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