A lovely set of wines
Michel Gros “Clos des Réas” 1er Cru Vosne-Romanée 1998 Earthy, meaty style. I’ve had this wine a few times before. This bottle didn’t show the Vosne spiciness I usually see but the last bottle was more than a year ago. Still primary, plenty of time left. Good.
Domaine Pousse d’Or “Clos de la Bousse d’Or” 1er Cru Volnay 1993 Took a long time to coax this wine out of its hiding place, but it revealed after an hour some nice undergrowth, prune, spiciness and dried currant aromas. Well balanced palate. Soft and pleasant. Might put on a bit more weight with extended aging, I don’t know.
Isole e Olena Chianti Classico 2005 Suffered coming after the Burgs. Modern wine making (by Chianti standards), very tight on this showing. Must have a beter look at it in different company.
Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannnshöhle Riesling Auslese 1997 Upon opening, showing beautifully pure riesling aromatics but I regretted not drinking it immediately! It closed up a bit, showed more sulfur and less finesse after a few hours. The palate had superb balance but I missed that glimpse of greatness I saw initially.
We took the burgs with oeufs basquoise (eggs cooked with a capsicum, tomato and piment d’Espelette sauce), the Chianti with Reggiano and the Riesling with a great mixture of fruits — I can’t believe how great kiwi fruit and passion fruit taste!
