Fascinating and delicious

I'm glad to say that things gradually improving here. I've been out for a couple of very welcome meals and hosted my first indoor lunch party for a very long time. Now I'm just waiting for the USA to open up so I can get over to Pennsylvania and see my beloved. But in the meantime, a lot of fine wine is getting drunk so time for another update. Reds this week, whites next week. 

This Beaujolais le Ronsay 2019 from Jean-Paul Brun was one of those low-sulphite numbers that I adore. It had a glorious nose of cherries and marzipan, and was fresh and fruity, despite being served slightly too cold (tsk, G). It was crying out for a baguette and a bit of pate. I'm informed that it cost less than £15. If I was still buying wine, I'd be stocking up!

This Givry 1er cru la Grande Berge 2015 from Domaine Ragot also went down very well. It was glossy, with a pleasing garnet colour, and the nose was absolutely gorgeous - summer fruit compote or even a fruit tart, as there was hint of creme patissiere. It was more serious on the palate, succulent with hints of cigar box and blackcurrant on the finish. As G said, "the nose is glorious, the palate merely excellent." We wondered if it needed more time, but I'd be a little anxious about the nose losing its freshness if one kept it too long. We gave it a 9. I think Givry is definitely a village to watch as this wine was quite a steal for what it was.

These days I don't always bother making notes on wines which I've reported on before, but this Chassagne 1er cru Morgeot 2010 from Domaine de la Choupette continues to provide a lot of pleasure. We detected various colours of currant on the nose - not sure I knew pink currants were even a thing -  and it had an enticing juicy sharpness. The notes of redcurrant made it an excellent pairing with venison and the finish was also wonderful, with a peacock's tail burst of black cherry and even a little chocolate. "Not for amateurs" said G. It's been a consistent 9.

I didn't get a photo of this one, but one night last week as we watched the rain pouring down on the Scottish football fans outside (which didn't stop the chanting, sadly), G poured me a mystery glass of something which I promptly misidentified as a gamay, as it was very purple. It turned out to be a Beaune 1er cru Cent Vignes 2017 from Jane Eyre. It was exuberant and lively, very fruity and a little frivolous. I found it slightly croquant and G detected a rather agricultural stemmy quality. Anyway, he told me it cost £58, which is rather a lot when you can get Coteaux Bourguignons for a third of the price. Apparently Jane is quite a cult producer, hence the ambitious price tag. We gave it an 8 but wouldn't be rushing back to buy more. 

Prices aren't what they used to be!

Earlier in the week, we succumbed to this Trefethen Napa Valley pinot noir from 1983, which had been lurking in my cupboard for a long time, part of the excellent lot I got at auction a couple of years ago. The cork initially looked good but then crumbled spectacularly. The wine itself looked mature, with a lot of brett on the nose initially which fortunately blew off, and a generous hand with the sugar bag. Or maybe they didn't need the sugar bag in California. Anyway, it was silky, with lovely autumnal fruit and was described as "fascinating and delicious" hence the title of this blog post. We would have thought it was from Burgundy if we hadn't known it was Californian. A real pleasure to drink.

Then on Thursday, G raised the bar yet again by producing this Chambolle-Musigny 1er cru Les Sentiers 2012 from Domaine Arlaud. I had a good feeling about this one.

While he was doing stuff in the kitchen, I swirled it around my glass and started chortling at the sight of these impressive legs. What a wonderful glossy wine. The nose elicited groans of ecstasy - it was absolutely divine with sweet, heady fruit. "Oooh that's absolutely fooking gorgeous" said G in a camp northern accent. On the palate, it was congruent, silky and complex with mouthwatering fruit. Griotte cherries, loganberry, plum skin and dark chocolate were all mentioned. It was very sensual and typique, seriously sexy pinot noir. 2012 can be a little on the burly side, but this was not. Top notch Chambolle from an excellent producer. We thought it was at the beginning of its drinking window and if we were lucky enough to find another bottle there would be no rush, but no particular need to wait either. There was some debate as to whether it was a 10 but in the end we settled on a high 9. The kind of wine that reminds us why we drink Burgundy.

Action shot!

And finally, a real rarity. I was joined for lunch by G, ACC and the Baron a couple of weeks ago and G produced this magnum of Clos de Vougeot from Jean-Jacques Confuron which he got at auction. The vintage was unknown, and we had hoped that it would be revealed on the cork but it was not to be.

It was plummy in colour with a light rim and great legs, and looked pristine. For me, it was very old school - fragant, rich and powerful with incredible length. It didn't have a huge amount of fruit, but ACC said that Clos de Vougeot often has mocha chocolate, which was certainly the case here. We thought it was at least 35 years old and apparently most of the other wines in the lot were from 1978 so there's a very good chance that this was too, but we'll never know. There was no problem getting through the magnum between the four of us - what a treat! Thanks G.

Recent reds

Feeling a bit more cheerful here at AduV Towers with things starting to open up in London now and a sense that things might get back to normal soon. It was great to see ACC and the Baron in real life last Saturday after five months, and I'm looking forward to seeing other friends soon and getting back to tastings, lunches and dinners like the good old days!

Meanwhile, G has been keeping me company and we've drunk some pretty good stuff over the past few weeks. Today's report is on the reds only, in descending date order.

We recently acquired some halves of En Gregoire 2012 from Emmanuel Giboulot, and G located the 2018 vintage of the same wine in bottle, so naturally a vertical tasting ensued!

They were a fairly similar colour but the 2012 had a slightly paler rim. The 2018 had a pretty nose with exuberant ripe fruit, and was big and juicy with notes of black cherry. It came in at 13% and certainly ticked my boxes. Young, but why wait? The 2012 had more sous bois and was a little earthy - less fruity, more serious. It was only 12%. But there was a close resemblance between the two, indicating a strong sense of terroir. It was hard to say which we preferred. I think for G the 2012 was a narrow win, and for me the immediate deliciousness of the 2018 had it. 

The other night we had this Rully 1er cru Preaux from P&M Jacqueson. I had some trouble deciphering the curly font on the label! It was a pretty colour and looked young and fruity. The nose was fresh and pretty although G detected "an enticing whiff of rot", and the wine was light, succulent and delicious with stone fruit. It was quite high-toned and mouthwatering, and the word "croquant" sprang to mind - there was a kind of plum skin note. For me, it was the kind of wine that would be delicious at lunchtime with a baguette and some pate. It was perhaps a little on the frivolous side but there's nothing wrong with that. We gave it a 9. I see that we've actually had white wines from Jacqueson before (2007 vintage!) and thought they were pretty good. Definitely a domaine to look out for especially as Rully is relatively good value compared to more prestigious villages. 

There follow a trio which we had at my place where I failed to take photos. I've been getting better at making notes lately, but apparently not at remembering to take photos. 

The first was old favourite Terres Burgondes 2011 from Giboulot. This had a lovely nose of tinned strawberries and was congruent, sensual and pretty. It had some interesting notes of forest floor and wild fruit. Not too serious, obtained at an advantageous price (thanks ACC!) and very much my kind of thing. If it had been a premier cru, we'd have given it a 9. 

Back in mid-April we had some Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru Morgeots 2011 from Domaine de la Choupette. This had a glorious nose of black and red cherries and was elegant with blackcurrant on the palate. It was rich upfront but lighter on the midpalate and finish. It went well with our venison fillet, and we gave it an 8. Not quite as good as the 2010, but I always love red Chassagne.

Another recent acquisition was Ladoix 2010 from Domaine Parent. This was very much in the style of the domaine and if I'd been tasting it blind, I might have thought it was a Pommard. It was powerful, polished and rich with a long finish of black cherries. "Quite a serious wine from a minor village" was G's verdict. It definitely needed some red meat to go with it. 

I did remember to take a pic of this Chambolle-Musigny Clos le Village 2010, or at least the bottle. The wine was glossy and 90% opaque with a pale rim. On the nose we got mixed forest fruits - blackcurrant, raspberry and redcurrant. G also detected a note of orange peel. On the palate, there were some chocolatey tannins, blackberry and blackcurrant. It was perhaps not altogether typical of Chambolle and reminded me more of a Morey. I gave it two and half hours in the decanter and it was drinking now but we thought it would be good for another five years. I have another five bottles so that shouldn't be a problem. 

One night at G's we had this Pommard les Croix Noires 1er cru 2009 from Domaine de Courcel. This had been decanted for three and a half hours and was a lovely garnet colour, a little brown at the rim. I found the nose a little brooding. On the palate, there were some dusty tannins which resolved to reveal some lovely ripe blackcurrant and finally some raspberries. It went well with steak, which helped to buffer the tannins. We thought this was starting to drink, but would be good for another decade, and gave it an 8 with the potential to become a 9 in time. Not a wine one would seek out in a bad vintage.

Finally, the oldest of the bunch: this Morey-Saint-Denis 1er cru Les Ruchots 1996 from Domaine Arlaud. It looked mature and had a fascinating nose of tinned strawberry, sous bois, dark chocolate and cherry. On the palate it was extraordinary, there was so much going on. An immediate 10 pointer, happy days! It had lovely berries, was very complete and harmonious, and had a long finish which changed all the time and delivered little bursts of fruit. It was magnificent wine, old school burgundy as it ought to be, not one to be rushed. G told me that 1996 was a good vintage but also quite tough. This was approaching the end of its drinking window, so I'm glad we had it when we did. One of those wines that reminds us why we love Burgundy. 

Recent reds

Now time to look at the reds which we drank in March, in ascending order of seriousness. 

My Eaux-Vives from la Maison Romane appeared at long last. I'm pretty sure this is from 2014 although we struggled to find the vintage on the bottle. It claims to be only 12% like most of Oronce's wines (hmmm). I find this one fascinating in a weird way. It's one of those low sulphur gamays with a certain feral quality and a hint of farmyard, like the ones from Chapuis and Maison en Belles Lies. The fruit profile is not standard and made me think of weird Scandinavian red berries - possibly the Nordic crowberry - or maybe sour cherries or lingonberries. Not a serious wine and probably wouldn't appeal to everyone, but I like it and I think G does too. 

And now a bunch of premier crus, as G has been reigniting the Premier Cru Project and has taken over my rather garish colour-coded spreadsheet on the subject. Here we have a Savigny les Beaune 1er cru  "Les Peuillets" 2014 from Domaine Guyon, who are based in Vosne Romanee. This was decanted for two hours. I found the nose promising with red berries and icing sugar, and some not-unpleasant volatile acidity. We finally settled on wine gums as the prevailing note. On the palate it had a silky texture and was richer and fuller than expected, but I found a sharp, bitter note on the finish. Overall we gave it an 8. We thought this was like Savigny made in the style of Vosne, and since to be honest neither of us is a massive fan of Savigny as a village (although weirdly we did have two early 10 pointers from there) this was more to our liking than I thought it might be.  

Here we have a Morey-St-Denis 1er cru la Riotte 2014 from Domaine Taupenot-Merme. This was decanted for the best part of four hours. It was a relatively light colour with a pale rim, and glossy with nice legs. Expectations were high and it had beautiful rich, sweet fruit, reminding me of tinned or baked strawberries. However the finish was a bit weird and we felt it wasn't altogether joined-up. G found black tea on the back palate. Some quick research showed that others thought it needed a further three years. We gave it an 8 but thought that it had the potential to become a 9 in time. It also went noticeably better with food, as this eliminated the problematic tannin thing. G informed me that MSD is his new favourite village, so I'd be all in favour of him getting some more and hanging onto it for a bit to see what happens. 

Next we have this Nuits-St-Georges 1er cru Aux Argillas 2012 from Domaine Jean Chauvenet. This was decanted for 3.5 hours. It was glossy in appearance with an attractive rich nose. On the palate, it was quite ripe with considerable tannin and black fruits, along with a certain earthy quality. Rugged, yet attractive. Tom Hardy was mentioned. Given that I don't always particularly enjoy NSG, it was a pleasant surprise. We felt it was just about ready but at the beginning of its window and would last a further 10 years, so no rush on the 2012s. We gave a it a high 8 but felt it had the potential to go higher.

An old favourite here - Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru les Morgeots 2010 from Domaine de la Choupette. This was dark and glossy with a sweet, enticing nose. It had lots of lovely sunny fruit - strawberry tart and blackcurrant. It was congruent, mouthwatering, rich and delicious. "Absolutely gorgeous" said G and it reminded me why I love red Chassagne so much. It went very well with venison fillet, and we think it will last another 3-4 years but I doubt it will get the chance. We gave it a high 9. Wonderful stuff, so happy I bought it back in the day. 

And finally, we had this Vosne-Romanee 1er cru Aux Brulees 2013 from Domaine Michel Gros back at the start of the month. What a treat. I have fond memories of the Clos de Reas from the same domaine so expectations were high. It looked absolutely beautiful and had a very attractive nose of red fruits. I suggested summer fruit compote while G put the case for summer tart. There was definitely a lot of raspberry going on. It was flowing and silky, medium weight, with a wonderful finish. G made a comment that it did a little dance on the palate, like a gavotte. Not a wine to guzzle, as there was a lot to unpack and it demanded attention. We thought it was drinking now but that it would be good for another ten years, and toyed with giving it a 10 but in the end settled for a high 9. A pleasure to drink. 

The weather is improving and I have a self-indulgent random day off today, lured by the prospect of a boozy lunch in someone's garden. Things are looking up! 

2020 almost over

And so we approach the end of the year, and thank god for that!

I have some good news to report - D made it over for a few days in early December at long last. We holed up in Cornwall in a little cottage in the middle of nowhere with a log fire, and generally had a lovely time. It was perfect timing between lockdowns and am currently back at AduV Towers where I have spent my first solitary Christmas. Fortunately G was around beforehand to assist with dispatching some items on our wine racks.   

This Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru Morgeot 2013 from Domaine de la Choupette was the platonic ideal of Chassagne. It was a beautiful pale straw colour and very well-balanced and harmonious with a lovely weight. G detected white stone fruit while for me it was citrussy all the way through. It had been carefully selected by G in a year that was "a little unfocused" for whites.

And it went very well with Bradenham ham and parmesan crisps!

I'd decided it was time to put this Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2011 from Domaine Odoul-Coquard out of its misery and we had high expectations. We weren't disappointed! It was wonderfully dark and glossy and initially we were reminded of black forest gateau but then amended it to sachertorte, although there was certainly some black cherry action. Rich and powerful with fabulous ripe fruit, it did the business and reminded us how much we loved the 2011s. 

I'd made it over to the Ginger Pig and La Fromagerie, and was quite proud of my cheeseboard consisting of Beaufort, Stitchelton and a crottin, to which G added some other evil goaty thing as he likes to do. (Still no sign of the Odyssey de Chevre companion blog...)

With it being the festive season, a half of Suduiraut 2001 seemed appropriate. There was some issue with a crumbly cork which led to G decanting it into a claret glass, which showed off its colour very nicely. It was absolutely lovely, with a massive amount of botrytis. I said something about apricot jam which G corrected to Elvas apricot jam, and it had wonderful glycerin and a peach note on the finish. It went much better with amaretti morbidi than it did with the cheese. We had a debate about whether it's on its plateau yet or not. G thinks it will improve so I mustn't rush to drink the rest.

We finished off with a Battle of the Elderly Spirits! 

G brought along this Vieux Calvados Domfrontais 1972.

While a few weeks ago, I procured this Caroni 1997 rum from BBR.

It was quite amusing to see how similar in colour they were, but on the nose there was no trouble telling which was which. The Calva was fragrant with notes of pear - G informed me that it's actually made from 2/3 pear and 1/3 apple, which either I never knew or had forgotten. I found it quite fiery and quite dry, and wouldn't have guessed that it was almost 50 years old. 

The Caroni is quite fascinating. At 60.4% alcohol it certainly needs to be cut with water, and on the nose it has some rubber tyre and a strong liquorice thing going on. I've been enjoying it but it was very pricey and not something I'll be rushing to buy again. Still have over half a bottle left, which is almost a whole bottle once water is added. And no regrets - this year has been so miserable that a few self-indulgences were in order.

Wishing everyone a happy New Year and hoping that all our lives get back to normal asap in 2021!

Three recent reds

I'm aware the blog hasn't been updated for a while, for which apologies to both of my regular readers... But I'm still alive and kicking and about to head off to the States for a road trip which promises to be epic. I shall be taking a trusty bottle of premier cru Chablis to accompany a lobster roll or two, and I may even get back on Instagram to document the journey from Pennsylvania to Maine. I'm also hoping for a quick detour through the Finger Lakes on the way back although I was disappointed to see that Thirsty Owl have sold out of their pinot noir...surely not my fault?

Meanwhile, last Thursday was Wine Out Thursday! I really should have got it out on Wednesday as that's a much more pleasing acronym. I went down to collect my parcels to find a gentleman eyeing them greedily. It turned out to be G, who was just back from Sicily, and kindly helped me carry them back to the penthouse suite. We then proceeded to drink three bottles over the course of five days.

First up was this Santenay Comme Dessus 2009 from Domaine de la Choupette. This was my second six pack, as the first came out just over a year ago and was reported on here. I had actually drunk the last of that batch while G was away, and enjoyed it very much. I failed to make notes this time, but can confirm that it continues to be delicious and wonderful and at approximately twenty quid a bottle (excluding storage) is about a good a bottle of Santenay as one could ask for. Those were the days!

We noted that it was good with burgers! Just for the comedy value, "good with burgers" was a catchphrase with us back when I was doing my DPhil in Oxford 21 years ago, as can be seen from the tasting note above from the archives, regarding what I believe was Carruades de Lafite 1989. It cost around £11 then, and we still weren't particularly impressed with it. That's going for £210 now. How one wishes for a time machine sometimes...

The second red was consumed on Sunday night with a roast chicken from Farmdrop. I'm not sure if I've mentioned Farmdrop here before, but I will now, as it has become a very useful addition to the repertoire when I'm feeling too lazy to walk to Marylebone, and also now sells some wines from the Burgundy Portfolio including my beloved Grenat. I was really looking forward to this Beaune 1er cru Les Reversees 2010 from Jean Claude Rateau, he of the magnificent moustache. More on that here. This came in at about £35 a bottle.

I did take notes this time, hurrah! I decanted it an hour ahead and popped it in the fridge, as I'm increasingly feeling that these reds are best served cellar cool. When served, I got very little on the nose initially. G was more charitable and talked about yellow/red cherries. My view at that stage was that it was middleweight, silky and very serious, with a great finish. But, given that it's biodynamic, I guess I'd been hoping for something more scintillating, more like the wines from Emmanuel Giboulot.

Things got better. After two hours in the decanter, it really opened up and developed some rich, dark flavours with chocolate, morello cherry and maybe some plum. My notes say that it was bursting with fruit, which suggests it needs a longer decant in future and also that there's no rush to drink it. We gave it a temporary score of 8 but think it could go higher in due course.

And last night we had this Vosne-Romanee Aux Reas 2009 from Alain Guyard, which came in at about £40 a bottle, still a steal compared to what it would cost now. I remember the tasting where we tried this initially, or it may have been the 2008 as it appears to be pre-blog. I've probably told this story before, but I said to my sister-in-law that I appeared to be acquiring a Vosne-Romanee habit. She replied me too! Another friend then chimed in, is there a methodone equivalent? Sadly, I don't believe there is.

This was given an hour in the decanter but only 45 minutes in the fridge, so as not to numb it too much. It had a lovely dark colour, and was very glossy with great legs. We got a big hit of blackcurrant and lots of fruit. G mentioned the peacock's tail and there was certainly a burst of flavour - it was juicy and succulent, although still packed a tannic punch. G described the blackcurrants very carefully: big, lush, fresh blackcurrants, not horrid little things like you find in the supermarket freezer. I thought of D, who would say it had good acid. It was ready but there's no rush to drink it, and it went very well with rack of kid, again procured from Farmdrop. I've had worse Tuesday evenings!

Dinner at G's, 17th March

A couple of weeks ago, G hosted dinner at his flat and we were joined by D who showed up with a suitcase full of wine-related treasures.

We started with my penultimate bottle of Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru Morgeot from Domaine de la Choupette alongside the first asparagus of 2019 and some fine prosciutto. The Chassagne was a light straw colour and drinking perfectly now. It has been classy, elegant and stylish with deft use of oak, and has a lovely weight. D found it creamy and I got lemon zest - so basically a lemon syllabub in a glass.

Then it was on to a pair of elderly clarets, Lafite 58 and Leoville-Las Cases 1961, provided by G. Possibly not the fairest comparison given the vintages.

The Lafite was significantly paler than the Leoville and was old but drinkable. It had gone a little soft in its old age and I found it somewhat dried out. D said it had fruit but no acid. We drank both of the wines over 45 minutes and it did improve with time, but the Leoville was definitely more my cup of tea. "That's good" said everyone with a sigh of relief. It had all the flavours I'm looking for in a claret - cedar, tobacco, coffee, leather. Proper old school claret at 58 years old. G told me he knew why I liked it. Apparently Leoville-Las Cases is separated from Chateau Latour by a small stream. Wikipedia confirms this - the Juillac tributary to be precise - not that I doubted G for a moment. A discussion of the great claret vintages followed and for the record, D says that 59 is better than 61 so I think some 59 Latour needs to be added to my bucket list...

I amused myself reading Andre Simon's "Wine and Spirits: The Connoisseur's Textbook" which had some unexpected information in it, including the fact that California has a border with Canada. Who knew!

Meanwhile, G produced this unexpected half of sweet wine. It was called Cotnari and was basically the Romanian equivalent of Tokaji. The vintage was 1984 and it was 12% alcohol.

The wine itself was almost exactly the same colour as G's new table. It had a heady nose - I got a big hit of unsulphured dried apricots while D got figs. Orange peel and tinned peaches were also mentioned. The palate was congruent and the wine was very unctuous with lots of glycerin. It was remarkable stuff and really rather excellent. Apparently this has never been on sale in the UK and the label was in French. The score for Roumanie was definitely douze points and I believe G has another half bottle stashed away somewhere for a future occasion!

Finally, D had brought over a lovely half bottle of Dow's 1977 which we had with our cheese. This was a lovely ruby colour, sweet and rich, with figs, prunes and sultanas and an amazing finish. "The 77s are finally ready" said G, and D agreed - it had all come together perfectly and we got it at the right moment. It was impeccable vintage port, and particularly great with a piece of Stichelton. Thanks very much to both of you. If only all Sunday evenings could be like that!

Dinner at mine, Friday 18th Jan

Last Friday, I was joined by my friend J for dinner, as she was making a detour to London en route from India back to the US. Girl gets about. I rushed home after work in order to make gougeres. As usual, I forgot that they are supposed to be small and dainty, and they ended up enormous but still pretty damned good even if I say so myself.

To accompany these, we had a bottle of 2011 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru Morgeots from Domaine de la Choupette, which was top notch premier cru Chassagne, drinking perfectly now. A great combination!

We were then joined by S, J's friend, who it was a pleasure to meet, and I served beef carbonnade along with a bottle of 2009 Santenay also from Choupette. I've really been enjoying this wine, and think it's absolutely at its peak at the moment, with lovely red fruit. J was suffering from a cold but was still able to appreciate its prettiness.

J had procured this 1968 Barolo which we opened, but unfortunately it had turned to vinegar and the colour of it was something I never wish to see again in my lifetime. It went straight down the sink and glasses had to be washed thoroughly. I might add that this wasn't any old vinegar, but a remarkably pungent variety which lingered in my flat for the next two days.

But all came good in the end with the opening of this "A Midwinter Nights Dram" about which I had heard great things. It did not disappoint. This is made in Utah at High West distillery and is a limited release. It's finished in port and French oak barrels and that certainly gives it an edge over other bourbons, with notes of fig and dried fruits in addition to caramel and vanilla. I soon forgot my some reservations about the kitsch name and I'm rationing myself carefully to make it last longer. Thanks very much J for hunting it down and bringing it halfway round the world - my bourbon education has improved no end under your tutelage!

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.