate,
> followed by a medium long finish.
>
> 1997 Joseph Swan Wolfspierre Vd. Sonoma Pinot Noir – I should preface
> this note by saying that I have sought out and enjoyed Swan’s wines
> for a couple of decades now, back into the interesting Zinfandels from
> the 70s, assorted cabs and chards, and the odd Pinot Noir. *Which
> nicely brings me to the wine at hand, because this Pinot Noir was very
> odd indeed! *A dark wine with a sweet minty nose that had us thinking
> Australia, some raspberry in the nose, but on palate oddly disjointed
> and totally un-Pinot like. *This wasn’t (IMHO) good, though it wasn’t
> a bad wine, it was just a very strange wine that made you wonder what
> (or if) the winemaker had been thinking. *Great for blind tastings, as
> other than the hint of raspberry, there was zero clue as to varietal.

thanks for notes.
I generally love the Nigl Privat GV
Your experience with the 02 Louis Michel Montee de Tonnerre is much
better than my recent one. I found it flat and dilute, but your note
(and my previous experience) makes me wonder if it were damaged, maybe
TCA under my perception. Still have one '02 Montmains.
I don't know of a '86 claret that is drinking better now than the
Talbot (Margaux, Lafite et al are going to be better wines but need
time imo), best ever from property that I've tried.

Bill S. wrote:

> 1999 Nigl Gruner Veltliner Privat Senftenberger Piri – great white
> pepper and pear nose had us all heading for the Rhone, though less
> usual in a white. Well made wine with good weight and fruit and a
> suave palate presentation that would shame many a white Burg. Long
> clean finish.

Lucky you, Bill. In the circles that I frequent, the '99 Piri Privat
has an almost cult-like following. And no surprises on the next wine,
either!

>
> 1996 Huet Vouvray sec Le Haut Lieu – I brought this because we had
> tasted a 2006 Lieu-dit recently and I wanted to show what age in a
> good vintage could do. Lemon yellow with a waxy grapefruit and floral
> nose and a bit of richer fruit underneath – hint of passion fruit?
> Great fruit in the mouth, a lemon cream confection that finished long
> and with great acidity.
[...]
> 1997 Joseph Swan Wolfspierre Vd. Sonoma Pinot Noir – I should preface
> this note by saying that I have sought out and enjoyed Swan’s wines
> for a couple of decades now, back into the interesting Zinfandels from
> the 70s, assorted cabs and chards, and the odd Pinot Noir. Which
> nicely brings me to the wine at hand, because this Pinot Noir was very
> odd indeed! A dark wine with a sweet minty nose that had us thinking
> Australia, some raspberry in the nose, but on palate oddly disjointed
> and totally un-Pinot like. This wasn’t (IMHO) good, though it wasn’t
> a bad wine, it was just a very strange wine that made you wonder what
> (or if) the winemaker had been thinking. Great for blind tastings, as
> other than the hint of raspberry, there was zero clue as to varietal.

What a weird showing, Bill. I've had some mighty odd Pinots from Swan,
but those were late '70s editions, and my recent experiences have been
much more consistent. Did you have this at the winery originally?
Could it have been heat damaged somehow? (I'm not impugning your cellar
in any way, mind you)

Mark Lipton



--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net