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!

SPNS dinner, 15th March

Last Friday we had another SPNS dinner at the Savile Club and I'm delighted to report that all members of the SPNS were present and correct for once!

My contribution was this Cremant de Bourgogne Blanc de Noirs from Domaine Felettig, which was bought several years ago and had been languishing at the bottom of the wine rack as we had thought it would be interesting to try a bottle with some age on it. G bravely went first and gave a grimace, which I think created an expectation among the group that it was going to be terrible, but actually it wasn't at all. It was definitely on the elderly side with yeastiness and biscuity notes. Some detected a weird finish but overall it was considered drinkable and actually improved as time went on, although of course by that stage we had inevitably drunk it all.

P brought along a 1992 sauvignon blanc from Cloudy Bay which apparently he bought en primeur at the height of the hype. It was remarkably youthful and zingy with the classic elderflower nose, while D detected green olives. G said it was a marvellous survival and I would never have predicted that it would be so youthful. It was very kind of P to share his last bottle with us.

T contributed this Vina Tondonia rose 2008. It was a beautiful colour and had a lovely floral, herbaceous nose. D described it as bright and alive and P found it vibrant and great with goat's cheese, while T thought it was still a bit young. ACC wrote something in the book which apparently I'm not meant to quote but since I can't read his handwriting anyway there's no danger there. I found this wine full of character. T says it's still the world's best rose and he's the expert so I wouldn't dream of disagreeing

ACC had brought along this Pur Jus 2016 from Chateau Landra in the Ventoux and described it as pure and juicy, ha ha. It had what T described as a full bouquet, quite earthy, and on the palate was very fruity and powerful. It's a low sulphur wine and I found it dangerously drinkable but noticed it was 14% so have to be careful with that! It went well with food and T particularly enjoyed it, I think.

D had brought along something very unusual, a 1999 Small Berry Mourvedre from Cline Cellars in Sonoma. This was another 14% wine but less of a surprise in this case! ACC told me that mourvedre is a Rhone grape so it was very interesting to try this alongside the Ventoux. It was a very dark colour and hard to believe it was 20 years old, it seemed so youthful. It was complex and powerful with lots of mint and fruit.

Finally, G stole the show with this magnum of Harvey's Bristol Cream bottled in 1977 to celebrate Her Majesty's Silver Jubilee. This was a dark brown murky colour and quite sweet. I got notes of butterscotch and it went really well with my millionaire's pudding. G described it as coherent, old school sherry, really very pleasant and good fun. We all enjoyed it and polished off the magnum with no difficulty whatsoever. As ACC put it, God Save the Queen!

All in all, it was another very interesting and enjoyable evening and thanks everyone for your contributions and notes in the Book.

Bourbon box 2019 report

In the summer of 2017 I found myself acquiring a bourbon habit and, even better, a friend who shared it and has been leading me happily astray. She's very kindly sent me a bourbon advent calendar two years in a row now which has been quite an eye-opener. Last year I failed to make systematic notes, but this year G and I approached it in a more methodical fashion and I'm now in a position to report back on our findings. I've also been doing some price-checking as my plan is to bring back a bottle of bourbon each time I visit the US.

There were 24 miniatures in the box and our top 10 were as follows:

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. At 62.1% this needed some dilution to overcome the fieriness but this was high quality stuff and I intend to seek out a bottle next time I'm in the US. It seems to cost $65 over there but £95 over here, so that's got to be worth a look.

Koval 47%. "It's real aromatic," said G, possibly channelling his inner cowboy. I tried to figure out what we were getting on the nose - smoke? honey? It was light and dry, and we liked it. £49 over here, $51 in the booze store.

Few Spirits. 46.5% This was light, dry and clean, with a decent flavour and some interest. £52 over here, $50 over there.

Kentucky Vintage. This was different from your run-of-the-mill bourbon. It was much drier than usual and lacked the usual vanilla notes. It had a kick to it and reminded G of a Highland malt.
Interesting stuff. £46 over here, can't find it in the Pennsylvanian booze store.

Michters US*1 45.7% had a pleasant nose of toasted vanilla and was smooth. It's £54 over here but a mere $38 over there, so I may investigate further in due course.

Distillery 291 single barrel. This is apparently from Colorado. It was on the dry side which we liked. "Worth a detour," said G. I can't find it in the booze store in the US and it's £87 over here, so not sure that detour will be happening any time soon.

Yellowstone Select 46.5%. This was at the light, dry and fruity end and had some grip. I got a hint of beeswax. We liked it. £49 here, $40 in the booze store.

David Nicholson 1843 50%. We thought this was really quite good, more woody and powerful and less bland than some. I brought a bottle back with me on my recent travels - at $28 it seemed a bargain compared to the £40 being charged over here.

Eagle Rare 10 year old, 45%. This had an interesting nose and with some wood shavings going on. It was quite dry, congruent and had some backbone to it, with a really great finish. G compared it to a lowland malt whisky. £36 here, $30 in the booze store, so at the lower end.

Impressive that they managed to find room for all that waffle on the label

Woodford Reserve Masters Collection Sonoma-Cutrer Finish, 45.2%. I found out afterwards that this is finished off in some fancy pinot noir casks from the Sonoma-Cutrer winery. This had a lot of vanilla on the nose and G found it too sweet. I enjoyed it more. Probably not at £130 a bottle though, which is what it costs over here!

The also-rans can be divided into those we'd have again and those we wouldn't bother with.

Would have again:

• Hudson Baby Bourbon. We actually had this in 2017 and I liked it so much then that G got me some for Christmas. We still liked it this time round but it's £50 a pop ($50 in the US) and I'm more interested in the others above right now
• James E Pepper 1776 Bourbon 46%. We found this enjoyable, light and pleasant but not serious. I stated that I wouldn't kick it out of bed. £40 here, $28 over there.
• Makers Mark 46. This was aromatic, decent and had a good finish
• Elijah Craig 47% was at the sweeter and more commercial end, not bad but a little obvious. 
• Old Forester 43% had a bit more going on but still didn't excite us.

Wouldn't bother:

• Bulleit 10 year old. Normal Bulleit is my house bourbon, costs about £25 a bottle and hits the spot. The 10 year old is fine but is £45 and not worth the price differential, in my opinion 
• Buffalo Trace. I've had a bottle of this before (when the price of Bulleit had weirdly gone up by 50%) and it's pleasant enough, but not thrilling. Cheap and cheerful. 

The total duds were:

That Boutique-y Bourbon Company Reservoir Bourbon 2 year old batch 1 46.6%. We were probably already irritated by the cutesy name but this did not go down well. It was a dark colour and very sweet. G didn't like it and I found it rough and obvious. However, it was eclipsed by...

Benchmark Bourbon Old Number 8. "Comfortably the worst we've had" pronounced G. For me, it didn't smell of anything and it didn't taste of anything. (Did I actually pour any onto my ice cubes, I wonder now...) G however detected some synthetic rubbery quality. Oh dear. Looking it up just now, I see it costs £20. I guess you get what you pay for...

And finally, there was an unlabelled mystery bottle! Fortunately it turned out to be unexciting, or I would have been quite annoyed. We'll never know what it was, but it's ok, we don't really care.

Enormous thanks to J for sending me this box - it really has been great fun to work our way through them. I look forward to doing the Kentucky Bourbon Trail together one day...

All gone :(

Lunch at mine, Sunday 20th Jan

On Sunday a couple of weeks ago, I was joined by G and ACC for lunch. Sadly J was unable to join us this time but hopefully next year we'll make up for it!

We started with this 2010 fizz from Quentin Beaufort provided by G. This has a label that my phone camera doesn't like much so I'm delighted that I finally managed to get a decent pic of it. It's made from grapes grown just over the border from Champagne and was mature and interesting, with nice fruit. It had something appley going on and a lovely creamy quality. Very good with a Roka Cheese Crispie.

Then it was on to some Puligny-Tremblots 2011 from Domaine Joly. This was a pale gold and had that classic Puligny nose. It was very precise, elegant and stylish and was fantastic paired with hot smoked salmon salad and rye bread.

Next up was a bottle of Pommard Croix Blanche 2009 from Domaine Parent, which apparently I didn't take a picture of. This was powerful, muscular and easy drinking, with black fruits, liquorice, coffee and dark chocolate. It only took 10 years to come round...

We rounded off with a bottle of Smith Woodhouse 1994 to accompany the cheeseboard. This went down very well with my family at Christmas, and on this occasion the three of us polished it off with no problem. It was medium weight with figs, prunes and liquorice, and went down very easily. Apparently this vintage got lost in the noise and was good but not great - anyway, I'm very glad I have a couple more bottles stashed away!

Reviewing my notes, I've finally deciphered some blurred handwriting which reads "Pop Goes My Heart" - I guess we must have been talking about Hugh Grant. I had not previously encountered this particular masterpiece... thanks ACC for drawing it to my attention!

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!

Burgundy Portfolio en primeur tasting, 14th Jan

A somewhat belated start to 2019 but the blog is still going! Apparently blogs are very 2005 and this is a fading medium as it's so much easier to post a photo on Instagram and be done with it, but this thing is now entering its 10th year so it would be a shame to give up now.

I spent Christmas with my family and then headed off to Pennsylvania to spend the New Year with D. I discovered that in the US they count down to the big moment not with fireworks or performing seals / human pyramids but with something called a "ball drop" in Times Square.... This did not sound particularly worth waiting up for so my own celebration involved a half bottle of Pol Roger brought over for the occasion. I was also dragged into the woods on several occasions during the trip, required to jump over many rocks and streams and somehow lived to tell the tale.

Back in Blighty, normal service resumed on 14th January when ACC held his annual Burgundy en primeur tasting, this year at the Cavalry and Guards Club. The porter gave me a suspicious look but my name was on the list so all was well. There was an impressive turnout from the French growers and a wonderful range of wines was on display, including both some old favourites and some wines new to the selection this year. It was also great to catch up with friends albeit only briefly because this is the tasting where I have to really try to concentrate, there's so much going on.

The following represents a whistlestop tour of my personal highlights, but this is not an exhaustive list as there were others where the photo came out too blurry to include, even by the low standards of this blog. Thanks to G for providing bottle-levitation services as we whizzed round the room and thanks to ACC for putting on such an enjoyable evening.

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!