1985 port dinner

It's been a busy few weeks, including another very enjoyable trip to Pennsylvania. No hiking this time due to the weather, but D and I did a lot of running around including attending a "cash bash" in aid of the animal shelter, a trip to the granite depot to look at granite for our new kitchen, and a visit to the Pittsburgh auto show which was fun. 

My London social life resumed this week with an invitation to the 1985 port horizontal hosted by the Port Forum.    

A sight for sore eyes!

G had organised it, and I believe we ended up tasting 16 ports between 12 of us. The jugs of water were relegated to a side table to pack them all in.

My general impression was that 1985 was a good year, and many of these were drinking very nicely now. A few were getting a little elderly, and a few still had a lot of life in them. There was some significant colour variation and it turned out that a dark colour was a good sign. 

My top three were Ramos Pinto, Martinez and Fonseca. I believe the Fonseca was port of the evening on points, and was something of a crowd pleaser. It had an intense black cherry nose and no sign of age. It's widely available and has years left in it.

The Ramos Pinto was really interesting. I hadn't heard of this port house before. It was brought along by someone who lives in Lisbon, who described them as very reliable. This was very much my cup of tea, with a lot of pontefract cake action and what G described as blackstrap molasses. 

The Martinez reminded me of black forest gateau, almost the Morey St Denis of the port world, and was drinking perfectly now. It brought a smile to my face.

Honourable mentions go to the Gould Campbell, the Smith Woodhouse, the Warre, the Graham and the Offley. One surprise of the evening was on the tasting mat as TTD. It turned out to be Sainsbury's Taste the Difference, which was light and pretty, and reminded me of a tawny. It received no points from anyone but we did enjoy it. As with the Eurovision Song Contest, the scoring system does tend to concentrate the points for the winners.

For once, there was nothing truly undrinkable as such. In my view the worst wine of the evening was the Rebello Valente which smelled distinctly of varnish, as if there'd been an accident in the woodshed, although strangely some chaps down the other end of the table gave it a few points. The Dow was also not a great bottle, and apparently there's a lot of bottle variation with this one. And the Pocas was a bit unusual, not unpleasant but more like a sherry, with some citrus marmalade. 

All in all, a fun and educational evening, and thanks to G for inviting me.

 

Some more recent Cote de Beaune reds!

And we're back! Happy new year. It was nice to celebrate Christmas with my mother, as opposed to the solitary 2020 version, and January has been pretty good too. My friend J from Grand Rapids was unexpectedly in London on New Year's Day and I was delighted to meet up even if only for an hour in Fortnums ice cream bar, where we got the new year off in style with a bottle of Billecart Salmon rose while her son enjoyed a design-your-own ice cream sundae. 

I also had a lovely meal at Bocca di Lupo with ACC and the Baron in the first week of January. I brought along a bottle of Meursault from Perrin, while ACC brought a Beaune from Domaine de la Roseraie and the Baron brought a bottle of La Dernier Goutte from Perrin. All three were excellent and the food at Bocca was great as ever, not to mention the celebrity-spotting opportunities. 

Anyway, down to business... some recent reds from the Cote de Beaune, all of which were kindly provided by G. 

This 2015 Monthelie from Domaine Roulot was, let's just say, not one of the highlights of the month. I usually love wines from this domaine, but this one was challenging, with lots of unresolved tannin and definitely still in its sulky adolescence phase. Just bad timing I suspect. G replaced it with some Warre 1970 which was absolutely wonderful.

And then on to the premier crus. First, this Beaune Bressandes 2018 from Henri Germain et Fils. This was quite a dark colour and looked glossy. I decanted it an hour in advance. It had a lovely nose with interesting dark fruit, and was silky but somewhat croquant. Loganberries were mentioned. There was  a lot of tannin, like 100% cocoa chocolate. We decided it needed another 15 years and gave it an 8. 

I have to admit I never get particularly excited at the prospect of a bottle of Savigny-les-Beaune, but this 1er cru Les Hauts Jarrons 2014 from Domaine de Bellene confounded my expectations. If I'd been drinking it blind, I wouldn't have guessed it was a Savigny as it didn't have the typical savoury notes, but was perfumed with sweet fruit, and surprisingly light with some cherries on the finish. It reminded me more of a Chorey or even a red Auxey. It was charming and we gave it a high 8. G told me that this domaine is the personal estate of Nicolas Potel and I see his wines are sold by BBR.

And finally, the other night we had this Volnay 1er cru Clos de la Rougeotte 2005 from Domaine Henri Boillot. This was fantastic. It had lovely fruit - blackberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants - and also some interesting other, wilder flavours. "It's got really exciting undergrowth" commented G. It was drinking perfectly now, and we felt it was as good as Volnay as you could hope for. Dix points! 

Recent Cote de Beaune reds

Moving swiftly on to recent C de B reds...

This was a Beaune 1er cru Teurons 2015 from Domaine Chanson. It was a very dark colour and came across as rich, ripe and somewhat international. I did enjoy the blackberry fruit, which became more prominent when we moved on to the cheese course, and there was some dark chocolate, but the unresolved tannins led us to believe it might be better in 10 years. We gave it an 8, with the potential to become a 9 in the future.

We had another Beaune recently which was very different - G provided this 1er cru Les Blanches Fleurs 1991 from Tollot-Beaut at a recent Sunday lunch. It had that nose of elderly Burgundy with some sweetness and sous-bois. On the palate, it was congruent and silky with lovely red berry fruit. G told us that 1991 was a very good vintage, but overshadowed by 1990. This wine was probably quite challenging in its youth. We gave it a 9.

At the same lunch, we also had a Volnay 1er cru Santenots-du-Milieu 1996 from Domaine des Comtes Lafon. I always associate this domaine with Caveau des Arches as we've had so many of their wines there, . This was a darker colour and I found the nose very exciting - not exactly feral, but with a lot of animal notes. Half an hour in, it because more fragrant. As I was distracted by lively conversation I failed to make detailed notes but summarised it as "this is really serious, classy stuff" (unfortunately it also comes with a serious price tag so thanks again to G for forking out for it). We gave it a 9. I see we actually had the 2011 vintage three years ago, which I reported on here.

Later in the week we had another Volnay, this time 1er cru Mitans 2015 from Vincent Perrin. It was dark and glossy in the glass with an enticing nose of blackcurrant and blackcurrant leaf, according to G. It was powerful and intense with hedgerow fruits and later on, a black cherry note. It was meaty, complex and satisfying. We felt there was no rush on it and it would last a further 15 years, but if drinking now, then a 3 hour decant would be wise. We gave it an 8 with the potential to go higher. 

And finally, on Wednesday, sadly a bottle of my Cacheux 2005 Vosne turned out to be incorrect, so we had this Mercurey 1er cru La Chassiere 2016 from Vincent & Jean-Pierre Charton instead. I always think of Mercury as croquant and this was no exception. It was quite tart. G developed a theory that we've been drinking them either 3 years too young or 3 years too old, and that they should be drunk either young and fruity or older when the structure has had a chance to develop. I guess we hit this one in its sulky adolescence phase. Initially, we thought it would be a 7, but it improved over time, becoming lusher and rounder and ended up a low 8, suggesting it has a future. Mercurey is a village to watch, with climate change working in its favour, and prices still quite reasonable by Burgundy standards - this one came in at less than £30. 

That brings me to the end of my recent wine notes. I'm off to see Maman A du V next week (rules permitting) and have a nice bottle of port to drink while I'm there... happy Christmas everyone!

Recent Cote de Nuits reds

Moving on to recent reds, there have been quite a few!

We had this Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru Clos Saint-Jacques 2013 from Domaine Louis Jadot a few weeks ago. It came in a whopping great Jancis-unfriendly bottle to show how expensive it was.   

The nose caused noises of pleasure to be emitted - it was like sweet cherry compote, while on the palate it was deft and not too heavy. I'd wondered if it was going to be a monster wine and difficult to share between two, but we had no problem getting it down us. It also had a notable peacock's tail. We gave it a high 9. 

Then, back at the Hawkmoor, it was battle of the Chambolles!

  

In the red corner, this 1er cru Aux Beaux Bruns 2013. This had a wonderful nose with sweet fruit and icing sugar, and a massive line of blackcurrant going down the middle. G also detected chocolate. It was very smooth but we thought it wasn't ready yet. 

It did look absolutely beautiful in the glass.

Meanwhile, in the blue corner, we had this 1er cru Les Grunchers 2013 from Thibault Liger-Belair. For me, this was more brooding, with dark fruits and liquorice. I found a lot of tannin. However, there was some debate as others found this one more approachable, causing me to wonder if we had somehow got them mixed up during pouring, but I don't think we did. In the end, we gave them both a 9. For me, the Faively was the winner, which was gratifying as it was also considerably less expensive although still not exactly cheap. 

Stay tuned for my report on recent Cote de Beaune reds which will be coming soon...

Recent white premier crus

November was a busy month. I finally made it to Pennsylvania and got married! I had a lovely time over there and as usual it was a bit of a wrench coming back, but the visa application process is now underway and in the meantime there is wine to drink and notes to be made. 

Starting with the whites.

We actually drank this one in September - a Nuits St Georges 1er cru les Terres Blanches 2013 from Fabienne Bony. It was an attractive mid-gold colour, and had for me a lovely mushroomy thing on the nose, while G detected hazelnuts. On the palate, it was quite rich with a nice texture, and elements of citrus and honey. There was a lovely tingly spritz of lime on the finish, and a hint of ripe peach appeared as time went on. It was very well-balanced and we felt it was drinking perfectly now but wouldn't keep much longer. We gave it 9 points. 

Then, a couple of weeks ago, we went to the Hawksmoor where G brought along this Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru La Romanee 2013 from Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard to go with the starter. Sadly, it was suffering from premox and was nutty but not in a good way, along with a hint of potting shed. It was a shame, but I thought it was worth noting for the record. Nul points. 

And finally, last Sunday I went round to G and H's for lunch. A bottle of very fancy Sancerre turned out to be corked - our hit rate seems to be about 1 in 2 at the moment! - but fortunately G had a back up option, this Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru Les Petits Clos 2015 from Jean-Noel Gagnard. There were sighs of pleasure (and relief) all round. It was quite pale in colour, the nose reminded me of a Puligny and on the palate it was impeccable - elegant with good acidity, especially for a 2015. It had a great finish, and worked very well with some very smoky smoked salmon and the world's biggest lettuce. We gave it 10 points. Apparently it had quite a hefty price tag, but well, it was probably worth it. Thanks G for sharing all of these with me!

Frappato lunch and 1980 port horizontal

Just a brief one today to record a couple of tastings earlier in the month. 

At the start of October, I was invited by G to a lunch involving copious amounts of Frappato, from Sicily. He had visited a couple of years ago and come across the wines of Ariana Occhipinti, then acquired three different cuvees. Notes were not taken, so what follows will be brief!

We started with the "bog standard" version from 2018 which was pretty good. Having never encountered frappato before, I wasn't sure what to expect, but it turned out to be lighter and more minerally than a big sunny red of the nero d'avola tendency. ACC compared it to a Beaujolais.

Then we had the three special cuvees, all from 2017. BB stands for Bombolieri, FL is Fossa di Lupo and PT is Pettineo, all different vineyards. We drank them in alphabetical order and the general consensus was that the BB was relatively light and pretty, the FL was weightier and also more alcoholic at a whopping 13%, and the PT was the best of both worlds. A fascinating comparison!

Then last week, I was able to attend a 1980 port vertical organised by G for the Port Forum. There were 12 of us present, and 14 ports. I was tasked with bringing along the Dow and G gave me very precise instructions on what to do. Unfortunately the cork was very crumbly and I didn't have a spare, but a champagne stopper saved the day. 

It's always interesting to see the aerial view. The Dow, in the middle at the back, was a particularly dark colour and G thought it wasn't ready yet. 

The general consensus was that 1980 wasn't a very exciting or complex vintage, but as someone who doesn't drink that much port, I still enjoyed it. Points were awarded and the winner was the Gould Campbell, whereas my favourite was the Offley Boa Vista which looked absolutely beautiful and reminded me of chocolate-covered berries. Once again, the Quinta do Noval Nacional didn't justify its exorbitant price tag, being considered merely "quite pretty". None of them were obviously duff - the Burmester was a bit murky and had a slightly odd nose, possibly because it was at the end of its drinking window. Another fascinating evening and thanks G for inviting me. 

Swiss Pinot Noir Society, 30th September 2021

After18 months, we finally had another meeting of the SPNS! All were present except ACC who had a prior engagement, and it was lovely to see everyone.

Proceedings commenced with this Nicolas Feuillatte non-vintage rose provided by P. It was a cheery colour, prompting a debate between G and T as to what precise type of salmon it most resembled. I found it refreshing and fruity (possibly benefiting from First Wine of the Evening Effect) and D described it as easy drinking and thought it would go well with shrimp. 

Upstairs in the dining room, we weren't at our usual table - outrageous! It was good to see the Savile so busy, although a lively group nearby made it hard to hear at times. While we were waiting to order, we pressed on with this Edoardo Miroglio viognier traminer blend, from the Thracian Valley in Bulgaria, a name which brought back vague memories of A Level Greek for me. The vintage was 2020 and the wine was brought by T. I'm already struggling to read the comments in the book, but G described it as light as a feather. For some reason I'd got the impression from T that it might be slightly sweet, so it was drier than I expected and very quaffable - I thought it would be wonderful on a hot summer's day, just the thing to sip while lying in a hammock. All in all, an excellent discovery from T.

Next up was this Forge Cellars Seneca Lake Dry Riesling 2018 brought by, surprise, D! This was a fabulous golden colour and had a wonderful classic riesling nose. For me it had a core of lime running through it, while D detected pears and peaches. It had good body, good acid and a long finish. I haven't been to this winery but would certainly add it to the list for consideration on a future trip.

The main event was this magnum of Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour cabernet sauvignon from 1980, brought by G. The nose was generally considered a triumph with plum, currant and even ink, if I'm reading G's handwriting correctly. The palate was more divisive, with T feeling that it was a little disappointing whereas I enjoyed the blackcurrant, mint and cedar very much. There was some debate as to whether it was actually ready, or whether it needed a bit more air. Either way, we had no problem dispatching the magnum between us.

And finally, I failed to take a photo of my own contribution which was a Lorentz 1984 vendange tardive gewurztraminer from Alsace, obtained at auction with some other pretty good stuff a couple of years ago. It was a wonderful amber colour and very aromatic, but had lost the typical gewurz perfume and wasn't as sweet as I expected. I thought maybe it was slightly over the hill, but D thought it was still young. It was generally well-received.

We've now almost reached the end of the Book, which prompted me to check when we started - it was July 2009. It's very pleasing that the SPNS has been going for 12 years and hopefully normal service can now resume. In other news, I was delighted to hear yesterday that the US travel ban is being lifted on 8th November, and will be heading over there shortly afterwards. I've completely lost track of what wine I have stashed away in Pennsylvania, so it will be exciting to find out, and I'll also be heading to the booze store to grab a bottle of Dad's Hat to add to my spirit collection. Can't wait!