The Connaught...three pairs...

This was a dinner at the excellent "Sommeliers Table" at The Connaught...the first time I had been back since Sussex's 40th some four and a bit years ago. I am delighted to report the food is as outstanding as I remember it being. The gathering was a very knowledgable and opinionated group which is always good, this was my first outing with this group though I know them all individually.

We kicked off with a magnum of Krug 1996 which was tasting very well, serious with real depth and power. There is great acidity which balances the biscuity, saline and savoury palate. Clearly a wine with a long life ahead of it (especially in mag of course). It begged to be drunk but at the same time served the perfect role of making you hungry, very impressive. Thinking about this afterwards I wish I had left a small glass to re-taste later.

The main part of the evening was three pairs of red. There was a 1998 in each flight so the fundamental questions were.

1) Did you like both?

2) Did you have a preference?

3) Which one was the 1998?

4) Once 3 was revealed what vintage was the other?

5) Have a stab at what they are?

Now clearly getting all five questions answered and recorded for each of 6 wines by the seven who didn't know the wines was going to be a task - or 210 tasks in fact. So we tried our best and i'll refer to general themes where I can. Interestingly the there pairs were very obviously from the three regions, namely - Burgundy, Piedmont and Bordeaux.

So the first pair was La Tache 1998, DRC & Romanee-Saint-Vivant 2001, S.Cathiard, we had them with two delicious courses. Pumpkin Ravioli, Mostardo di Cremona, lobster with sage and Sea bass with white cocoa beans, clams, calamari, parsley.

To start with two of the most sought after and talked about producers is a rare treat. The preference for each was split down the middle. I got the vintage the wrong way round feeling that the initially more savoury nose of the Cathiard was the 1998 and the purity of the nose on the La Tache was 1999. As time went on the initially purity of the La Tache faded an the wine remained complete but may be without the depth you might expect of the this great Cru. The consensus was that it was slightly underwhelming. The Cathiard was just not very 2001 to me. It showed well. A little degraded and deeper/darker of fruit than 2001 would generally be from my experience. There is very little (circa 2.5 barrels) of this made. I liked it, as I think everyone did, I just ever so slightly wished the extraction had been a little more sympathetic...either way a lovely opening pair.  

As soon as we were served White Truffle Risotto from Aquerello rice, Parmagiano Reggiano I knew that we would probably be in Piedmont. The dish was great as was the Chicken, Jerusalem artichoke “albufera" that followed. The two wines in question were Barbaresco "Asili" Riserva 1996, Giacosa and Sori San Lorenzo 1998, Gaja. The room was fairly split over the preference possibly a slight leaning toward the Giacosa.

There was a collective failure on the 1998 scenario mostly, I feel, because the Gaja was so incredibly youthful. The Giacosa was open and slightly "frazzled" (a good thing with traditional Nebbiolo), there was sweet fruit on the nose and some oranges, always a traditional oxidative style. The Gaja was a markedly different style but a very impressive wine, vibrantly primary with cherry fruit, dark cherry at that, quite powerful too, I would be fascinated to see if it stays so bold and then fades over time or whether it does degrade and may be show more Nebbiolo character. A lovely pair for the stark differences.

So now Bordeaux - Cheval Blanc 1998 & Petrus 1999 served with Venison, Medjool date, pumpkin and Brussel sprout. This was a brilliant pairing, wine/wine and wine/food. Both wines had such lovely perfumes, helped by the cool but not cold serving temperature. The Cheval was initially more savoury and I think a shade more complex, I had it down as Trotanoy and I did just prefer it when forced, although in honesty I think the whole table loved both. The Petrus was a little closed initially then, with air, a high toned red fruit started to come out more and more, that trade mark Tropicality (not that that is a word) of Petrus. Both wines just had that fruit, structure, savoury balance that you want - really top notch. Both have serious futures but to own either and not have tried them at this lovely stage strikes me as a little bonkers.

The sommelier for the evening, Mirko, was then asked to pick a wine for the deliciously comforting and correctly over the top Armagnac Baba with chestnut and quince. We were all discussing mature Sauternes with vintages from 70's and 80's getting a few shouts. I thought the wine had an element of Rieussec rancio richness about it...but actually it was Chateau Tirecul-la-Graviere Cuvee Madame 2001, Monbazillac so despite all being "wrong" we were wrong for the right reasons I suppose. A good choice.

A brilliant evening of gentle teasing, wonderful wines, smashing food and lots of laughs. Our organiser/host and the team at The Connaught had all done us proud...

The baba

Lunch at Ronaldinho's...

A brilliant luncheon served by Ronaldinho at his house, brilliant food and just the job for the vast array of wonderful wines. Almost all the wines where from the cellar of the house. The storage, as the bottles showed, is perfect.

The assembled was the usual gang "The lads" – Ronaldinho, Irish, Chewy, Newcastle, Halifax and a couple of "Bon oeufs" who more than got the idea, I think they’ve spent years practicing!

There was the normal amount of boyish abuse as one would expect but at the end of the day everything was just so dam enjoyable…

The wines:

Scharzhofberger Riesling Spatlese 1999, E.Muller - Beautiful balance, fresh, young with a little spritz and soft citrus fruit, years ahead of it.

Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese 1996, J.J.Prum - A little resinous and with more volume than the Muller, more texture, more richness but not the focus in honesty.

Chevalier-Montrachet 1986, Neillon - Smokey, honey, yoghurt, then struck match, not really showing the full age that it is, a lovely wine.

Montrachet 1992, Ramonet - Beautiful acidity and richness, profoundly good, very fine, smokey element but also rich fruit, white fruit, a little reduced with that hint of struck match, sublime, a wonderful wine that would be in the top ten bottles of the year any year, a privilege.

Mercurey 1971, Hugues & Yves de de Suremain - (served blind) Fascinating, fully mature, not serious but with aged red fruit and a little spice too, we all had a guess and I think I went for 60’s Gevrey…one of us went for Grenache and I could totally see why. Not the shabiest of vintages!



Volnay 1er Cru Taillpieds 1993, d’Angerville - Deliciously opulent colour, nose of red fruit and violets, almost cranberry, a lovely crunch to the fruit. Very interesting to contrast with Clos de Ducs 1993 tasted a few weeks later (blog to come!).

Volnay 1er Cru Taillpieds 1990, d’Angerville - Beetroot strong in colour, slightly chalky texture, opulent, a wine you’d love all to yourself to drink over a few hours and really wallow in. Juicy richness and a combination of red and black fruit.


Dominus 1991 - Mint and eucalyptus, amazingly youthful, opulent, almost like a time capsule or like it had been under screw cap. This was served blind and while I said I agreed with the idea of USA (or Australia even) I said loudly that there was no way it was Dominus! Oh how wrong.

Giscours 1966, BBR bottling - Very distinct black pepper, some nervous acidity, very good, dark fruit but not without lift, somehow I couldn't get as excited as some about this but it was very good.

Palmer 1966, BBR bottling - Gorgeous nose of sweet fruit and a floral edge of violets, really stunning, the palate did not live up to the balanced fresh beauty of the nose but to be fair it was a crazy act to follow.

Ducru Beaucaillou 1970 - Saline, has a little hint of swimming pool, this goes quickly, then we have a good luscious palate that is delicious right now.

Palmer 1970 (magnum) - Pepper and mint with a savoury edge, more savoury than Ducru as a whole, my note says “I like this but it is not exciting”

Romanee-Saint-Vivant 2001, S.Cathiard - Quite high octane, very pure, very lifted and very red fruit, some creaminess to the palate, very much primary, really good, stops short of being too glossy. Impressed.


Romanee-Saint-Vivant 1990, DRC - Decadent, delicious, so fine, perfect now but no rush of course, has real depth of texture, red fruit mainly but also some black in the back ground, in an early secondary phase, so long, delicious, just lovely…

Bonnes Mares 1985, Dujac (magnum) - The sort of wine that almost makes you feel guilty for loving it’s openness and just pure opulent loveliness. There is a slightly degraded, sweet Asian spice and a slight orange rind aroma, really very delicious. Could drink lots of this...

Chambertin 1983, Rousseau - Mature in a masculine way, a savoury earthiness to this, good power but not a bruiser, I liked this, may be not the freshness of some of the wines but very impressive for 1983.

The order got slightly strange from here, as did my note taking...

Yquem 1975 – Superb, I have had this a couple of times and always liked it but this particular bottle was on electric form, bright and focused but maturing, a very classical Yquem, a sort of savoury crème brulee base but at the same time fresh fruit…bang on!
Cheval Blanc 1964 - dry but very decent if not exciting (bottle was a very low level).

Fonseca 1963 - in many ways a similarly brilliant experience to the Yquem, just a pristine example of a great bottle, black fruit and compote but also just the right amount of pepper and spice, not heavy but rich and full, still in mid age, excitingly good.

Chambertin 1990, Rousseau - Was just as you can imagine, rich, brooding and full. So very long...should have paid more attention...

Chewy and I managed to avoid the drinks trolley on the train home but I am sure we talked some right old nonsense rather loudly...

A legendary day...when's the next one?

Pinot Noir at The Square

It has taken me far too long to get around to writing up this splendid lunch, generously hosted and organised by a great wine lover who also supplied all the bottles. The theme was a simple one - Pinot Noir.
All the wines came from either Champagne or Burgundy. The venue was The Square, certainly one of London's best and the kind of place where the logistics of 16 wines and 15 people is carried off in a relaxing and efficient way. The food was tremendous as always.

To "kick things off" with the canapés we had Philiponnat Royale Reserve Brut, a soft and creamy Champagne that worked well pre-food at lunch as there is a decent dosage in there and the acidity isn't prominent, very good.
The first course was a tremendous Grouse Pie, delicious and done with a great deal of finesse. The three flights of red Burgundies that followed were all served blind but with many a theme to ponder, a lot of thought had gone into this! With there being a few of us supposed trade "experts" in attendance the initial comments were, rightly, expected to come from our seats. Over the course of the meal we did pretty well with a combination of educated guesses and the odd stab in the dark!! In the first flight you could find several themes, one vintage was different, two were 1er Crus etc.

Gevrey-Chambertin Mes Favorites VV 2001, Domaine Alain Burguet had lovely soft fruit, was very true to 2001. Primary with a dash of orange zest. Very good.
Gevrey-Chambertin 1999, Domaine Claude Dugat was the first glass I finished, never a bad sign, very drinkable, elegant and complete if not overly complex.
Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers 1999, Domaine Philippe Leclerc this was a step up, good weight of fruit, a little drier than the previous two, bigger also, classy. Very slightly oxidative with a developed note at the end, I liked this, certainly not a fault. Impressive.
Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos de Varoilles 1999, Domaine des Varoilles The only one of the Domaines in this first flight that I know well. This was possibly the stand out, though very different in style from the Cazetiers, very pure and poised. Good acidity and focus, very fine.

The next course was now upon us Roast breast of Yorkshire Grouse with Croustillant of the leg, baked Celeriac and Blackberry. We were also into a flight of pure Grand Crus, always a good thing! As you can see the themes continued with different Crus and different vintages. One of the main surprises in this section was that the 2005's were showing as much fruit as they were, it certainly caught me out.

Echezeaux Grand Cru 2005, Domaine Jean Marc Millot was inky in Pinot terms, rich, very fine, excellent freshness of fine and forceful red fruit, splendid.
Chambertin Grand Cru Clos de Beze 2002, Domaine Drouhin-Laroze was fresh too, soft, expressive and surprised me as it did not have the "animal" I have come to except from 2002. Good.
Grands Echezeaux 2002, Dominique Laurent a massive surprise for me as I have found the Laurent wines far too much for me in the past, too thick, too rich and over the top. This was not. A lovely loose and drinkable structure, some development and orangey, red fruit, good balance, it did develop in glass quickly which may not be the best sign but it is in a good place now and was very enjoyable.
Grands Echezeaux 2005, Domaine Henri Villamont had the biggest and driest of the structures but then it is 2005 and it is from a very fine Terroir. This was how you would hope and expect it to be, big, quite bold and ready for a long future. There is a little bit of polish there too. One to watch.

A brillaint but very un-Square like course follwed - Cheese and Ham on toast. I could eat it every day! Oh and more themes!!

Romanee Saint Vivant Grand Cru 1998, Domaine Poisot This was a totally new name to me. A producer who until 2009 (it might be 2010) had sold the vast majority of his crop to a large negociant but had some older stocks that our host had found. The wine was good, excellent from now on. There was a slight minty note, it is a little "high", almost some eucalyptus.
Vosne Romanee 2007, Domaine Sylvain Cathiard ok, so this is the "joker" in the flight. There was a tiny hint of coffee and mocha from oak but otherwise this was not over oaked at all. Lovely intense fruit and a expressively elegant finish. Fine effort from a vintage I increasingly love for the purity of Pinot character.
Romanee Saint Vivant Grand Cru 2007, Domaine Follin-Arbelete It's not a competition but if it were this might have had the overall gong for "WOTD". A very fine, deliciously rich without going over the top, wine that had lots of class. A real Grand Cru intensity and depth. Very fine.
Romanee Saint Vivant Grand Cru 2003, Domaine Poisot so a different vintage of the RSV from Poisot. This was very complex, inky, fruit laden (the fruit being a little mulled), savoury sweetness, not very long on the finish, good but very much a 2003, lots of extremes. The wine as a whole was decadent and good.
A really brilliant pudding followed - Brillat-Savarin Cheesecake with Pink Champagne and White Peach, Lemon Verbena and Peach Sorbet. To accompany we had three nicely contrasting Champagnes.

Delamotte Rose NV a wine I know well and one of the only Rose Champagnes to be made the "proper" way. This is mellow whilst soft and almost strawberry fruit but dry. Showed really well.
Gosset-Brabant Grand Cru Noirs d'Ay NV was a first for me from this house, may be it was all the wines before but something made me think of a dry pineapple like flavour, drier than the Delamotte, really good, must try more from them.
Egly-Ouriet Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru Les Crayeres this might just have grabbed the most attention of the Champagnes. Really delicious, richly fruited with raspberries but not a touch of sourness.
What a splendid lunch, good conversation, a lot learnt and a very generous host!

Petrus, and a many others, in Yorkshire...

This could be a long write-up as it was a truly momentous day. The southern chapter of this "club" made up of Irish Pete, Chewy and Young Will (that's me...don't ask) made the train journey from King's Cross to Ilkley to meet up with the Northern Chapter - Nobby, Mr G and Ronaldo Mortino. Having dropped a bag in our rooms we convened in the Brasserie of the Devonshire Arms Hotel (recommended) for a light Burgundy luncheon.
Most of the wines through the whole day were served blind or partially so. The white we started with was Bourgogne Blanc 2006 from de Vogue, which by coincidence we had discussed a little on the way up. It is the wine made entirely from the Musigny Blanc Grand Cru site that, due to replanting, has been released as Bourgogne Blanc since 1994. I find it has a unique, oily texture, this was rich, with lime-like acidity and much more to give in coming years. A pair of reds followed and couldn't really have been much more different even if appellation and quality of the vintages might suggest otherwise. First was Vosnee-Romanee 1er Cru “Aux Reignots” 2002 from Sylvain Cathiard which I was delighted about for a few reasons, amongst them the fact that I have heard such great things but also that it is the first Cathiard wine I have drunk. There was a lovely combination of red/black fruit and mulled wine spices but with a precise freshness too, really lovely and whilst it is still a "puppy" it is very enjoyable. The later was Vosnee-Romanee 1er Cru “Beaumonts” 1999, Dominique Laurent - precision and freshness are two words you couldn't really use here. Famed for use of 200% new oak I am not sure what Monsieur Laurent used here but it over powers the fruit and leaves it dry and "exposed". There is no real length and the fruit is stewed. The bottle remained a third full, not because it was actually awful but because there was no charm or fun to be had..a strange wine.
Having eaten well and rested from the journey it was now time for a walk up to Bolton Abbey and a quick cigar for a couple of us - a Quai d'Orsay Corona - a lovely elegant day time smoke that worked well. 
After a quick 15 minute break for the dreaded blackberry we re-assembled for a brief comparative tasting.  The two wines in question being both 2007 and 2008 Gevrey-Chambertin Vielles Vignes from Domaine Roy Marc. This was a nice tasting. The 2008 was the star, an underrated or "insiders" vintage with the 2009 and 2010 over shadowing it. The 2007 was also good but lacked a little of the focus and red fruited character that you expect of 2007, it might just be in a little bit of a phase.
A brief break and then it was pre-dinner Champagne time with a Krug 1995 Magnum, this was rich and very yeasty/biscuity, I would have put it down as being at least 1988 or older such was the intensity. Had we had this with food it would have been a little more balanced I feel but it was most certainly a decadent start to an amazing evening. We then headed off down the road to the Boxtree in Ilkley. I will not dwell on the food much but we were very very well looked after in terms of both service and the food itself so many thanks to Andrew, Didier and the team there. Next on the agenda was the first of 5 blind white wines. Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese (Long GoldKap) 1995 from Prum, this was a confusing one as it had a relatively lower acidity, I was a decade or so out and actually went for Rheingau. It was soft and beautifully rounded a great drink and nice now.
From there we were seated and served a Piesporter Goldtropfahen “Feinste” Auslese 1959, Bischofliches Konvikt (J.Harvey and Sons, Fuher 9403) clearly not a wine anyone was going to get spot on!! I guessed Spatlese 1976 but confused the age with a lower ripeness. It was lovely, refined with a classy richness. Now it was white Burgundy time and first was a bottle that was a late addition from one of our hosts, thankfully so as it was delicious. Meursault 1993, Coche-Dury was the wine and the guesses were all Premier and Grand Cru and from more exalted vintages. There was that wonderful Coche character of a struck match and slight edge of reduction. Coche almost never disappoints, there was fruit, structure and a lovely texture to this, for it's "humble" status it was staggering.
The last two whites were served as a pair.  Both were Grand Cru 1992's from Neillon, first Batard-Montrachet and then Chevalier-Montrachet. The character you think of with these two Grand Cru showed perfectly. The Batard a little more extrovert and a little more initially expressive it has shoulders and a more sturdy feel. The Chevalier a dash more refined and a little less showy. The two wines got better and better in glass and opened out. These were very impressive. The 1992 whites remaining slightly under praised those I have been lucky enough to drink have been spectacular.

The wines so far were more than you would dare hope for on even a special wine night but amazingly they were really setting the scene for what was to follow. A Petrus bonanza of sublime proportions. As a warm up to this evening I had read the chapter in Neal Martin's book "Pomerol" on Petrus and I have to say it is a great read, the style works well and gives you information and an understanding without being too intense, recommended. Prior to this evening I had been lucky enough to have tasted 2010 at the En Primeur stage and drunk the 1998, 1990 and 1979 at generously thrown dinners or lunches. On this evening we had 5 vintages with one "imposter" thrown in. The first flight was Petrus 2001, Penfolds Grange 1982 and Petrus 1982. The 2001 was by a long way the youngest tasting 12 year old wine I have ever had. Having to put a vintage on it was very difficult for a few reasons. I knew that the vintage we would be having were all very good ones and I knew there would not be anything overly "young". This left me with a real dilemma as both the intensity and purity fruit were making me think of a very young wine, almost barrel sample young. I plumbed for 2003 thinking about the intensity angle. The 2001 is the year my son was born and so a vintage I have an attachment too it is also generally stunning for, especially, Pomerol. This is a generally magnificent wine, simply brilliant. The Grange was next and whilst the character was very different the texture and class was apparent. Blind I can't remember what we all went for but in retrospect (as always) there was a slight eucalyptus nose with the dark fruit. If you own Grange 1982 you can be very happy. So a legend was next and I am delighted to say that having not excelled on the blind front so far (Irish Pete and Chewy having done better) I nailed this one. Why? well mainly because this was exactly how I imaged (hoped) it would be, the 1982 had expressive and "easy" extrovert fruit combining with the high-toned Petrus liveliness. A simply great wine, so much there and so complex but at the same time so easy to enjoy...a special moment to try a special wine.
The next trio was Petrus 1975, Petrus 1967 and Petrus 1964. I was passed making many notes by now and just enjoying the wines. The 1975 is my birth year and to have this hot on the heels of the 1982 was wonderful. There wasn't the expressive exuberance of the 1982 here or in the rest of the flight as these wines were in the next stage of development. Having said that there is a very definite Petrus character, very much a character and not a style. You get no sense of wines that are "made" just fruit from a great site expressing itself. The 1975 had great balance, a drier type of fruit to the 1982. My notes simply say "very good!". The 1967 and 1964 were both in good condition holding a strong colour. The 1967 had a dark fruit character but with a savoury development as you would expect. The 1964 had a very complete feel and texture with a saline edge to the palate that I liked. It had been a simply amazing two flights of Petrus. The 2001 impressive for its youth and purity, the 1982 for its expression and completeness then the 1975, 1967 and 1964 for their array of more developed and savoury complexities. I will certainly never have all of those again in 0ne sitting.
We were almost done but first Climens 1986 and Yquem 1986 were waiting. It is always compelling to have these two great estates alongside each other and this was no exception. A little like the Batard and Chevalier earlier these performed to type. The Yquem having a little more intensity and more depth, having said this if Sauternes had 5 phases of development this would be only in the second of those phases. There will be a very long life ahead of this. The Climens is a little more feminine, only by comparison, the fruit a little less tropical and the volume turned down a notch... both very fine indeed...
Drinking great wines with great friends is what it is all about in my book and this was exactly how this wonderful day went...it does make the return "fixture" more than a little daunting.