The Shed...part 2…blind bottles

This is a follow on from a previous visit to the shed in Notting Hill. It's a great fun place to go and I thoroughly advise a trip to see them. Mr H (not me) had organised the evening, we were four in total. We got chatting away so I haven't written about the food which is a bit soy an error but then you can't do everything. The brief was simple, an old world bottle to be served blind. Mr G was requested to do an aperitif or a sticky. 

Sock vs Foil...

The apertif was served up and the games began. We did pretty well, we settled on Champagne (or posh Franciacorta in my case, think top Ca' del Bosco etc) and we were thinking it was in the 8-12 years old range. It was Dom Perignon 2006 which frustratingly I have had quite recently at a Dom Perignon 2002 to 2006 tasting. It's a lovely wine with a marked savoury seriousness. I think it will become a complex, nuts and mushrooms bottle over time, a generous and good start to the evening.

Now to the reds and it was our co-ordinator to go first. The bottle shape should have been a good clue but this chap is no fool so there could easily have been a change. I plumbed for 1995 top St.Julien and the others were all in Bordeaux. It turned out to be Haut Brion 1994 and thinking back did have some good classicism about it. It's a strong showing from a slightly sub par vintage (always a savvy place to buy rom good estates). The character was very Pessac. Lovely.

Now it was my turn and I was confident it would go down well but I wondered where they might place it. There were a variety of punts…Brunello, Burgundy and Barolo all getting votes or mentions. The vintage seemed hard to place which I totally expected. The wine in question was Barolo Villero 2004 from Brovia, a producer I buy a fair bit. The red fruited purity does make it a confusing one as it is easy to talk yourself into other regions. It's a wine that it good now but will age every well, it's in 2nd or 3rd gear now.

So onto the final red, this bottle came straight out of a suit case as another Mr H had just arrived from Heathrow for dinner. We did pretty well here, Bordeaux was a firm selection and whilst I didn't get the commune, I think someone did, I did get the vintage, Pape Clement 1990 is not a wine I have had before and is an impressive bottle, degraded fruit and lovely elements of tobacco, a little leather and some spice all on top of an easy structure.

Don't miss out on pudding at the Shed!! Then pub for a quick Laphroig and home, a splendid evening, just what wine should be about. Looking forward to another trip…A Shed in Muswell Hill…now that would work…for me anyway...

The Line up