It was time to venture out on another vinous mission. To taste wines from the importer Cask & Moestue. I tried things I have not tried before, first and foremost, and those that seemed more exciting for personal reasons. I tried far from everything. I neglected parts. Apologies for that.
Bubbly
On site was the producer Duval-Leroy that was a new acquaintance for me. Got a good run-through by Wilhelm Lahr who were there to guide us wine geeks in the dark. The winery is in Vertus. I tried six wines and all the Champagnes delivered well in each one’s price range. A good producer to look out for in other words. Possibly there were some bargains to be found among the cheaper champagnes, but unfortunately they ended up in the shadow of the competition. Some favourites are listed below:
2006 Duval-Leroy Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Brut
(Ex tax price approx. 38 euro based on Swedish importer’s price. All price indications below are based on the same approximation)
Nicely buttery, nutty and toasty with abundant yellow fruit intermixed with hints of peach. High intensity and medium rich body. Crunchy and ambitious without being excessive in price. A full-bodied bubbly of note which I liked very much. Elegant and complex. (90p)
2000 Duval-Leroy Femme de Champagne Grand Cru
(Ex tax ~80 euro)
A lot of money for a wine, but here comes the heavy artillery also in terms of flavours. Warm traits of nougat, butter and sun-warmed blanket. Oyster shell, limestone and nice intense fruit contribute complexity and power. You get what you pay for, as often, but it is still a bit too expensive for me to stamp it with “good value”. (92p)
Duval-Leroy Brut Prestige Rosé Premier Cru
(Ex tax ~80 euro)
Fun with a wine that you can pick up at the local Systembolaget shop (all others are on special order or only for trade orders) when you’re in the spirit and that also impresses. I like this a lot! Toasty and elegant with oyster shell minerality. Barely noticeable by the colour that it was a rosé. Stylish fruit with blood-grapefruit and cranberry tones. Excellent intensity and fine fruit. Good price on top of it. (90p)
Mixed whites
Made a bit of a random selection and tested what caught my eye. Here are notes on most of what I tried, but there were certainly some good ones that I missed completely because of my unstructured tasting methodology.
2014 Domaine Nathalie et Gilles Fevre Chablis
(Ex tax ~13 euro)
Not expensive and good. It doesn’t get any better than that. Maybe not the most ambitious wine on our planet, but it is complex enough to be interesting and is really delicious. Very mineral with flint, lime and some fresh mushrooms. Clean as a mountain stream with citrus and crisp fruit. Makes me wonder how this producer’s better creations taste. (89P)
2013 Benjamin Leroux Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Les Blanc Embazées
(Ex tax ~53 euro)
Reasonable Burgundy, but young and a little closed. Did not impress immediately. Stylish barrel notes with roasted pine nuts and really good intensity and fruit that bodes well for the future. It may well reach outstanding summits in time for those who are patient, but I’m not the right man to judge. Today it is anyway really good, but sometimes one expects more when retrospectively checking the price tag. (89P)
2013 André Ostertag Pinot Gris Barriques
(Ex tax ~18 euro)
Fat fruit with hints of apricot, honey, yellow plums and sweet liquorice. Gently barrel aged with a little hint of vanilla. Full-bodied and pleasant in the mouth. Easy to drink and pleasant without being remarkable. I like it and think it’s time to drink more pinot gris. (88P)
2014 Wittman Westhofener Riesling Trocken
(Ex tax ~19 euro)
Tight with subtle minerality with stones and petroleum. White flowers, citrus, honey and peach. Very, very nice. I like it very much! (90p)
2014 Wagner-Stempel Höllberg Riesling Grosses Gewächs
(Ex tax ~24 euro)
A real “dieseling” with voluptuous traits of petroleum. Pear and lime. Slightly bitter and a finish with some skin character, but not so that it is negative. Good intensity and acidity and superb length. Will be even better with time, but I like it now. (90p)
Mixed reds
Also here I skipped some that I know were ridiculously good, such as San Felice in Tuscany, which, incidentally, I wrote a report on a while ago here on the site. Also learned that Valpolicella can make very good wines (Well, I did indeed already know that, but still!), which you can read about further down in the text.
2011 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Saint Georges
(Ex tax ~76 euro)
Lovely and charming burgundy with generous fruit with plenty of cherry, spices and oak. Velvety and balanced in the mouth with a pleasant little sweet twist in the aftertaste. Sleek and powerful in a good way. Ready to drink already. I like it, but the price tag is somewhat high in relation to the experience. (91p)
2013 Vincent Paris Saint Joseph
(Ex tax ~15 euro)
A real charmer! Easy to drink grown-up juice with really good complexity and classic syrah character. Pepper, charcuteries and black olives with a bit of rocky minerality. High acidity and slender body. Some intense tannins. Just so delicious. Love this type of crispy syrah. (89P)
2014 Bodegas Pittacum Bierzo Petit Pittacum
(Ex tax ~9 euro)
Very affordable and also interesting is obviously a winning combination that should always be noted when it shows up even if it does not deserve a place on my top list if you disregard the price. Here you have just such a wine. Odd in a good way with a lot of character. Some burnt oil on a bed of red fruit, balanced with some spices. I get feelings of “natural wine” Grenache. Tasty and fun wine for a silly sum of money. (87p)
2010 Pelissero Barbaresco Nubiola
(Ex tax ~24 euro)
Lovely nebbiolo with good grape character and good quality for a really good price. Cherry, tar and paint with a little cranberry, and liquorice in the background. Well-constructed and reasonably ready to drink even though I think it’d benefit from more time in the cellar, but just a couple of years would suffice I think. Really good. (90p)
2011 GD Vajra Barolo Bricco delle Viole
(Ex tax ~37 euro)
A slim powerhouse that needs much time to be pleasant to drink. I do like it, however, when it bites quite mercilessly. There is enough power for a long future. Super-intensive with delicious red fruit. Elegant and future-proof. I think it deserves a high score for its potential, but can be enjoyed now too. (93p)
2010 Dal Forno Romano Valpolicella Superiore
(Ex tax ~60 euro)
Although Big Brother below is – if possible – even more massive, this is this wine that is totally bombastic and an hedonistic powerhouse. Massive intensity with plenty of dark fruit with small streaks of cherry, barrel spices, bitter almonds and a lot of other nuances. Young and in need of ageing, although it is nice now. Plenty of acidity and tannin. Hard not to like it, but of course it will require some of that food that one thinks of when tasting it. Brontosaurus with a rich port wine reduction can probably work quite decently. I like it for what it is, but “elegant” is not the right word to describe the experience; but sometimes I want to have fish, other days I prefer grilled dinosaur. (94P)
2010 Dal Forno Romano Amarone della Valpolicella
(Ex tax ~200 euro)
Now if you thought that the little brother was a bit weak then you can get this for a little more coins to get even more power in your red wine and also a lot of alcohol and residual sugar. Surprisingly well-integrated alcohol I must say. Mega Big and full-bodied with dark cherries, raisins, tar and dark chocolate. I would love to try this kind of wine with some more years in the bottle, the intensity, structure and concentration makes for a good development if we are tolerant with the style. I think it was an awesome experience to try, but perhaps it would be indigestible if one drank more than one glass. But this, this is mostly speculation. (95p)
Mattias Schyberg is guest writer on BKWine Magazine. He is also one of the persons behind the very active wine forum www.finewines.se.
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