It's always a nice experience to see your friends move into a new place. The excitement, the grand tour, the new furniture. It always satisfies. Not only that, but it's a great excuse for champagne. Not sparkling wine? Even considering the great leaps forward the new world AND the great strides made by those in my own country, The UK, there still seems to be a greater cache with the Champagne "brand". The word just trips off the tongue of those people wishing to celebrate in style. It's no surprise that this frustrates new world makers and this attitude was well illustrated when a very wise person told me something seemingly obvious.
"Drink the wine, not the label."
But every time we pop the cork on a bottle of Champagne, isn't that precisely what we're doing?
The Moet seems to have modernized itself over the last ten years. For a brand formally seen as the last word in champagne consistency, this is a surprise. The nose is standard champers. Green, toast, hints of mixed nuts. There is markedly more citrus on the front of the palate before the rocky crunch of the mousse takes hold. Medium finish, nothing prodigious. The mousse is more aggressive than is ideal.
The Monopole is much more like the Moet used to be. I used to think of many champagnes as "neutral". Not too much of anything and perfectly suited to corporate luncheons. The Monopole seems a little outdated now. I'm not a sparkling expert by a long chalk, but I don't think an aficionado would easily be able to tell this as champagne in a tasting flight of new world offerings. The mouth feel was nice though, having a slightly finer mousse than the M&C. Perfectly acceptable, but somewhat overpriced and one paced. I drank the label.
In the end the Moet & Chandon is somewhat like my mates' new apartment. A nice slice of modernity slid comfortably into a classic package. Well priced and a great image. I'd be happy to take the tour now.
I've just returned from Bordeaux. I might write a small piece on a few of my experiences there a bit later. For now, I'll share my clearest memory. The joy of the Enomatic machines of wine shop by the name of Max Bordeaux.
You know the drill, get a card from the staff and put some money onto it. Stick the card into the little slot slot on the front of the machine and pour yourself a tasting sample. For those not acquainted, here's the company's website.
I only had a limited time to sample, so I just shot a few snaps and jotted down a few impressions.
Cos D'Esturnel 2002
Early maturity, grippy and long.
Truffles and cloves over licqour cassis.
Dripping with class and not overly concentrated.
Chateau Brahans Haut Brion 2005
Dense and showing maturity at the rim. Truffles and some beef consommé on the nose. Spicy and still plenty of years left. The best wine I've drunk so far.
Chateau Canon la Gaffeliere 2008
Sweetened but not jammy. A little animal on the nose. Classic right bank.
A coolness and and mineral component offsetting the fruit. A gent.
Cos D'Estournel Blanc 2009
Very dense green citrus and herbal candy. Almost comedically concentrated. Resinous body and very round. Poor cost performance (?).
Chateau Le Sartre 2010
More stone and acid on the nose. Excellent. Crystalline and focused.
Still a little young, but intense green citrus and refined use of oak. No bitterness in the green flavour and wonderful balance for food or apperitif.
As you can see, not exhaustive notes. Great wines to glug back in a very short space of time! If you're in Bordeaux I heartily recommend Max. They're right down town so you'd be a fool to miss out.
After another warm autumn afternoon of barbecue and chat on the roof of Wine Bar Libero.
Then the unexpected happened. One of the guests suggested that we top the day off with something a little more special than the sturdy, worthy wines that were designed to compete with Shohei's trademark tandoori chicken. I heartily agreed, as one is want to do after drinking a bottle of wine by 5:30pm. I'm certainly glad I did.
First the Pauillac. Very pleasantly surprised here. I was expecting a competent 2005 left
banker, but got something a lot better balanced and delicious.
My
expectations weren't sky high as I'd got this at a pretty hefty
discount, but upon decanting it became clear just from the rich, dark
fruit nose and faint hints of dried vanilla pods that this was a surprise package. The sweet dutch tobacco once it had opened up with the air raised my expectations further.
Beautiful balance, plenty of left bank character, very well judged oak and just the right amount of tannin for my tastes. The structure really let the fruit component of the palate sing. Just a smidge of residual sugar to add to the overall air of opulence. Evolved well in the glass to the extent that it made me hungry for more meat. That really was an achievement after such carnivorous day.
If I had a criticism it would be a slight lack of intensity and length.
Remember, this was a sale item!
I was a little hazy by the time I came to thinking of what to write about the Puligny-Montrachet. Undoubtedly delicious, the main thing that stayed with me was the style. Arrestingly modern. The Etienne Sauzet was, miracle upon miracles, another wine with wonderful balance. Old world minerality, new world citrus, globally appealing levels of sweetness from the 25% new oak used to mature this wine. This seemed to me to be half-way between the Domaines Raveneau Chablis and Kongsgaard's The Judge Chardonnay we'd all enjoyed at the anniversary party at the same establishment a few months before. "I must get this again." I thought to myself.
Then I got the hiccups.
Not entirely unexpected.
When is a syrah not a syrah? When it tastes a little like a Cru Beaujolais. I had this preconception bending drop in the quirky surrounds of Kyoto's premier oddball wine bar, Pinot Taro.
Rene Jean Dard Francois Ribo Les Rouges Batie Croze Hermitage certainly surprises. Even if you knew that this was from the Rhone it would be difficult to pick this as a monovarietal syrah. Don't ask me about the colour (Pinot Taro is purposefully Stygian in it's lighting gloom), but the nose on this suggested a very different spice profile to that which might be expected. Bright, but not in any way Christmassy or peppery. The best I could come up with at the time was a resinous, seed like quality with hints of caraway. It's the floral component that really drives the nose. Wafts of peony that one might expect in a glass of Julienas or Chiroubles that are also heady with some noticeable alcohol.
The palate is dominated by dark fruit, but this still leads us to the unexpected. Not the bramble and pepper driven hit of syrah, but the volatility of a young Cru Beaujolais and somewhat like a fruit sauce to be served with game containing a good balance of acid and dried characteristics. Not overly long and not answering a question that anyone's asking, this wine engages on its own terms. Drink at the right price.
Here's a thought. What if something just fell from the sky and hit you on the head. Will there be a fracture? A concussion? At least a nasty bump? This latest sunbeam from the sunny skies of Uruguay certainly came out of the blue but I must say that I feel better for it's impact. Viña Progreso Bodega Experimental Open Barrel Tannat. The name is a little difficult to say after a few glasses of the stuff but you'll be glad you said them to your local wine shop owner.
First impressions into the glass were a rich, purpled core fading to a deep lilac rim. All good so far. Smoke on the Water. What an aroma. It's still deeply purple in a way that Prince could identify with. Like a monovarietal Petit Verdot on some serious steroids. And testosterone. Plenty of berries and stone fruit give it a truly regal air. Very up front but distinctive.
After tasting quite a lot nice wine this year (not a lot compared to the pros, but a lot for me) it was nice to get something really different. Not just a novelty either. There's craft at work behind the fruit and the tannin. The open barrel part. I'll quote from the website.
Or I can take a screen cap. The oak is noticeable but is well judged and suits this wine. It isn't noticeably sweetened buy the effects of the barrel. I'm sure the edges of this deeply stone fruited, floral flavour will meld together well and this 2011 vintage should be drinking very well by 2015. It was delicious and I want to drink some more soon.
It might be a long wait though. Bottles like this don't just fall into your lap.
