Some recent reds

I'm recently back from another trip to the US and had a lovely time as always. This particular visit included a spot of kayaking, painting the kitchen ahead of its upcoming renovation, and a near miss with a black bear! The bear in question was spotted ten minutes ahead of our arrival on that particular trail, but fortunately had disappeared by the time we got there, leaving just a claw mark in the mud and a load of scattered berries.  

I also enjoyed splitting some logs of wood on this intriguing piece of equipment provided by the state park! The mallet was very heavy and it was surprisingly satisfying to whack the logs with it. 

On to the wine. Today's post will be an attempt to clear up some accumulated notes on random reds. 

G and H invited me round to their house for lunch one day back in July. It was great to sit outside in the garden and the occasion included numerous fancy wines, none of which I made notes on. I did however take a pic of this particularly wonderful Volnay 1er cru Clos de la Cave des Ducs Monopole 2009 from Benjamin Leroux, which was a real treat. 

And it was lovely to see the photogenic Benjy enjoying the sun.

Moving on to other recent reds, I'll do these in reverse order of how much we liked them. 

I brought this Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2015 from Ponzi Vineyards back on my previous trip to the US. Willamette Valley is in Oregon, and this was very new world and lacking any burgundian elements. No whiff of the farmyard could be detected. It had an exuberant, crowd-pleasing nose with a lot of jammy blackcurrant, but G said the acidity wasn't high enough, and I thought this was pinot that would appeal to people who don't like Burgundy. It was 13.7%, allegedly. Not so sure about that!

Next up, a Mercurey 1er cru Les Valeys 2018 from Francois Raquillet. Apparently 2018 was a big, rich year and this was a very dark colour. On the palate it was earthy with plummy tannins and a little chocolate. It wasn't croquant unlike many Mercureys I've had in the past. G described it as "rustic village in a very hot vintage" which summed it up well. We gave it a low 8. 

Then we have a Beaune 1er cru Clos de la Mousse Monopole 2016 from Bouchard Pere & Fils. I picked this up in the Pennsylvanian booze store for $36 earlier in the year. The PA booze store sometimes has remarkably good clearance deals and I don't think anyone in D's neck of the woods is particularly interested in premier cru burgundy, so it hadn't been snapped up!

This was a slightly purple colour, glossy, with an attractive perfumed nose featuring sous bois and blackcurrant, very Beaune. As it was young, we gave it a 3.5 hour decant which it needed. It had a nice weight, was well-balanced, and had a good structure with nice fruit acids. I got a hint of rhubarb on the finish. We gave it a low 9 and thought it would last, although this was my only bottle. 

And finally, back in July, as it was my birthday month and I was feeling self-indulgent, it was time to wheel out the bottle of red Auxey-Duresses 2011 from Coche Dury which I'd been saving for a while. I served this quite chilled. It had a lot going on - blackberry, sous bois and a hint of saddle. It was very precise, and had a nice light mouthfeel, and almost a hint of apple skin on the finish. We felt that possibly the nose outshone the palate, and that it was ready to drink and not one to keep any further. It reminded me how much I love red Auxey, and it;s always a joy to drink Coche!

In other exciting news, I've signed up to attend the International Pinot Noir Celebration in July next year (what the hell, it's a big year!) so am very much looking forward to that. 

Lunch at mine, Sunday 9th December

On Sunday, I was joined by ACC, D and G for lunch. Things didn't get off to a great start when the chopping board fell over, knocking a pan of diced onion all over my flat - some of it even landed in a wine glass. Fortunately nobody was hurt and G had some onion in reserve so we were only delayed for 10 minutes or so.

Nerves were calmed with a restorative glass of Puligny-Montrachet Tremblots 2011 from Domaine Joly, which I'd recently got out of storage. This was a beautiful scintillating colour and was ripe and elegant with mouthwatering acidity and some tropical fruit going on. It was particularly excellent with the hot smoked trout kedgeree which G made as a starter. I actually glazed over for a moment before remembering I had company...

The raison d'etre for the gathering was to drink some more of G's auction acquisitions, which looked like they came from a venerable establishment.

First was this Beaune from Bouchard, which the bottle detectives guessed was from the 1950s. This was a very dark colour and had a lovely perfume but we all suspected it might have been strengthened with some syrah, and the sugar bag had certainly been applied with a liberal hand. It was relatively midweight, rich and smooth and hard to believe it was in its 60s. Apparently back in those days the negociants used 100% new oak so this was basically made the same way a grand cru would be made now. For £18 including delivery, nobody was quibbling!

The next two wines were more divisive, in that I parted company with everybody else in my assessment of them. But it's my blog, and I'll write what I want to.

First we had a Vosne from Domaine Pierre-Yves Masson. I think I was dealing with the main course or possibly the cheese as I heard murmurs in the background saying it was no good and needed to be chucked. Fortunately I got a swig in before any hasty action was taken and I rather liked it - rich and sweet. Others felt it had insufficient acid to keep it clean.

Then we went on to this Clos de Vougeot 1950 from Geisweiler & Fils, which was the opposite situation. For me, there was a strange pungent whiff on the nose, something vegetal, as if something was rotting at the back of the potting shed. Everyone else loved it and described it as fruity and complete. I guess it all worked out because I got to drink more of the Vosne, and the others were welcome to the Clos de Vougeot. I just wished T had been there to tell me what the chemical was that I was picking up.

To finish, D indulged us with two halves of sweet wine from the Finger Lakes, Sheldrake Point riesling, one from 2001 and one from 2008. There was no controversy here. We drank the oldest one first, which was actually in a 350ml bottle. It was a beautiful amber colour and absolutely luscious, with some botrytis and apricots. It complimented the lemon tart beautifully and was not unduly sweet but very well-balanced and not showing its age at all.

The Late Harvest Riesling from 2008 was even more amber in colour and sweeter - more dried apricots this time. I think we agreed the 2001 was better but they were both excellent. Thanks D!

Dinner at mine, 18th October

On Thursday evening, G hosted dinner at mine and much to my relief did all the cooking for it in addition to providing the wines. We were joined by D and Baron McG.

Proceedings commenced with this Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru Morgeot 2013 from Domaine de la Choupette. This was textbook premier cru Chassagne, and I described it as "precise". We all agreed it complemented the smoked salmon beautifully. It was drinking very nicely now, but G thought it was 18 to 24 months away from perfection. We probably also served it a little too cold. For me it was a 9 on the premier cru scale.

With our beef stew, we moved on to this mystery wine. All that was known about it was that the capsule stated "Sichel Fils et Pere, Beaune" although even then, there was a debate whether it was Pere or Frere. That's certainly an unusual order for those words. I've just belatedly Googled it and it seems it was probably Sichel & Fils Freres.

The bottle detectives got on the case and based on the large punt, thought that it could have been bottled in the 1960s so was likely to be a wine from the late 50s or early 60s. It had certainly maintained its colour well.

In fact, it had maintained everything well, and had a lovely nose which was definitely Cote de Nuits. We were thinking Vougeot or possibly Morey St Denis as there was some chocolate going on. It was rich and powerful and had clearly been chaptalised, and had an amazing finish which went on for three or four minutes. The Baron said he liked the "brambly" finish and could imagine drinking it with apple crumble. Basically, it was absolutely delicious old school burgundy and whoever stored it certainly knew what they were doing. But, as G said, it was probably absolutely undrinkable in its youth.

Next up was this Volnay Caillerets from Bouchard, again with no date but suspected to be from around the same time as the previous wine. This had a resinous quality on the nose and was very different from the previous wine, with a lively acidity and great finesse. "Grippy" said the Baron. It had stone fruits going on - plum or damson, and I got apples on the finish, but had possibly been influenced by the reference to apple crumble earlier. G thought this was a wine made for the Hospice de Beaune, but I'm not sure how he arrived at that conclusion.

The third red of the evening was this village Vougeot "Le Prieure" 1966 from Pierre Pennelle. G had saved this for last thinking it would be the biggest of the trio, but it turned to be surprisingly lightweight. It did, however, evaporate mysteriously from my glass!

D had brought a novelty can of 100% California Burgundy d'Casa along, probably from the late 80s, and we felt obliged to taste it for the sake of science. A comment was made about it tasting dusty and I can only describe it as grape juice combined with the contents of an old hoover bag. After one sip, it went down the sink.

Not to be outdone, I wheeled out this bottle of Rata Truffe which I succumbed to after a boozy meal with a certain wine merchant. None of the others there had tried it before, and the reaction was, shall we say, mixed. "The nose is offputting but the flavour is good" was one comment and "Genuinely extraordinary" was another. It was agreed that it might be good in a risotto and I might just have to try that.

Finally, I have to thank D for raising the tone at AduV Towers several notches by giving me this 18th century decanter. It's absolutely beautiful and I will certainly make good use of it.

Weekend in the country

A couple of weeks ago, D and I caught the train from Kings Cross to an undisclosed location in middle England where G's parents' house is located. We arrived in the early afternoon feeling quite ravenous but things looked up when G presented us with a glass of excellent, very dry pre-war sherry.

I was then called upon to assist with the double magnum of Rully 1959 which G bought at auction in a moment of madness some time ago.

There was some debate as to whether it was red or white. I believe the auctioneers had described it as red, but looking at the colour, that seemed unlikely. We all tasted it and agreed it was very interesting and then the rest may or may not have been used for cooking.

Fortunately G had put a reserve white aside to accompany our wild smoked salmon for lunch. This in fact belonged to me, as I have a stash in the cellar which is out of sight, out of mind, thereby providing me with the pleasure of rediscovering it from time to time. The white wine in question was a Puligny Montrachet 1er cru Les Perrieres 2011 from Domaine Bzikot, which was bought from the wine shop in Puligny back in the day. This was rich and full and went very well with the food. Pity it was only a bottle and not a double magnum.

After lunch, we went for a walk into the nearby village and then returned to the house where the local felines were circling ready for their evening meal.

It was the first beautiful day of the year, and we sat outside and drank this bottle of Dom Perignon 2002, which was drinking perfectly now and went very nicely with a cheese straw.

With our dinner, an admirable cassoulet made by G's father, we had this bottle of Chapelle-Chambertin 2005 from Bouchard, which apparently I got in a mystery mixed bag from the Wine Society some time ago. Before tasting it, I had my doubts, as I have yet to drink a 2005 red Burgundy which I considered to be ready, but this proved to be the exception. It was muscular and rich and it was actually drinking. Our favourite wine merchant subsequently told us that Bouchard's style is more forward than others, so we shouldn't extrapolate from this.

Alongside the Chapelle-Chambertin, we had this 1934 Mazis-Chambertin Maison Jules Regnier, which G got at auction. This was quite remarkable, really lovely old burgundy, with a glorious nose, lovely texture and long finish. We drank it over about 45 minutes and it showed no sign of fading. Then we drank the dregs too, it was that good.

We rounded off the evening with a glass of  Dow 1963 which was in impeccable condition unlike some G has recently had. It was middleweight and not too sweet. "An old lady, but an attractive one" said G, sounding like a dreadful gold-digger.

On Sunday morning, after a breakfast of bacon sandwiches and coffee, we walked to Hambleton bakery which passed a pleasant hour, although I was gutted that the woman in front of us in the queue snaffled the last sausage roll. If only we'd walked a little faster... One could not however argue with the pricing of the coconut macaroons - 30p each - and they made a very fine accompaniment to a mid-morning glass of madeira.

On our return it was time for an inspection of the cellar...

G still hasn't worked out what to do with this magnum of Kummel! I suggested serving it like aquavit with some smoked salmon. Other suggestions welcome.

For lunch, we had an amazing roast capon which I imagine will feed G's father for the rest of the year, along with this bottle of 1983 Chateau Latour. It was the second bottle of the pair which I bought in December, and this one seemed weightier than the first, although that could be because it was drunk by itself rather than alongside a vibrant young Californian cabernet sauvignon.

The final line-up - spot the odd one out!

All in all, this was a fascinating weekend and we ate and drank very well indeed. Thanks to G's father for hosting, to to D for his congenial company and above all to G for organising everything and sharing these extraordinary wines with us.

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!

Best of the Best tasting, 3rd Dec

For several years now my friend ACC has been holding a Christmas wine tasting which is always a major highlight of the year. We have a champagne, white burgundy, red burgundy, claret, sauternes and port, and throughout the year I know he spends a lot of time thinking ahead to this one and sourcing goodies for it.

Last night eight of us braved the icy pavements of Battersea to join him for this annual event and it proved to be a fascinating evening. Although I did take photos at the end they have come out very badly and I promise that one of my new year's resolutions is going to be reading the camera manual so that they're focused in future! (Obviously it had nothing to do with having too much to drink.)

First up, as an aperitif, was a magnum of Pol Roger 1990. This was fine, mature champagne. It was a golden colour and had yeastiness on the nose and richness on the palate. ACC said that 1990 was a difficult vintage for Pol as some of their grapes ripened faster than others. I thought this was the kind of champagne that makes you realise it's actually a proper wine but it didn't particularly set my world on fire, if I'm honest.

The second wine was a Chevalier-Montrachet "La Cabotte" Grand Cru 2000 from Bouchard. Grand cru is the top echelon of Burgundy and I don't get to drink it very often so this was exciting. It looked nice, and was a pale gold colour. The nose reminded me of the sort of big full-on Meursault that I like, and had a slight cabbageyness to it. But on the palate, I found it rather unbalanced and it had a sharpness as I was swallowing it that I didn't enjoy. Others observed that it didn't have the finish you'd expect at this level. Possibly it was too cold - the room where we were tasting was quite cold as it was -3C outside, and possibly it was just too young - there was some discussion of when it would be drinking, and whether it would improve over the next 2-3 years. I hope so. This wine goes for around £200 so while it was great to get to try it, there's no way I'd actually ever buy it.

Then we moved on to the reds. First a 1988 Clos-Vougeot from Capitain Gagnerot, another grand cru. My first impression of this wine was very favourable - it was a beautiful mahogany colour, had a rich, sweet nose with a pleasant "hint of the farmyard", and had chocolate and red fruits on the palate - I wrote down that it was (expletive deleted) delicious! Then the finish hit me, and I found it rather bitter. I tried to convince myself that it wasn't an unpleasant kind of bitterness but had to concede defeat. When we came back to taste it again later, the nose had become quite vegetal and it was fading fast. ACC circulated the copy of Bougougne Aujourd'hui with the map of Clos-Vougeot showing how it's carved up between the different growers and arguably the section owned by Capitain Gagnerot isn't one of the best. Still, this wine apparently goes for £100-150 so it's not exactly cheap.

The fourth wine of the evening was a 1990 Mouton Rothschild. Mouton's labels are always very artistic and in this vintage the label was by Francis Bacon. I was looking forward to this wine, and ACC told us that Robert Parker doesn't like it, which I think raised everyone's expectations around the table as Parker tends to like obvious, big, alcoholic wines at the expense of subtlety and elegance.

Again it was a beautiful dark red colour and very clear and scintillating in the glass. The nose was a delicious cabernet sauvignon nose, all cedar and lead pencils. So it was looking good - but then on the palate, there was just nothing going on of any interest. I charitably described it as "restrained" which in this case was a euphemism for dull. It did have a very good finish. But given the price of this wine (around £300), I think most of us found it disappointing.

Last year, in contrast, we had some Chateau Latour 1997 which was my wine of the evening. My tasting notes read "It does bring a smile to my face." Now, of course, I regret not buying any!

Fortunately things immediately improved with the sauternes. This was a 1975 Chateau Pajot, Enclave d'Yquem. ACC said that this vineyard is within the Yquem vineyard itself but is owned by someone else. It's extremely obscure and production is tiny, and 1975 was a great sauternes vintage. I liked it very much. It wasn't too sweet (for a sweet wine) and was very elegant, with a lot of citrus, marmaladey notes. I thought it was absolute nectar and it was my wine of the evening.

Finally, we had some 1966 Quinta do Noval vintage port. This had a very intense nose, with figs and dates both mentioned. It was a fine, classic port with a slight spiritiness. G described it as a "complete" port and it was his wine of the evening. If I hadn't been drinking my beloved Smith Woodhouse 1970 earlier in the day, I might have agreed...

All in all, a very interesting tasting and as is often the case, it was great to try some things one would normally never get one's paws on. On this occasion the most expensive wines didn't deliver. This has often been the case in the past too - at the top level there may sometimes be a step up in quality but the step up in price is exponential. Unless I win the lottery (unlikely as I don't play it) I'll stick to wines further down the scale and feel pleased that I'm getting good value for money.

One photo that did turn out all right - a genuine Tommy Seaward I spotted in the corner of the office. It reminds me of strawberry bootlaces and I love it!