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Christmas Wines 2006

Keeping my Christmas wine tasting notes together serves as an easy reminder of what I drank in previous years, and acts as a prod to open something even better with each passing festive season. This year seems to have seen a few more bottles of fizz (and why not!), and a slight preponderance of the Rhône Valley in my drinking otherwise. I seem to have failed to open a number of the older bottles I had lined up, but that's fine...I will enjoy drinking them over the coming months when circumstances dictate. They may even feature as a Wine of the Week. (3/1/07)

Tasting Notes

Tasted in December 2006 and January 2007. Click for stockists:

Roederer Brut 1989: An attractive golden hue, rich in colour, suggesting maturity, with a very fine bead. The nose is delightfully open and expressive, and it is already quite obvious that this is going to be the best bottle from this case that I have had yet. It is simply gorgeous, with aromas of praline, nut-toasted brioche. Divinely evocative. On the palate it remains beautifully fresh, despite this wines age, with a fine, delicate mousse. Clean, nutty lines with precise definition, aided by a fabulous backbone of acidity. A slightly creamy richness to the finish, and a fine length. Yes, just remarkable, and a touch higher on the score than some previous bottles. 19/20

Pol Roger Brut 1990: Incredibly it seems as though it is four years since I last drank a bottle of this, and this is my final bottle. That may be a good thing, as this wine is certainly going over compared to where it was in 2002. A pale, golden hue and a fine but plentiful bead. It is very evolved on the nose, rather winey, with a touch of sweet, lemon fruit pastille and some mushroomy nuances. Lovely definition on the palate nevertheless, well poised, with fine acidity and a little creaminess to the texture. Certainly maturing ever onwards now, and I don't think this matched up to the bottles tasted previously. Drink up if you have any. 17.5/20

Ruinart R de Ruinart Brut 1990: A pale gold and a very sparse but fine bead. Lovely nose, just beautifully developed, open and quite evocative, with notes of honey-roast nuts and praline. Full, creamy and just dripping with lip-smacking praline flavour on the palate, this is exceedingly good. Lovely concentration and fabulous character, good precision and a fine, gentle mousse. Excellent. 18/20

Bollinger Grande Année 1990: A rich, golden hue, much more so than the previous wine. And so much more open on the nose also, which has a rich, praline, nutty-oily character. Simply gorgeous. Firm and meaty, very much in the Bollinger style on the palate, nicely developed, and a huge presence. Rounded and full of texture, but there is a fine, carrying acidity as well. With a rich panoply of flavours spiced with apples and nuts, this is another simply lovely wine that is open for business right now. 18.5/20

Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Perignon Champagne 1996: A local wine merchant stopped over for dinner and what better way to start the evening than by taking my first look at this, the highly lauded 1996 vintage. An attractive golden hue in the glass, with a plentiful bead. The nose, though, is just gorgeous, already quite open and evocative, much more than I would normally expect from Dom Perignon at this youthful age. There are notes of precisely presented hazelnuts and cream, crème brûlée, wrapped in clean citrus tones. A firm mousse with an open nuttiness, but more impressively a fabulous presence on the palate, backed up by great acidity. This already has a lovely character, but is well set up for future development, and should be a truly stunning Champagne with time. 19+/20

Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile Riesling 1997: Just a couple of years since I last opened one of these and there doesn't seem to have been a great deal of development here; the nose still has a lovely, vibrant, laserlike presence of lime fruit, but with the suggestion of a creamy depth, all presented in a very open but precise, well defined style. The same precision is on the palate, which has good freshness of fruit and plenty of youthful grip. Just crying out for more cellar time and I will do my best to oblige. 17+/20

André Perret Condrieu Coteau du Chery 2004: Another two bottles of this opened at a seasonal dinner party, completely demolishing my small stash of this wine. Just as brilliant as the first bottle, with very precise, vibrant pine kernel and pistachio on the nose. Packed with flavour on the palate, with lovely grip, good concentration and fine acidity. Just delightful, and unsurprisingly a real crowd pleaser. Excellent. 19/20

Zind Humbrecht Pinot Gris Heimbourg 1998: A rich, golden hue, and dripping with rich aroma on the nose, too; very open and expressive, redolent of fruit salad especially pears, with a spicy bacon note. Really appealing, a full and well defined palate, with a mellow, marrowy texture, but nicely framed by correct acidity and a little peppery grip. Nicely composed and very popular on the night. 16.5/20

Clos des Papes Chateauneuf du Pape 2001: A fine, cherry red hue. On the nose there are some dark, brooding fruits, smoky-roasted cherries, but otherwise this wine is giving little away at the moment. It has a great presence on the palate, with lots of weight and a firm, grippy, masculine tannic structure. Very decent acidity too. Richly endowed, youthful but withdrawn, with a composition bordering on monolithic, this wine needs time, but it was worthwhile taking this first look. 17.5+/20

Guigal Côte Rôtie Brune et Blonde 1989: A dark colour, not showing obvious maturity. Rather sweetly gamey on the nose, with a furry, leathery dark yet really rather reserved character which is attractive but I can't help thinking that this is rather deficient in perfume. The same can be said of the palate, which has a very firm style, with a rather plump, rounded texture cut through by grippy, rather sooty tannins which give a strong backbone for the wine. This has a really nice concentration, but to be critical it is perhaps rather short on perfume and character. 17.5/20

Delesvaux Coteaux du Layon St Aubin Clos du Papillon 1998: My final bottle of this wine, sadly. It remains a deep, burnished orange-gold hue. The nose is so characteristic of this wine, again showing intense minerals, with a rocky-stony character, and plenty of botrytis giving a caramel-quince streak. The palate is undeniably rich, again full of botrytis, with a creamy-oily texture, fabulously hedonistic, low in acidity, yet focussed and stylish. With a long, fading finish, this is really excellent. 17.5/20

Chateau Rayne-Vigneau (Sauternes) 1986: This wine has a moderately deep, golden hue, and on the nose an elegant, pure and yet richly honeyed character. It possesses a lovely lift on entry, leading to a rather firmly composed midpalate, which has a creamy richness, with a slightly bitter tannic structure running through the core. Well defined, and not the most delicate of Sauternes, rather grippy in a slightly masculine fashion, but still really rather fine and very well composed. 17.5/20