Who moved the wine?

Porco moved the wine blog. The cellar has moved here.  In the cellar the bottles come and go but the hangover stays forever.

Sweet and sour Porc

Perhaps it was the memory of the great Doisy Daene Porco had the previous week but he has been on a bit of a sweet wine campaign in the last few days – starting with some Klein Constantia from South Africa (both the 2000 Late Harvest Noble Savignon Blanc and the 1990 Vin de Constance were quite impressive although Porco probably preferred the former to the latter). Yesterday, a bottle of cheap Brown Brothers Moscato 2005 was opened in the spirit of adventurous experimentation. It wasn’t very good – so Porco went out and got some Two Hands Brilliant Disguise 2006 to see if it was the year, the terrior, the country or just the winery. Watch this space.

Last Saturday night was also South African tasting night in general – too many sub-par wines in a tasting. Too much oak especially in the whites and most of the reds although the Thelema reds showed quite well.

Yesterday, Porco went out and bought half a dozen bottles of Domaine Edmond Cornu Burgundy whites – shame they only had the cheap stuff which made Porco a little sour.    

Les Palais des Grands Crus 2007

Another year, another million dollars. There was no reasonable way to taste more than 100 wines and enjoy them – no, not even poor Porco could manage that so he made a few rules to drink by early on in the evening. No Champagne, nothing from the 70’s, none of the 2000 Bordeaux (mostly questionable chateaux) and no Domaine de Chevalier.

The white Burgundies were good but not spectacular, quality was consistent across the flight but predictable - with the Bouchard Montrachet 2001 being the pick of the bunch. The reds were far more interesting – showing different styles of winemaking and weather variations. As with last year, DRC was patchy with the Romanee St. Vivant 2001 coming across closed, thick and wooden and the La Tache 1988 from a methusalem was slightly soured but the Echezeaux 2000 was exotic – slightly wild and slightly spicy. In contrast, the Louis Jadot Echezeaux 2000 was thinner, more alcoholic and more typical of the style of winemaking. Best of the Echezeaux was the 2003 from Domaine des Perdrix – warm, open and highly characteristic of that hot summer in France but without any hint of burnt grapes. Dubious longevity, though.

On to the Wines of the World section. The Opus One 2002 continues to disappoint, coming across hard and leathery, as did the Dominus 2001 which was dry and tannic even though it had a decent finish. The pick of the Napa wines was a surprise (after our disappointing trip to the winery last summer) – the 2002 Joseph Phelps Backus was classic Napa, a little soft and even a little flabby but huge fruity sweetness and alcohol. Only the finish was a touch short. The Italians, a Tignanello 2001 and an Orneillaia 2001, both disappointed as did the Vega Sicilia Unico 1995 (both bottles) which was dense and tannic, requiring at least another ten years in the cellar.

The Bordeaux Lefties were the biggest disappointments of the evening, containing the undisputed dog of the tasting, the Chateau Margaux 1993. Porco has $38 reds which drink far better. The imperial of the Haut Brion 1995 also disappointed – probably storage issues contributing to a great wine of structure and balance starting to fade. The Right Bank did far better. The Cheval Blanc 1986 was young, vibrant with notes of smoke and new mown hay – the 78 on the other hand, was ageing gracefully into floral magnificence, a wine that was only holding on gently to memories of the tannins it once contained. The one for the future though was the Ausone 1989 – creamy vanilla decked out in silky smoothness. It was outstanding.

Moving to the verticals. The Mouton Rothchilds disappointed – both the 1989 and the 1996 were both slightly woody and green but should have enough acidity to give some hope that time will improve them. Likewise the Cos D’Estounels were not impressive – the 1966 had nothing left in it,  the 1988 was also flat and the 1989 tasted like cough syrup. Top of the verticals was the Chateau Angelus (with added glamour as it was hosted by Coralie de Bouard herself). The 1970 showed an older style of winemaking with a lot more of the terrior and the 1983 was drinking well for a year that should have been less impressive. The 2001 was already nearly ready, a product of garagiste philosophy and with the extraction to show for it – nevertheless, it was well made (with a touch of flabbiness) and while it will not last forever or even 50 years, it should drink well for at least 20 years from 2010. The star though was the 1990 – rich, succulent, still settling and rounding out with more structure than recent offerings which should see off the youngsters as well.

There were a couple of random isolated and opportunistic sips here and there – none worth writing about except the Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle 1990 which was aged, smooth and creamy in a most un-Rhone like manner. It could have been a Merlot and it would have been hard to tell.

Finishing off the evening, a trio of Sauternes. The Y’quem 1999 lacked the characteristic citrus notes which usually stands the Y’quem out from the rest of the sweeties and a little age on the Rieussec 1979 did a world of good for it but neither stood up to the inestimable Doisy Daene 1924 which was not only the oldest wine tasted but possibly the best – second cru notwithstanding.

Age before beauty.   

Seven Days

It’s been a mixed bag of bottles the last week or so. Working backwards, dinner last night was a bottle of Kendall-Jackson Special Reserve Merlot 1999 (WS86). Slightly sweet and flabby but pleasing in a typical Napa fashion – good for the price. Porco’s only regret was that he chose this slightly more expensive wine over the cheaper Simi offering (WS93) which may have turned out better.  Saturday night was good – Mrs P and P had a bottle of Domaine Cornu Ledoix 2003 which was just starting to achieve its potential and with its acidity, probably has a few good years to go. Saturday lunch – a bottle of Stag’s Leap Petite Syrah 2000 which was soft and supple but straight and big on fruit and alcohol. Little known, good price, not too hard to find.

Friday night’s wine was nothing to shout about except the bottle of Veuve Clicquot Rich Reserve 1998 we brought (a vintage prestige cuvee which I have never heard of) was much better than I thought it would be and perhaps should not have brought it along.  Hmmm.

Wednesday’s bottle was some unremarkable Australian Chardonnay called Tempus Two which for the price compares really poorly against the cheapo Villa Maria entry level Sauvignon Blanc which we had last Monday. In between, we had a strange but wholesome red blend – a Laughing Magpie 2004 from Hawkes Bay. Drinks like a wine that is unable to decide whether it is Old World or New. Clue is to look for the tag – Gimlett Gravels.

Going back a little to the weekend before last, the pick was certainly the trio of Burgundy whites from Louis Lequin – the 1997 Batard Montrachet and the 1999 and 2000 of the Chassagne Montrachet. Creamy, fragrant and smooth – but not cheap. 

Pots and pans

Porco had a biggish evening last Saturday – averaging a bottle a person but the one that stood out was the 2004 Cab Sauv from Hestan – yes, the same people who make your Meyer cookware. Like the pots and pans, not the best you can get but not most expensive either.

Anything but Bordeaux

It has been many weeks since my last confession on these pages and about the same length of time since Porco opened a bottle of Bordeaux. Mrs P and I have been drinking a variety of things – mainly Loire whites or New World reds. Just when we thought the shops were running out of 2003 Pouilly Fume, Porco found a stash going at a discount. Two reds have also stood out in the last fortnight – a Te Awa Boundary 2004 (Hawkes Bay, Merlot, fruit, punchy, long finish) which we picked up on our honeymoon and a Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 we found at the airport with massive cassis and a silky smooth finish. On the buy side, picked up some odd years of Stags Leap Petite Syrah 2000, 2002 and 2003 all going at the same price in a supermarket. Also yet to make my mind up on a bottle of Teofilo Reyes Crianza 2001 which wasn’t bad but would Porco be better off with a New World red at the price?

Et in arcadia ego

In Porco, vino. Et in vino, veritas. Ergo – in Porco, veritas.

Porco tells the truth when he says some wines are too expensive to drink and that prices are not necessarily an indication of how good a wine is. Big names will always command big prices which are not always justified. In a recent double horizontal, we tasted a flight of 1994’s (Cos, Du Cru and La Mission) against a flight of 1997’s (Barton, Poyferre and Pichon).

The Pichon, Cos, Du Cru and La Mission were roughly twice the price of the Barton and the Poyferre but the Barton was the best of the lot. All were rated in the high 80’s.

We got a little crazy towards the end of the evening and when the 2001 Rieussec was a little disappointing, our host tried to prove a point (as in 100 points against 99 points by Parker’s reckoning) by serving up two bottles of 2001 Y’quem. Now the Y’quem is 50 per cent more expensive than the Rieussec but was not much better. So much for ratings. 

Wild Thing

Who says all Australian wines taste alike? I could have sworn this offering, the Wild One Shiraz 2004, from Wildcroft Estate was a Croze Hermitage or a Cornas but no, this was from the bottom of the Mornington peninsula south of Melbourne. So, there is a corner of Australia that is forever Northern Rhone.

Good things come to those who wait

That’s certainly not the case with NZ wines. Nobody waits – Felton Road sells out their entire stock of Pinot Noirs four months after release. So within fourteen months of harvest, the stuff is all sold and probably 80% drunk. They will never know what a wine it could have become – more’s the pity. But what can you do when there is so much demand.

We complained about this to the people who ran the B&B we were staying at and they told us about an American who tried to make a NZ pinot noir that would take 10 years of bottle ageing. They had just gone bust or were about to - so we drove to the nearest town and bought up all the stock the little wineshop there had.  

An anno in vino

Porco’s Latin is not his strong suit but here, in any event, is his year in wine:

January – cleaning out a restaurant called Southern Beauty in Shanghai of its entire stock of Henschke Mount Edelstone 2001 (RP95) plus half of their stock of 2002 as well.

February – Hubert Lignier Morey St. Denis 2001 for a special occasion. Porco now believes that Parker should not be trusted when it comes to Burgundy and you should add 4 points to every rated for the appellation.

March - first tasting of our budget wine of the year.

April – is the cruellest month. A disappointing Barbi Brunello di Montalcino 1997, then a touch of Seoul before embarking on a horizontal.

May – we opened the first of the 2000 Bordeaux.

June – Palais de Grand Crus with tasting notes.

July – we go American in Bangkok, first shows of the Shafer Merlot 2004 (RP 88 but WS 92!) and the Opus One 2002 (RP 89).

August - a week in Napa, Porco’s wine of the year (it’s the Belle Seours and you have to scroll down to the bottom of the linked page) and soft opening at Denise where there was a first show of the Kaesler Old Vines Shiraz 2005.

September – Porco conducts a wine tasting in Hong Kong and we unearthed a bottle of Cullen Diana Madeleine 2001.

October – a Jacquesson and a Domaine Dujac at Iggy’s.

November – dinner with Michael Twelftree and then the mini extravaganza at Porco’s birthday booze up where it was 20-40-90. 20 bottles, 40th birthday and everything above 90 points.

December – the grand shipment arrives from Bordeaux (with Porco’s Chateau Rouget 1999 and La Dominique 2000) and a slightly disappointing time in Margaret River.