Family day (a.k.a. Happy 7th Birthday)

My son turned 7 on this day. And as an act of novelty and an excuse to get together with families, we decided to throw a small party for Ethan. And of course there's reason for wines too, right? And Ethan's birthyear being 1999, I decided to set up a very small set of 1999 wines with the help of Andy's.

Highfield "Elstree" Marlborough Cuvee Brut 1999 (a Chard and Pinot Noir mix sparkling) -- Very toasty nose gave way to easygoing, lemon, guava, peach and custard infused flavours. The acids were rather flat however and this showed why old world still rules when it comes to sparkling wines. Held on and gave away into maderized pruney nose. Some residual sugar detected.

We just read the enthusiastic review of this wine in Tanzer's California coverage. Peter Michael "L'Apres-Midi" Sauvignon Blanc 2004 Sonoma -- Impressive, almost crystalline grassy, strawy Sauvignon nose (reminded me of riper vintages of Dagueneau's Pouilly Fume in the nose alone.) Filled with grapefruits and pineapples in the mouth. Juicy and brisk, quite crunchy in fact, and in spite of the alcoholic ripeness, this wine remained bright, clean and lightweight in the mouth. No trace of alcohol in the finish. The most compelling North American sauvignon blanc I've tasted to date but still some distance to go to compare with its French counterparts. Continued to evolve to passionfruits flavours and held its cool well a few hours later.

Moet & Chandon Brut Rose 1999 Champagne -- Again this was toasty and bready on the nose. The difference is in the palate. Brisk acidity kept the wine going and its greatest virtue tonight was that it paired very well with all sorts of food. Still this was simple and short in the mouth. Rather hollow, lacking intensity in the middle.

Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet les Perrieres 1999 -- Flinty, buttery nose combined lemon oil and pineapples. In fact quite Meursault-like, with aromas of toasted nuts. Cool and minty in the mouth but textured and generous with butter, peanuts and pears. Finished rather bracing and this wine refused to budge throughout the six hours it was opened. An odd, somewhat awkward combination of very ripe chardonnay and bracing almost steely acidity.

Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays 1999 -- I know it's against my principle to open a 1999 grand cru at this stage, but.... the occasion called for it. Typical dark almost impenetrable dark red hue a la 1999. Ripely stemmy with hints of beetroots and tomatoes atop of dark cherry infused nose. Almost liqueur like in its fruity aromas and not especially expressive at this point. Developed to reveal lovely red plums. Not especially refined but possessed a wealth of materials underneath waiting to come out. The question is whether they'd harmonize. The wine was not disjointed nor awkward, but the slightly rustic briary characteristics made me think about its harmonization potentials. Plenty of backbone and possessed grand cru volume and weight after (again) some 6 hours of airing. Plenty of structure, but not necessarily generous at this point, as evidenced by an unshy levels of tannins.

Marquis d'Angerville Volnay les Fremiet 2002 -- Have I ever told anyone I really admire this producer? This wine further ratified my respect for this domaine. Transluscent deep red. Creamy raspberries on the nose. High toned crushed berries and very red fruited so typical of 2002 red burgs. Similar profile in the palate with fatness and volume, and less in terms of minerality and cut. Lovely wine and an outstanding show for its pedigree.