equivocal

decent evening

muga prado enea gran riserva 1996 (rioja) [80% temp, 20% garnacha ,mazuelo and graziano]

decanted 15 mins.; dark ruby (belied it's age); ripe berries (still heaps of it), tobacco/a little stalky, wet oak, earth, fresh, suprisingly primary; ripe berries and plum, bit of musk, hint of funky wet fur/leather? (thank god it became barely perceptible in about 25 mins.), sappy/stalky/resin, cocoa?, a little mineral, flavours beginning to meld; balanced by soft fine tannins and excellent juicy acidity; sleek; medium bodied; long ... yay; very much alive and can obviously develop further; BANG! ... woulda been (+) if it were priced a little more modestly.

bits and pieces

1)nicolas potel chablis 1er cru montmains 2006
straw; citrus (lime/grapefruit?), slightly floral, nectarine; follows onto palate, a little ripe?, bit rich for a chablis; lotsa minerals/chalk and acid (suck on some lemon rind); longish finish with the aforesaid lemon bits; BANG!

2)carlos serres onomastica 1995 (rioja reserva)
ruby, still dark; cherry, plum, vanilla/wood, spicy; quite rich with dark fruit, woody vanilla; lots of fine tannins with just enough acid so i didn't gag; it don't taste like a rioja, almost like some medium weight barossa!?; medium/big bodied; medium length; 13.5%; POP! ... but for the price, maybe POOP!



3)dr loosen bernkasteler lay kabinett 2007
straw; lime, peach, grape!; more than off dry almost sweet (but no where near the 06), lime, grapefruit, oats, red delicious, underlying chalk and stone, fleshy kind of feel; very nice juicy mouthwatering acid; long; you keep wanting to fill the glass; 8%; BANG! woud be nice to see it in a coupla years.

4)pikes clare riesling reserve 2002
deep straw/ gold; lime, cumquat, stone, dried apricots; follows onto palate, maybe some golden delicious?, hint of kero; has softened ... aging and mellowing nicely; acid still there to keep things fresh though; longish said dried apricot/citrus rind finish; BANG!

sugar

basically sangria for dinner yesterday and lunch today . . . cane sugar does wonders for cr*ppy rioja . . . goin up the hill tonite . . . 8 hr train ride :-0

trifecta plus a little infanticide

avengers assemble ... all suspects present and accounted for at the hole. 1)argiano brunello di montalcino 2001 (all sangiovese grosso, hopefully :-0)

revisiting something seen a few times (4 in fact) pre-scandal, ie 2007. found some more and at the old price even.

decanted 1 hour; dark ruby, still no fringe; plum, cherry, alcohol, wood, bit of mushroom, surprisingly no change in it's youthful nose; plum, dark berries, oak, cherry, still primary; lots of firm fine tannins; acid still quite overt but does not irritate; lean/austere and unlike the earlier samples which had a bit more fruit midpalate; medium bodied and length; none of us detected any non approved grapes, no chocolate? :-); 14%; this one is still too young with a long way to go; BANG! (-) ... who gives a toss about a little cabernet ... anyone for the 2003?

2)la rioja alta gran reserva 904 1995

consistent with the sample the other night. definately a BANG!, alas someone bought up every bottle in stock ... lucky so and so ...

3)roger sabon chateauneuf du pape prestige 2006
(third tier from the bottom... the "prestige" reference just screams w*nker)

ruby; ripe cherry, kirsch, jasmine, asian spices, a little grilled meat, nougat; follows onto palate, primary; firm fine tannins and sufficient acidity present; medium bodied and length; 15% ... does not feel alcoholic ... deceptive; still too young and much less fun at this point than it's lesser bretheren; all the bits there for the long run; BANG!(-).

still, not a bad session and went home mello.

but then again ...

dinner at the pharmacy ... showed some self-control and declined the offer to imbibe. discipline evaporated on the way home ... to the hole then.
la rioja alta gran reserva 904 1995 (90% tempranillo: 10% graciano)

garnet, bricking, like a barolo with a bit of age; plum, cherry, damp wood, cedar, spice (a little cinnamon then with time, carraway),mushroom, someone said musty/damp carpet and cigars, bit smoky; plum, cherry, dried fruit, bit meaty?, cedar and maybe a touch of vanilla at the finish; plenty of fine tannins and juicy acidity; parts coming together but lots of life left in the old girl; a little lean at first (lacking that slight bit of midpalate plumpness seen in the reserva, i think), broadened with air; medium bodied; 12.5%; smooth and looong; calling out for fat pork, the establshment oblidged; BANG! sublime ... i'm on a roll.

spanish ayes

only one suspect yesterday, the other was purportedly working.1) bodegas y vinedos alion 2004 [ribera del duero (tempranillo)]
some kind of vega sicilia baby. also a baby in that it was very young and tightly wound. develops in air and opens up a little ... had it over 4 hrs.

inky purple; lavender?, plum, blackberry, hint of vanilla, cocoa, mushroom and soy, wood; rich dark fruits, lots of wood(new) but not enough to be an immediate putoff ... can't think why cos the punter normally dislikes freshly sawn lumber, a little alcohalic burn; heaps of fine chalky tannins; all balanced by enough acid; linear; med/big bodied; longish; 14.5%!!! but did not feel like it ... hic; has the ingredients for the long long haul; BANG! i suppose but i wouldn't necessarily want to see it again soon, maybe in 3. in the end it felt like i had had a good young bordeaux.

2)la rioja alta vina arana rioja reserva 1995
after the one above, wanted to see the same grape (albeit from a different region) with more age ...
consistent with the initial bottle here BANG! not a bad afternoon ...

hope our little catalan performs as well against manure this weekend.

just a little please

half a bottle of the la rioja alta vina arana rioja reserva 1995 . . . this one had a port-like characteristic which i did'nt really care for (the cork's integrity seemed ok though). but not enough to spoil dinner. POP!

sick as a dog

down with more than the sniffles ... nasty. cannot taste anything ... well, almost. didn't think of imbibing but strangely ended up at the usual place. anyway, been downing copious amounts of vitamin C, am told that the grape contain lots of the stuff...
la rioja alta, vina arana, rioja reserva 1995 (tempranillo)

ruby with slight bricking; cassis, mushroom, greenish stalkiness, some cedar/tobacco, nice and secondary; some fruit (plum maybe) with an initial sweetish hit at the front, aforesaid stalkiness, fruit and wood intergrated; still reasonably tannic but agreeable and quite ripe; acidity nice and fresh; not very long; some resin,slightly stalkiness and raisin in the finish; medium bodied; 12.5%; would be nice with some meat; given the price over here, quite a bang for the buck. BANG!

then 2 suspects appeared ......

chateau pouget, margaux, 2003 [generally cab sav 6: merlot 3; cab franc 1]

ruby; floral, cherry, oak, sandalwood (?), bandaid, smoked meat; sour cherry, plum, smokey barbequed meat/bacon bits; still lots of fine tannins (nice), balanced acidity; medium length/long; medium bodied; 13%; can be a little lean but fills out and lenghtens nicely with food; roast pork helped; elegant stuff; one suspect's choice ... not bad. even the contrarian chimed in with "not bad, can drink". BANG! (-)

with some bacon sandwiches and voila ... i could breathe easy again. there must be some anti-viral elements in plonk.

anyway, was a decent evening and to the other suspects away up north, ... cheers.