We began with this 1982 Pinot Noir from the Firestone Vineyard, which was a recent auction find. It was a reddish brown colour and had a jammy nose which G described as "high toned". On the palate, it was soft, integrated and congruent, still quite sweet, with hints of sous bois. We found it very drinkable and apparently it was a mere 12% alcohol. They don't make 'em like they used to!
Next up was this 1977 Cabernet Sauvignon from Robert Mondavi. Looking at the label, I get confused as am sure this is the same font the Wine Society used for some of their wines at one point, but apparently there is no connection. Sadly, there was clearly a fault with it, a weird yeasty thing going on which G said was brett, so it went down the sink. You win some, you lose some.
Fortunately, a wine had been placed in reserve for just this eventuality! This was a William Hill (amusing name if you're British) 1988 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. I'm pleased to say this was much better. It was a fruity, soft cabernet with lashings of mint and eucalyptus. The tannins had mellowed and it was extremely pleasant drinking, although my notes also contain the phrase "not setting the world alight" which sounds like the kind of thing G would say. He provided it, so he's allowed to say that.
To go with the cheese course, D had brought along a "port" from Missouri. I had no idea such a thing existed! This was Stark Star 1986 Tawny from Mount Pleasant Vineyards. The colour was not one I would normally associate with tawny port, as it was a deep, intense purple.
It was genuinely interesting, with figs, dates, and agen prunes, and went particularly well with the roquefort. It also had some creamy toffee notes and if we closed our eyes, we could imagine it was a Bual. Somehow I doubt we would ever come across this here in the UK, so thanks very much to D for sharing it with us.
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| Apparently a great year for tawny port too! |
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