A Friday evening meeting of some of the Wellington wine geeks with special guests, Helen and Ken Masters. Helen is the winemaker at Ata Rangi, arguably the best pinot noir and chardonnay in NZ (and a Burghound 92-point recipient).
It was one of those nights when it’s not just about tasting, but drinking and eating. And that makes a big difference. I wrote the notes for the pinots then. The rest is from memory and therefore shorter and more impressionistic.
Our host and our cook was Mikey D, a wineberserker legend in his own time: he produced some great dishes which helped us getting the most out of the wines.
Gimonnet Special Club Blanc de Blanc, Champagne, 2000
Vibrant colour with golden hue. Rich tropical and lifted aromas. The wine has great balance and length. Good richness and acidity. Very fresh and will develop further. I did not expect a Blanc de Blanc.
Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet, St Aubin, En Remilly 2009
Lifted and slightly pungent aromas. Peach, lemon and tropical notes. There is good concentration here and a style which fits the vintage very well.
Raveneau, Chablis, Valmur, 2005
Seabreeze and seaweed. Good acidity running through. Some of us found some tropical notes in the form a guava. A wine which changed drastically with food and revealed excellent Chablis depth, concentration and succulent acidity.
Henri Boillot, Corton-Charlemagne, 2007
Powerful and elegant combination of stonefruit, pear, lemon, minerality and some flint (a touch of sulfur). On palate this was exceptional: great concentration, extraordinary weight, precision and length. No sign of premox, zippo. One of the best white burgundies I’ve ever had if not the best. One of the best wines I’ve ever had.
Bruno Clair, Gevrey-Chambertin, Clos St Jaques, 2009
High-toned red and dark cherries with already a gevrey meaty and spice character. A slight smoky edge,possibly a 2009 character, but there is nothing toasted or jammy here. Very floral and lifted, totally charming. Much tighter on the palate, grat focus and precision. Unlike other 2009s we have tasted, this has tight focus, freshness and acidity, and excellent structure. No alcohol impression, way too easy to drink. Great purity of fruit, lengthy and tight; possibly shutting down a bit.
De Vogüé, Chambolle Musigny Premier Cru 2006
Red cherries, rapsberry, subtle floral lift but rather subdued compared to the 2009. Some very evasive secondary development; a bit of forest floor. Still very tight. The palate is more impressive. Excellent concentration, richness of fruit and the floral character runs through the palate. Good tannic structure and earthy bitter character (cherry stone) which in its youth came across as a bit feral. Mid palate is deep; there is matière and length here. Detailed complexity, not exactly opened and fully expressive but this already delightful and very promising.
Leroy, Vosne-Romanée, Les Beaux Monts, 1er cru, 1995
A wine about to reach its peak. Still very primary fruit character but elegance balance and some secondary character. There is a highly recognisable whole bunch character here with beautiful floral aromas and a serious structure. Fungal/unami character but many years to go. Lifted aromatics and intoxicating says Helen Masters. Great balance, length and viobrancy. Very charming and elegant but will develop further. Looking at Burghound’s note after the tasting, he was very skeptical about this wine’s ability to integrate its rather harsh tannins and acidity. But we had no doubt that the wine has perfectly integrated and developed. Maybe something about the producer getting the most in any given year. A spectacular wine.
Hospices de Nuits Saint George - Les Saint Georges 1er cru (Cuvée Faiveley) 1993
At its peak of complexity and maturity; autumnal character but still lots of fruit (back cherries, mulberry, plum). Character is perfectly balanced and mature; tannins are fine and dusty. Good freshness lets the wine unfold beautifully. The tannic structure is Nuits Saint Georges, but the charm of the wine is its perfect maturing.
We drank some more. Climens, Barsac, 2007; Taylor’s, Port, 2005. We were happy!
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