Swiss Pinot Noir Society, Friday 2nd December 2022

Happy new year to any readers still out there! I'm aware that I haven't been posting as much as usual, for a variety of reasons, but the blog limps on into 2023.

In fact there's a decent chance I may be writing a little more over the next few months, as I packed in my job just before Christmas and I've finally got all my remaining wine out of storage as it needs to be drunk before I (hopefully) move to the US later this year. To paraphrase the Fun Lovin' Criminals: drink it, drink it, drink it if you got it.

First, a quick look back at an SPNS dinner which was held in early December. There were only four of us on this occasion: me, G, T and D. It was a Friday night and somewhat lively downstairs, so we decided to move up to the dining room sharpish.

I opened the batting with this Iron Horse 2017 fizz which I'd brought back from the US. A friend of G's had mentioned some time ago that she rated wines from Russian River Valley so I was hoping this might be quite good. It was 70% pinot noir, 30% chardonnay. My impression was that it was quite light and biscuity but really not anything special. D kindly said "fresh and young, some citrus, clean and easy drinking". G noticed red apples, while T struggled to think of anything to say, and I don't blame him. It just wasn't very exciting. Oh well!

We moved rapidly on to T's contribution, this Tarrant Rose 2021 from Gimenez Mendez who are based in Uruguay. Everyone agreed this was pink, fresh and easily drinkable with a hint of strawberry, but once again, it did not particularly wow the assembled company.

G then produced a Bourgogne Blanc Vieilles Vignes 2009 from Nicolas Joly. Sadly this was maderised and had to be discarded. We weren't doing very well...

Fortunately, things rapidly improved. as G had also brought along this 1964 Gevrey Chambertin from an unknown producer - he deciphered the label as Jean ...... erre. It was part of a recent auction purchase. Well, this was more like it. It was lovely old school burg with a particularly wonderful sous bois nose. On the palate I detected plums and it was very smooth and integrated. It was really quite amazing that this was still drinking so well at the age of 58. We all enjoyed it very much, including T who said it reminded him of his favourite wines when he was an undergraduate.

And finally, D had brought along this Chateau Climens 1986. This was a beautiful golden colour with a lovely nose of apricots and nectarines. It was wonderfully balanced and not too sweet, and had an amazingly long finish. D thought it was still young, while G didn't care if it would improve or not as it was so lovely now. A real treat and thanks to D for sharing it with us. 

That brings me more or less up to date, but coming up soon: a 2021 Burgundy tasting, a report on wine recently out of storage, and later in the year, a trip to the International Pinot Noir Celebration which is a self-indulgent 50th birthday present to myself. This will be followed by another trip to the Finger Lakes in upstate New York, which even Decanter magazine is starting to take notice of. Hopefully we can get there before prices take off!

Swiss Pinot Noir Society, 10th October 2022

I hadn't realised it had been quite so long since I updated the blog! A lot going on as I head towards the end of the year. I should have more time on my hands soon, so will try to do a better job in 2023... Also, this week I had some very fine wine delivered out of storage as I can't take it to the US with me, so I should have some pretty decent drinking over the next few months. 

The SPNS met on 10th October and there were six of us present - G, D, T, P and H and myself. Apologies were received from ACC. 

We kicked off with this sparkling blush wine from Ovens Farm in Lincolnshire brought by P and H. This was generally well-received with everyone commenting on the strawberries and in some cases icing sugar - it was perhaps on the sweeter side. Several of us thought it would be excellent as a summer picnic wine.

It appears that we didn't make notes on this elderly Moet, possibly because it had turned into sherry. Interesting!

G had brought along this St-Aubin 1er cru Sous Roche Dumay 2019 from Domaine Gerard Thomas. This was a little on the oaky side for most of us although T noted that it went well with the slightly spicy scallops. G awarded it a low 8. My view was that I was glad we were sharing it between six rather than two people.

D's contribution was this 2014 riesling from Domaine LeSeurre in the Finger Lakes. It was an incredibly pale colour, and light, fresh and pure on the palate. I got a hint of lychee. Others detected floral notes. It went down very well.

T brought along this 2019 "No.3" from Schlossgut Bachtobel - an actual Swiss pinot noir! This had lot of red berry fruit and I found it relatively light and fruity while others thought it was quite meaty. We all enjoyed it.

My own contribution was this 2009 Corton Les Perrieres from La Maison Romane. This was my last bottle and it needed knocking on my head. P and H had provided some partridges for the chef to cook for us, and it was a wonderful accompaniment, with all those wild elements that I really enjoy.

  

And finally, G provided this Coteaux de Layon 2013 from Chateau de la Roulerie to go with the dessert course. This was a beautiful golden colour and on the palate I got candied fruits and possibly pineapple. By this stage of the evening, everyone's comments in the (new) Book were becoming even more impossible to decipher but I think most of us enjoyed it.

Thanks to all for another great SPNS dinner. Another one took place last Friday which I'll write up soon!

SPNS dinner, 6th December

I see that another month has passed without any blog posts, largely because I was away from London for 3 weekends in a row. There's a lot to catch up on.

Last night was the December gathering of the Swiss Pinot Noir Society. G and I arrived fashionably late (by two minutes) having braved Oxford Street which was full of people not looking where they were going, while Wannabe by the Spice Girls blared out of Top Shop. Tate Britain is clearly bang on trend with its post-apocalyptic Christmas decorations.

Meanwhile at the Savile Club someone was having a 40th birthday party and the far more melodious sound of a saxophone and double bass greeted us as we walked into the bar. I produced the first wine of the evening, this Delamotte Blancs de Blancs 2002 and the day immediately improved.

This was generally well-received - it was great fizz from a great vintage, fully mature, with some nice autolytic qualities (thanks ACC) otherwise known as the smell of digestive biscuits. It was yeasty, toasty and creamy and we all agreed it would be even better served with some canapes. That wish may be fulfilled next September as I have the remainder of the case set aside for a certain  big day!

We moved upstairs to the dining room and got cracking on this Puligny 1998 from Etienne Sauzet while we perused the menu. This was provided by P who got it at auction. Despite its lack of provenance, it was a beautiful golden colour and again fully mature, quite unctuous (or gooey, to use T's word of choice) and buttery on the palate, with a good finish. I had planned to save some to go with my starter but in the end that proved unnecessary, as T had brought along a rose.

This was Mun, Rosato Marche le Calcinara 2018 from Italy. It was a pleasing deep pink colour, bright and fresh, with red fruits and almost bracing acidity. P got raspberry sorbet on the finish. Perhaps not the most serious wine ever, but enjoyable easy drinking.

With our mains, we had two reds. In the blue corner was this Moulin-a-Vent 1999 from Domaine des Grandes Vignes, provided by ACC. This had a truly remarkable nose! Funky seemed the most polite best word to describe it. T absolutely loved it. It was certainly still alive and kicking, and P went to town on the descriptions - elderberry, liquorice, chestnuts and rose hips all receiving a mention. A fascinating wine with lots to talk about!

In the red corner was something far more traditional, this Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1987 from Robert Mondavi, provided by G. This was a very dark colour, and had a lovely cedary nose. It was fully mature, archetypal cab sauv, probably quite high in alcohol, and nicely mellow now. It reminded me of a good claret and I liked it a lot.

No risk of getting these two mixed up

G had to commandeer a pink corkscrew to keep things moving along

The last wine of the evening, contributed by D, was this 1971 German beerenauslese. I nobly volunteered to write down its name and will attempt to reproduce it here: Hallgartener Jungfer from Weingut Georgshof. It was a remarkable dark amber colour, almost the same colour as the bottle, and for me, relatively dry for a sweet wine. I found it quite grapey while D detected honey. It was 11% alcohol and everyone's notes are enthusiastic. It disappeared remarkably rapidly!

P went off to get some cheese (a remarkable truffled number) and while he was gone, the thought of opening his reserve bottle of white occurred to some people who shall not be named. P was happy to go along with the plan, but sadly the wine itself, a Verget Puligny 2000, turned out to be over the hill, although T said it went quite well with his potted trout savoury.

After that, it was agreed that a bottle of Smith Woodhouse 1980 would be in order to go with the cheese. We'd given up making notes by this stage but G has helpfully supplied some for me. It had a restrained nose but delivered on the palate and was full, thick, sweet, plummy and really quite long. Given that it was "popped and poured", it showed very well and would have been even better with some time in the decanter. I've been feeling fine today - just goes to show it's worth drinking the good stuff. Thanks everyone for another very enjoyable evening!

Swiss Pinot Noir Society, Thurs 6th November

On Thursday night, after a long day at work, I was very much in need of a drink looking forward to the next SPNS dinner.

We started off with this "Le Petit Beaufort" 2015 from Domaine Alice Beaufort supplied by ACC.

This was fruity and refreshing. It was cloudy and slightly pink, and subsequent investigations have revealed that it's made from 100% pinot noir and hasn't yet undergone secondary fermentation so will be even better in due course! I found myself thinking it would make a great party wine for the summer. "Reviving after the day's travails" said ACC, while G referred to it as pleasant quaffing fizz, unserious in a good way. Comparisons were made to elderflower champagne, although D was getting strawberries. Either way, a very enjoyable glass to start the evening.

We moved upstairs and had two whites with our starters. First, this Lomond Cape Agulhas Snowbush 2008. This was powerful stuff and there was some speculation about the grapes involved, maybe semillon or pinot gris, while I found it reminded me of a Rhone white. G thought it had a lot of sulphur. Not something I'd have encountered otherwise and I believe P got it at auction for an advantageous price - good stuff.

My scallops went down a treat!

The second white was this 1959 Riesling Forster something or other (if anyone can make it out let me know). This had been lurking on my wine rack for a while but actually belonged to P, so was brought along as something of a wild card. I think it's fair to say opinions were mixed. P was very pleased with it, but for me it was a little dried out although if I pretended it was a sherry then I could get something out of it. G thought it would go well with cold roast chicken. Old school.

D had ferried across this Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 1986 which was a real treat. It was classic Pauillac, drinking very nicely now and we thought it was on a plateau. It had an enticing nose and was quite austere but with those woody characteristics we love so much. Wonderful stuff.

Five bird roast!

My contribution was the polar opposite: this bottle of Dutcher Crossing 2012 Taylor Reserve from California which was given to me by my wine-loving friend across the pond and saved for a special occasion. It was quite a contrast to the claret - a massive, big, powerful, fruity wine. I think we all enjoyed it but definitely a bottle to share - at 15.3% one glass was sufficient. Thanks J for widening my horizons!

Vanilla cheesecake :)

Finally, G had brought along this Bonnezeaux 1985 from Domaine La Croix De Mission. He described it himself as a very pleasant but slightly elderly sweetie. Others were more effusive but I think G's description summed it up well.

For some reason there were no taxis to be found but after all those lovely wines we were feeling cheerful enough to stagger home. Another great evening; thanks everyone!

Semi SPNS, 16th Oct 2017

Now that my epic report from the Finger Lakes is finished, it's time to get up to date with a few other bottles that have been drunk over the past three months or so.

On Mon 16th Oct, G, P, D and I convened at the Savile for a dinner which was sort of like the SPNS but with more relaxed rules (i.e. we could spend what we liked). Notes do not seem to have made it into the official Proceedings so we'll have to make do with a pictorial record. At this rate I'll need to abandon the blog and get an Instagram account... only kidding...

Update: now edited to include G's comments as his memory is better than mine.

G contributed this 2002 Billecart-Salmon Cuvee Nicholas Billecart which was very fine indeed. I could happily drink more of it, hint hint. G said it was the sheer drinkability of it that was so surprising. We could happily have polished off a magnum without further ado.

My contribution was my penultimate bottle of white Corton 2008 from Anne Parent, which was singing. A wonderful lemony, waxy, oaked chardonnay, impeccable.

P contributed a bottle of Chateau Berliquet 1988... G says classic luncheon claret, good of its type but outclassed by its company. I think that's a fair assessment.

The company being this Chateau Haut Brion 1975 contributed by D. This had a wonderful perfume, almost of violets and was still inky-hued. A great pleasure to drink.

Scene of wild abandon at our usual table at the Savile Club

And finally, a bottle of 1881 Leacock Terrantez contributed by G. This was full-throated stuff with a five minute finish. The last of his nineteenth century vintages, sadly. Fun while it lasted.

Just another typical Monday night in the world of A du V.... thanks to all for their contributions!

SPNS dinner, 6th Sept

On Wednesday night, it was over to the Savile Club, fuelled by the Atomic Blonde soundtrack. I was transporting precious cargo across London, not a wristwatch containing secret codenames, but this 2014 pink fizz from Domaine Alice Beaufort which had been stashed in the boardroom fridge all afternoon to keep it away from the prying eyes of my colleagues.

I first tried this at a wine tasting held by the Burgundy Portfolio at Highbury Library and maybe the fact that it was my birthday that night had something to do with it but it was love at first taste. It's made from pinot noir grown just outside Champagne, but the winemaker, Quentin Beaufort, comes from a family which makes Champagne so he knows what he's doing.

What did the assembled company think? Notes of wild or tinned strawberries were detected and there was a reference to Eton Mess. Dangerously drinkable was the general verdict. "Easy to have too much" said P. Say what? There was some debate about whether it would age further. ACC is convinced that it will, but I only have three bottles left, one of which is in the fridge, so I don't give much for its chances.

We moved upstairs to the dining room and straight onto a pair of whites. First was this 2014 Chardonnay Barrel Select no. 02 from Domaine LeSeurre in the Finger Lakes, provided by D. This was a revelation. I would never have guessed it was chardonnay. For me, it had notes of lime and it reminded me of a really elegant riesling. It had an amazing finish and was highly regarded by everyone.

As you can see from the above, the winemakers at this domaine are French. I hope we get to go there in a couple of weeks' time. ACC said that maybe it was a different clone of chardonnay from the one which we're more used to, which might explain why it flummoxed us.

The other white was this Bourgogne Chardonnay 2013 from Domaine Albert Joly, provided by ACC. Funnily enough the 2012 has been my house white lately, so this was particularly interesting for me. The 2012 is definitely playing at village Puligny level, and has that strict thing going on which we love about this domaine, but the 2013 was fuller, richer and more powerful. G said it was less serious than the LeSeurre but that wasn't a criticism!

I took a photo so that we could compare the colour of the two wines. G remarked that normally you'd expect the New World wine to be the one on the left. Not this time!

With our main courses we moved on to the reds. P had brought along this Nuits-St-Georges 1999 from Jaffelin and enjoyed telling us how little it had cost him back in the day. It was classic old school NSG, drinking very nicely now with resolved tannins. Sometimes I find NSG a bit challenging but this went down just fine. It even got a "Wow" from D which isn't something we see very often!

G, on the other hand, had brought along a dodgy Croatian red made by the waiter in a restaurant where he dined while on holiday recently. Apparently "moje corno" means "my red". It was 15% and first impressions were that it was weird, certainly the nose was a bit strange. I got a lot of black cherry. It did have an extraordinary finish and reminded D of an old zinfandel. Generally I would have to say the reaction wasn't enthusiastic, but it was certainly unusual and very much in the spirit of the SPNS.

G redeemed himself with a bonus wine, a bottle of "Very Old East India Madeira" bottled by Berry Bros in 1959. Apparently it was a leaky bottle which is why he brought it along. The leakiness didn't prove to be a problem. For me it had lots of toffee and caramel which made sense when it was revealed that it was a Malmsey. "Absolutely splendid" said G and nobody in their right mind would argue with that. A pleasure to drink. More leaky bottles please!

Thanks everyone for another great evening.

SPNS, 15th May

On Monday night, it was a double bill - first the spring/summer tasting of the Burgundy Portfolio, held in the delightfully-named Dragon Hall, and then off to the Savile for the Swiss Pinot Noir Society. I had to be careful not to overdo it on the former especially as I had a six hour meeting the following day... but was impressed by the range on display which included some lively new additions from autres regions.

After the usual impossibility of finding a black cab in the rain, we eventually made it to the Savile and went straight upstairs to the dining room where a chilled bottle of Etoile was waiting for us, provided by D.

This is a non-vintage fizz made by Chandon in the Napa Valley. For me, it was elegant and relatively light with nice toasty notes and a great finish. Others detected baked apples and butterscotch. G, who has drunk far more champagne than me (she says bitterly), said it reminded him of Krug. A very enjoyable aperitif.

Then it was on to an Austrian rose wine made from pinot noir rose, from Weingut Schlossberg, provided by T. Notes on this were sparse but favourable, the general verdict being that it was a very pleasant, crisp light pink and good summer drinking.

With our main courses, we moved on to a pair of clarets. First was this Chateau Charlemagne 1995 Canon Fronsac from P, who bought it at a very favourable price back in the day. It was fully mature but not over the hill, with resolved tannins and good fruit, and despite quibbling in certain parts about the authenticity of the crown on the label, everyone rated it very highly.

I provided this somewhat mysterious "Pauillac" 2012 which refused to be photographed properly. This came from the Wine Society who state that it is from "one of the area's best-known properties in the heart of the commune". This divided the company with T saying it was wasted on him whereas everyone else seemed to enjoy the big, rich, powerful style. I wonder if it would be worth tucking some away for the future. Distinctly reminiscent of Latour and a fraction of the cost. I'll say no more!

It's always a joy to see a bottle looking like this once the contents are emptied. This was a 1962 South Coast rose muscat from from Massandra in the Crimea. A possible homage to the Ukraine's hosting of Eurovision perhaps? It was provided by G, another auction acquisition.

As is often the case with muscat, one was reminded of Turkish Delight, but for once I didn't find that offputting. It was a beautiful tawny colour, concentrated and luscious, but with good acidity to balance it. Some detected ripe figs, and it certainly went very well with my glazed pear dessert. A very special wine. Thanks everyone for another fascinating evening!