2000 Albert Mann Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg – I was certain from
the beginning that this was an Alsatian Riesling, although the nose
became even more varietally correct with time as it expanded in the
glass. Nice fruit in the nose, and low acidity, quite soft on palate.
Ready to drink. I also have the same vintage of Furstentum – anyone
had that recently? I wonder how it shows.

With a lovely prawn starter:

2006 Les Charmes Sauvignon de Touraine – clean crisp with good fruit
and nose. Very nice.

1994 Chapoutier Chateuneuf du Pape La Bernardine – I brought this one
and it stumped people. It has drunk well over the years, a decent but
not first rank vintage. This time it showed as pale in colour, almost
like a pinot noir, and it lacked any funkiness in the nose, having
replaced it with an old Burgundian sort of fruit nose that had people
looking further north than they normally would. It had slightly too
little fruit on palate, and finished with slightly high acidity. It
needs drinking but was a pleasant enough wine and a good one to stump
the tasters.

with stuffed quail:

1997 Dom. Coursedon St. Joseph ‘La Sensonne’ – this wine was sadly
slightly corked but nonetheless showed decent levels of fruit and a
bit of remaining tannin. When I looked this one up I realized I have
almost a case of it (somewhere) so as soon as I locate it, I shall
make it this summer’s house wine!

1994 Stellenzicht Estate Wine – a cabernet blend that one keeps
thinking should be ready to drink but that keeps surprising me. I
thought this a Bordeaux at first as the nose was very correct,
followed by a mouth filling wine with good fruit. You won’t miss out
by drinking this now, but I still want to see what will happen to it
with more time.

1999 Hosanna – this Pomerol had a bunch of red faces around the table,
as we all swore up and down it must be a left bank wine (that it was
Bordeaux was never seriously in doubt). I got some leather, anise and
green pepper nose, then a well structured wine with good length that
drinks well now but will continue to develop with time. I’ll admit
that we did have a bit of trouble nailing the vintage.

with beef fillet et frites:

2001 Montus – this wine from Alain Brumont, who also makes Meinjarre
and Bouscasse, was a surprise in many ways. He keeps to the old
theory of 100% Tannat with this wine, despite the tendency of
producers to add merlot to make an earlier maturing wine. He also is
without doubt the highest quality producer in the Madiran (which I
recently visited). This particular Montus was amazingly smooth and
ready to drink, a dark modern style of wine with excellent extraction
and fruit, concentrated with thick legs running down the glass, and a
hint of coconut in the nose, yet it lacked the hard tannins that
anyone familiar with Tannat immediately thinks of, and was in fact
very drinkable now.

1995 Yalumba The Signature – no disguising this as anything but
Australian – a very sweet fruit nose with obvious American oak, and on
palate another extracted wine but not overly sweet in the mouth, with
low acidity. A good choice to move into the cheese.

1988 Grahams Malvedos – not as sweet as I normally think of Grahams
being, nor very hot, this dark wine was mellow and sweet and drinks
beautifully now. Another one I shall have to dig for in the cellar.

"Bill S." > wrote in news:396791ea-03a7-4008-b850-
:

> 2000 Albert Mann Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg – I was certain from
> the beginning that this was an Alsatian Riesling, although the nose
> became even more varietally correct with time as it expanded in the
> glass. Nice fruit in the nose, and low acidity, quite soft on palate.
> Ready to drink. I also have the same vintage of Furstentum – anyone
> had that recently? I wonder how it shows.
>

This is imported into Spain since the vintage 2004 or so. I love both the
Furstentum and the Schlossberg but they are very different. Schlossberg is
all about minerality and is quite rectilinear while Furstentum is more wide
in the mouth, and more about the fruit. My heart is more with the
Schlossberg, though most people (specially non wine-geeks) usually like the
Furstentum better (I know because I have served it at dinners with friends
at home).

I really recommend the 2005s from the two vineyards, which I have been
drinking quite in the last year.

s.