Chronicles Of Consumption

Rack of Lamb; Domaine Heresztyn, Gevrey Chambertin Vieilles Vignes 2001

Last night I had a strong urge to drink red Burgundy. Which I duly indulged. 

The wine was in very good condition, pleasant nose of red and blue fruit and a little spice, medium intensity palate of fruit with some earthy undergrowth, balanced acidity and soft tannins. Medium finish and soft texture. It started to fade after being open for 2.5hrs. An excellent example of a 'Villages", very enjoyable. At peak, drink now. I have noticed recently, having drunk various 2001 red Burgundies, that they share similar characteristics. They are not the most intensely flavoured wines, but they are well balanced, and seem to be drinking very well right now, from Villages right up to 1er Cru, though obviously you can probably keep the 1er Cru wines for a bit longer than lesser wines. (I would not recommend hanging on to this one for too much longer though, it is definitely at its peak.) It just goes to show that all vintages show well at some stage in their development, even lesser-acclaimed ones like 2001.

I served the wine with a very nice rack of lamb (from Costco, the best value place to get it, very good quality too), cooked simply with garlic and herbs, with asparagus, and curly kale with a touch of balsamic vinegar. Possibly not the best food pairing, but it's the mildest cut of lamb, and it was a very basic preparation.

A Super Tuscan tonight...

Quick wine notes - favourite wines this weekend

Just some quick tasting notes on my 2 favourite wines this weekend

1982 Auxey Duresses 1er Cru Les Duresses Dom. Potinet Ampeau

Love this wine from one of my favourite, largely unknown Burgundian producers. This 28 year old 1er Cru from, one of the not exactly stellar appellations of the area, is in great condition (5 or 6 bottles now and all have been tip top old son - we had one on new years eve if you can remember that far back) and drinking absolutely lovely now - no idea how much longer it has to go but knowing the generally outrageous longevity of this producers wines I would'nt hold my breath. Obviously not decanted this is fully mature, very light with a slight browning hue but stlill a lovely vibrancy, it has a classic old school Burgundy nose lots of lovely intense tertiary notes gamey, savoury, smoky bacon fat meaty yum - very powerful for such a light bodied wine - palette is delicate, feminine complete and in great harmony, balanced acidity satisfyingly long finish and how you hope great old burgundy should look - and at a fraction of the price of the wines from the glitterati of the region - If you can find it, or any other wine from this Domaine you need to buy it.

2003 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico "I,Quadretti", La Giaretta

This wine (Corvina blend with Rondinella and Molinara, not sure of %) is simply gorgeous, after decanting nose is immediately appealing, warm forward and very generous, stewed raisins, black cherries and chocolate, sweet and a little spicy -  on the palette broad mouth filling and a beautifully balanced wine, full body with refreshing acidity, velvety texture and very long, this is a big wine but is so well balanced not a hint of jammy fruit or the high alcohol (15.5% - and yes dear Yankee friends this is very high) - this is still quite young and wrapped in primary fruit characteristics with the oak (French) still a little in evidence, so would love to see this wine later in life but really an absolute pleasure now. This is the top of the range single vineyard wine from the La Giaretta Estate so not exactly cheap but no where near some of the eye-wateringly expensive other top Amarone producers so well worth a look. One more time - really, really lover-ly.