Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux, France
59 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 % Merlot, 10 % Cabernet Franc, 1 % Petit Verdot
14 % Alcohol
Tasted 2015-08-25, 2015-08-26 & 2015-08-27
Imperviously dark cherry red. Directly after opening some sauerkraut notes which evaporate quickly. Then sour cherries. Or better dark choccolate filled with sour cherries. On the palate tart, some bitter notes. These are not the tannins. Something different I can't recognize. Perhaps resin? Mmh. Let's wait.
The next day. Very closed, slightly resinous aromas with the sour cherries more in the background. Earthy. The taste is now more fruity but still with the resins lying somewhere under the carpet. Never tasted something like this. Mmh. Let's wait. Again.
The third day. The big surprise. Now totally balanced aromas. Sour cherries, black chocolate, a little bit chili and black tea. I would say "warm smell" - if anyone understands what I mean. Extremely fruity, full bodied with a lot of spices far at the end of the very long finish. Crazy, really crazy.
This second wine of the Château Smith Haut Lafitte is not an easy drinking wine. You can drink it now and it will provide a lot of fun - after minimum eight hours decanting. Then this is the wine for Christmas Eve when all visitors have left. Sit down in your arm chair, pick up the bottle you decanted hours before and hid. Raise your glass and say: "Merry Christmas" - and this is the truth.
Food pairing? Difficult. I would simply enjoy one or two pieces of medium-dark chocolate. As I said after hours of decanting you can drink the Le Petit. You can also wait another five years. Less decanting, but the style will not change I could bet.
Tuesday, August 25. 2015
2012 Roc De Cambes (94/100)
Côtes De Bourg, Bordeaux, France
80 % Merlot, 20 % Cabernet Sauvignon
14 % Alcohol
Tasted 2015-08-23, 2015-08-24 & 2015-08-25
Medium deep cherry red. At the beginning some vegetable notes. Needs lot of air. Then the nose - slowly - transfers to perfume and flower notes. Finally the fruit aromas arise. Blackberries, cherries falling down from the trees to the meadows, a little bit of smoked ham. Animalistic and wild. Totally contrary on the palate. By far not as aggressive as induced by the smell. Charming, harmonic, with present but wonderfully integrated tannins. Opulent with very long finish and very, very sexy. Already well drinkable - after minimum one hour decanting.
The next (two) days. Aromas now have changing completely. Vegatable aromas totally gone. Only black fruits paired with a little bit of licorice and cold cigar smoke. Pure eroticism. And on the palate? Mercilessly velvety and never ending. Thanks, MH, to recommend this wonderful beauty. So my recommendation with one hour decanting was wrong. Four hours minimum at the moment. But with this constraint the wine provides infinite joy already now and for the next three years. After that changing but on high level. Total lifetime? 15 years minimum. Wine food pairing? Beef Stroganoff! A dream!
80 % Merlot, 20 % Cabernet Sauvignon
14 % Alcohol
Tasted 2015-08-23, 2015-08-24 & 2015-08-25
Medium deep cherry red. At the beginning some vegetable notes. Needs lot of air. Then the nose - slowly - transfers to perfume and flower notes. Finally the fruit aromas arise. Blackberries, cherries falling down from the trees to the meadows, a little bit of smoked ham. Animalistic and wild. Totally contrary on the palate. By far not as aggressive as induced by the smell. Charming, harmonic, with present but wonderfully integrated tannins. Opulent with very long finish and very, very sexy. Already well drinkable - after minimum one hour decanting.
The next (two) days. Aromas now have changing completely. Vegatable aromas totally gone. Only black fruits paired with a little bit of licorice and cold cigar smoke. Pure eroticism. And on the palate? Mercilessly velvety and never ending. Thanks, MH, to recommend this wonderful beauty. So my recommendation with one hour decanting was wrong. Four hours minimum at the moment. But with this constraint the wine provides infinite joy already now and for the next three years. After that changing but on high level. Total lifetime? 15 years minimum. Wine food pairing? Beef Stroganoff! A dream!
Saturday, August 22. 2015
2012 Les Hauts De Pontet-Canet (92/100)
Vin De France
14.0 % Alcohol
Tasted 2015-08-20 & 2015-08-21
Deep dark and bright cherry red. Extreme black cherry aromas paired with a touch of licorice and very dark rose petals. In addition a fleshy note which adds to this decadent (in positive sense) smell an animalistic character. On the palate an insane blackberry flash with a terrific smooth and long finish. That's brave, crazy and awesome.
The "Les Hauts De Pontet-Canet" is the second wine of the Pauillac winery Château Pontet-Canet. For the AOC Pauillac an independent company named "Qualisud" is assigned to check the wines of the AOC for instance for "typicality" of the AOC. These checks are done by a jury of five independent experts who are not be paid for this activity. For the 2012 "Les Hauts De Pontet-Canet" this jury stated that the wine does not follow the Pauillac rules for typicality. As a consequence the Château is not allowed to sell the wine with the remark AOC Pauillac on the label. It needed to be declassified to "Vin De France".
Hm. During a California wine tasting I offered this wine as a pirate blind to a friend. He immediately recognized that this must be a Bordeaux wine. And I could bet if I had not told him that at this moment where the wine comes from he would also have recognized the Left Bank family or even more. And again it is allowed to ask if such a jury makes sense or not.
However it is definitely correct that is different to other Pauillac wines in terms of the addressed audience. You can and you should drink it young. At the moment this wine offers such extreme hedonistic joy that it would be shame to avoid this. On the other hand the quality of the Pontet-Canet premium was raised so dramatically in the last decade, accompanied by a tremendous aging potential, that it would be interesting to keep track of this development. I have to think about this - and perhaps buy more:-).
At the moment I would pair it with French breast of duck with port wine sauce.
14.0 % Alcohol
Tasted 2015-08-20 & 2015-08-21
Deep dark and bright cherry red. Extreme black cherry aromas paired with a touch of licorice and very dark rose petals. In addition a fleshy note which adds to this decadent (in positive sense) smell an animalistic character. On the palate an insane blackberry flash with a terrific smooth and long finish. That's brave, crazy and awesome.
The "Les Hauts De Pontet-Canet" is the second wine of the Pauillac winery Château Pontet-Canet. For the AOC Pauillac an independent company named "Qualisud" is assigned to check the wines of the AOC for instance for "typicality" of the AOC. These checks are done by a jury of five independent experts who are not be paid for this activity. For the 2012 "Les Hauts De Pontet-Canet" this jury stated that the wine does not follow the Pauillac rules for typicality. As a consequence the Château is not allowed to sell the wine with the remark AOC Pauillac on the label. It needed to be declassified to "Vin De France".
Hm. During a California wine tasting I offered this wine as a pirate blind to a friend. He immediately recognized that this must be a Bordeaux wine. And I could bet if I had not told him that at this moment where the wine comes from he would also have recognized the Left Bank family or even more. And again it is allowed to ask if such a jury makes sense or not.
However it is definitely correct that is different to other Pauillac wines in terms of the addressed audience. You can and you should drink it young. At the moment this wine offers such extreme hedonistic joy that it would be shame to avoid this. On the other hand the quality of the Pontet-Canet premium was raised so dramatically in the last decade, accompanied by a tremendous aging potential, that it would be interesting to keep track of this development. I have to think about this - and perhaps buy more:-).
At the moment I would pair it with French breast of duck with port wine sauce.
Saturday, August 1. 2015
2007 Angelo Gaja Barbaresco (95/100)
Barbaresco, Piedmont, Italy
Alcohol 14.5 %
Tasted 2015-08-01
Dark medium ruby red with some garnet red rims. Classical Piedmont nose: Ripe red fruits, tobacco, dry Cinzano, wood herbs. Extremely fruity and wonderfully fresh. The fruits are dominating and glide smoothly to the very long end. This wine has no edges and flaws. It's a charmer. After two hours the characteristic is changing. More and more the wine opens up. The herb notes are now perfectly integrated into the fruit aromas. Extraordinary! There is nothing, nothing from the typical tannin dominated Piedmont hardness and severity. It fills the complete mouth with a silky but still fresh harmony.
The 2007 vintage is listed as very good but not outstanding. The summer was very hot and there was a lot of dryness. Similar to 2006, but in this year September rains led to a very great vintage. So if you are looking for a long-living Gaja Barbaresco take the 2006. I prefer the 2007. Very rarely I drunk a wine more balanced than this one. Gaja wines are too expensive? Perhaps. This bottle provided me with joy and awe in parallel. What better you can say about a wine?
At the moment absolutely perfect to drink - after two hours decanting. But I believe it is still not on the top. Perhaps in five years. Total lifetime? 20+. And a better partner for Vitello tonnato is very difficult to find.
A milestone in my wine history.
Alcohol 14.5 %
Tasted 2015-08-01
Glorious. The 2007 Gaja Barbaresco.
Dark medium ruby red with some garnet red rims. Classical Piedmont nose: Ripe red fruits, tobacco, dry Cinzano, wood herbs. Extremely fruity and wonderfully fresh. The fruits are dominating and glide smoothly to the very long end. This wine has no edges and flaws. It's a charmer. After two hours the characteristic is changing. More and more the wine opens up. The herb notes are now perfectly integrated into the fruit aromas. Extraordinary! There is nothing, nothing from the typical tannin dominated Piedmont hardness and severity. It fills the complete mouth with a silky but still fresh harmony.
The 2007 vintage is listed as very good but not outstanding. The summer was very hot and there was a lot of dryness. Similar to 2006, but in this year September rains led to a very great vintage. So if you are looking for a long-living Gaja Barbaresco take the 2006. I prefer the 2007. Very rarely I drunk a wine more balanced than this one. Gaja wines are too expensive? Perhaps. This bottle provided me with joy and awe in parallel. What better you can say about a wine?
At the moment absolutely perfect to drink - after two hours decanting. But I believe it is still not on the top. Perhaps in five years. Total lifetime? 20+. And a better partner for Vitello tonnato is very difficult to find.
A milestone in my wine history.
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