SPNS dinner, 6th December

I see that another month has passed without any blog posts, largely because I was away from London for 3 weekends in a row. There's a lot to catch up on.

Last night was the December gathering of the Swiss Pinot Noir Society. G and I arrived fashionably late (by two minutes) having braved Oxford Street which was full of people not looking where they were going, while Wannabe by the Spice Girls blared out of Top Shop. Tate Britain is clearly bang on trend with its post-apocalyptic Christmas decorations.

Meanwhile at the Savile Club someone was having a 40th birthday party and the far more melodious sound of a saxophone and double bass greeted us as we walked into the bar. I produced the first wine of the evening, this Delamotte Blancs de Blancs 2002 and the day immediately improved.

This was generally well-received - it was great fizz from a great vintage, fully mature, with some nice autolytic qualities (thanks ACC) otherwise known as the smell of digestive biscuits. It was yeasty, toasty and creamy and we all agreed it would be even better served with some canapes. That wish may be fulfilled next September as I have the remainder of the case set aside for a certain  big day!

We moved upstairs to the dining room and got cracking on this Puligny 1998 from Etienne Sauzet while we perused the menu. This was provided by P who got it at auction. Despite its lack of provenance, it was a beautiful golden colour and again fully mature, quite unctuous (or gooey, to use T's word of choice) and buttery on the palate, with a good finish. I had planned to save some to go with my starter but in the end that proved unnecessary, as T had brought along a rose.

This was Mun, Rosato Marche le Calcinara 2018 from Italy. It was a pleasing deep pink colour, bright and fresh, with red fruits and almost bracing acidity. P got raspberry sorbet on the finish. Perhaps not the most serious wine ever, but enjoyable easy drinking.

With our mains, we had two reds. In the blue corner was this Moulin-a-Vent 1999 from Domaine des Grandes Vignes, provided by ACC. This had a truly remarkable nose! Funky seemed the most polite best word to describe it. T absolutely loved it. It was certainly still alive and kicking, and P went to town on the descriptions - elderberry, liquorice, chestnuts and rose hips all receiving a mention. A fascinating wine with lots to talk about!

In the red corner was something far more traditional, this Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1987 from Robert Mondavi, provided by G. This was a very dark colour, and had a lovely cedary nose. It was fully mature, archetypal cab sauv, probably quite high in alcohol, and nicely mellow now. It reminded me of a good claret and I liked it a lot.

No risk of getting these two mixed up

G had to commandeer a pink corkscrew to keep things moving along

The last wine of the evening, contributed by D, was this 1971 German beerenauslese. I nobly volunteered to write down its name and will attempt to reproduce it here: Hallgartener Jungfer from Weingut Georgshof. It was a remarkable dark amber colour, almost the same colour as the bottle, and for me, relatively dry for a sweet wine. I found it quite grapey while D detected honey. It was 11% alcohol and everyone's notes are enthusiastic. It disappeared remarkably rapidly!

P went off to get some cheese (a remarkable truffled number) and while he was gone, the thought of opening his reserve bottle of white occurred to some people who shall not be named. P was happy to go along with the plan, but sadly the wine itself, a Verget Puligny 2000, turned out to be over the hill, although T said it went quite well with his potted trout savoury.

After that, it was agreed that a bottle of Smith Woodhouse 1980 would be in order to go with the cheese. We'd given up making notes by this stage but G has helpfully supplied some for me. It had a restrained nose but delivered on the palate and was full, thick, sweet, plummy and really quite long. Given that it was "popped and poured", it showed very well and would have been even better with some time in the decanter. I've been feeling fine today - just goes to show it's worth drinking the good stuff. Thanks everyone for another very enjoyable evening!

Swiss Pinot Noir Society dinner, 14th June

On Friday evening, G and I walked over to the Savile Club for another SPNS dinner. ACC was absent this time but we had a special guest, H, so six were present as usual.

Having resisted the temptation to pre-load with a sneaky G&T before leaving home, I was outraged to discover that certain people had been guzzling pink champagne in our absence. However, this fizz from Black Dog Hill provided by P and H quickly made up for it. G summed it up nicely as "extremely pleasant, light quaffing fizz". It was from 2014 so had a little age which suited it well, and this winery is in the South Downs. One often hears about how the south of England is going to be the new Champagne, or possibly is already, but sadly with prices to match. Not this time! There seems to be a discrepancy between how much P told us it cost and how much it is on their website (£28.95) but all I will say is they definitely found a good deal.

G must have been hungry as we quickly moved upstairs and had a bottle of the club's Pernand-Vergelesses while waiting for our starters, which was from Jean-Jacques Girard and a good example of the genre. Then it was on to this Ovens Farm Rose 2018, also provided by P and H. This had a fruity nose and was a very enjoyable easy-drinking summer wine, prompting visions of lying in a hammock etc. It came as quite a surprise to discover that this winery is in Lincolnshire, close to where P and H live. Another win for English wines!

Moving on to the reds, G had brought along this Chateau Ksara Annaya 1946 Vin D'Antique, from Lebanon, knowing that T is quite a fan of their rose wines. This was interesting! It was a dark brown colour and there were some doubts about it initially, but then we reframed it and found it reminded most of us of a fortified wine - dry oloroso or marsala. Hints of eucalyptus were detected, and T thought that something about it could still be found in the modern wines.

We then had two more conventional reds, both pinot noirs. T brought along a 2016 from Louis Guntrum which was relatively light, juicy, fruity and vibrant. It was perhaps not the most serious wine I've ever tasted, but was a pleasure to drink. Thank god it wasn't like the German reds we had a few years ago which I wrote about here.

D had brought along this 2016 pinot from Brys Estate which is in Michigan. I don't think I've ever had a wine from Michigan before so this was a new experience! It was fuller-bodied than the German wine, fruity, elegant and smooth, with a hint of spice. We all enjoyed it and I suspect it would age quite well if D has any more.

My contribution was also from the USA, this Ravines Late Harvest Vignoles 2013 from the Finger Lakes. We tried this at the winery a couple of years ago and I immediately thought of T who is a big fan of sauternes. It was an absolutely beautiful colour and had that lovely thick gooey texture. It was concentrated, marmaladey and had a great finish. D described it as apricot nectar. Judging from their website, it still seems to be available, so maybe more can be obtained in due course if anyone is going that way soon...

As the Ravines was only a half bottle, and we fancied cheese as well as dessert, G ordered a half of Smith Woodhouse 1980 from the club wine list. This also went down well, with baked plums, black cherry and liquorice all present and correct. G, who is becoming quite a port expert these days, felt it could have done with a longer decant, but somehow we coped.

Thanks everyone for another very enjoyable and educational evening!

Swiss Pinot Noir Society, Thurs 6th November

On Thursday night, after a long day at work, I was very much in need of a drink looking forward to the next SPNS dinner.

We started off with this "Le Petit Beaufort" 2015 from Domaine Alice Beaufort supplied by ACC.

This was fruity and refreshing. It was cloudy and slightly pink, and subsequent investigations have revealed that it's made from 100% pinot noir and hasn't yet undergone secondary fermentation so will be even better in due course! I found myself thinking it would make a great party wine for the summer. "Reviving after the day's travails" said ACC, while G referred to it as pleasant quaffing fizz, unserious in a good way. Comparisons were made to elderflower champagne, although D was getting strawberries. Either way, a very enjoyable glass to start the evening.

We moved upstairs and had two whites with our starters. First, this Lomond Cape Agulhas Snowbush 2008. This was powerful stuff and there was some speculation about the grapes involved, maybe semillon or pinot gris, while I found it reminded me of a Rhone white. G thought it had a lot of sulphur. Not something I'd have encountered otherwise and I believe P got it at auction for an advantageous price - good stuff.

My scallops went down a treat!

The second white was this 1959 Riesling Forster something or other (if anyone can make it out let me know). This had been lurking on my wine rack for a while but actually belonged to P, so was brought along as something of a wild card. I think it's fair to say opinions were mixed. P was very pleased with it, but for me it was a little dried out although if I pretended it was a sherry then I could get something out of it. G thought it would go well with cold roast chicken. Old school.

D had ferried across this Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 1986 which was a real treat. It was classic Pauillac, drinking very nicely now and we thought it was on a plateau. It had an enticing nose and was quite austere but with those woody characteristics we love so much. Wonderful stuff.

Five bird roast!

My contribution was the polar opposite: this bottle of Dutcher Crossing 2012 Taylor Reserve from California which was given to me by my wine-loving friend across the pond and saved for a special occasion. It was quite a contrast to the claret - a massive, big, powerful, fruity wine. I think we all enjoyed it but definitely a bottle to share - at 15.3% one glass was sufficient. Thanks J for widening my horizons!

Vanilla cheesecake :)

Finally, G had brought along this Bonnezeaux 1985 from Domaine La Croix De Mission. He described it himself as a very pleasant but slightly elderly sweetie. Others were more effusive but I think G's description summed it up well.

For some reason there were no taxis to be found but after all those lovely wines we were feeling cheerful enough to stagger home. Another great evening; thanks everyone!

SPNS, Wednesday 13th June

On Wednesday night, I made my way over to the Savile Club for the latest gathering of the Swiss Pinot Noir Society.

Arriving a tactful minute late, I walked into the bar which was deserted apart from three reprobates standing at the bar guzzling Veuve Cliquot 2008. Clearly I was in the right place. My glass was duly filled and while I'm not a great expert on Veuve, I found this relatively light and refreshing. I wouldn't have guessed it was ten years old. G, who has clearly drunk far more of the stuff than me, opined that it had finally come round. It certainly made an excellent aperitif.

We moved upstairs to the dining room where the only question was which white to drink first? My offering was this 2014 Chablis 1er cru Mont de Milieu from Domaine Nathalie et Gilles Fevre. This was full-bodied and a little richer than some Chablis with a pleasingly weighty mouthfeel. It was drinking well now but we suspected it might not last in the long term.

Meanwhile, P had stashed away this Trittenheimer Laurenz Spatlese 1957 from the Friedrich Wilhem Gymnasium (thanks G for writing that all down in the book). This was a beautiful golden colour and had the classic old riesling nose but for me had lost most of its fruit although it did have some lychees going on and certainly had an unctuous texture. The assembled company found that it became sweeter as time went on. Fascinating stuff.

Once again, my picanha steak was excellent .

D had brought along this 2007 Cabernet Franc from Red Newt Cellars, which I reported on here. I see that when we visited, I wasn't unduly impressed with their cab franc, but this was an altogether different kettle of fish. G described it as "glorious rich cab franc in impeccable order tonight" and it was vibrant with a lot of fruit, pepper and spice. It went down very easily and we suspected that if it had been in magnum that wouldn't have presented any problem. I thought it was drinking perfectly now but D thought it had the potential to age further.

Finally, with our cheese course, we had this Tokaji 4 puttonyos from 1967 which G picked up at auction. He compared it unfavourably with higher-puttonyos Tokaji but actually I think we all rather enjoyed it. It was a murky brown colour and tasted of fruit cake, with notes of figs and prunes. It had a long finish but D noticed that it was low on acidity.

It also had quite a remarkable amount of sediment in the bottle. Ah, the good old days!

Thanks all for yet another very pleasurable and educational evening. Until next time...

Tasting of German wines, 26th April

G kindly invited me to a tasting of German wines in Southwark a few days ago. I accidentally took the long way round out of Waterloo Station and then discovered that my knowledge of the area wasn't as good as I thought it was, but eventually made it to the designated meeting point only about a minute late.

The tasting began with five white Rieslings from the Saar and Mosel, all from the 2014 vintage. They were medium sweet or perhaps off-dry, only about 7.5% alcohol, and with lovely tropical flavours (we seem to be finding passionfruit in everything we drink at the moment!), peach and lime marmalade.

Comments were made about how you could drink these wines at breakfast, or mid-morning, at lunchtime, or in the afternoon in the garden (for those lucky enough to possess such a thing). They were very approachable even so young, with a certain freshness and good acidity, and wonderful length. My favourite was the Erdener Herzlei Spätlese from Weingut Dr Hermann in the Mosel, which positively demanded an apricot tart. It was extraordinary to find that they cost between £7 and £14 at the cellar door, although that was a couple of years ago and G referred to the prices on the tasting sheet as "charmingly inaccurate".

We then moved on to four red wines, all Spätburgunder i.e. Pinot Noir. Unfortunately the photos came out somewhat blurred so I won't post them here but the wines looked beautiful in the glass, a translucent red, and I detected notes of cherry on the nose. Unfortunately on the palate they were not my kind of thing, and I wasn't alone in this. There was a particular unpleasant bitter quality on the finish which reminded me (sensitive readers should look away now) of bile. I didn't say this out loud, but everyone around us poured them away, self included. I had hoped that the first wine was a duffer and I think everyone kept trying to convince themselves that each one was better than the last ("Oh, this is not too bad" said someone about the third) but in my opinion they were all equally awful. Oh well! At least now I know to avoid them in future.

Fortunately we didn't end the evening on a sour note, as the chap who had organised the tasting produced this 1990 Trierer Deutschherrenberg Auslese from the Mosel as the final wine. This was more like it! It was a beautiful golden colour and was absolutely delicious, with floral notes along with the classic petrol of Riesling, and honey. It had great acidity and balance, and a splendid finish, and reminded me of the days when G and I used to drink Bernkastler Bratenhofchen in the late 90s. Wonderful stuff and very generous of the organiser to share it with us. I may not share his taste in reds, but this reminded me how much I love this style of white, and I'll be looking out for it in future.