Alliet, Schneider, Coche-Dury, L'Evangile, Pedesclaux, Texier, La Tour Blanche

Martti arranged an impromptu dinner tonight and kindly asked me to join. He made a wonderful dinner of chicken in onions and false morels which was a sublime pairing with the Coche-Dury.

Philippe Alliet Chinon Coteau de Noiré 2002

Cassis, leafy, dark yet refreshingly greenish fruit, some oak also. Quite full bodied, a bit hard and ungiving, but with charming juicy and refreshing fruit. Very nice despite the oak tones. Served blind I thought it was St-Estephe.

Schneider Vineyards Cabernet Franc 1998 New York, Long Island, North Fork

A nose of toffee, oak, sweetness, vague and frankly a bit anonymous - even when revealed I had trouble finding the Cabernet Franc character in it. Juicy but light on its feet. Short. Not bad, but not exciting either.

Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Caillerets 2000

Very oaky and bacony on the nose, buttery, but some pleasant citrussy aromas also come forward. Plump, buttery, very full bodied palate, clean acidity, not as obviously oaky as the nose and even shows some mineral notes. Very long and lively aftertaste. Impressive, but too oaky now.

Château L'Evangile 1960

Apparently this is was a horrible vintage. But this wine was lovely. Perfect level, perfect cork; the colour was still very dark. This is fully mature, but still shows a clear Pomerol character in its dark and plummy fruit, wet clay and cigar aromas. Still has plummy fruit, but the aftertaste is a bit short and lacks the charm that the rest of the wine has. It is quite a masculine wine and not at all as frail as expected. A wonderful treat!

Château Pedesclaux 2004

Very oaky, chocolatey on the nose, quite a modern style of Left Bank. Lighter palate than expected from the nose, with some brightness and refreshing structure. Still, not really my thing.

Éric Texier Roussanne Côtes du Rhône-Brézème 2006

A truly charming wine that smells of apples and oolong tea: sweet but savoury and mineral. The palate has the richness typical of Rhône whites, but has none of the excess weight so many of them have. Refreshing despite the oily texture. Mineral and long.

Château La Tour Blanche 2003

A heavy, full on style of Sauternes, lots of botrytis, oak, not much elegance but rather over the top youthful exuberance. Well structured but very, very sweet, surprisingly refreshing for the year. I thought this similar to the Rieussec in style.