2004 Clos l'Église (Pomerol) (France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol)

Bought 2 bottles of this during a weekend special sale for $35. And it was definitely a mistake to only buy 2 bottles. Nose shows dark berry fruit, tobacco, tar, earth and violets. On the palate, this retains its dark fruit profile, but the texture is lighter on its feet than the nose and color would make one believe. More silk than velvet. It has cherry and dark chocolate on the palate with an iodine and meaty flavor intermixed. Wonderful freshness with respect to the acidity. Finishes exceptionally well and it's just a terrific wine, especially with food. I drank this at the Austin neighborhood restaurant "Asti" tonight to accompany a dish of homemade Tagliatelle and Lamb al Sugo. Great pairing and I highly recommend this wine. Can be consumed now with some decanting, but it will be in its ideal window in 5 more years and keep for many years after that.

1998 Château La Fleur de Gay (France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol)

Served this with Christmas Eve dinner. Prototypically German Christmas food of roasted goose, red cabbage, potato dumplings (Kloesse) and goose gravy. This wine has been burning a hole in the floor of my cellar for some time, and I'm glad I finally opened one. It is beginning to show mature flavors and aromas. A wine that is very animale on the nose in a good way, and its fine, elegant cherry and berry fruit is just lovely. Great freshness, silky texture, and some chocolate, earth, and tobacco. Again, I liked how the acidity in the wine balanced the fattiness of the goose. Bordeaux doesn't get much better than this for me, especially in this price range.

2005 Château Latour à Pomerol (France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol)

If you're a fan of other Moueix estates (like Magdelaine) then you'll love this wine. A supremely elegant and pretty Bordeaux that is of medium weight. Despite it's freshness and medium body it packs a fantastic punch of plum, cherry and black currant fruit and a noticeable amount of earthiness. Finishes great. The absence of oak flavors, excessive extraction, and massive tannins is truly refreshing. This wine is for lovers of old school Bordeaux.

Sunday Night Solo Dinner Chez Pelz

With New York Strip Steak tonight, I chose to open two wines to taste side by side. Both the 1996 Clinet and 2001 Bonneau CdP were amazing and not just delicious, but intellectually stimulating. They had the acidity, structure, fruit, and serious character that I was looking for they both managed to be true to their terroir, age-worthy, and wow-wines without significant extraction.

• 1996 Château Clinet - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
  Had this tonight with a juicy NY Strip Steak from the Grill. And what a wine. This wine is so perfumed, it can be smelled across the room. Really amazing nose of earth, crushed rock, red currants, and cigar box. Still very powerful on the palate, but not very extracted. The texture is not velvety, but silky, so it reminds me a little of the texture of aged Barolo or Burgundy. The other similarity with Burgundy is that this has bright red and black fruits and very pronounced earth and morel mushroom flavors. In hindsight, this would have been best paired with veal in a morel mushroom cream sauce. Stunning wine with amazing purity, depth, and layers and layers of complexity. Worth seeking out.


• 2001 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  As if that '96 Clinet wasn't stunning enough, this Bonneau is a riveting wine and a worthy partner to the Clinet. It is the essence of kirsch liqueur and raspberries with plenty of provencal herbs mixed in. What's most remarkable is the palate that screams raspberry, cherry, and even some plum sauce with such an amazing depth. Not very extracted, this is nevertheless explosive on the palate and just plain delicious to drink with fascinating acidity and incredible verve. I love this style of CdP and find it to be among the very best CdPs I've tasted. Although this is drinking so well right now, I think it needs a little time to settle down and develop a bit more secondary and tertiary nuances. Worth seeking out.

Posted from CellarTracker

Birthday Dinner Chez Pelz

Last night, our friends convened at our house to celebrate the birthdays of our friend Lauryl and myself. For the occasion, the food was as follows:

Appetizer: Melted brie with home-made crispy hazelnut bread and red pepper jam (prepared by Shannon)

Entree: Whole bone-in pork loin chop with braised kale and porcini risotto (prepared by yours truly)

Dessert: Apple/Almond Gratin (prepared by Lauryl)

I actually had made a cranberry/apple chutney well in advance, but I forgot to serve it with all the hustle in the kitchen....I guess we'll save it for Thanksgiving.

With Appetizer:

• 1998 Deutz Champagne Blanc de Blancs - France, Champagne
  Served last night with appetizers. Very tasty and those familiar brioche and yeasty flavors I love in BdB. Bead and mousse were a little more coarse than I expected, but overall, this was excellent.

With Entree

• 2004 Roger Sabon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Olivets - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  I continue to enjoy the 2004 CdPs. This wine was very clearly a CdP with red fruit, red licorice, some olive tapenade and garrigue. This is as typical and traditional a CdP as I have tasted in a while. Very mellow already and ready to drink without further cellaring. I liked this a lot.


• 1982 Château de Sales - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
  I love mature Bordeaux. This bottle had been lovingly stored as it was in great condition. Red fruit, plum and tobacco on the nose had me guessing left bank Bordeaux from 78/79, but alas I was wrong. Either way, this was just fantastic and kept unwinding throughout the evening. Very smooth texture and textbook finish with tertiary flavors dominating. Impressive showing.


• 2005 Bosquet des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Chante Le Merle Vieilles Vignes (Chantemerle) - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Another CdP. Although I recognized this as a CdP, it was in a different style from the Sabon. Much bigger and more fruit forward, and with a much darker fruit profile, this nevertheless had the elements that I associate with CdP...garrigue, olive tapenade, almost slightly oily texture, truffle/earth and black licorce. Finishes strong. Seems like it would have a fairly good size Mourvedre and Syrah component. This is a candidate for extended cellaring in my opinion, and a wine I am glad to own some of.


• 2004 Icardi Langhe Nebbiolo Surisjvan - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
  I pegged this correctly as being from Italy, specifically Piedmont. I incorrectly thought it was a Barbera. Either way, it had the typical acid and funk profile I love in Piedmont wines. Great balance and dark fruit with floral undertones. Finished well. I rather liked this a lot.


• 1995 Château Troplong Mondot - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Great bottle. Every time I drink this '95, it reminds me how much better it is than its '94 counterpart. Definitely still young with good structure, but it's beginning to get mellow and it shows some secondary flavors of earthiness and leafiness. Some tobacco and black currant with a touch of earth and truffle. Everything is here and all with great balance and class. A reminder why I like Bordeaux even if I don't currently drink very much of it.


• 2001 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
  Decanted for 7 hours. Dark, almost black color. Nose is intense with black fruit, leather, and some earthiness and cedar. Incredibly velvety texture and monster finish. As much fruit and structure as there is in this wine, there's also plenty of acidity to balance the wine out. It's definitely balanced impeccably. For lovers of traditional Brunello, this may be a disappointment as it is made in a modern style, but to drink with food, it was very good. That being said, to me, I align more with Galloni's assessment than Suckling's.


• 1999 Le Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve le Clos du Caillou - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  And yet another CdP. Again, I guessed this as CdP because of the garrigue, licorice, creosote, and earth/truffle. A big, dark, brooding CdP, that I would guess has significant Mourvedre and Syrah precentages in the blend. Finishes very strong, and it's a candidate for long term cellaring as well. Nowhere near sa approachable as many other 2004s I have had.

With Dessert

• 1998 Château Climens - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
  Very good. Golden color. Clean, focused honey and pear with some honeysuckle. Good companion to the apple gratin dessert.

2004 Le Clocher de Rouget (France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol)

Solid dark garnet color. Elegant and classic right-bank merlot nose that is full of tobacco, cherry, and plum. Equally good on the palate. Nice texture, good length, abundant cherry, cigar box, and lead pencil. Can be cellared for a couple of years, but it's a really good wine right now that is a superb value at around $17. QPR alert.

2003 Château Gazin (France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol)

Great nose of cigar box, leather, plum, and spice. Tobacco, chocolate, earth, and a mix of cherry and blackberry flavors. Finishes with nice length and good dryness. I really like this wine. It has good structure, acidity, and fruit. I think it will age nicely for a long time, and I believe that based on what I smell and taste, this will be a pleasure when mature. I just looked up RP's score and it was 89 points, which I believe to be significantly underscored.