Rootin’ day in Tootin’

It’s a root day!

Some observations.

*When you drink a whole bottle of wine - and nothing else - you focus on it with greater clarity. It creates a commitment like being stranded on a desert island with someone - you are forced to get to know them in depth. With an endless cellar of goodies at one’s disposal one is tempted to flit hither and yon looking for the perfect palatal bull’s-eye and thus never form a meaningful relationship with the wine at hand. Too much choice fragments our gnatty critical attention span.

*This is the umpteenth time I’ve experienced where wines tasted and drunk on root day have performed extremely badly.

*The more expensive the wine the bigger the letdown. They are monolithic, sculpted out of self-love. The effort to be magnificent leaves no space for the wine to breathe when tasting.

*The wine critics rightly adore Riesling, but unjustifiably ignore Chenin, one of the truly versatile white grapes and also one which can brilliantly interpret the sense of terroir.

The wines:

2000 Riesling Kabinett, Joh Jos Prum 15
Grapefruity and fun. Will develop one imagines, but not showing anything beyond the fruit at this stage

2001 Riesling Auslese, JJ Christoffel 15.5
Fresh peachiness. A good accompaniment to the foie gras

2006 Riesling, Domaine et Tradition, Aly Duhr 15
Good citrus grip. Quite youthful still.

2004 Chablis 1er cru, Duplessis 16.5
Classic mineral Chablis, understated but lovely with fine persistence.

1996 Chablis Grand cru, Rene Dauvissat 14
Deep golden colour, oily and a bit flat. Discombobulated.

2007 Anjou Blanc Bonnes Blanches, Domaine Mosse 18
Superb, complex Chenin. Rich, mouthfilling with a hint of honeydew offset by lime and a touch of residual sugar.

2007 Vin de Table (Anjou) Benoit Courault 17.5
Earthy, pure Chenin with austerity and tension

1995 Saumur-Champigny, La Marginale, Domaine Roches-Neuves 16
Tasted blind.  Appealing nose of smoked blueberry, undergrowth and leather.  Almost lacy acidity. A touch of brett doesn’t detract at all from what is still a delicious wine.

2006 Vosne-Romanee aux reas, Jacques Cacheux 14
One of a pair of modern Burgundian clunkers. Deep crimson colour, sweet chocolate-coated red fruits and enough oak for a couple of wines. Young, of course, but who wants to wait?

2006 Nuits-St-Georges au bas de combe, Jacques Cacheux 13.5
Plenty of colour, dark fruit flavours, unresolved tannins and bitter oak influence

1998 Cote-Rotie, Gallet 16.5
Essential Syrah, delicate smoky bacon notes and gentle pepperiness

1998 Unico, Vega Sicilia 14.5
Death by chocolate nemesis. Probably infanticide to drink this, but utterly lacks the dimension of pleasure unlike…

2004 Gamay d’Auvergne, Domaine Peyra 16.5
Pale, cloudy, oozing with natural intent. Light, fresh, punchy – like tangy apple juice. Delicious.

1997 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Edoardo Valentini 15
Tasted blind. Most of us placed the wine in a warm region such as Sardinia. Dark, jammy, plummy and pruny. Not much finesse.

1997 Clos Saint Denis, Domaine Dujac 13
Another grave disappointment

1991 Corton, Faiveley 12
Oxidised

1982 Chateau Sociando-Mallet
Corked, alas

2004 Arbois Pupillin Rouge, Emmanuel Houillon 13.5
After the deluge of expensive “artful” disappointments a natural wine also showing considerably below its potential. Reduced nose, reduced fruit.

Unspecified Cotes de Bourg 13.5
Correct but uninspiring. Oak dominant.

2007 Morgon, Cote de Py, Domaine Jean Foillard 13.5
Normally a sure-fire winner but today tasting attenuated and rather tart.