Anders' 40 years birthday party @ Luns

This is not a wine tasting report, but simply some short comments on a splendid night and my very good friend, Anders 40 years birthday @ Restaurant Luns. For those of you who haven't heard about Luns - it's a unique little restaurant in the heart of Copenhagen. Run by Jens Vestergaard, former co-owner of ** Restaurant Ensemble. Jens is like "Luns" a cozy and great person, who you simply can't help to like.

Back to the birthday party, where 45 guest where spoiled in good wine and company. We kicked off with Champagne in the Bar - where 1996 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne normal and Rosé where served + 1995 / 1996 La Grande Dame. As I had promised Anders to take some pictures, so I didn't get to taste the Grande Dames (Damn), but as always the 1996 Comtes de Champagne was extraordinary lovely. The same goes for the Rosé version - simply splendid - reminded me of a crossing between Deutz CWD Rosé and Billecart-Salmons Elisabeth Rosé.

The starter was Scallops with carrots and the sweetness of this dish was matched up with 2005 Dönnhoff Riesling Spätlese Norheimer Delchen - a lovely rich, mineral and expressive Riesling.

Luns main course is always served directly from a casserole at the table and an intense dish of French inspired lamb hit us. To go with the lamb we had a Pegau Reservee Madness, where all kinds of different vintages where put on the table.I didn't taste all of them, but a few:

2006: A bit shy, well build, but still with rough tannins.
2005: Almost exotic - a bit fruit crazy, but overall high quality
2004: Very classic - drinking well right now
2003: Opulent, better than others, but 2003 will never be me
2002: Not tasted
2001: Simply gorgeous - has everything, a legendary Pegau
2000: Too hot (as always)
1999: Not tasted
1998: Exotic, but rather charming, lots of fruit - a bit warm finish, but overall stunning.
1998 (Laurence) Very smooth and delicate - perfectly mature now - lovely stuff.

Dessert wine where 2002 Kracher Scheurebe TBA no6 - rather nice and sticky.


Anders - thank you for spoiling us.

Best from,

/Thomas

2005 Batzella, Peán, Bolgheri, Italy

(Glass; Spiegelau Adina Bordeaux)

Hmmm..so from opening the wine was very smooth with sweet flavours from the oak; coconut and vanilla and in general a mild pleasant fruit pattern. However the wine was lacking heavily in complexity, nerve and some sort of edge – it was just too simple. I kept over half of the bottle for day 2 and had a nice surprise when I poured myself a glass. The wine has a bit more killer instinct and comes across with blackberries, herbs (mainly thyme) and warm blooded fruit. The taste has fairly alright structure and acidity and the last drops consist of cappuccino and milk chocolate. Let it be said that I am not that exited about these sexy Italian IGT anymore, but if you like these types if wines and healthy Barbera fruit style you might like Peán, which is fair priced in the Bolgheri zone. A natural contest both in price and geographical location would be to buy Le Macchiole “Rosso” and pair it with this one (I like Le Macchiole better). Though let Peán have some air first.

Thank you for the bottle, Aage

(some information on the wine can be found here http://www.batzella.com/italiano/pean.html )

Sep-2008

1995 Tsarine, Mellésime, Champagne

So Snoop Dog and P. Diddy drink the gold hula hula Cristal and if to design a Champagne bottle for Barry Manilow and Liberace (God rest his soul), I guess the flashy Russian looking bottle from Tsarine would be it. Luckily the inside is better looking than the outside. Tsarine is bar far not elegant not is it mineral attached, but it’s quit rich and bold with deep lush notes of walnuts, dark bread, vanilla and a lot of yeast autolysis. The taste is soft, rich in flavours, but a bit too short, with lacking bite at the end. Overall I would have to say, that it’s still an easy sit back and enjoy Champagne. Thank you for the bottle, Anders.

Sep-2008

2003 Heymann-Löwenstein, Riesling Röttgen

(Decanted 4 hours - Glass; Riedel Sommerliers Riesling)

There is something that I like about the wines from Heymann-Löwenstein…I think I have said this before. But his wines are authentic, wild and almost energizing. This 2003 has a lot of exotic fruits, honey, flowers, but with peach as the dominant note. As always with this producer there is a spicy and tickly element, which is also the case here and it brings a lot of warmth and character. So far so good, but the taste is disappointing. I find it lacks the needed precision and it simply becomes to oily on the tongue and it kills the acidity backbone. Over time, and when knowing about the difficulties on the taste, the nose becomes less inspirational.

Sep-2008

2003 Cavallotto Barolo Bricco Boschis

In short a very disappointing wine. I am glad I have kept my hands away from this 2003 vintage. The fruits are dark – even balsamic and plum infected, but yes there are some nebbiolo characters here. The taste is extremely polished, the wine is like a velvet glove, and I sensed no acidity backbone or good structural capacity for the future only a dull tannic picture.

2002 Darviot-Perrin Mersault Genevrieres

(Glass, Zalto Burgundy)

Why don’t I drink and buy more white Burgundy, when I have this affection for Champagne? I will try to answer some of this dilemma below, but first the wine. Classic white Burgundy with; smoke, flowers, lime and this creamy buttery flow. The wines force is its slimness and mineral attack (on the nose) which prevent it from becoming a Mersault melted butter hell. But as with most Burgundy wines, the absolute prime time is spent with sniffing the nose aromas and what I particular like about this wine is the oozing smoke from the oak and the integration manager with the floral aromas from the fruit core. However – when the wine enters the mouths its starts to become a problem for a mousse and mineral addicting person like me. The wine is too “diplomatic” – to smooth…do you understand…probably not…see below. Overall the wine is a pleasure to drink, but not an intellectual challenge.

Dilemma aspect: Why champagne and not white Burgundy? The answer simply can’t be answered so simplified as I have tried here (more has to be tasted). But let’s take a Blanc de Blanc Champagne and a wine like the above. First of all the Champagne comes from a cooler zone. The apple cider is more provocative in Champagne and many of the prominent producers never use malolactic fermentation. And I have a belief that this is the problem that I often come across when a wine like the above enters the mouth. The wine seems a bit more lifeless, but more round and plastic fantastic and easy to the not trained taster. Besides my affection for Champagne the next preference is German Riesling and when a dry Riesling from a top producer enters the mouth you will most often feel a herd of mineral and terroir attack. It might not be easy to digest, but oh boy it’s intriguing. To underline this dilemma some of the Burgundy producers use bátonnage, which makes the wine even smoother and this is not the direction my delicate taste buds are going. Hmmm…I will have to think about this – but I might have found the reason for my missing dedication for white Burgundy…maybe I should drink more Chablis instead?

And PS. I am currently reading a new Danish wine book from Søren Frank “The wines from Burgundy” – brilliant btw..well done Søren. I came across a chapter where Søren Frank talks about glasses. He used the Riedel Sommeliers Burgundy Grand Cru for white and reds – Chablis a more linear and slim glass. So I tried this Riedel Sommeliers Burgundy Grand Cru (as I have a stack of them) with this wine and it was horrible – it totally disappeared. I immediately returned to my Zalto Burgundy…ahhh so much better. But I will for sure try the Riedel Sommeliers Grand Cru again to see if Søren has a point (but I doubt it).

2006 Fillaboa

(Drukket over 2 dage - Glas; Zalto White wine)

Sprød og spændstig hvidvin fra Spanien, som jeg har drukket en del gange. Albarino druen har en klar og rank syre, som her følges fint op ad grape, melon og fennikel. Det er en enkelt vin – ikke stor og kompleks, men en dejlig sommerlig sag, som med sine fine syre gør sig godt til mad.

1964 Charles Heidsieck

(Glass; Riedel Sommerliers Vintage Champagne)

Opens with a very old dusty sofa fragrance, but quickly evaporated into a brownish apple note with; mangoes and mandarin. In fact, the nose is delicious on the scents alone, but it lacks some intensity, which is proven by a somewhat restrained and somewhat flat mousse. The flavors are marked by this lacking mousse and it is a pity, because it has a great freshness. But the overall fair drinking pleasure, with vibrant acidity – just missing the mousse. That’s how it is with old Champagne – it’s a lottery slip.

Aug-2008

NV Krug Rosé

(Flasken skulle efter sigende have 4 år på bagen - Glas Riedel Sommeliers Vintage Champagne)

Allerede på den lyse røde farve ligner det noget, som kommer til at smage godt. Jeg er generelt mere tilhænger af Rosé Champagner, hvor det ”røde” touch kun er et parfumeret element. Det giver en eminent ægthed og skrøbelig, hvor de rødlige parfumer strøg bliver saltet på ægget og ikke, hvor det går over i rød sodavands, børnefødselsdags helvede. Tilbage til Krug Rosé, som er skæppe skøn og er på den ene side vanvittig koncentreret (som Krug altid er) og så disse rødlig jordbær og maritime noter – niiiice. Moussen og smagen er Krug perfekt, moussen er intens og meget balanceret. En yderst alsidig sag, som kan nippes alene og til masser af dejlige madretter.

(Aug-2008)

1996 Krug Vintage

(Noten dækker over et sølle glas…og glasset var Zalto)

Imponerende – simpelthen. Hvor får Krug deres koncentration fra? Det er altså en ekstrem Champagne det her. Fuldstændig elektrisk og vanvittig berusende Champagne, som i denne ekstreme ungdommelige fase næsten kun består af æblesyre og så disse dybe Krug aromaer, som slet ikke er udfoldet endnu. Smagen er smertelig, men rasende fascinerende. Det er lang tid siden, jeg har smagt en ung Champagne, som er så vild, som denne.

Jeg uploader et sprødt billede af flasken ved lejlighed.

(Aug-2008)

2002 Guy Charlemagne ” Mesnillésime”, Champagne

(Drukket ene og alene over 2 timer; Glas Zalto Champagne)

Man burde jo lade være med at drikke en vin som denne, så ung – så hermed endnu en Champagne note, hvor den sidste 1/3 af flasken var den absolutte bedste. Vinen er basalt set, ret lækker, selvom den er pakket godt ind i ungdommelige klæder, som citrus, limesaft og et væld af blomsterparfumer. Langsomt og sikkert kommer flere lag til og champagnen tager på i vægt med adderende duft af hvedekiks og generelle kompleksitet. Men den absolutte darlig er duften af anis, som er særdeles tiltalende. Smagen var hele vejen igennem klar, ren, defineret og naturligvis stadig lidt bombastisk ung. Må sammenlagt sige, at flaskeudviklingen i den grad tiltaler mig og den minder mig lidt om en krydsning mellem Salon og Cour de Cuvée.

(Sep-2008)

2001 Marcel Deiss ”Rotenberg”

(Smagt over 2 dage; glas Riedel Sommeliers ”Riesling”)

Vinen åbner i klassisk Alsace klæder i den lidt fedtede stil, hvor kernen er olieret, sødlig, akaciehonning og med en nærmest friteret karamel note. Friskheden er dog ret god (når den serveres kølig) og særdeles blomsterrig. Problemet for mig er denne olieret stil – der går minder tilbage til Zind Humbrecht og jeg må sige, at jeg simpelthen er vokset fra denne stil, som er alt for opulent og klodset til mig. Vinen havde dog udmærket elementer i form af en lille smule galskab, men nærmest krydret pære i næsen – lidt a la Herman Löwenstein. Men desværre bliver smagen et tilbageværende problem. Den olieret vin glider ned i ganen og smelter nærmest derpå med sine fede honning lag og aromaerne går derfra i næsen og så kan man ellers sidde og tygge lidt på lidt næseguf. Jeg ville dog have foretrukket et mineralsk udtryk med et syresmæld i munden, som nogle af de Tyske Rieslings kan det. Alsace bliver for min del mere og mere problematisk.

Sep-2008

2001 ”Alion” Ribera del Duero, Spain

(Glas: Riedel Sommeliers ”Tinto Riserva”)

En gennemgående rigtig god vin og min sidste flaske. Frugten er sund og struttende med rigtig gode lædertoner, mocca og sorte kirsebær. Alt er holdt i et stramt klassisk greb og på intet tidspunkt falder vinen ved siden af. Smagen har herlig fylde - frisk og på samme tid cremet. Noget af det bedste er denne varmblodighed, som jeg er vild med, især når den holdes i så kontrollerbar form. Yderst appetitlig sag.

Sep-2008