It was a sort of Christmas party. It was pretty epic.
Noble Rot founders Mark Andrew and Dan Keeling threw a dinner for some of the people involved in the magazine, and I was thrilled to be invited. We headed to Mission E2, bottles in hand, for some banter, food and blind tasting.
The wines came thick and fast, but I still managed to scribble some notes. Notes as written, more or less, before the reveal. The first couple of wines I missed taking notes on, but they deserve a mention. A white Chateauneuf 2012 from St Prefert that was all Clairette, and a Tondonia white of uncertain vintage that tasted quite Tondonia, which isn’t altogether a bad thing (but is quite difficult when you are tasting blind).
Piedrasassi White 2011 Central Coast, California
A blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Albarino. An orange wine. Lovely perfumed aromatics. Lively and ripe with peach, citrus and floral notes. Good balance with some grip under the sweet fruit. Quite thrilling. 93/100
Lafarge Volnay Clos des Chenes 1994 Burgundy, France
Dan bought a couple of bottles of this along, which was tasted sighted but with the vintage hidden. Guesses varied, and no one got it right. I went the oldest at 1996 and was closest. Surprisingly it was a very fresh tasting 94. Tight and fresh but has some age, with firm, grip. Tannic with nice cherry and raspberry fruit, and a hint of earth. 93/100
Leroy Chorey Les Beaune 2003 Burgundy
Fresh cherries and raspberries. Tannic and youthful on one hand, but with some age for sure. A bit grippy with some leathery notes. Grippy and dry: quite Italian in style. It tastes like modern Barolo with its grippy tannins. 90/100
The next wine I have notes on but didn’t write down what it was. This sort of thing happens at dinners like this.
Failla Pinot Noir 2012 Sonoma Coast, California
This tastes like a good new world Pinot Noir. It has sweet, sappy, smooth cherries and berries and it’s smooth and very pure. A ripe style but with lovely definition. 93/100
Ghislain Barthod Chambolle Musigny 2005 Burgundy, France
Grippy, fresh and savoury. Fine-grained tannins with nice savoury notes, and real finesse. Syrah-style Pinot. 93/100
Comtes Lafon Volnay Santenots 1er Cru 2008 Burgundy, France
Grippy, savoury and dense with nice structure. Quite tight black cherry and blackberry fruit with some firmness and lovely density. Serious. 94/100
Thierry Allemand Cornas Chaillots 1999 Northern Rhone, France
Ah, the wine I brought along, and I sort of spotted it. Fresh, lively raspberry and cherry fruit with a bit of spice and some tar. A bit grippy with firm, savoury structure. Youthful but not young. 92/100
Peyre Rose Clos des Cistes 2005 Coteaux du Languedoc, France
This was a nice surprise. Warm, sweet black cherry fruit nose with lovely supple character, hints of violets and some tar. Grippy palate with lovely focus and a nice savoury edge. Lovely stuff. 94/100
Tempier La Migoua Bandol 1993 Roussillon, France
Bretty, warm and a bit animally with spicy black cherry and blackberry fruit. There’s plenty of savoury, animal, meaty spiciness here. 93/100
Behringer Howell Mountain The Colline Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1994 Napa Valley, California
A bit of menthol to the spicy, fresh black cherry fruit with some nice grip. 92/100
The last two weren’t blind.
Corison Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Napa Valley, California
Fresh, fine blackcurrant and red berry fruit with fine herby notes. There’s some real elegance here and a hint of spice. Lovely. 94/100
Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs 1992 England
I think this may have been from magnum. I can’t remember that well. But it was wonderfully fresh with rounded, rich, pure per and citrus fruit. Ripe apples, pear and spice on the finish. Still very fresh and quite delicious. Forgot to score it.
