Decanter Rising
Stars Fine Wine Encounter
Landmark Hotel, London
19th May 2001
Gitton Père et Fils
2000 Pouilly
Fumé Chantalouettes,
Gitton Père et Fils
Very pale. Fair
nose. remarkably
full flavoured but a bit
unsatisfying. 83/100
2000 Sancerre
Les Herses, Gitton
Père et Fils
A medium straw appearance with a slightly pinkish tinge. Great nose.
Very full, lots of stone and smoke.
Quite deep flavours.
Oddly
peppery, especially on the finish.
Good
but not great. 86/100
1998 Sancerre
La Vigne du Larrey,
Gitton Père et Fils
A slightly honeyed straw colour. Rich
nose apparently with some oak. Nice,
clean attack. Fills
well and has a nice
depth and a good roundness in the mouth that Gitton’s other
Sancerres seem to
lack. 89/100
1999 Sancerre
Les Romains, Gitton
Père et Fils
A slightly pinkish straw colour. Lovely
steely nose. Very
fresh and clean on the
palate; and slightly spiced. Massive
length. 88/100
1999 Duras
“Château Lafon”
Sauvignon, Gitton Père et Fils
A pale straw. Interesting,
very
herbaceous nose, if a little muddy.
Fairly fresh and crisp on the palate.
84/100
Domaine
Colmar
Most of these
wines were served far too cold, which was to their detriment.
1999
Chasselas Cuvée Caroline, AC
Alsace, Domaine Schoffit
Very full
nose,
with lots of character. Remarkably
full-flavoured and rather attractive.
Great length. Very
Good. 88/100
1998 Tokay
Pinot Gris Cuvée
Caroline, AC Alsace, Domaine Schoffit
Deepish colour. Bit
of a duff nose. Much
better on the palate than the nose, but
perhaps a bit too sweet. Good. 84/100
1998 Riesling
Cuvée Caroline, AC
Alsace, Domaine Schoffit
A good riesling nose, with a bit of honey.
Remarkably fine on the palate.
Showing some nice age.
89/100
1999 Pinot
Blanc Cuvée Caroline,
AC Alsace, Domaine Schoffit
A rather indistinct nose that’s a bit closed.
Very nice and buttery on the palate.
Nicely drinkable. 86/100
1999
Rather closed on the nose, though some fragrance does show through
after a
little aeration and as it warms up.
On
the palate, it’s slightly hard, definitely muted, but pretty
good. Certainly not
too in your face. 85/100
1999 Riesling
Grand Cru Rangen
Clos Saint Théobald, AC Alsace Grand Cru, Domaine Schoffit, 12.5%
A somewhat muted riesling nose with some good minerality and a hint of
petrol. Quite full
in the mouth, but
very clean, with nice balance. 89/100
1999 Tokay
Pinot Gris Grand Cru
Rangen Clos Saint Théobald, AC Alsace Grand Cru, Domaine
Schoffit, 14%
A mid to deep gold. A
rather backward
pinot gris nose. Very
intense, slightly
smoky pinot gris with a nice spicing.
A
bit on the sweet side and could do with better balance.
86/100
1999 Tokay
Pinot Gris Sélection de
Grains Nobles, Grand Cru Rangen Clos Saint Théobald, AC
Alsace Grand Cru,
Domaine Schoffit
Feels like very low extraction on the nose.
Very fine and elegant, with good acidity.
Very finely balanced.
Possibly a little lacking in pinot gris
character. 89/100
1999
Gewurztraminer Grand Cru
Rangen Clos Saint Théobald, AC Alsace Grand Cru, Domaine
Schoffit
This has a very slight gewürztraminer nose.
A massive, sweetish attack.
Very
fragrant in the mouth, and much more extracted than the nose would
suggest. Good
acidity keeps it
balanced. 89/100
Weingut
Künstler
Hochheim am
1999
Hochheimer Reichestal
Spätburgunder Auslese Trocken, Weingut Künstler
Very pale colour. A
lovely light pinot
noir nose. This is
actually rather good
for a German pinot. Very
peppery
finish. 86/100
1999
Hochheimer Hölle Riesling
Spätlese Trocken, Weingut Künstler
A slightly flat nose, lacking character.
Very thin on the palate and utterly lacking in elegance. 77/100
1999
Hochheimer Hölle Riesling
Auslese Trocken, Weingut Künstler
A pleasant nose: fresh and fragrant.
Much better, more elegant and cleaner though there is some
harsh,
unbalanced acidity on the finish.
84/100
1999
Hochheimer Kirchenstück
Riesling Auslese Trocken, Weingut Künstler
A very fine nose. Good
depth. Very clean
throughout. Finishes
nicely and with great length. 87/100
1999
Hochheimer Kirchenstück
Riesling Spätlese, Weingut Künstler
An elegant, creamy nose. Good,
clean,
fresh palate with a nice gentle spritzig feel.
Very well balanced. Clean
and
elegant throughout. 90/100
1999
Hochheimer Hölle Riesling
Beerenauslese, Weingut Künstler
A young Riesling nose with firmly honeyed notes.
Very fine on the palate with very good
acidity. Very
nicely balanced fruit and
acidity. Will
undoubtedly improve with
age. 92/100
2000
A gorgeous nose: pure sauvignon blanc with great intensity. Full and clean on the
palate, this is
everything you want from sauvignon blanc.
92/100
1999
Clean, rich chardonnay nose. Good
palate, but a bit ordinary. 86/100
Domaine
Epanomi
A nice colour. Very
fresh nose. Very
fresh, clean and crisp on the
palate. Light and
very clean. Nice
acidity.
87/100
2000 Domaine
Gerovassiliou
Chardonnay
A light buttery nose. Clean
and fresh in
the mouth. Good
length. 87/100
2000 Domaine
Gerovassiliou
Viognier
Very light indeed on the nose. Fresh
attack, but it fills well in the mouth and has a good character. 85/100
Domaine
Skouras
80% cabernet sauvignon; 20% agiorgitiko.
Good nose. Rather
nice in the
mouth. 88/100
1998
Agiorgitiko apparently. Excellent
nose. The palate
doesn’t quite live up
to the nose, but it represents nice, soft, easy drinking. 85/100
2000
Chardonnay, Domaine Skouras
Lovely rich, buttery chardonnay nose.
Very clean with very good full flavours: rich and buttery. 87/100
2000
Viognier, Domaine Skouras
The nose is a bit curious, with mushrooms and lots of maquis herbs. Not particularly
impressive on the
palate. 83/100
2000 Megas
Oenos White, Domaine
Skouras
Made from the moschofilero grape.
It is
a very, very pale straw colour, with a slightly pinkish hue. Very fragrant on the nose,
feeling sort of
like a combination of muscat and pinot gris.
Fresh and very clean in the mouth, feeling a bit like a
good vin gris. A
very interesting wine. 89/100
1998
Very fresh nose. Clean
and nice. This is
good everyday drinking. 84/100
Chain of Ponds
2000
Riesling, Adelaide Hills,
Chain of Ponds
A nice fresh riesling nose with a gentle minerality.
Very clean and attractive on the palate.
88/100
2000
Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon,
Adelaide Hills, Chain of Ponds
A slightly reticent nose, but it quickly fills out.
Clean and fairly fresh with bags of
fruit. 85/100
A clear varietal nose tinged with oak.
Very clean, with a nice richnesss, but not excessively so. Very pleasant drinking. 89/100
1998 Ledge
Very precise, focussed
1999 Amadeus
Cabernet Sauvignon,
Adelaide Hills, Chain of Ponds
Excellent nose – very much an archetypal cool climate
cabernet sauvignon. This
is a really nice very fresh, very, very
pure cabernet sauvignon. 92/100
Evans
& Tate
2000 Evans
& Tate Gnangara
Chardonnay (Unoaked)
A light, rounded nose with some melony fruit.
Very clean and overall an exceedingly pleasant experience. 93/100
1999
30% of the blend is fermented in barrel.
This is a good full, gently oaked chardonnay. 86/100
2000
70% sauvignon blanc : 30% semillon.
This
has a fresh, slightly aromatic nose.
Very clean in the mouth with decent character and good
acidity. 86/100
2000 Evans
& Tate Gnangara
Shiraz
Immediately attractive on the nose with bags of fruit.
Similarly on the palate, there are lots of
good ripe fruit. Hardly
a challenging
wine, but definitely attractive. 87/100
1999
This has more delicate fruit than the Gnangara
1999
Very good nose. Very
palatable. But a
bit ordinary. 84/100
2000
Secession Semillon
Chardonnay, Xanadu
There’s decent depth on the nose.
But on
the palate it’s a bit sharp and lacks character and depth. 76/100
1999 Xanadu
Chardonnay
Very good nose, buttery and toasty with some oak.
A bit muddy on the palate.
Not at all impressive: there’s little fruit
and little character. 72/100
Vylyan
Vineyards
Kisharsany, Fekete-Hegy,
An attractive light gold. Very
light
nose, just with the merest buttery hint.
Good flavours though.
A nice
light chardonnay with some structure.
84/100
1999
Kékoportó, Vylyan
An unusual nose, blending red fruits with public lavatories. An attractive, light,
everyday wine. 85/100
1999
Zweigelt, Vylyan
Excellent nose – very interesting.
Good
interesting flavours. 87/100
Domaine
Chablis
Fair nose. Goodish
light palate. OK.
80/100
1999 Chablis
Premier Cru, Vaillons
Vieilles Vignes, Domaine Laroche
A bit reticent on the nose. Full
flavoured. Good but
not
outstanding. 86/100
1999 Chablis
Grand Cru, Les
Blanchots, Domaine Laroche
Full and delicious. Plenty
of oak
evident, more so on the palate than on the nose.
87/100
1999 Chablis
Grand Cru, Réserve de
l’Obediencerie, Domaine Laroche
A rich gold appearance. Very
full
nose. Very full on
the palate too,
almost overly so. Great
length. 88/100
1998
Côte de Beaune Blanc ‘La
Grande Chatelaine’, Domaine Chantal Lescure
A slightly pinkish gold. Very
nice nose
– buttery and smoky. Very
full flavoured
with bags of lovely character. 88/100
Bouchard
Hermanus
2000
Chardonnay Sans Barrique,
Bouchard Finlayson
Dull and pointless. 71/100
2000
Sauvignon Blanc,
Fresh and clean, but deeply unexciting.
77/100
2000 Blanc de
Mer, W.O. Overberg
Light and fragrant, but dull and uninteresting.
78/100
A very scented nose. Full
and
clean. Powerful and
with a certain
attraction. 85/100
A dark, almost inky colour. Good
depth
of flavour. Soft
tannins on the
finish. 86/100
86/100
1998
Château Falfas Le Chevalier,
AC Côtes de Bourg,
A light, fairly fresh nose with lots of blackcurrant fruit. Lots of fruit on the
palate. Finishes
with a real blast of tannin and an
interesting slightly scented note.
85/100
1991
Château Falfas Le Chevalier,
AC Côtes de Bourg,
Again a good forward fruity nose, if a bit simple.
On the palate there’s a bit more character
and fruit than the 1998, but the tannins are still fairly vicious and a
bit
raw. Needs a lot
more age, though at
almost 10 years old already, I have to wonder if it is ever going to
come
round. 86/100
1998
Château Falfas, AC Côtes de
Bourg,
A step up in quality over the Chevalier.
But far too young.
1998
Château Falfas, AC Côtes de
Bourg,
This is much more together than the 1999, but still too young. 88/100
2000
Château Suau White Prestige,
AC Premières Côtes de
Rather average, but very fair. 85/100
1998
Château Suau, AC Cadillac,
Nice honeyed nose. Not
at all cloying on
the palate: there’s plenty of acidity to give it good balance
and keep it
feeling fresh. 86/100
This is a 70:30 blend of cabernet and merlot.
Excellent nose. Nice
character,
structure and decent balance. Pretty
good. 86/100
2000
Château Moulin de Ciffre
Viognier, Vin de Pays des
Nice colour. Good
nose. Very clean
with lots of character and a
notable depth of flavour. 85/100
1998 Moulin
de Ciffre Eole Rouge,
AC
A rich nose with lots of ripe red fruit.
On the palate, it’s a bit odd – it
seems sweetish. Pleasant
though. 85/100
Les
2000 Blanc
des Roches, Mas de la Dame,
AC Les Baux de Provence
This wine is 80% rolle, and 20% clairette. A very light nose. Quite fragrant. Decent palate, but not
winning me over. At
best it feels innocuous, but given the
quality of other Mas de la Dame wines, I think that points to this
being a duff
bottle.
1999 Coin
Caché Blanc, Mas de la
Dame, AC Côteaux d’Aix-en-Provence
80% Semillon, 20% clairette. Fermented
in barrels and it shows. Very
rounded
and clean. This is
packed with interest,
ripe fruit and spicy oak. 91/100
1998 La
Stèle Rouge, Mas de la
Dame, Les Baux de Provence
Rather slight on the nose. But
on the
palate, this is gorgeous: a rich balance of fruit and spice. 88/100
2000
Château Pibarnon Blanc, AC
Bandol
A deepish colour. Good
nose, with lots
of character. Very
characterful on the
palate too. Quite
refreshing with some
acidity. 86/100
Dobrove
1997 Veliko
Belo,
This is a blend of chardonnay, pinot grigio, rebula (ribolla) and
sauvignon. It has a
deepish colour. Very
rounded and pleasant nose. Pleasant
attack. Clean and
rounded. Interesting,
with great length. 87/100
A very deep golden colour. Fine
nose. Rather
unusual, but overall a
nice, very fresh chardonnay. 86/100
A mid gold. The
nose is rich and rather
buttery. It’s
slightly spicy on the
palate. An
interesting wine with a clean
finish and good acidity. 87/100
Sivi Pinot is pinot gris. It
has a
fairly full nose. Clean
palate; very
spicy. Fairly
simple, but moderately
interesting. 84/100
This is a blend of 40% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot and 30% pinot
noir. Good nose,
super attack. Very
balanced and interesting on the
palate. 88/100
There’s some age evident in the colour.
It has a very soft merlot nose.
On the palate, it’s a very fine merlot.
89/100
A white wine from the nuragus grape.
Nice full nose, with plenty of character.
This follows through nicely on the
palate. It has a
just off-dry feel. 84/100
A nice soft ripe fruits nose. Good
soft
fruits on the palate too. Very
nice
finish. 88/100
A slightly reticent nose, but after a few moments it comes round
revealing some
interesting layers. Beautiful
on the
palate, with a great depth of flavour.
92/100
Lovely, interesting nose with plumy fruit and a interesting herby note. Very interesting on the
palate. Rich and
full with several layers of
flavours. Needs a
bit of time to soften
the tannins. 92/100
An excellent spicy nose, though perhaps a bit reticent.
Lovely fruit on the palate.
Nice wine.
90/100
Menfi
Lovely light fragrant nose. Very
pleasant. Good
length. 86/100
A deep colour. Fantastic
nose, feeling
in total balance with oak, toast, fruit and butter.
A very impressive wine.
95/100
Lovely nose. Really
good on the palate
with bags of fruit and character.
89/100
Excellent nose. Very
impressive wine –
super all the way through. 95/100
Good nose. Big
attack. Very meaty.
Great spicy finish with soft tannins.
90/100
100% Nero d’Avola. Rather
tannic. Very
interesting flavours. Excellent
length. Super.
93/100
85% Nero d’Avola : 15% syrah.
Does not
stand up well against the 1999. Still
pretty good though. 87/100
Made from the Campanian fiano grape variety.
Rather slight on the nose.
But it
has a good full attack. Clean
with good
fruit. Definitely
interesting. 87/100
1998 La
Matta, Barbera d’Alba,
Gianni Gagliardo
Loads of cherry fruit on the nose.
Nice,
deep palate with some elegance. 87/100
2000 Paulin,
Dolcetto d’Alba,
Gianni Gagliardo
Good clean nose with a nice cherry nose.
Good if a bit on the tannic side at the moment. 85/100
A super-Tuscan blend of cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese and merlot. Fabulous nose. Smooth, luscious palate
with rich black fruit
flavours and a chocolatey hint and texture.
91/100
100% sauvignon blanc. This
has a good
fresh nose. The
palate has fresh,
restrained fruit. It’s
not austere, but
it’s not overripe either.
Surprisingly
good. 87/100
Gaiole in
Chianti
A very deep nose. Full,
deep flavours
with some fairly solid tannins on the finish.
86/100
Absolutely superb nose – layer on layer.
Really good palate. Classic
quality Chianti. 95/100
Reticent nose. Pretty
good in the mouth
with a touch of nice acidity. 87/100
A good warm fruity nose. Still
a bit
young, though showing well. 88/100
with
potential for up to 92/100
50% sangiovese, 30% cabernet sauvignon, 20% merlot.
An intense nose, with the cabernet apparently
predominant. Needs
a bit of age, but
really very good indeed. 96/100
This has a lovely warm nose. Very
soft,
fruity and light on the palate. Very
nice. 87/100
1996
Batàr, IGT Toscana,
Querciabella
This is a blend of chardonnay and pinot bianco.
Quite a deep colour.
Excellent
nose with some honeyed notes. Much
more
together on the palate than the 1999. Very Good Indeed.
90/100
An excellent nose: fresh, very attractively fragrant, together with a
hint of
caramel. Clean
attack – fills well into
a fairly rich wine. Though
there’s a
touch of harsh acidity on the finish.
87/100, but assuming it turns out like the 1996, is should
rate higher
in 3-4 years time.
Very Good. 90/100
Panzano in Chiantii
90% sangiovese, 10% merlot, aged in 100% new French oak. Full nose.
Hefty tannins dominate the palate.
Needs a lot of time yet.
87-92/100
(Barrel sample). Almost
more forward
than the 1998: better acidity and fresher.
89/100
This is their second wine. Very
good
nose. Lovely
flavours in the mouth. Tannins
in control. Very
Good.
88/100
1998
Cortaccio, IGT Toscana, Villa
Cafaggio
An inky appearance. Extremely
perfumed
nose. Very soft
palate, with nice depth
and good firm tannins on the finish.
90/100
Fattoria Le
Corti
Good nose. More
together than the 1998,
with softer tannins. Good. 85/100
Very full flavoured. A
slightly harsh
feel with very firm tannins. Needs
more
time. 83-85/100
A lovely soft sangiovese nose. Good,
attractive palate. 87/100
Gorgeous nose with perfumed cherry fruit.
Smooth and delicious on the palate, with a good integrated
structure. 94/100
Pago de
Carraovejas
Penafiel,
Ribera
del Duero
A very clean nose with lots of violets alongside the black fruits. This is really rather good
with lots of body
and depth. 87/100
Soft and very pleasant. Finishes
beautifully. 87-88/100
(Barrel sample). Very
young colour. Very
tannic and young now. But
it has lots of power and some
promise. 87/100
2000 Eroica
Riesling, Chateau Ste.
Michelle & Dr.
A very pale appearance. Excellent
Riesling nose, though perhaps more muted than most of Ernie
Loosen’s
Buellton,
Quite a deep colour. Fabulous
nose with
great complexity. Very
rich and full in
the mouth. This is
a pretty
straightforward Californian chardonnay, but it is an absolute textbook
example. 87/100
A fairly deep colour. Fantastically
concentrated nose. Unfortunately
the
palate doesn’t quite live up to the promise of the nose. This is a very hefty and
powerful sauvignon,
but with some unfortunate hints of hardness.
85/100
1999
Chardonnay, Carneros,
Saintsbury
A mid gold. Nice
nose, slightly
scented. Clean on
the palate with a
decent freshness, but also some interesting scented and spicy notes. 85/100
2000
Sauvignon Blanc, Veramonte,
A light and fresh sauvignon nose. Clean and fresh in the mouth. A good wine, but fairly
standard. 84/100
A nice light nose, feeling lightly oaked with a good buttery edge. Explodes on the palate
– very full and
exciting. Excellent
acidity keeps it
very refreshing. 90/100
2000 Quinta
do Portal Branco, DOC
Light colour, light nose, light palate.
Simple, but fresh and refreshing.
84/100
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Last updated: 24 April 2009