1978 Chateau Latour... Un Grand Vin!

Had the pleasure to taste this 1978 Pauillac from Chateau Latour on my birthday.  Tasted both of these bottles and they were both very similar... something that doesn't happen so often in a wine having over 30 years on it.  The complexity was amazing.  Right away I tasted fireworks and gun smoke... which morphed into a spicy pepper, tobacco and pencil shavings.  Long in the mouth with some fruit present and just enough acidity but you can tell it is fading quickly.

A lot of Bordeaux wines have the same characteristics but depending on the quality the complexity and elegance will change dramatically.. as with this grand vin from Chateau Latour.  The 2002 Sassicaia (a rough year for Sangiovese, but much better for Cabernet from Sassicaia) went better with the food as it had a flawless acidity to it and the Latour was the wine of the night to meditate on.  Drink this 78 Latour now!

Notice the fill difference here with these 78's... giving them 33 years to slowly evaporate

Blogger encounters in Los Angeles

Samantha and Carl at the Farmers Market.

Was given the warmest welcome on my first time visit to L.A. by none other than Samantha from our recent Friuli trip and of the amazing blog Samantha Sans Dosage.  I had a last minute change of plans that made me land in L.A. from Rome and she and her husband Carl were amazing hosts and showed me although short a very sweet time...
Thanks guys

A late lunch of an assortment of tacos at the Loteria Grill within the Farmers Market.

The second surprise was the long awaited meeting with Whitney from Brunellos Have More Fun.
She was one of the first blogs I read along with that of Do Bianchi.  It was amazing to meet with her for dinner at Cliffs Edge and what can I say, she showed up with a bottle of 2003 Radikon Ribolla Gialla. She had already won my heart... The wine was stunning, (as was all of the wine that night) a really spectacular nose coming from this ribolla... hibiscus, grapefruit, orange peel... really intriguing and I must have sniffed it 47 times.  Beautiful acidity and was really food friendly (much more than I remember an earlier vintage being, which i drank a few years ago).
We also Enjoyed a 2004 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fume Silex, which was delicious as well....

The atmosphere at Cliffs Edge was amazing and the company even better.  It reminded me of when I heard Piero Incisa della Rocchetta from Sassicaia speak at a wine dinner in December.  He talked about how there are so many factors that come into play in enjoying or not enjoying any given wine.  The glasses, temperature of the wine, lighting, atmosphere, the company your with, just to name a few.  When your on vacation in Italy having a blast, drinking and enjoying the shit out of a cruddy vino da tavola, it is a perfect example of this taking place!

Sassicaia winter wine dinner

  

Sassicaia

Winter Tasting Supper

With Piero Incisa Della Rocchetta

Sunday, 5th December 2010

Blantyre Relais & Chateau

Lenox, Massachusetts

tasting 1985 Sassicaia, and 100 point wines

had the chance to taste four ''big shot'' wines this week... here are some brief notes

1985 Sassicaia
1994 Harlan Cabernet Sauvignon
1995 Domaine Ramonet Montrachet
1995 Royal Tokaji Aszú Essencia Tokaji

1985 Teunuta San Guido Sassicaia (vino da tavola)

WS 100

RP 100

24 months in french oak

85% cabernet sauvignon

15% cabernet franc

First released in 1968

This wine was really stunning.  The first of any 100 point rated wine I was able to taste.  After tasting a disapointing 2002 Sassicaia, this wine really put its money where its mouth is.

The fruit, so vibrant, alive, young and as fresh as if just picked off the vine.  Yet with the depth and complexity of a 1985 bordeaux.  Beautiful frutti di bosco here, gorgeous and elegant black pepper, tobacco, spice. big finish and lonnnnng lasting in the mouth..  delicious ''table wine''.

1994 Harlan Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

WS 97

RP 100

This cult wine was another story..  It was very enjoyable, some nice elegant sour cherry notes.. but nothing mind blowing, and nothing too complex. Loses focus in the finish, A bit disapointing..

For being a 100 point wine.. there is just no comparison to the Sassicaia, nowhere near as complex and balanced.  Maybe going through a bad drinking phase, but its hard to say.

1995 Domaine Ramonet Montrachet Grand Cru

This Montrachet was so exciting to drink.  After tasting the huge and premature DRC 2005 Montrachet, and then this D. Ramonet Montrachet aged 10 years more, it made a great comparison.

The young Montrachet I have tasted has a very distinct almond and almost burnt hair to it, with fruit waiting to burst out.  With this 1995 you see how after aging, those harsher notes turn into a very long and elegant toasted almond that is so enticing.  The fruit and complexity here is stunning, and you cant believe your drinking a chardonnay!  This is what chardonnay is my friends...

1995 Royal Tokaji Aszú Essencia Tokaji

This gorgeous dessert wine from Hungary dating back to the 16 century, is made by using the grapes affected by noble rot.  This 1995 vintage Tokaji, is a dessert in itself.. thick as maple syrup (and i would pour it on my pancakes if I was all out of syrup), delicious stuff... 

cheers to everyone reading!

from the Romanée-Conti diaries pt. 2.....

Quite the treat being able to taste this Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2005 Montrachet,  this sunday.

Although very very young, it was incredible nonetheless to take a look at this wine, and into it's future.  I like how my friend and sommelier Billy D responded to the tasting of this wine by calling it ''infanticide''.

Grape variety: Chardonnay

Vineyard holding: 0.67 hectares (1.65 acres)
Average age of vines: 62 years
Average production: 250 cases 

Often called the most prestigious label in the world, DRC wines are a must taste at least once in a lifetime for every wine lover.  My first experience with DRC a few months ago was with a '96 La Tache.  With this Montrachet however, I had more time to evaluate and see what was happening.  In the Blantyre cellar we also have the 89, 90, 94, 03, 04 vintages.

Going in for a sniff here, the nose just explodes out of the glass. A burst of excitement....

At first you notice heaps of toasty notes.  Somewhere between a toasted almond, and burnt hair.  If burnt hair could be elegant and enticing!  Wait five minutes keep swirling and you will receive a whole other layer of aromas unraveling... white flowers, vanilla, citrus...

on the palate you receive a powerful wave of a thick, pure one of a kind juice... a beautiful dried apricot, a long finish and a tightness that says let me age and grow.  I really want to revisit this wine in ten years but that is like getting struck by fucking lightening twice...

Sommelier Christelle Cotar, with the precious montrachet

bottle number 84 of just 3,413 bottles produced

rainbows do bring magical things, like this september 4th here in the berkshires

Later I tasted an Italian delight, which was my first time to taste a Sassicaia.  In this case a 2002 Sassicaia... a crumby year for most of Italy with lots of rain, but for super tuscans maybe not as bad.  The sangiovese and it's thinner skin suffered more from the rain.

This wine, was packed with an amazing nose, unleashing with very pleasant fruits and spices.
A bit misleading because on the palate it was not as long and smooth.  starts out with very nice fruits and then hits a slightly watery note followed by a slighty bitter astringency, and then strong tannin. No doubt this wine would go better with food, but for the high price of this wine I don't recommend at least the 2002.