Month: July 2018

2002 Robert Chevillon Nuits Saint Georges Les Chaignots 1er Cru

An indulgent week for stuff from the offsite dungeon. This just got better and better after a decant. Really clean spice, perfect dark chocolate and wild strawberry. Beautiful fruit with the most sophisticated graphite fine tannin and mouthwatering blood orange acidity. Them Chevillons seem to grow such good grapes. Amazing freshness of pure fruit to finish and what an end too! The oak’s not really noticeable unlike some more venerated and ludicrously expensive Burgundians. Chaignots is near Vosne Romanée and notwithstanding the power of auto suggestion it just could be apparent here.

13% alcohol. Cork. About $120 on release.

96 points.

2001 Vietti Barolo Castiglione

A treat from a generous friend’s cellar. Opened a bit rusty looking and perhaps tired as you may expect after a fifteen year sleep. Over an hour the colour darkened and reddened. The extraordinary coiled power of awakening Nebbiolo stared to fill both nose and mouth with dried flowers, cherries and what can only be Langhe soil. The finish still extraordinarily fresh, rich and loooonnnnggg. The tannins firm, rich and melting like candle wax. No danger of underestimating how good Vietti’s basic Barolo can be. Must be a health tonic.

14% alcohol. Cork. Probably about $110 on release.

96 points.

 

2017 Punt Road Pinot Noir

Anyone with a passing interest in the Yarra Valley and a brain knows Punt Road make delicious wine for a more than fair sum. This is bright, fresh and glossy red berries. Bit of herby stalk too pulls the exuberance into line. Not the densest concentration of fruit but that only seems to add to the immediate need for another mouthful. Flashes of minty bush shubbery and the round tobacco warmth of Oz Pinot add a sense of place. One of those when a delicious drink is more important than points or notes…er almost.

13% alcohol. Screwcap. $26 or thereabouts at Dan’s.

92 points