Friday, January 23rd, 2009
22nd January 2009
Joining the cream of the British wine trade on our UK trip, we were delighted to taste our way through a sizeable range of the Richards Walford portfolio.
Here are our full notes, although, in truth, we only managed to taste a selection of what is a wide-ranging and extremely impressive body of wines (Királyudvar being especially good).
The notes are divided by country and region:
France, Champagne
NV Champagne Le Mesnil, U.P.R., Le Mesnil-sur-Oger
Champagne Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru 2000
France, Alsace
Rolly Gassmann Riesling Pflaenzerreben, Rorschwihr, Alsace 2000
Rolly Gassmann Gewurztraminer, Rorschwihr, Alsace 2004
Rolly Gassmann Tokay Pinot Gris Rotleibel Vendange Tardive 1996
France, Côtes Catalanes
Le Soula, Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes, Gérard Gauby (Rouge) 2007
Le Soula, Vin De Pays Des Côtes Catalanes, Gérard Gauby (rouge) 2006
Le Soula, Vin De Pays Des Côtes Catalanes, Gérard Gauby (rouge) 2005
Le Soula, Vin De Pays Des Côtes Catalanes, Gérard Gauby (rouge) 2004
France, Rhône
Côte-Rôtie ‘Cuvée du Plessy’, Gilles Barge 2006
Côte-Rôtie ‘Cordeloux’, Pierre Benetière 2006
Austria, Wachau
Grüner Veltliner Loibner Berg Smaragd, Wachau, F. X. Pichler 2007
Riesling Steinertal Smaragd, Wachau, F. X. Pichler 2007
Grüner Veltliner Ried Kreutles Federspiel, Wachau, Emmerich Knoll 2007
Hungary, Tokaji
Királyudvar Tokaji Sec, Tokaji 2005
Királyudvar Tokaji Sec, Tokaji 2006
Királyudvar Tokaji Becsek (demi-sec), Tokaji 2005
Királyudvar Hárslevlu Lapis 2006
Királyudvar Tokaji Cuvée Ilona, Tokaji 2003
Királyudvar Tokaji Aszù 6 Puttonyos, Tokaji 2002
Királyudvar Tokaji Aszù Lapis, Tokaji 2002
Italy, Tuscany
Lisini Brunello di Montalcino, Tuscany 2003
Lisini Brunello di Montalcino, Tuscany 1999
Lisini Brunello di Montalcino, Tuscany 1998
Lisini Brunello Di Montalcino, Tuscany 1995
Italy, Piemonte
Barbera d’Alba ‘Maggiur’, Cascina Luisin 2007
Barbaresco Sorí Paolin, Cascina Luisin 2003
Barbaresco Rabajá, Cascina Luisin 2003
Italy, Veneto
Valpolicella Superiore ‘Marion’, Stefano Campedelli 2004
Teroldego IGT ‘Marion’, Veneto, Stefano Campedelli 2004
Amarone della Valpolicella ‘Marion’, Veneto, Stefano Campedelli 2004
Saturday, December 6th, 2008
6th December 2008, Maison Boulud, Beijing
Xavier and Marie-Helen Borie of Chateaux Grand-Puy-Lacoste and Haut-Batailley, two of Pauillac’s most respected properties, hosted a dinner at Maison Boulud in Beijing’s impressive Legation Quarter. They were joined by Mark Walford of specialist UK importer Richards Walford.
With a fantastic menu (see below), overseen by Daniel Boulud (in New York) and executed by Maison Boulud’s superb Beijing team, guests tasted their way through the following vintages (click on links for full tasting notes):
Château Haut-Batailley, Pauillac 2004
Château Haut-Batailley, Pauillac 2002
Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pauillac 2002
Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pauillac 2000
Château Haut-Batailley, Pauillac 1996
Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pauillac 1996
Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pauillac 1990
Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pauillac 1986
Menu:
‘Pâte en Croute’ (Mosaic of Fall Game with Foie Gras in a Savoury Crust)
Langoustine and Rabbit ‘Gumbo’ (Pyramid Ravioli of Simmered Rabbit with Herbs and Crispy Langoustine with Okra)
‘Truite Pique au Lard’ (Green Cabbage-Wrapped Trout with Pine Nut Gremolata, Studded with Pancetta and Sage)
Duo of Beef (Braised Short Ribs with Porcini Marmalade and Pomme Paille, Roasted Tenderloin with Walnut Marrow Toast)
Brie aux Truffes with a Frisée Salad
Sorbet aux Fruits rouge with a ‘Minestrone’ of Forest Berries and Madagascar Vanilla Ice Cream
There were clearly some beautiful wines here (the 1990 Grand-Puy-Lacoste was showing brilliantly). The Bories were on something of an Asian tour, in place of showing their wines at the UGC tasting, having taken in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore with similar dinners.
Our thanks go to the Bories, Mark Walford, Simon Zhou, Ignace Lelceir, Koen Masschelein, Carine Chu and Marcus Ford for making these dinners possible.
Friday, November 7th, 2008
7th November 2008
Links China is a welcome new arrival to the Beijing market, a company already established in Hong Kong and Macau with some impressive wines from the likes of Domaine Laroche, Villa Cafaggio, Gonzalez Byass and most recently Champagne house Billecart-Salmon of Mareuil-sur-Ay fame.
Antoine Roland-Billecart, on his first visit to Beijing, was in person to present his wines, along with Victor Riberiro and Aladin Laroussi of Links who had organized a sumptuous menu at Jaan, one of the city’s top restaurants and centrepiece of the Raffles Beijing.
On tasting were (click on links for full tasting notes):
Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve
Served with pan-fried foie gras on cepe ravioli with a morel emulsion
Billecart-Salmon Grand Cuvee 1996
Served with slow-cooked scampi in nage followed by roast chicken with wild rice risotto
Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose
Served with a trio of desserts
All of these Champagnes are of high, in some cases, very high quality. It’s a pleasure to see them in Beijing where, sadly, too many Sunday brunches are awash with average, sometimes below average Champagnes (which will hardly incite local Chinese consumers to respect the region, struggling as they do with wines of higher acidity in any case).
The Brut Reserve and Brut Rose are ideal to drink now. The 1996 is clearly very special, but still something of a baby, illustrating the intense acidity of the vintage but with enough extract and concentration of complex autolytic flavours for the long term.
I would personally avoid serving rose Champagnes with desserts, but it was a very high quality menu all round. Links China follows on the heels of Watson’s in bringing decent new wines to the Beijing and wider mainland Chinese markets.
Thursday, May 29th, 2008
29th May 2008: Sauternes-Barsac Dinner at Yung Kee restaurant
Over 200 guests assembled for what has to have been one of the most memorable dinners we are ever likely to attend: a spread of superb Sauternes and Barsac wines matched with the innovative and yet classic cuisine of Hong Kong’s famous Yung Kee restaurant with wines supplied by many of the region’s top chateaux, Yquem and Rieussec excluded.
The range of chateaux represented at the dinner was in itself impressive and the event was topped with an auction with proceeds going to relief for the Sichuan earthquake; Christian Seely MW of AXA Millesimes generously donating a magnum of 2001 Chateau Suduiraut, surely one of the wines of the evening.
It was not always possible to match each of the 11 wines we tasted with the dishes on offer, but some ingenious combinations were revealed as well as certain things that didn’t work from a food-and-wine matching point of view.
The menu appears here first followed by some abbreviated notes on the wines themselves:
Menu
Stir-fried chicken with ginger and pineapple
Classically light, most of the Sauternes working with the ginger here and fruitiness of the pineapple.
Roasted goose liver
You can’t go wrong really in terms of this combination with Sauternes/Barsac.
Millenarian Salade a la HK
This needs a little explaining: it was a strongly flavoured salad with julienned vegetables, lotus buds and lots of sesame oil and sesame seed dressing. The sesame was occasionally over-powering for the wines.
Stir-fried frog
We love Chinese bull-frog – amusingly known as ‘field chicken’ in Mandarin – particularly in Sichuan or Hunan cuisine. This was much lighter in the Cantonese style and worked well with most of the wines, apart from the green pepper that was also a prominent part of the dish. Chinese green peppers are a lot stronger in flavour, even chilli-hot, than European ones. It wasn’t a chilli-heat issue here but the flavour of green pepper that just didn’t sit well with botrytised wine.
Deep-fried oyster
Surprisingly good combination with the lighter of the Sauternes listed below.
Smoked pomfret
Again a good combination, but I was beginning to wonder if the general lightness and relative ‘sweetness’ of much Cantonese fare was not contrasting enough with the wines on offer. Spicier dishes would probably have worked better, particularly with the richer Sauternes in the group.
Wild geese resting on plum tree
Now this was a brilliant dish to go with Sauternes (see below): Cantonese roast goose sitting in a marvellous duck and goose enriched broth with dongu mushrooms (shitake). Superb!
Fried rice vermicelli ‘Sichuan’ style
Sichuan style is a bit of an overstatement because there wasn’t even anything to link this dish with even a bastardized idea of Sichuan food. Very well prepared and presented, however, but again essentially too sweet to work with these kinds of wine.
Sweetened Almond Milk Cream
Lovely almond flavour and a pretty good match.
The Wines: Listed in Order Tasted (not as presented) with more photos below…
2002 Chateau Clos Haut-Peyraguey
Appearance: light gold colour.
Nose: quite noticeable botrytis, has the lightness of fruit of the 2002 vintage – not the easiest one for Sauternes – but is well put-together.
Palate: surprisingly good balance for the vintage, prominent acidity certainly but pretty harmonious with light residual sugar and light candied fruit.
Conclusion: well-made for the vintage. Clos Haut-Peyraguey can be relied on to do a good job, even in difficult years. Drink now or over next two to five years.
Rating: 17/20
2004 Chateau Doisy-Daene
Appearance: lovely medium-gold colour.
Nose: spicy first nose, excellent balance of light candied fruit to botrytis.
Palate: extremely well-balanced, light to medium residual sugar, lovely acidity and impressive length.
Conclusion: we’re big fans of Doisy-Daene, having been fortunate to drink the 1988 and 1990 vintages on a number of occasions. This is our second note on the 2004, in fact. Very, very good. Drink 2012-2024.
Rating: 18/20 (on the night, but will improve)
2005 Chateau Rayne-Vigneau
Appearance: relatively light colour, even for a young vintage.
Nose: delicate first nose, only slight dried and candied white fruits, hint of botrytis.
Palate: richer than expected. Good balance of residual sugar to acidity. It’s rich mouth-feel is not fat in any sense, but grows in power on repeat tasting. Good length.
Conclusion: impressive. We haven’t drunk much Rayne-Vigneau (a half-bottle of the 2003 a few years back), but it is rightly a respected and impressive producer. Their 1997 is said to be spectacular. Drink 2013-2025.
Rating: 18/20 (but will improve)
1999 Chateau La Tour Blanche
Appearance: medium gold.
Nose: spicy first nose and very honeyed (somehow La Tour Blanche always has a lovely honeyed quality, on vintages young and old). Lovely botrytis here.
Palate: more candied fruit and honeyed flavours on the palate, very well-balanced throughout. Long.
Conclusion: La Tour Blanche is another personal favourite of ours (we recall a stupendous bottle of the 1990 drunk in 2006 and no doubt still going well). This 1999 was excellent. Drink 2009-2019.
Rating: 18.5/20
2001 Chateau Suduiraut
Appearance: lovely medium gold colour.
Nose: only just developing, very precise candied fruit and subtle botrytis nose.
Palate: superbly balanced, there’s lovely fruit, great acidity and very harmonious residual sugar here.
Conclusion: very, very good. Expectations were high in approaching one of the celebrated 2001s, but we were not disappointed. People can argue the toss as to whether Rieussec or Yquem 2001 is better – would be great to taste those one of these days! – but this is a very, very good wine with a considerable life ahead of it. Drink 2011-2021, even longer.
Rating: 19/20
1996 Chateau Coutet
Appearance: medium gold colour (actually lighter than the below 2000 Climens).
Nose: gorgeous, mellowed, yet still vibrant honeyed nose with light candied fruits, subtle botrytis, very balanced fruit to botrytis here as the latter is fully integrated.
Palate: complex, wonderful balance of mellowed but still high acidity with integrated pretty high residual sugar, great fruit and superb length.
Conclusion: superb. Actually, to drink on the evening, this was probably our favourite. Drinking very well now, but still with a great life ahead of it. Drink 2008-2016.
Rating: 19/20
1988 Chateau Suduiraut
Appearance: deep gold to amber.
Nose: particularly savoury first nose, bitter marmalade notes, subtle botrytis (as on the 2001 Suduiraut), aged honey notes.
Palate: mellowed, very well-integrated palate. You wouldn’t realize the high acidity content here because of the combination of integration and age with lovely residual sugar.
Conclusion: clearly, a very good Sauternes. This was an extra treat as we were lucky to be sat next to Christian Seely MW – head of AXA Millesimes – and his oenologist wife, the bottle having been brought over for them to taste. Drink now, but will keep.
Rating: 19/20
2000 Chateau Climens
Appearance: deep gold-amber colour.
Nose: quite botrytised, less overt fruit here, but well put-together for what is not an easy vintage.
Palate: rich fruit, dominant botrytis, but nice acidity and pretty good balance with medium-high residual sugar.
Conclusion: this wine shows the quality of Ch. Climens as a producer because 2000 was not the easiest year for anyone in Sauternes. Drink now.
Rating: 17.5/20
1998 Chateau Guiraud
Appearance: deep gold.
Nose: rich nose as characteristic of most Guiraud wines with honeyed fruit, nice botrytis and other savoury aromas.
Palate: full-on, clearly full-bodied, packing pretty high residual sugar, nice acidity and an overall sense of power.
Conclusion: this is a better vintage for Guiraud than in some other years. The wines always tend to be quite massive stylistically. Impressive. Drink now to 2013, or longer. One to watch given the new ownership arrangements at Guiraud.
Rating: 18/20
1997 Chateau Myrat
Appearance: deepish gold to amber.
Nose: immensely raisined first nose, overt botrytis, nutty.
Palate: more very raisined fruit, perhaps not quite in balance here with the sugar and acidity, at least on this bottle.
Conclusion: would go well with a cheese board rather than Cantonese fare, to be honest. This is owing to the nature of Myrat as a producer rather than Cantonese food per se. Not bad. Drink now to 2012.
Rating: 16/20
2003 Chateau Filhot
Appearance: bright gold colour.
Nose: immensely savoury first nose, but also very honeyed with nicely integrated botrytis.
Palate: an impressive amount of acidity for the 2003 vintage (where heat was obviously a problem) and fairly well put-together in terms of fruit to acid to sugar balance. Quite good length too.
Conclusion: A good vintage for Filhot. Drink now to 2013.
Rating: 17.5/20
Saturday, September 15th, 2007
Barolo Cerequio, Michele Chiarlo, Vertical Tasting
Presenting his wines at Aria restaurant in a tasting organized by ASC, Michele Chiarlo revealed that the family owns some 6 hectares of the Cerequio vineyard or about 40% of the total (with the likes of Angelo Gaja, Roberto Voerzio and Aldo Conterno controlling the rest of the vineyard).
The yield is generally at 35 hl/ha. He affirmed the care taken in extracting the better tannins from Nebbiolo before the bitter tannins take over: something the grape can easily show in less carefully made examples. 33% of production is sold in Italy with the rest going overseas, principally to the US and UK.
2003 Barolo Cerequio, Michele Chiarlo
Appearance: deepish purple-red, orange rim.
Nose: Very ripe red cherry, some ‘heat’ from the alcohol here, but there are still Nebbiolo characters coming through with some tar aromas. Oak is not over-dominant and with most of these notes I’ve hardly talked about oak because it’s well-integrated and almost hidden as Nebbiolo takes over.
Palate: big fruit, tight and close but ripe tannins; has impressive acidity for such a difficult vintage, some almond character and also peppermint and clove.
Conclusion: a very good wine for such a demanding vintage. Sensibly, they did not de-leaf in this vintage knowing that the grapes hardly needed much exposure to the sun in the fierce 2003 heat. Good, but it will never be a great Barolo year, not even from this vineyard and this producer.
Rating: 17.5/20
2001 Barolo Cerequio, Michele Chiarlo
Appearance: Medium to medium-deep purple-red, orange rim.
Nose: toasty first nose, a lot more immediately perfumed than the 2003 with a gamey aroma and beautiful red fruits (cherry, redcurrants, even cranberry).
Palate: has ripe large grainy tannins, excellent acidity and considerable finesse. There’s a great balance here on the palate with delicacy, freshness and lovely length.
Conclusion: Very good. A lovely expression of Barolo in a fine year.
Rating: 18.5/20
2000 Barolo Cerequio, Michele Chiarlo
Appearance: Deep purple-red (deeper colour than the 2001 certainly), slightly orange rim.
Nose: More tar on the first nose than perfume. Lavish fruit: more black cherry here than the red fruits you’d normally expect from most Piemonte Nebbiolos (at least those that haven’t had a bit of Barbera added!).
Palate: tannins are ripe and chunky. Considerable black fruits, but there isn’t the staying power here of the 2001 and there’s a slight problem with the palate. It’s not that the wine is short in length: there’s a gap between the generosity of the nose and a palate that gives a little less.
Conclusion: the palate notes here sound overly critical; but I can see why Chiarlo himself has more time for his 2001. This won’t last as well as the 2001 and will be an attractive earlier drinker, still of impressive quality.
Rating: 18/20
1999 Barolo Cerequio, Michele Chiarlo
Appearance: Medium to medium-deep purple-red, orange rim (similar in colour to the 2001).
Nose: Very perfumed indeed – in that way that Nebbiolo at this level is indescribably perfumed, just like great Pinot Noir. Very concentrated ripe red fruits.
Palate: has the feel of ‘sweet’ fruit on the palate, excellent acidity and gripping, ‘angular’ tannins (whereas the tannins on the 2000 were chunky and chewy).
Conclusion: very, very good indeed and, along with the 1997 and 1990, probably my favourite (with the 2001 being a close contender).
Rating: 19/20
1998 Barolo Cerequio, Michele Chiarlo
Appearance: dark purple-red, orange rim (but orange rim is less extensive than that on the 1999).
Nose: has an immediate clove nose with tar, pepper and ripe cherry fruit.
Palate: tannins are chunky here and the palate is very much like the 2000 but with a better overall structure, i.e. the ripe cherry fruit is more integrated and there’s a better balance between fruit, tannin, acidity and alcohol.
Conclusion: very interesting to taste comparatively. Obviously similar to the 2000 in style, but better overall. Although the below rating is the same as the 2001, I think I prefer the 2001 to the 1998, at least in this tasting.
Rating: 18.5/20
1997 Barolo Cerequio, Michele Chiarlo
Appearance: Medium to dark purple-red (I know this sounds strange, but these wines are a real mix of colours and hues)
Nose: first nose has lots of violets, perfume and also rose petal. Throughout, there is the ‘sweet’, ripe red fruits of the 1999 vintage.
Palate: similar to the 1999 with ripe red fruits and perfume, but the tannins are bigger here. Excellent length.
Conclusion: the 1999 is more ‘delicate’ or lighter on the nose and palate than the 1997, but the 1997, with its relative burliness, might last longer. There are both wonderful vintages, however, and point-for-point, this and the 1990 were my top wines.
Rating: 19.5/20
1996 Barolo Cerequio, Michele Chiarlo
Appearance: dark purple core with a real spread of red to orange in the rim.
Nose: shows a very clove and tarry nose – like the 2000 and the 1998 – with concentrated, even closed, red and black cherry fruit.
Palate: fruit is riper and ‘sweeter’ on the palate than expected with very big, chunky tannins and good acidity.
Conclusion: this wine will need a lot of time. Could do 10-20 more years and may well be superb eventually.
Rating: 18.5/20 [but could be higher with further age]
1995 Barolo Cerequio, Michele Chiarlo
Appearance: deep purple-red, orange rim.
Nose: lots of peppermint, tar and perfume with a mixture of red and black cherry fruit.
Palate: has ‘dusty’ big fruit, hefty and chunky tannins, acidity that seems higher here than on other vintages (or is more noticeable).
Conclusion: obviously impressive, but not as conversation-stopping as some of the other wines. Still very good, however.
Rating: 18.5/20
1993 Barolo Cerequio, Michele Chiarlo
Appearance: deep purple-red, orange rim.
Nose: has a very ‘Christmas cake’ first nose with clove, cinnamon and candied fruit.
Palate: shows more peppermint on the palate with lovely red fruits, decent marked acidity and ripe ‘fresh’, i.e. light, tannins (no doubt mellowed with age).
Conclusion: Ready to drink, although will still improve. A lighter, attractive vintage.
Rating: 18/20
1990 Barolo Cerequio, Michele Chiarlo
Appearance: medium purple-red, orange rim (still has considerable colour but has a wider gradation of orange rim than the other wines)
Nose: white truffle nose – the first wine to have this truffle quality – also other mushrooms, red fruits and some perfume.
Palate: mellowed but still lean tannins with generous fruit, complex truffle flavours and great acidity.
Conclusion: this wine still needs time in my book. It’s obviously a massive vintage and it would certainly be better to drink the 1993 before this wine. Stupendous and extremely generous of Michele Chiarlo to bring this over from his personal cellar.
Rating: 19.5/20
Saturday, September 15th, 2007
Interview: Michele Chiarlo brings Barolo to Beijing
(see also Featured Tasting: The Wines of Michele Chiarlo including a vertical of his Barolo Cerequio)
I found Michele Chiarlo giving a class to the service staff of Aria restaurant. Afterwards we sat down and talked for an hour, joined by Giovanni Oliva (Asia Brand Manager for Grandi Vini d’Italia who represents Chiarlo in Asia) and ASC’s Cindy Jia. Chiarlo explained that his first visit to Beijing had been about 12 years ago and that his wines had been on the ASC list for some 8 years.
He likened the development of the Chinese market to that of the US or Japanese fine wine markets several years ago: with the exception that China is set to grow much more quickly in the early stages. He agreed that international wines will only make sense in this new market if they are paired with China’s many diverse cuisines and he recalled a successful wine-and-food matching dinner hosted by ASC in 2006 showing both Chiarlo’s wines and those of Umbrian producer Lungarotti; although he also confessed that it can be hard to make clear the virtues of Italian wines in general and Piemonte wines in particular to Chinese restaurant managers.
Chiarlo is from a family that has been working the Piemonte slopes for seven generations. They have vines in the Barolo, Calamandrana and Gavi zones (owning 50 hectares themselves with access to some 110 hectares overall). His son, Stefano, is currently the wine-maker working alongside oenologist Gianni Meleni. Michele himself has seen some 51 vintages, a tall, modestly dapper gentleman, equally modest in his conversation, but bursting with enthusiasm.
Chiarlo talked of the progress of the 2007 vintage: the weather was consistently mild throughout the year, although there was just enough rain when needed. Most of the grapes – even the fiendishly difficult Nebbiolo with its very long hang-time – achieved great phenolic ripeness. Average daily temperatures in August were around 30 degrees Celsius, with nightly temperatures of down to 14 degrees (ideal for preserving acidity). Whilst many of the wines will be impressive, Chiarlo was particularly excited about the Moscato harvest.
I asked about the developments he’d seen over his career in the vineyard and cellar. Chiarlo began green-harvesting about twenty years ago around 1984-5, following the innovations of Elio Altare, Angelo Gaja and Aldo Conterno. When pressed over the ‘traditionalist’ v. ‘modernist’ debate of the 1990s - basically, the choice between preserving traditional methods but making wines that are hard to drink young OR adopting new techniques to produce fruitier, softer wines for early drinking but ones which can lack varietal character – Chiarlo explained that producers had now learnt from both schools.
On Chiarlo’s view old style wine-making can indeed keep varietal character but too many wines have tended to suffer from rough edges, unripeness and unruly acidity. New techniques such as ageing in French barriques (or adopting micro-oxygenation to make wines softer and more approachable) can obviously compromise varietal character and mask origin, but then the new attention to fermentation and what’s done in the cellar has reaped huge benefits. Most producers now have a composite approach.
Such observations have brought about changes in the Chiarlo cellar. Traditionally, Chiarlo used to macerate his Nebbiolos for about 35 days: now he opts for 15-16 days of skin contact to extract the best rather than the bitter tannins. But he still favours large barrels instead of barriques because of his desire to keep grape character and terroir intact.
Above all, Chiarlo wants wines of freshness, finesse and with enough concentration that they will express grape and vineyard/region exactly. He doesn’t want wines that will blow your head off or even ones that should be taken too earnestly. As he remarked: ‘drinking wine is not an exercise but a pleasure’. The question is, as Chiarlo then asked, ‘how much of a particular wine would you be happy to drink? One glass or more?’ This is the ultimate test of a wine’s appreciation.
Before the vertical tasting of his Barolo Cerequio, we turned to the characteristics of particular vintages and how Chiarlo decides on what to do each year. Generally speaking, Nebbiolo is not merely the last grape to be harvested: it also needs enough time in barrel before deciding what to do with it (age for longer in new oak or older wood, decide how much fining should be used, when to rack etc.).
Although, Barolo is famed for its longevity, Chiarlo insists that certain vintages have been hyped: although 2000 was a good year, for example, he would not agree with Wine Spectator’s 100 point award for the vintage (‘Perfection in Piemonte’ ran the header). Like many Piemonte producers, he prefers 2001. 1996, 1999 and 2001 are all high-quality Barolo years for the long haul. 2004 also looks to be very strong, but the excessive heat of 2003 will not, generally, give long-lived wines. The early 1990s were difficult with only 1993 pulling some weight in terms of quality and ageability; although many 1993s are essentially ready. The dreadful weather in 2002 also forced Chiarlo not to make any Barolo or Barbaresco, a difficult decision but an honest one. This integrity is reflected in the overall quality and purity of the Chiarlo range.
(see also Featured Tasting: The Wines of Michele Chiarlo including a vertical of his Barolo Cerequio)
Thursday, February 2nd, 2006
1996 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers, Dominique Laurent
Appearance: faded purple-red colour with orange rim.
Nose: very pleasant secondary nose (i.e. with mushroomy and other savoury characteristics), good oak, lingering Pinot fruit though as well.
Palate: savoury flavours and lingering red fruits, excellent acidity and superb structure (integrated mellowed silky tannins here). Great length.
Conclusion: A gorgeous wine. Some 1996 Red Burgundies are closed up at present, but this was showing very attractive development. Brilliant.
Rating: 18.5/20
Sunday, May 2nd, 2004
1996 Nyetimber Classic Cuvee, England
Appearance: deepish green gold, fairly good mousse.
Nose: quite toasty and biscuity displaying considerable contact on the lees and lots of Pinot fruit, powerful.
Palate: good acidity and pleasant dosage, good length, balanced alcohol, lovely savoury fruit.
Conclusion: still on the young side really, despite the fact that Nyetimber has only just released this one after considerable ageing. Nyetimber certainly has the potential to compete with the top Grand Marques of Champagne and Champagne’s top smaller growers too.
Rating: 18.5/20
Sunday, September 7th, 2003
1996 Rioja Reserva Glorioso, Bodegas Palacio
Appearance: medium red purple, slightly orange rim.
Nose: strawberries, vanilla, chutney (at least a slight caramelized onion smell), American oak, sweet tobacco, even mincemeat.
Palate: medium acidity, medium alcohol, sweet and aromatic tasting; strawberries and red cherry, good weight, light softened tannins. Good length.
Conclusion: certainly within its drinking phase, but from a year good enough to age for a little while longer if necessary. Rioja goes extremely well with roast pork (as this bottle did).
Rating: 17/20
Saturday, June 28th, 2003
1996 Châteauneuf-du-Pape ‘La Crau’, Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe
Appearance: medium red purple with bricky tinge.
Nose: white pepper, red and black plums, red cherry, slightly vegetal, nice oak.
Palate: chewy but not astringent, already slightly softened tannins alcoholic, red cherry and plum fruits with a slight chutney or spiced taste, balanced acid. Good length.
Conclusion: already drinking but also has huge potential for next two to three years (and perhaps longer). More forward than equivalent vintage from Clos des Papes (at least with this bottle). Very sophisticated Châteauneuf.
Rating: 18/20
