Araujo and sweet wines

Lunch at Écriture.

Fleury Sonate n°9 - very yeasty, lots of depth of character, plenty of sharp acidity, and marmalade notes.

2002 Araujo Cabernet Sauvignon - decanted for more than 45 minutes prior to serving.  Nose of vanilla, coconut butter, pencil lead, ripe fruit, and smoke.  Fragrant and beautiful.  Tannins are still here, with a long finish. 

1997 Chapoutier Hermitage Vin de Paille, en demi-bouteille  - fragrant nose of honey and medjool dates.  Rich and unctuous on the palate.  Surprising level of sweetness.

1989 Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler Wehlener Sonnenuhr Beerenauslese, from half-bottle - classic nose of polyurethane with fragrant notes of pollen and orange blossom.  Good acidity here to balance the sweetness.

Full post on lunch is here.

Two Bonneaus

Dinner at Tenku RyuGin.

2007 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne - crisp acidity, nice toasty notes, lemon citrus, grilled corn.  After 2½ hours definitely showed some vanilla notes.

1988 Henri Bonneau Réserve des Célestins - decanted for 1 hour prior to serving,  Beautiful nose with floral notes, eucalyptus, bacon fat, leather.  Not as big as I had hoped for, but pretty decent.

Full post on dinner is here.

1970 Les Jumelles

Dinner at Amber.

2008 R et L Legras Saint-Vincent - nice and full-bodied, with a lovely, fragrant nose.

1970 Paul Jaboulet Côte-Rôtie Les Jumelles - a little stewed prunes showing in the nose, with savory black olives and soy sauce.  Also a hint of chalkiness.

Full post on dinner is here.

Burgundian night

Burgundian evening at Neighborhood.

2012 Patrick Javillier Corton-Charlemagne - nice and toasty.

2005 La Pousse d'Or Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Le Cailleret - more mineral, some toast, a little lean on the palate but also rounded on the finish.

1959 Joseph Pontinet Meursault Pinot Blanc - very toasty, huge nose, lots of coffee, toffee, really big nose of pain grillé. Absolutely beautiful.

2015 Bernard Van Berg En Busigny Blanc - very closed and muted at first. Lean on the palate. Nice, elegant, clean. But reality is that it shut down and was disappointing. Acidity still there, so the wine wasn't dead. 3 hours after opening, nose showed some Anjoy pear, iron, and minerals.

2016 Laurent Ponsot Corton-Charlemagne Cuvée du Kalimeris - flinty, tropical stone fruit, floral, pretty ripe and sweet. Beautiful.

2010 Arnaud Ente Meursault Clos des Ambres - toasty minerals on the nose, good acidity on the palate. Beautiful.

2002 Coche-Dury Meursault - nice and toasty, with some flint, but not as huge as expected. Good balance between acidity and ripeness on the palate.

2010 Confuron-Cotetidot Echezeaux - minty with sweet fruit.

1949 Moillard-Grivot Corton Bressandes - savory, lots of mushrooms, mature.

1995 Domaine Ponsot Griotte Chambertin - not bad at all. Eucalyptus and some ripe fruit.

2011 Dujac Echezeaux - for some reason this seemed very muted.

1979 Lupé-Cholet Echezeaux - very mature, with plenty of black olives, leather, and almost a little stewed fruit.

2004 Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanée - absolutely beautiful and exactly what I expected from this wine. Very floral, lots of leather, and toast. Soooo seductive still.

Full post on dinner is here.

Sweet German rieslings

Tasting of sweet German Rieslings at Watson's Wine Cellar, hosted by Katharina Staab - the current German Wine Queen.

1992 Wegeler Oestricher Doosberg Riesling Auslese - grassy, sugar cane, ripe pineapple, and marzipan.  Lots of sweetness but also plenty of acidity on the palate.

1993 Diel Riesling Eiswein - very intense nose of pollen, plastic, honey, marmalade.  Viscous on the palate.

2012 Max Ferd. Richter Mülheimer Helenenkloster Riesling Eiswein - very elegant and floral, with white flowers, young dried tangerine peel, a little polyurethane, and still a little pungent on the nose.  Lots of sugar and more concentrated on the palate, with mandarin notes.

2011 Keller Cuvee Trockenbeerenauslese - polyurethane, marmalade, honey, dried apricot notes.  Sweet but has enough acidity here.

2008 Gunderloch Nackenheimer Rothenberg Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese - intense nose of honey, honeydew melon, a little floral, with plastic glue notes.  Very thick and viscous on the palate, almost chewy.  Really sweet and totally up my alley.

2007 Max Ferd. Richter Graacher Dompropst Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese - a little pungent plastic, a little more floral, with orange blossom.  Really ripe with lots of botrytis.

Stephan Bassenon

Drinking at home.  Opened the bottle to toast Anthony Bourdain.

2007 Jean-Michel Stephan Côte-Rôtie Côteaux de Bassenon - popped and poured.  Very fragrant nose, with lots of animal, leather, grilled meats, smoke, forest, cedar, sweet fruit, and floral notes from the viognier.  Beautiful.

Curiously, the cork had 2008 stamped on it...

Full post on the tribute is here.

Waka and Suishin

Dinner at Kitchi.

Waka Botan Daiginjo (和香牡丹 大吟醸) - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 40%.  Good depth of flavors, sweet attack but dry in the middle and on the long finish. 

Suishin Junmaijozo (酔心 純米醸造) - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 65%.  Softer and milder.

Keller Limestone

Drinking at home.

2007 Keller Limestone Kabinett - sweeter on the attack than expected.  Riper and more mature.