Summer sozzles
July 7, 2010 Leave a Comment
After a few months of sobriety, the last few weeks have been pretty massive. We’ve gone back to having a glass or two with dinner and I’ve had a couple of big evenings out.
The annual Bottle Opening party at Garage (formerly Wine Garage) featured 2 Premier Cru Chassagne Montrachets and 5 Bordeaux reds in addition to the annual mystery wine and a generous present of a Sauternes. Leaving aside the mystery wine (this year it was the Mouton Rothschild 1989) which was in a different league (although I don’t think it justified 98 points from WS – Bob was nearer the mark with 90 points), picks of the evening were the Jean-Marc Pillot les Macherelles 2006 and the Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot 2003. Of the two whites, the Pillot had better structure and a cleaner taste. Slightly nutty on the nose and a nice touch of pineapple on the mid-palate. In general, the 2003 Bordeaux remained very tight, closed on the nose but frightenly dry at seven years of age. While the dangers of over extraction and high levels of alcohol turned out to be unfounded in the wines on show, the fruit was largely fading, which is not a good sign. Drink up soon.
I’d brought 3 wines to dinner the following weekend – Veuve Fornay Rose NV, Hugel Jubilee Riesling 1998 and a Comte Senard Clos des Meix 1996. The Riesling was a complete revelation – smoky, kerosine nose but dry, clean as a whistle and sharp as a knife. A complete bargain at half the retail price!
That said, the wine of the month was something we had at the back of the fridge and opened one night for dinner. We had picked up a few bottles (the last remaining bottles in a little shop in Arrowtown) of Gypsy Dancer Pinot Noir 2003 on our honeymoon – this was the late Gary Andrus’s short lived New Zealand venture. Rest in peace and rest assured – it’s not Burgundy but it really is just as good.
