TN: Belated notes...

Hoopes 2005:

I really wanted to like this wine. Good press, nice folks etc. but it just did not deliver. Everything was there, good concentration, Oakville tell-tale fruit but no acid, no back-bone. What a shame, with some back-bone this would actually be a good wine. Porty, sloppy fruit.

Herman Story, Nots and Bolts 2006 Syrah

I have to agree with Josh Reynolds....how to achieve balance with that kind of force and alc. is beyond me. But the facts is not important. This is truly a great Syrah. Power and brute force packed into elegance, seamlessness, and an utterly terrific expression of Syrah in it´s raw nature. Some European alcohol "hunters" have something to learn about balance. Stellar wine.

Herman Story Grenache 2006

Not the Larner, but terrific nonetheless. Equally seamless, elegant, smooth and well-balanced. Delicious, and of course delivers well above it´s pricepoint. Russell From is a master on these varietals ?


Guigal D´Ampuis 98

Okay, I promise, this is my last bashing of this wine, as it´s thankfully my last bottle from a 12-case. Oaky in extremis, out of balance. A mess of a wine.


Montrose 1989

Great wine....might surpass the 90. Concentrated, garrique in check, clean and focused, neverending finish..

Little of this and That...

Mostly impressions, from memory only...
Landmark Grand Detour 2005
Concentrated flavours but balanced and light on it´s feet, flavours leaning towards the more red spectrum and a very nice finish.
Flora Springs Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Tight nose, very subdued aromas, and taste for that matter. Heavy decanting eased a bit on the palate, but it remained unexpressive. Not a good showing.
Clos la Chance Ruby Throated Cabernet Sauvignon 2003
Very open. Nicely balanced, and a pure expression of cabernet with just the right amount of oomph, which was the only give-away, that it was indeed Californian, Very nice,
Morgan Metallico Chardonnay 2006
Nicely unoaked. Open nose with just the right dose of tropical fruit and gooseberry and mineral aromas. Bit more ungiving on the palate, leaving a bit of a pale impression. Could be better with time.
Morgan Rosellas Pinot Noir 2002
Sweet and spicy on the nose, which mirrors the palate perfectly. Intriguing taste, with lot´s of things happening. Only regret is a bit loose structure.
Morgan 12 Clones 2004
Spicy but not as sweet as Rosella´s. A bit of terrific funk on the nose. Full bodied, developing sensations on the palate that kept improving.
Tandem Sangiacomo Pinot Noir 2004
Wow....this was a unique experience. Powerful and comlex nose, just a bit of funk that was every bit as well placed as the rest of the elements. Full throttle palate of complex dark fruit, but also elegance and sheer class.
Tandem Sangiacomo Chardonnay 2004
Don´t have much experience with US Chardonnay, but never tasted anything like this. A perfect mix between overseas and Old World. Tropical themes controlled by structure and perfect acid. Simply great.
Tandem Peloton 2005
Highly uncommon blend of red and white grapes. Highly uncommon pleasurable wine. Simply delicious, and the producer was not kidding saying this is the "who wins the first empty glass contest". Miles away from other types of this as Shiraz/Viognier. Strangely captive and plain desirable.
Stratton-Lommis Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
Straight-forward cab, nice aroma and taste, well made but unexciting.
Row-Eleven Three Vinas 2006
Very nice well priced Pinot Noir. Elegant, burgundian but with enhanced but not out-of-place sweetness and black fruits. Medium bodied, but crisp and intense.
Row-Eleven Santa Maria Valley 2005
Great well priced Pinot. Big but focused, full bodied and very fruity and delicious, On par or better than the Morgan. Quite the surprise.
Pahlmeyer Meritage 1995
Plain great. Is the complexity coming from the Malbec ?, the dill or green streak really lifted this wine, giving freshness to the perfectly concentrated and balanced wine.
Mouton 1999
Again...great wine. The comlexity could be better, will undoubtedly improve, but the wine is so easy so full of charm that it really does not matter. Very nice concentration, a hint of mocca. Juicy and forthcoming, and still that touch of class.
Clos de Papes 2003
Overdone, too extracted for my taste and to my taste has lost some of the freshness. Perhaps a phase ?. Otherwise, hugely dissapointing.
Döhnhoff Kirscheck 2003
Telltale fragrant nose. Good dose of lemony, slatey flavours. Good mouthfeel and good length, but somehow boring. I know it is heretic, but unfortunately I am getting more and more bored with German Riesling, and I am having trouble seperating them, and feel that one glass is enough. I miss an edge. Gruner Veltliner is much more my thing these days...oh well
Guigal D´Ampuis 1998
Thankfully my last bottle. Should have waited another 30 years. Still perversely oaked and virtually bears no resemblence to wine.
Jeff Runquist Syrah Paso Robles 2001
Back.up bottle after the Guigal, and a study in balanced Syrah with power. Very nice, but could in fact have benefitted from a bit more power, but nice , and very well made.
Rosenblum "Anettes" ? 2000 Zinfandel.
Very nice. Good balance, no burned fruit but power in spades, getting better and better. Unamiliar with the producer, but excellent anyhow.
Mollydooker the Boxer 2005
As much a wine as was the Guigal. Not for me, and I love Aussie stuff.

Chateau Monbousquet 1998

Ah..Bordeaux. After an array of Rhônes, whites and Rose´s it was time to "come home". Had been looking forward to tasting this RP 94 pointer for awhile, and at about 8 years it should be somewhat ready to try. Very deep and open nose, kirsch, tar and leathery nose, medium-bodied highly extracted, but quite balanced. The fruit is a bit subdued and the palate is one of liquorice, tar and very mature black fruit. The tarry flavours leaves a wine that seems somewhat bitter at the otherwise lingering and very long finish. I think this wine would benefit fromanother 3-4 years in the cellar, but despise a certain "closed for business" appeal, palate-wise, it is a highly recommendable wine indeed.

Bordeaux 2005

Well....all across the boards, the blogs, the wine-merchants-websites, it´s full of this years hype. Another vintage of the century in Bordeaux. Prices have finally come out and the premiers are easily gonna fetch 4000,- kr once they get in the stores. A lot of people, most notably Robert Parker has already turned to Bordeaux and speaks of greedy Chateau owners, whereas others think the chateau owners should demand the price they think they´ll get anyway. This is commerce you know.
I for one, is sad and frustrated because I am finally priced way out of the market and can only hope for the prices to drop in the future....
On the other hand, I choose to completely ignore the whole en primeur campaign. The deal in the frst place have always seemed a bit strange to me. You buy, and "lock" your money for a 2-3 year period of time...based on extremely early tasting -notes etc.
And time after time again, the money you saved seems puny when compared to the actual prices when the wines hits the stores, or if you are even more patient, another vintage of the century hits the streets and the lates vintage of the century is on sale....
My strategy from now on, is the same as always. I go chasing the back-catalogue, and still can find excellent wine from 00/96/90/89/86/82, and yes some of these were bargains at the time...but still. I just sold a number of pristine 1986 Lafite at 2500. kr, 100 points by Parker, near it´s drinking plateau, and the 2005 being nearly double that price, and 15 years away of any drinking pleasure....seems obvious to me.
And, 2005 are going to be a great vintage from all over it seems, Germany and Burgundy for sure...so maybe we´ll need to take a closer look elsewhere.?

As for the business, I have been offered multiple from different negociants, but have passed all of them. The prices are ridiculous, and whether I can make a buck or two has nothing to do with that.

Domaine Bruno Clair

I am not in the habit on drooling too much over my own imports, so I´ll try to keep it tidy.
I really needed some decent Burgundy in my portfolio, partly because of interest and partly because of the need of some of my customers.
I did some extensive tasting before choosing this one. There were major dissapointments especially when it came to the lower priced stuff. Tasting 20 different Bourgogne Rouges side by side was quite an ordeal, and I was surprised by the difference, and the number uf unsuccesful bottles. And mind you, these are low-priced for Burgundy, but not cheap. To be fair there was also a good amount of fine wines among these. I began looking at the known "good Value" appellations like Givry, Cote Chalonaise, Savigny and Marsannay. And there is a lot of really good Burgundy to be found here for sure. Actually, I am quite positively surprised by the level of quality here.
The wines from Bruno Clair was a small revelation to me. I am not that experienced into Burgundy, but know what I like, and that tends to be rather expensive. I had been in contact with both the Australian importer and the former American importer to learn more about style, winemaking etc. and they both gave Bruno Clair the highest acclaim possible.
The Marsannay´s soon proved to be the most interesting in fact. "Les Longeroies" 2002 is made from vines as old as 70 years. It showed a very intense and surprisingly deep nose, much more black-fruited and spicy than I expected, quite broad and certainly medium-bodied, and ever so pure, crisp, with a finale the sort of backfires. While having considerable strenght, it struck me how elegant, and light on it´s feet the wine was. We finished the bottle in 20 minutes, wanting more. A lot of Kiwi stars would have a hard time in comparison here, including the ones I sell myself....hmmm
Very Gevrey in nature but with the elegance and purity of Vivant. Very pure and distinct Pinot Noir with style and terroir that is hard to come by anywhere else to my taste.

"Les Vaudenelles" 2003, is influenced by the vintage, but i a good way I think. Clair was one of the very last winemakers to pick and his 2003 harvest is considered to be one of the most succesful, given the hard circumstances. "Les Vaudenelles" is more concentrated, packed with fruit than in previous vintages, but with a fine acidity, and minerality that leaves the impression of a balanced and complete wine. As easy to drink as "Les longeroies", but a bit more straight-forward, this should be a crowdpleaser and a fine entry-level wine for Clair.

Clos st. Jacques 2000 was great. Great, open and complex nose with impressive depth, balanced and elegant, fine concentration, extreme length and the structure to develop for many more years. One of the most structured and promising of the 2000´s I have tasted in a while. Not as powerful as Rousseaus or Fourriers for example, but to my taste equally seducing, and perhaps a tad more elegant and refined.

Savigny 1er Cru "La Dominode" 2000 is made from 104 year old vines, and it shows. Flamboyant, "slutty" style, excellent concentration, good definition and a great finale, this must be one of the best from this appelation along with Jadot, Pavelot and Leroy. While not cheap, this was a great glass of wine.
Finding my preferrable style from Burgundy have been a lot of hits and misses, and I suspect that it goes for most winelovers, and a good thing too. Diversity in style is a great thing, and to often missed, in my opinion.

The tastings, and the overall experience was great because of the distinct style of Clair´s wines, the difference between the wines, and the overall impression of pureness and elegance.

Dinner and wine with family and friends

Went for a fine meal prepared by my brother Peter, perfect as always. Tenderloin and Rabbit stuffed with brie and basil, with a concentrated and refined butter infused sauce reduction, baked potatoes with bacon, basil and dried tomato stuffing , butter sauteed asparagus. Delicious..
We started out with Gruaud Larose 1979. A delicate wine, a bit fragile but ever so fragrant, elegant and sophisticated. Per liked it a lot, best red ever he announced !. Next up was Beringer Private Reserve Merlot Howell Mountain 1997. A young wine, good concentration, but obviously lacking a bit in the nose, closed down a bit I suspect. But fruity and nice on the palate. I definitely prefer the Reserve Cabernet to this, but still a nice wine. Then we opened de Fieuzal 1995. What a nice surprise. Great deal of barnyard on the nose, Vivi proved to be quite hardcore, loving the brett, the nose was open and complex with good depth and surprisingly full and concentrated on the palate. This is very good, and a relative bargain. Next was Vieux Donjon 2000 from magnum. This has opened up a bit, but still a little closed on the nose, but a rough swirl helped the wine to disclose aromas of garrique, black fruits and cinnamon. A rustic, concentrated palate but with a certain freshness that made the wine dissappear way to quickly. I really like the Donjon style, deep and black. We finished the dinner with Alain Jaumé "Clos de Sixte" 2003 from Magnum. Having tasted this a number of times, this is getting better and better. A decidedly best buy, a crowd pleaser and ever so reliable.
A perfect night of great food , good wines and great company. Aint´ life great ?

Fitou

One of the many blessings and sometimes a disturbing ordeal is the tasting of samples. Disturbing when you have researched and singled out specific wines that you have very high hopes for, and they dont´ deliver. A blessing when you discover the opposite.
I have had a few bad experiences from one of my recent favorite areas; Languedoc lately. The hardcore terroir approach seems to take some wines too far and render them fruitless and hard.
I love minerality in wine, to give the wine freshness, complexity, and that certain edge that makes the wine stand out. But I do not like when it happens on the expence of fruit.
I was reluctant to try the wines from Fitou. In Denmark the area have suffered from a somewhat bad reputation, if little knowledge of the style in winemaking. I was surprised.
Les Producteurs du Mont Tauch is by far the biggest Cooperativ in Fitou, and are responsible for half of the wines produced in the area. They have an enourmous range of wines.
I did not taste any plonk, but some of the lower end wines came close. But honest wines, fresh and clean . Mont Tauch produces some excellent wines as well. I was especially taken by their two cuveés Les Douze and Les Quatre. Both the result of the best twelve and the best four winegrowers grapes in a particular year. Here the expression terroir makes sense. They taste like nothing else. It´s a particular flavour, and it is great to experience that Carignan and Syrah tastes differently here than in Rhône and other areas in France. These are concentrated efforts, with a unique freshness and spicyness and with the minerality supporting the wine, giving it character. Both decidedly great wines that I hope to get a chance to introduce later on.

Cheers