A nice fine wine dinner with Burgundy, Bordeaux, Loire and South Africa
Last night we had a lovely dinner at Terroir, hosted by Keith Prothero. This is the restaurant on the Kleine Zalze estate, and the food was very good. The wine and the company were better though. In attendance Gary and Kathy Jordan, Rianie Strydom, Nicolette Waterford, Greg Sherwood and Keith and I. As usual, notes on most of the wines follow.
Cotat La Grande Côte 2007 Sancerre, France
Fresh and lively with nice, youthful green grassy notes hovering gently over a powerful citrus and pear core. Textured, fine and mineral with lovely finesse and intensity. Big potential for further development. 94/100
Jacques Prieur Montrachet Grand Cru 2006 Burgundy, France
Always a treat to try something from Burgundy’s most famous white wine vineyard. This is bold and rich with spice, pear and quince as well as grainy, crystalline fruits. Quite powerful and rich in style with lots of interest, and delicious peachy intensity. 94/100
Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay Clos des Chenes 1er Cru 1993 Burgundy, France
Fresh and vivid with spice, olives and black fruits. Spicy and dense with lovely bright raspberry and black cherry fruit. This still has a youthful feel to it even at 21 years of age, and my notes are quite consistent with those from tasting this last year. 94/100
Emmanuel Rouget Echezeaux Grand Cru 1996 Burgundy, France
This is a powerful, intense red Burgundy with lovely purity of fruit. Fresh, pure blackcurrant fruit dominates, and it is still so youthful, with a bit of grip. So pure and linear with a grainy, gravelly minerality. 95/100
Château Haut Brion 1988 Graves, Bordeaux, France
Fresh and really pure with bright blackcurrant fruit. Still so youthful and vibrant with a bit of grip and a linear, focused personality. A joy, and with time ahead of it. 95/100
Château Haut Brion 1995 Graves, Bordeaux, France
Youthful and tight, and a bit shy on the nose. Pure, quite elegant palate with black cherry and plum fruit. Dense, youthful and structured and in need of time, but lovely. 95/100
Château Margaux 1979 Margaux, Bordeaux, France
After a terrible time in the early 1970s, Margaux was back on form by the 1979 vintage, and this wine is holding on well. Spicy and earthy with some mushroom notes as well as blackcurrant and black cherry fruit. Has more fruit than you might expect, plus some spiciness. 92/100
Alto Cabernet Sauvignon 1970 Stellenbosch, South Africa
Sweet, rich, quite porty and bold with a spicy edge. This has cherries, warm spices and herbs, and tastes very much like a dry Port. Lovely richness here. 89/100
(c) jamie goode’s wine blog – Read entire story here.
