Madeira dinner, 26th January

Not the usual suspects

Last night, it was over to the Savile Club for G's last ever Madeira dinner. The theme this year was Malvasia aka Malmsey, and I was invited to participate in the pre-dinner tasting to enable compilation of tasting notes and determination of running order. Most of the photos here come from the pre-tasting and in a rare exclusive, some of them are actually in focus!

For the record, the report on last year's tasting is here which also includes links to reports on the previous tastings back to 2010.

G would pass the sommelier exam, no problem

When I arrived, just as the clock was striking seven, the room was empty except for G pouring the initial six wines with a practised hand. But various old friends and familiar faces soon appeared to join us and we got down to business.

1. 2002 Malvaisa from ABSL (Barros e Sousa), bottled in 2012.

This was amber in colour and clear with little sediment, as one would expect from a recent bottling. I detected toffee on the nose and it was young and relatively light. A good lunchtime Madeira, but if we're honest, not particularly exciting, given what was to follow. We gave it three stars at the pre-tasting but in hindsight I think that might have been rather generous and would revise it down to two.

2. Vinho da Volta from Justino Henriques, believed to be a solera of youngish wines.

Now it says something, given my terrible memory for wines I have drunk, that as soon as G told me this was from Justino Henriques my heart sank, even before he'd decanted it. Past experience did not bode well. You can see from the photo that it was a most peculiar colour, cloudy and pale, and not exactly inviting. "Let me give you the large glass," said G after sniffing the decanter. Thanks very much. In the bottle, it had a really horrible sediment. I'd never witnessed the bottle-rinsing process before and hope I won't have to see anything like that ever again. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't smell of vomit, in fact it didn't smell of anything. I was still nervous about tasting it, but it turned out not to taste of anything either. However, it had an unpleasant powdery quality that caused G to suspect the use of aspartame. Something definitely went wrong here, and after one sip the rest went down the sink. Nul points.

3. Barbeito special reserve 20 year old Malvasia, bottled in 2001.

This was a clear light brown colour. On Sunday night I wasn't getting much on the nose ("nose a bit dumb" said G) but last night a hint of varnish had emerged. It was a step up from the first wine, with more intensity and some butterscotch, burnt toffee, Werthers Originals type of flavours and a nice weight. Worthy of three stars.

4. HM Borges 30 years old Malvasia, bottled around 2013.

This was a significantly darker colour, clear, and with very little sediment. I found a hint of the potting shed on the nose (i.e. turps) which G refers to as "high toned" and I enjoyed the seductively gloopy texture but G pointed out that it was not well-integrated. It's not a single wine of 30 years of age, but rather several different wines with an average age of 30ish - apparently this is allowed under new regulations. The components hadn't had enough time in barrel to come together properly, leading to an incoherent wine, with a decidedly spirity finish. Two stars.

5. LML (Lomelino) 1962 Malvasia, bottled around 1990.

This was a dark brown colour with loads of sediment - there's a reason the level in the bottle is so low, and it's not because G and I were necking it! On the nose, it was pungent, like over-ripe fruit. It wasn't nice to drink either, which was a shame, because there was something treacly hidden underneath the nasty bit. G had his doubts about its authenticity and bought it thinking it could be dodgy but interesting. It turned out to be dodgy and not interesting. No stars.

6. Pereira D'Oliveira 1955 Reserva Malvasia, bottled around 1990.

This was a very dark colour and had improved a lot since Sunday. It was thick, rich and treacly, like Christmas pudding, with a remarkable finish. Lots of prunes and dried fruit going on. We gave it four stars.

At this point, we sat down to dinner. With our starter of smoked salmon we had some white Pernand-Vergelesses but G also advised trying the next wine.

7. Leacock, Malvasia Velhissima, 19th century, bottled no later than 1920.

This was a relatively light colour and I didn't get much on the nose but G described it as "papery". It wasn't sweet, causing us to think it might be Verdelho rather than Malvasia. This came from the Leacock sale in 2008, and apparently G bought a case which was described as Malvasia but it turned out that not all of it was. An honest misreprentation by the auctioneers, who can't taste every bottle they are selling. Three stars.

We saved the remaining five wines to go with cheese and pudding, and drank some of Henri Audiffred's delicious 2011 Beaune Gauffriots with our main course.

8. Malvasia Faja, 1934, bottled around 1980.

G thinks this was probably made by the Fernandes family who owned this famous vineyard at the foot of a cliff, but was bottled by ABSL. It was a lovely clear mahogany and a bit dumb on the nose, with a slightly thinner texture and intense, drier style. It was elegant and well-balanced with a marmaladey, Seville orange thing going on. It had a great finish, and G loved its restraint. Four or five stars - I suspect four for me, five for G.

9. Henriques & Henriques Century Malmsey, solera 1900, bottled around 2002.

This was a very dark colour and I got turps on the nose whereas G detected figgy pudding. It was like a fruit cake in a glass - raisins, sultanas, prunes - and great concentration due to the long time in barrel. The finish was amazing and went on for minutes. Big and rich but not exactly subtle. I thought this would be a real crowd-pleaser and indeed that turned out to be the case. Five stars.

10. HM Borges Malmsey solera 1880, bottled around 1970.

When we tasted this on Sunday, it was seriously bottle-sick and I really hoped it would improve by last night as there was clearly something very nice underneath. And it was much better, thanks to G's diligent work redecanting many times during the week. Treacle toffee was evident once again. Four stars.

11. Blandy Malmsey 1880, bottled around 1960.

This is a rare single vintage wine. Unfortunately, due to a loose cork, it had an accident on the train leading to G's luggage trebling in value, but fortunately there was enough left for us to taste. It was eye-glazingly good, intense, with marmalade and liquorice. I loved its precision and focus, it had a lovely texture and again a finish that went on for minutes. Absolutely stunning, and the wine of the evening in my opinion. Six stars!

12. Tarquinio T da Camara Lomelino Malmsey, solera 1853 bottled around 1970.

An amazing rarity here - a magnum of Madeira! I didn't think such things existed, and they were until recently unlawful in Madeira, but this was an English bottling by "Simon the Cellarer". Nice work, Simon.

This was absolutely lovely too, with notes of creme brulee (we were actually supposed to be having creme brulee with it, but strangely that metamorphosed into a ginger steamed pudding, still very nice). There were notes of caramelised sugar and it was again very seductive. We think it had a rum base which contributed to the touch of molasses. Five stars. 

Here they are, wine 11 on the left and 12 on the right. Some of us took ours outside for the traditional post-dinner gathering and a good time was had.

Thanks very much to G for hosting yet another unique event. It has been a real privilege to taste these amazingly rare and precious wines with you over the years, and as was noted last night, each year seemed to surpass the last. We certainly went out on a high and now on to the next thing!

Burgundy Portfolio en primeur tasting, 12th Jan

On Thursday evening, just as the first (and hopefully last) snow of the year was beginning to fall, I made my way over to the Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green for the annual tasting of en primeur Burgundy, hosted by ACC of the Burgundy Portfolio.

We were in a different room this year, which required navigation down a very long corridor and up some stairs, but once inside there was the welcome sight of tables of booze and a gentle hubbub of Burgundy enthusiasts getting stuck in, including some old friends.

This will mainly be a photographic post, and edited highlights for me as there was too much to report on bottle by bottle. I did find some divergence of opinion this year but also some areas of agreement.

Nathalie Fevre was unable to be present but her wines spoke for themselves. I'd heard slightly worrying things about some of the 2015 whites, and there seems to be a view that they are for drinking in the mid-term rather than the long term. I would have no hesitation about buying the Fevre wines, and the village Chablis always seems to go down very well at the office Christmas party.

A mixed bag of other whites here - some more Chablis from the Gueguens (possibly a bit sharper than the Fevre Chablis, which isn't a criticism) and some whites from Maison en Belles Lies of which the Santenay was particularly interesting, with a kind of mushroomy thing going on.

In typical AduV style, my photos of my favourite whites of the evening, from Domaine Albert Joly, turned out blurry and unpublishable. I usually love these wines and there was no flabbiness in evidence here! I'll certainly be adding 2015 to my Puligny Tremblots ladder and once again I thought the Bourgogne Blanc was the equivalent of a village level wine.

On the next table, Vincent Perrin and his son Guillaume were presenting their wines, mostly from Volnay. This was the first vintage vinified by Guillaume and it's good to know that the future of this domaine is in safe hands. The premier cru Gigottes is an old favourite but this year it had competition from the premier cru Mitans which impressed everyone. I also have a soft spot for the Pommard.

I enjoyed trying this Irancy from Domaine Gueguen, which had an amazing nose of blackcurrants, and might see if someone wants to share a case with me.

Romain Chapuis's reds come in at a nice level price-wise. I liked the Chorey (no change there) and I found the Maranges very enticing too, with some earthy characteristics.

Action shot of the Baron going in for some Maison en Belle Lies reds! Actually, he was just rearranging them so that I could get a better photo.

There we are. It was good to see old favourite L'Etrange making an appearance this year and the Hautes-Cotes de Beaune was a bit heavier than usual. I liked the Maranges premier cru very much and the Corton was amazing, but out of my price range. I'm hoping someone else will buy it and share it with me...

On the next table, Julien Petitjean of Domaine de la Roseraie was presenting his wines, on his first visit to the en primeur tasting. This domaine was previously based in Puligny but has now moved to Beaune. We started with the Beaune Blanc, which is a style of wine I usually enjoy and this was no exception. It's made using traditional techniques and was elegant with a good finish.

The Bourgogne Rouge and red Beaune were also very good but the jewel in the crown of this domaine is the "Eponyme" which Julien makes using the best grapes from all his vineyards, and treads by foot! The mix also includes 10% white grapes. It's only available in magnum as that size is considered the best for maturing the wine, and I'm going to have to give this some serious thought, as opportunities to drink magnums don't come up that often when you live in a studio flat. On the other hand, 2023 isn't that far away...

We moved on to the other reds and found that Henri Audiffred had delivered the goods, as usual. The red Beaune had its distinctive nose of tropical fruits and I'd like to think I would spot it at 100 paces.

The other reds were all great too. A particular highlight was the Cote de Nuits Village "le Clos de Magny" which ACC had added to the offering this year. "So delicious I drank it" read my notes, which tell you all you need to know, as this year I did actually remember to spit most of the wines out.

I have six-packs of the Vosne-Romanee Aux Champs Perdrix going back to 2010 so am a committed enthusiast for this wine. Will I be going for the 2015 too? Hell yes.

I didn't take photos of the two wines from Domaine Trichard, the Brouilly and the Cote de Brouilly, but both G and I liked these and as ever, Beaujolais seems very good value these days. Having said which, the prices in the offer are very fair in my opinion, and in most cases only slightly higher than last year, which considering how the 2016 vintage has seen a drastic reduction in volume is very decent of all concerned.

After the tasting, G and I were privileged to be invited to join the growers and ACC for dinner in a private room next door, and a lively time was had explaining customs such as "Do you know the Bishop of Norwich". There was also some talk of attending the Elegance de Volnay festival in June. I missed out on it last year due to work commitments, but I'm hoping I can plan a bit better this year as it sounds amazing - not least because the proceedings commence with gougeres at 11.00 a.m!

Thanks very much to ACC, Vincent and Guillaume Perrin, and Julien Petitjean, for a great evening.

Dinner at mine, 2nd Jan

Happy New Year! I was joined by G, ACC and the Baron on Monday evening for a belated New Year celebration which was a very enjoyable way to spend the last evening of the holidays.

Proceedings commenced with this bottle of Meursault 1er cru Perrieres 2007 from Latour-Labille, donated by G. It was a beautiful golden colour, opulent and rich with a marvellous finish. It was still drinking nicely, but perhaps coming to the end of its plateau. G commented that it still had that core of lemon which you find in great white wines. Perrieres is considered one of the finest vineyards in Meursault and is a contender for grand cru status but luckily for us, it's still a more affordable premier cru.

With our starter of smoked salmon, we had this trio of half bottles of vintage Alfred Gratien champagne - 1998, 1999 and 2000. These came from the Wine Society in a particularly self-indulgent order towards the end of last year. A quick trip had to be made to Habitat in the afternoon to pick up enough champagne flutes for us to drink them side by side. It was worth it, because the vertical comparison was very interesting.

The 1998 was fully mature, rich and honeyed, and had a wonderful finish. Apparently it was "autolytic" which you can look up on Wikipedia or take ACC's word for it that it means like a digestive biscuit, with those yeasty flavours characteristic of vintage champagne. The 1999 seemed fresher and much more youthful, while the consensus was that the 2000 wasn't ready yet, remarkable as it seems. I have one more half bottle of each, so now the difficult decision will have to be made as to when to drink the rest...

We moved on to the reds with our main course - a Volnay 1966 from Bouchard contributed by the Baron, and this Pommard 1966 from Patriache which G had brought along. With a label like that, how could one resist? I failed to take a photo of the Volnay, and the Baron took the bottle away with him, but I do recall that the label said it was specially selected by the Financial Times. The FT knew what they were doing in those days, as this was serious old Burgundy, smooth and with lots of fruit still. In the glass (on the left in the photo below), it looked remarkably youthful.

The Pommard, on the other hand, had a distinct whiff of the sugar bag and wasn't particularly subtle. By this stage, as usual, my notes began to tail off and became illegible, but I think the general view was that the Volnay was distinctly superior.

With the cheese, we had the remaining half of a bottle of Maynards 40 year old port which I was delighted to find in Market Harborough Aldi before Christmas. Aldi have a tendency to knock out some excellent port at Christmas, and three years ago my father visited practically every Aldi in the East Midlands in a quest on my behalf for the 30 year old, which they were selling that year. The same shop came up trumps again this time. It had notes of toffee, coffee and chocolate, and was exceptionally smooth. Although it had been open for a couple of weeks and kept in the fridge, it was fine, and actually rather nice chilled. It went down very fast and reminded me how much I love tawny port!

G then nipped downstairs and came back with a big bottle of vintage kirsch, which was served on the rocks. This was a very fine digestif and we sat around imagining running our own wine bar selling similar rarities. That sounds far too much like hard work to me - think I'll stick to drinking them instead. Thanks everyone for a great evening and sharing such old and fascinating wines, a very good start to the year!