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Christmas Wine II

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eternumviti said:
I have the facilities, but, I suspect, lack the faculties.

Do you never feel tempted to dip into the 16 stash just to see where its going?
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I’m not sure I have the faculties to draw any lasting conclusions, especially when I look back at a post from last year when I tried the 2014 and 15 side by side. What did I think? That the 2015 was OK but wouldn’t get any better (changed my mind now) and that I wouldn’t bother getting any 2016 (changed my mind a while ago.)
 
eternumviti said:
I have the facilities, but, I suspect, lack the faculties.

Do you never feel tempted to dip into the 16 stash just to see where its going?
Click to expand...

I can tell you where the Coudoulet '16 is going: I've drunk nearly half of them. Possibly guilty of infanticide.
 
wacko said:
I can tell you where the Coudoulet '16 is going: I've drunk nearly half of them. Possibly guilty of infanticide.
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It certainly brings out the best in those on the CT creative writing course.

...a seam of iron-rich minerals and stone, and a savory animal muskiness entwined with delicate florals.

Iron shavings and the suggestion of Provençal herbs hang around the perimeter...

...a really impressive, juvenile medium to full bodied spherical red fruited, plush and broad palate...
 
Red meat day has slid forward this week and it is one of my favourites : rack of lamb. Probably a Coudoulet or the Leeuwin Art Shiraz, unless we go completely OTT and open one of the last old Musars.
I'll spend as much time as possible cogitating this momentous decision to block out politics, covid, brexit and cricket.
 
5 hours of deep thought later: Too few old Musars left to open one without a special occasion. The Leeuwin is 2 1/2 years older than the Coudoulet so it has won. And it's a screwtop and I'm lazy. And it is exceedingly good, probably slightly better than the Coudoulet right now.
 
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Another Ernest Burn bottle, so brilliant, obviously. Simultaneously rich, acid and sweet. The acid bit comes last, just when you think it has finished. And look at that colour! I think the Dauphin bottlings are effectively VTs without the labelling and concomitant bureaucracy (and cachet and therefore price of course.) This was 13€, fantastic value.

Two bottles left in the Aldi cooler before the next replenishment - a 2010 Montus and a Ronsay. I’m going to enjoy the rest of the week.
 
wacko said:
Ha simultaneous thought timing with a different result. I have only one 1998 left and two 1999. I think you have even older ones ?
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I drank the last of the '80s a couple of years ago (I had some '83), but have one red and two white from '96 and two whites from '98. The rest are 2000 onwards.
 
Never tried a Musar white. The idea just never appealed for some unknown reason.
But then I've never tried a Beaucastel white either.
 
I’m not much of a white drinker, but they’re nice. Rich, layered, maybe not as complex as the reds, but well in that direction.
 
Montus 2010 the last couple of nights. I liked it very much indeed, certainly not tough and unapproachable as some suggest. Having said that, it was definitely a little softer on the second night. It was also easier to spot the Cabernet Sauvignon part as well. I haven’t really got tannat sorted out in my brain yet - if you had told me this was the Riccitelli Malbec from a few weeks ago I would probably have believed you. But I’m building up a stock of Montus (and Bouscassé) vintages, I’m pleased to say - I’ve taken to them in a big way.

Percy was very impressed as well.

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Catena Alta Historic Rows chardonnay yesterday, and to finish today. The 2018 this time and it seems a bit lighter than the last vintage I had which I think was 2015. I really liked the 2015 but I kept a couple of bottles too long: maybe they were 2014. Got one more bottle of the '18 to try before deciding whether to buy more... Probably will as I don't think you can get a Meursault like this at £24.
 
Decided to add my 1 bottle of Catena to CT (must be bored). Noticed a peculiar thing: there is just 1 review I can see giving it 93. And yet CT gives an average score of 89.3 and suggest there are in fact 3 other scores... hidden somewhere. Does CT need to move to the simpler MB scoring system ?
 
Sometimes life forces your hand: noticed a little wine had seeped out of the top of both of my last 1999 Musars. Major panic. Closer inspection revealed very little of the wine was gone. Decided this was a sign from the heavens that at least one bottle should be opened today. Amazingly the cork was extracted in one piece and a ribeye steak materialised soon after. Not bad for a Monday evening in the second year of Covid.
 
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2019 Poil de Lievre Anjou rouge from Domaine des Forges. A play on words when translated into a different language - there must be a word for that. Or perhaps it is just a unintentional coincidence. I bought this as a makeweight in an order from the vineyard that was really made so I could get some of their wonderful sweet Chenin, but it seemed churlish not to try some of their reds too. And... it’s great! 75% CF, 25% CS. The CS really does its piece in rounding off the CF herbaceousness. I treated this like the Ronsay I had the night before - in the Aldi cooler 10C section for a few hours, then kept in a terracotta cooler while drinking. They both responded well to the treatment. (Pauses for another mouthful) - I can’t believe how good this is... how much was it? 7.15€? Come on...

So if the Ronsay is Kylie, as I think we have established, who is this? It’s still light, and fun, but possibly with a little more power and heft. I racked my brains for a while before deciding this is a Kate Pierson of a wine.
 
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