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To whet the palate: 96 Dr. F. Weins-Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr
Riesling Spatlese (opened for 1 day)-- White gold color. Nose is waxy,
cumin, green apple. Very bright, finely honed, acidic structure. Citrus,
nectarine, roasted nuts. The killer finish sparkles with lively acidity.
This wine can go 10-12 years. 93/100
The 97 Verget Chablis AC went unopened.
Now on to the "serious" wines: 96 Laroche Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos--Light
straw color. Steely, chalky, lemon scented. Very severe, high strung, very
acidic, steely, linearly structured. Flinty, classic terroir-driven Les
Clos. Pretty long finish. Very young. Could use 5-7 years. 93 (+?)
95 Dominique Laurent Mazi-Chambertin Grand Cru (decanted 6 hours
earlier)-- Dark red violet. Rich, lavishly oaked, black fruit nose. Beautiful
bouquet. Fabulous rich, warm, expansive in mouth. Black fruits, very
big tannins but great balance. Some beet, toasty oak, black cherry, smoke,
minerals, earth. Very complex, long finish showing coffee, tar. Spicy currant
flavors develop after an hour in the glass. Not particularly apparent terroir.
6-10 years. 94+
87 Montelena Cab--Alluring, crystal clear, dark violet color.
Warm smoky, toasty oak, blackberry nose. Very lush, richly textured, intensely
concentrated, velvety, layered. Black cherry, tobacco, cocoa. Good acidity,
long, tannic, great finish. A lot of mid-palate oak. Can go another
10-20 years. 95+
95 Araujo Syrah ($75 off the list)--Very dark black/violet. Smoky,
lush, very ripe, vanilla, boisenberry. Very dense, immensely tannic, but
so much fruit the tannins don't sting. Blueberry, tar, black plum and cherry,
dirt and iron. Huge, very long, great finish. Chocolatey. A classic. Give
it 6-8+ years. 97+
95 Kracher Nouvelle Vague Chardonnay TBA #13--Medium amber. Super
botrytised, immense, honeysuckle, buttered popcorn, orange flower water
bouquet. Very thick, honey-like, mandarine orange, medium acidity, flavors
of every imaginable yellow-orange fruit. Baked apple, cinnamon, butterscotch.
Sheer, utter joy to drink. Really very long. Fantastic. Will last decades.
99
From the bloody pulpit:
Man, sacramental wine never tasted this good. That Kracher TBA is all
angels singing. Not a clunker in the bunch. WOW after WOW.
The 1998 WS white wine of the year is the same 96 Laroche Les Clos.
Not a bad wine, but not a brilliant wine either. It lacks an immediate
depth of fruit that would portend a classic future development. If less
than spectacular, it is nonetheless excellent wine and should drink great
around 2005.
The Mazi is great wine, but not necessarily great Mazi. With all the
lavish oak, it is not very expresive of its origins. But this wine is still
very young. It could turn magnificent in 10 years, but will it be Mazi?
This is the second time I've had the 87 Montelena this year. We also
had a bottle with Eric Tobias when he visited in August. That one
had a funky nose that took a day to blow off. This was much cleaner, classic
CA cab. A real beauty.
I've reported on the Paradise wine list in the past. They usually have
minimal mark-ups on wines that can't be found at retail. We had a
lot of good choices. Several Araujo cabs (93=$75, 94=$80!!!, 95=$100).
87 Spottswoode cab at $65. 89 Las Cases (or maybe it was Lynch Bages) for
$80 (I think). You get the idea. But, since I was buying, and I wanted
to try the Araujo syrah without tapping into my cellar bottles, that was
the choice. And a compelling choice it was. If we has snuck it into Todd
Serota's Parker 100 tasting as a ringer, it could well have stole the show.
This could be the best CA syrah I've had, better than the 94 Qupe Hillside
Select, the 94 Araujo, the 96 Ojai Roll Ranch, etc.
The Kracher #13 is mindboggling. Oh, my! We were speechless. Yowser!
The only fault is that the acidity could be a bit higher to enhance the
finish. A minor gripe.
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