What an Experience!
France, Italy, Spain and Germany provided some of the many highlights of the 2011 Wine Spectator New York Wine Experience
Posted: Oct 26, 2011 12:20pm ET
Wine Spectator's 30th Anniversary
Wine Experience took place this past weekend. It was quite a whirlwind, with
dozens of fantastic wines from the two nights of Grand Tastings and two days of
seminars.
I was
pleased to get my heavy lifting out of the way early so I could relax and enjoy
the remainder of the weekend. With so many outstanding wines on offer, how do
you choose a handful that was even more impressive?
Yet,
there were nearly a dozen that stood out for me over the weekend. Here they
are, in no particular order, from both the Grand Tastings and seminars.
I don't
taste Bodegas Vega Sicilia's Ribera del Duero Unico Gran Reserva often, but it
never fails to impress me. I still recall the 1986 from a Wine Experience
several years ago. The 1994 Unico, one of the Wine Stars seminars presented by Vega Sicilia director Pablo Álvarez, was stunning for its
depth, restrained power and length on the palate.
I have a
soft spot for Burgundy, having worked with the wines since my beginnings in the
wine industry. The Marquis d'Angerville Volnay Clos des Ducs 2009 presented in
my Friday morning 2009 Red Burgundies seminar was a knockout. Not for its power, but rather for its
absence of power. It was the epitome of grace and precision, but more so,
exactly what Clos des Ducs should be. It has the cinnamon and spice aromas that
Guillaume d'Angerville mentioned and an ethereal feel in the mouth. It was even
more delicate than I remembered it from our tasting in d'Angerville's cellar
last January. Most important, it's different than all the other d'Angerville
Volnays, delivering something uniquely Clos des Ducs.
Staying
with Burgundy, the Bouchard Père & Fils Volnay Caillerets Ancienne Cuvée
Carnot 2006 was showing beautifully, all velvet and cherries, yet with a
mineral underpinning that gave it strength and persistence.
From
Bordeaux, the standouts were Château Canon's St.-Emilion 2001 for its richness
and seamless texture and the Léoville Barton St.-Julien 2000, from one of my
favorite Bordeaux properties. I enjoyed a bottle from my cellar Monday evening: Its effusive bouquet of cedar and black currant fruit, elegance and harmony,
even in the ripe 2000 vintage, is my ideal image of St.-Julien.
My wine
of the Five First-Growths Tasting was the Château Margaux Margaux 1996. It had a
classy nose of black currant, violet and spice, with a silky, refined texture,
very complex and even a touch of bell pepper that added another dimension to
its Cabernet Sauvignon essence.
Moving to
Italy, purity defined the Colli della Toscana Centrale Flaccianello 2007 from
Fontodi. I loved the raspberry, cherry and tobacco notes and its vibrant
structure. Ditto Castello di Ama's Chianti Classico Vigneto Bellavista 2007,
whose purity and regal austerity keep the intense cherry, strawberry and spice
flavors in check. Tenuta dell'Ornellaia's Toscana Masseto
2001 was monumental, rich and mouthfilling, in that phase between youthful
fruit and maturity, with great concentration and length.
Even
among all the beautiful wines on offer, there were two in particular that
rocked my world. These are wines that I could have sipped all evening, or all
weekend for that matter!
One was
the Egon Müller Riesling Auslese Mosel-Saar-Ruwer
Scharzhofberger 2007, rich with peach and slate flavors and the characteristic
spiciness of the Saar and sublime in its harmony and presence on the palate. I
vastly underrated this wine on release at 94 points.
The other
was the Dom Pérignon Brut Champagne Oenothèque 1975 at the Dom Pérignon Time in a Bottle seminar. This simply expressed all
the elements I look for in Champagne. Mature flavors of torréfaction, citrus
and mineral, with complexity and intensity matched to a seamless and weightless
profile. Absolutely marvelous.
It was
certainly an experience.
The Scharzhofberger from Egon Mueller is truly one of the "stars" in the wine universe. You lucky guy.