Two Hands tasting

Tasting at Wine Vault featuring wines from Two Hands.

2010 Two Hands Shiraz Lily's Garden - ripe and sweet, jammy, definitely an Aussie Shiraz, alcoholic, slightly pungent nose.  Surprisingly a little acidic on the palate.

2012 Two Hands Shiraz Lily's Garden - even bigger and more powerful than the 2010.  Huge levels of extraction here, sweet nose almost like cotton candy, with a little green and forest underneath.  Also a little pungent with plastic and sulfur notes.

2012 Two Hands Shiraz Bella's Garden - really sweet and jammy, with some of that pungent sulfur in the nose.  More tannic.

2012 Two Hands Shiraz Secret Block - the nose tells me this seems to be made with cooler fruit... and there's also more acidity here on the palate.  Nose has more strawberries, a hint of animal, also cotton candy, with more complexity and balance.  Lighter on the palate, too.  Probably my favorite wine.

2008 Two Hands Grenache Aerope - nose of plastic, polyurethane on top of the fruit, with a slight hint of leather.  Lighter body.

2010 Two Hands Cabernet Sauvignon Aphrodite - sweet and jammy, more concentrated here, with a hint of pine needle and mint.  More tannins here.  Alcoholic and somewhat pungent.

2010 Two Hands Shiraz Ares - really ripe, alcoholic and sharp on the nose... The wine burns going down the back of the throat.

2007 Two Hands Shiraz Ares - rounder than the 2010, also sweet, slightly lighter body.  More open nose with bacon fat, but still sharp and alcoholic.

Two Hands Muscat Fait Accompli - really sharp alcohol here, to the point that it singes the hairs inside my nostrils... Nutty, honey, and molasses nose.  Very thick and viscous, and very sweet.  Lovely, nutty palate.

2000 Giacosa and 1998 La Turque

Dinner at Amber.

Alfred Gratien Cuvée Brut Classique - very ripe on the nose, ripe mid-palate but the acidity comes out on the finish.  Lots of toasty oak, with minerals and sweetness on the nose.

2000 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba - decanted around 8 hours before serving.  Ripe, very soft on the palate, very delicate, with a long finish that comes with a bit of acidity.

1998 Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque - decanted about 3 hours before serving.  More alcoholic than expected.  Tannins are still here.  Nose was initially muted, with only a hint of floral notes.  Ripe and sweet fruit emerged, and eventually the floral notes became more obvious.

Full post on dinner is here.

2004 CVNE Gran Reserva and more

Dinner at On Lot 10.

1998 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune - nice minerality here with flinty notes, along with some wite flowers.  Kinda lean on the palate.  There's ripeness but the finish is still acidic.  With the salted cod and potatoes, the wine turned very metallic with salty minerals... which was not so pleasant.

2004 Ponsot Morey Saint Denis Cuvée des Grives - nose was very open and lovely, with leather, bacon, farmy, and floral notes like violet.  Also a little smoked meat later.  A beautiful wine to drink now.

2003 Kistler Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - more alcoholic, sweeter both on the nose and the palate.  Honestly a little disappointing tonight.

2004 CVNE Imperial Gran Reserva - decanted for more than an hour before serving.  Minty nose, still a little closed, with some grilled meat.  Still pretty big tannins here so it stood up to the beef, but at least there's some acidity here and went along with the sauce for the lettuce.

Full post is here.

Cedric Bouchard Le Creux d'Enfer

Lunch at Robuchon au Dôme.

2006 Cedric Bouchard Roses de Jeanne Le Creux d'Enfer, dégorgée a 12 avril 2010 - my favorite rosé Champagne.  Lots of fruit here, especially strawberries, and a little yeasty.  Loads of deep, rich flavors here.

Absolutely love that beautiful color from saignée.

1929 Pla del Fount Maury - like a Late Bottled Vintage Port because of the light tannins and body.  I guessed it was a Rivesaltes... which was close because they are both vin doux naturel from the south of France made with Grenache Blanc.

Full post on lunch is here.

1976 Auslese trio

Dinner at The Eight in Macau.

1976 von Hövel Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese - initially nose of plastic, honey, orange marmalade.  Tasted really nice with the prawn dumplings.  Elegant and beautiful, fresh but a little more mature than the last bottle earlier this year.  More minerality here with white flowers after breathing.

1976 Jos. Christoffel jr. Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese ** in half bottle - initially more muted on the nose and lighter on the palate.  A little bitter on the palate at first, with marmalade.  After breathing this showed much better, with a little spices like nutmeg... like a spiced orange marmalade.  Definitely my favorite of the evening.

1976 Jos. Christoffel jr. Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese *** in half bottle - bigger on the palate initially, and pretty nice.  Palate turned a little more bitter later.  Least favorite bottle of the evening.

Full post on dinner is here.

Piemontese evening

Dinner at a friend's place.

1970 Marchesi di Barolo Barolo - way over the hill and totally oxidized, with nose like Chinese Shaoxing or Huadiao wine after a salty plum () has been dipped into it.  Definitely very savory nose, with a little nuttiness.  Very high acidity with light body at first, but actually put on a little weight after 3 hours in the decanter.

1970 Gaja Barbaresco - more body than the Barolo, with less acidity.  Nose was more gamey, smoky and farmy.

2000 Albino Rocca Barbaresco Vigneto Brich Ronchi - sharp and alcoholic, ripe fruit, almost raisiny, with forest and potpourri notes.

2003 Dominio de Atatua

Lunch at Amber.

2003 Dominio de Atatua - very ripe, maybe over-ripe, fruit on both the nose and the palate.  A little sharp alcohol.  A very big wine even at over 10 years of age, with tannins still very noticeable.

Full post on lunch is here.

1970 Gaja Barbaresco

Dinner at Neighborhood.

1970 Gaja Barbaresco - no longer any fresh and vibrant sweet fruit here, but it's smooth on the palate, with noticeable acidity, a bit smoky and leather notes.

Full post on dinner is here.