Elystan Street - a first evening...

A rather splendid email arrived from Gary Birchtree (not his real name!) suggesting a dinner in the private room of Philip Howard's new restaurant Elystan Street on opening night. It was not a hard invite to accept. I have loved The Square (where he is now not involved) and Kitchen W8 (where he still is). The rest of the crowd was wine trade friends. The only disturbing part of the evening was discovering that I was the second oldest, only Mr Sherwood keeping be from the ultimate seniority.   

So we gathered, after a ten-minute stroll from Sloane Square tube for me, in the private room and were "treated" to 1992 En Tirage Extra Brut Russian River Valley Sparkling Wine. Our organiser who had sent this did two things one good (for him) and one bad. The good thing was that he arrived late having sent the wine on, the bad thing was sending three bottles. One would have been enough. An enticing nose but a dead palate, may be unfair in this company but probably better a while ago. Certainly not in the same league as the other "sparkler" later.

This was an evening about: Food, venue, company and wine. So to cover off the food it was all superb! There was no dish I would not have wanted more of (greed) or would not happily order again many times. The menu is below.

Ravioli of Langoustines with barbecue dressing, hispi Cabbage and sweetcorn.

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Roast calf’s sweetbread with truffled autumn slaw, seeded nut butter and mimolette.

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Rump of lamb with pesto roasted aubergine, garlic puree, green olives and balsamic vinegar.

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Roasted figs with goats milk ice cream, lemon and thyme fritters and olive oil

or

Cheese

It was time now for a flight of whites. The first and last of which were from (two) bottle(s) the Drouhin being a magnum. The Chablis 1er Cru Montee de Tonnerre 1999, F.Raveneau bottles were both good ones, the first possibly just edging it for energy. Wax and lanolin with a very "proper" Chablis nose, a little of that dry-honey character. Mature on the plate but still with good vibrancy, a cracking wine in a good place. Beaune Clos des Mouches 1996, Drouhin was an imposing magnum and one might say a brave one. There was a dash of coffee on the nose, this was broad but not loose, I'd have been in Meursault if blind I think. Mature and with a decadent texture, nice wine. We then switched to the Loire with Pur sang 2011, Dagueneau. I don't know the Dagueneau wines all that well but have enjoyed what I have tried. This was expressive, quite broad and open, a little tropical but with enough of the nettle character though not sharp nettles, warm ones if that makes any sense. It was a splendid trio all in all.

Les blancs...

Interestingly we were not "packing any Pinot" on this occasion so we moved straight to Nebbiolo with an intriguing trio, three different sites and three different vintages all in magnum. Young Nebbiolo is something people should not, in my opinion, miss out on. Barbaresco Montestefano 2008 from Produttori del Barbaresco kicked us off. This had a more open and more warm vintage feel that I expected. It was very easy to enjoy from this underestimated vintage. These are such good wines. Barolo La Tartufaia 2010 from Giulia Negri was up next, a blend of Nebbiolo from two crus - Serradenari and Brunate - showing a good degraded fruit and easy drinkability even now though it will age very well. Barolo Cannubi Boschis 2011 from Sandrone completed the Piedmont trio. There is a tar and texture feel to this, it has a tiny hint of toffee from wood but is ultimately both rich and balanced. Good spices too, a wine with a broad drinking window, as could be said for all these.

The three Piedmonteers...

It was Bordeaux next and a good threesome. La Lagune 2001 got us started and I have to say La Lagune isn't necessarily an estate that I get excited about, have they made some lovely wines? yes definitely but I mentally file it under "dependable" rather than "exciting". This 2001, in magnum as were the wines that followed, was delicious and certainly exciting. Lifted with a good bit of sappy liveliness and then a driven and energetic, almost red fruited palate...simply lovely. The La Conseillante 1999 was darker fruited and from a clearly less great vintage, it was good and very true to the house but just a little muddied in comparison to the La Lagune. Tasted and drunk on its own it'd be splendid. The most different of the Bordeaux was Palmer 1976 (a BBR bottling). A very hot vintage, think 2003 but without the heat spikes just consistently hot and dry. The nose had a citrus element, sweet and tarry, mellow in tannin, gently moreish. A wine it was terrific to try and a good drink too.

As we moved towards pudding or cheese we had an eclectic last flight. Two bottles of Clos de Bourg 1989 Moelleux 1er Trie from Huet had that lovely combination of zesty acidity and generous sweetness...a sweet wine I could certainly just drink alone and as an aperitif or with food (both pudding and/or cheese). Zippy apples and a dash of honey. Then Champagne - Moet & Chandon 1978 “Grand Vintage Collection“ (Disgorged 2004) - which reminded me of dry honey and a rancio character with good energy, a little of that "late-disgorgement" cocoa character. A lovely toasty finish, a wine at its peak now I think, well to my style anyway. Champagne later in a meal is a good idea I think. I am not sure why a bottle of Ornellaia 2000 was opened but I am glad it was, quite savoury and bold, a little bit of Bovril, good darker fruits and enough acidity.

And that, as they say, was that...a thoroughly enjoyable evening and a lovely restaurant that I will certainly be returning too!! As for the company...well the wine trade remains a place for fun, often opinionated, folk...long may it continue.

Dinner in St.Emilion...not just any dinner...

The "Shelfie" to end all...

As a break from the rigours of tasting the En Primeur 2015's we got a very kind invite from a friend and customer who lives in St.Emilion a fair bit of the time. He's no stranger to these blog pages either. Having been once before we knew it would be a treat, especially when combined with Ian's brilliant cooking. We were ten in total with half that number being colleagues, there also being a rather famous Danish winemaker...by the name of Peter (no prizes for guessing that one) in attendance.

To kick off it was Pol Roger Cuvee "Sir Winston Churchill" 1996 En Magnum this was delicious with Anchovy and onion tartlet. The wine is clearly all the younger for being in magnum, I would have said far younger if served blind. There was a toastiness but not a heaviness that you often get with "Winnie". Blind tasting became a theme from here with every other wine except the Sauternes served in blind "themed" pairs! 

Pair 1 - whitesThe first theme was the vintage - 2010. I had remembered a discussion with our host so had a firm feeling that there would be a Raveneau and there was, the Chablis 1er Cru Montee de Tonnerre 2010 being simply delicious, just entering drinking territory with that lovely beeswax and stones nose...I loved it. The next white producer I have been expecting was Roulot but with the theme being 2010 and the way the Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru En Remilly 2010 from Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey En Magnum tasted I was fairly sure it wasn't Roulot as that would have been like a rapier. Joe (Muller) got the producer, the C&B team groaned as we'd be hearing about this forever. The En Remilly was delicious, open, generous without lacking drive at all...very fine with a long life ahead of it.

Pair 2 - first Reds
The vintage was again the theme but already there were disputes over right bank of left bank. I suggested we nail the vintage first. Clearly it was set as a trap because it was one of those vintages known to be good on one bank over the other but the wines from the "wrong side of the tracks" was clearly an over performer. We reduced it down to being 1996 (left bank vintage) or 1998 (right bank)...wrongly we went 1998 first as it was 1996. The two wines being  - Palmer 1996 and La Conseillante 1996. The Palmer was simply superb, primary in a way, just what it should be, dense floral fruits and exactness, a lovely wine to drink over the next two decades. The Conseillante was impressive, a lovely opulence, not the depth of the Palmer but that would be unfair. A nice pair.

Pair 3 - two younger reds
Now we were firmly put on the spot with two glasses in front of us and a "right then, what are they?", all we were told was that there was a theme and they were younger than the 1996's. Nebbiolo got a shout, Burgundy was certainly in the mix. Possibly fortified by the delicious Chicken liver parfait my competitive - "can't let Muller win the day" - nature kicked in and I decided to follow a hunch and said Red Burgundy on the left and Brunello on the right...I was correct and should have stopped there. I then said so it is 2001 or 1999 - right again! I went for the hat-trick and said 1999 but alas it was 2001. I did though get that it was Poggio de Sotto. There was then a battle for the red Burgundy, Joe and Peter ganged up together and were fairly sure there was a de Vogue mark on the wine, they were right and eventually got the Bonnes Mares.  So the two wines were:

Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2001, De Vogue - so very elegant and primary, pretty, good acidity, red ripe fruit, long, moreish and so blooming drinkable!

Brunello di Montalcino 2001, Poggio de Sotto - a cracking bottle of wine, such lovely gentle but vibrant red fruit with little black cherry, great acidity and lift and a tiny dash of Saline. Wine of the night for one of our number not known for his love of Italy (he's learning).

Pair 4 -  the pair that wasn't
There had been a fair bit of chat through the dinner about the fun one can have with genuinely "off" vintages - even Marsan 1991 got a mention (do some research!) - so our kind host decided it was time for one last pair with the delicious wine friendly (not easily done) cheeses. The first wine was delicious, lovely right now, not dense but mature and complex, it was Haut Brion 1993...alas it's partner in crime, Latour 1993, was corked. The Haut Brion alone though made the off vintage case very well. Terroir shows as much, if not more, in the lesser, more difficult, vintages. There was another bottle grabbed and served. It confused us because we wondered if we were still supposed to be on the "off vintage trail", the confusion coming from the fact the wine was so good. It Lynch-Bages 1982 and clearly we were NOT on the off vintages. I had the very wine from magnum recently and this was every bit as good!

A stunning lemon and almond cake followed for pudding and with it the Coutet 1988 worked a treat, a great time to drink this with just a bit of development showing...and with that we had to head back to Bordeaux...to have taken a break from the tasting to drink these great wines with lovely food and great company was a real treat. This is the finest wine drinking address on the right bank! Thank you!!

The last Hurrah...

When the news of the end - for now - of Zucca came out there was quick booking made by fellow Zucca addict - Mr Rafferty for the last but one night, the last night would have been too much.

So nine of us including Mrs Duvault-Blochet joined together for a dinner. The theme being the last bottle from a case, any case. When I say bottle in true style most people brought a magnum or two bottles. This was a very relaxed evening with much opinion expressed and piss-taking. New friends made. We ate from the "normal" menu and rattled off the classics:

Zucca Friti

Carpaccio of Sea Bass

Burrata with Cavalo Nero

Beef Carpaccio

Vitello Tonnato

Squid Bruscetta

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Taglierini, Pork & Fennel Ragu
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Grilled Octopus

Veal Chop
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Chocolate SemiFreddo

We hadn't managed to co-ordinate anyone doing some fizz so we started with a couple of bottles of the fresh but just a shade toasty Satin La Montina Franciacorta. I really ought to get to know what's what with Franciacorta, beyond Ferrari and Ca'del Bosco I am just not that knowledgeable.

Then time for some white and we started with "Jazz Hand's" magnum - Meursault Les Grands Charrons 2009 from Boisson-Vadot. I've been lucky enough to drink a decent amount of Boisson-Vadot but never have I had it from magnum before. This had all the smokey, slight reduction you expect of this producer and the richness you expect of 2009, a really decadent start to proceedings. Alongside this was Hattenheimer Pfaffenberg Jubilee Spatlese 2008 from Schloss Schonborn from bottle. This wine was served in the same room at Mrs D-B's 40th so it seem appropriate to have it again. Lovely Rhine richness with the middle ground of Spatlese, a wine to just enjoy, no pretence.

And on to the reds! Tignanello 1986 was a really easy wine to quaff, not to say it was not more serious but it had slightly lost a sense of place. It wasn't showing the Sangiovese acidity and it's kind owner was a little disappointed as it was from "his" vintage (youngster!). I liked it just think that 5 years ago it would have had that bit more personality. 

It's partner was my offering, Cascina Francia Barbera 2008 from Giacomo Conterno, my thinking being that it is a producer I love and we (C&B) even did a dinner here with Roberto. On the other hand none of the Conterno wines are what could be remotely called mature so this seemed a good compromise. It drank well, still good rich dark cherry fruit but with that cool saline edge you always get from the site, wonderfully food friendly as ever. That was my last mag but I do still have a bottle somewhere.

The next flight was unplanned but set itself up as a great pairing. Two of the top names from respective banks in Bordeaux. Both top estates. VCC (Vieux Chateau Certan) 1998

and Palmer 1998 . Having them then served blind I was delighted to get them the right way round. Anyone in the trade who says they aren't relieved to get this right especially after 10+ years in bottle is probably lying. The VCC had real poise and such balance, really lovely, young yes but not infanticide at all. If you have a case of this (in bottles) then don't be afraid to have a bottle of two now, you'll be missing out otherwise. The Palmer actually tasted to be a little more mature, a little more developed (2nd base may be), not quite the layers of the VCC but splendid.

The next two bottles, from Mr Rafferty were a treat - Rauzan Segla 1947 a BBR bottling - was exuberantly sweet and reminded me of some of the 1955's I have been lucky enough to have had. A lovely bottle and so fitting to have something this old and special on a night like this. Hermitage 1994 from Chave has no right to be anything like as soft and lovely and just downright delicious as it is. The vintage is not great but then how many times do us wine lovers have to be told "producer, producer, producer".

One special glass got passed back to us in the Pdr from the main restaurant and it was the really rather lovely Sori San Lorenzo 1990 from Gaja a real treat from Mr Bowker.

Hattenheimer Pfaffenberg Spatlese 1989 from Schloss Schonborn (another coincidence to have this) finished us off for the evening in some style, oily and menthol fresh with good acidity. Is it wrong to say that I think people were concentrating more on the puddings by then.

It was great that Sam (Harris) managed to pop in and join us for a glass here and there.

The end had come - I've loved Zucca and shared so many wonderful times there…I am sure it'll be back. Thanks to all those who have brought bottles and served them, cooked and given great service I am not singling anyone out as it was a team effort…onwards!

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?

Prowein…my first trip...

I heard a few good things about Prowein wine fair held in Dusseldorf each year and when a colleague showed interest in going (and organising thankfully) I was very keen so two weeks ago on Sunday morning the alarm went at 5.30 and off we went.

The fair is spread over seven halls and has a massive spread of exhibitors, from producers, to collections of producers to agents to negociants, wine merchants and wine accessory people. We were there to taste many wines we offer but don't get to taste, too see producers we work with and most of all to see agents and brokers who we work with. From all the above angles it was an efficient way to get the job done.

From tasting on arriving at the show at lunchtime on Sunday to leaving at lunchtime on Tuesday it was pretty non stop with the evening reserved for a couple of beers and some (rather large) Pork knuckles, see pictures lower down.

So what was there that we tasted and left us impressed?

There were good tastings of Chateau Lagrange, both first and second wines from 2010 and 2011, then The Thunevin range, finishing with a ready to go and easy Valandraud 2007. But the first tasting that I felt taught something was going through the Taylors Tawny range from the nutty woodily delicious 10 year old to the 20 year old which was sweeter, with more fruit and dates, on to the 30 year old that had a refined cognac nose (but not sprity). There was though one more to go and that was the soon to be released 1964 Single Harvest Port (again a Tawny, well Colheita technically, but not called either) this was more Spreyside Whisky than Cognac with fruit and a wonderful acidity…quite a treat.

We then tasted the full Peter Sisseck range but I will write the Pingus wines up another time and have written up Rocheyron before. The wines that were interesting for this exercise where those I'd not tasted before. Rocheyron Rose from 2012, a meaty and savoury merlot rose. The La Fleur de Rocheyron 2011 from 100% merlot and deliciously opulent now. Psi 2011 was gorgeous, both 2010 and 2009 have needed just a bit more time to come round but 2011 looks like it is "out the blocks" lovely.

F.Rinaldi - cracking range

I was then delighted to taste the range of wines from Francesco Rinaldi, a producer I buy for myself each year (and often write up)  - I'm keeping the 06's and 08's while I drink the 2007's. We did the whole range:
Gavi di Gavi 2013 - Clean, crisp but not neutral, just about to be bottled, expressive and impressive in equal measure.
Dolcetto 2013 (cask sample) - Crunchy red fruit, primary, delicious almost carbonic in flavours.
Barbera 2012 - Easy, not serious, softly done, darkish fruit.
Nebbiola d'Alba 2012 - From vineyards between Alba and Barolo. Bruised red fruit, easy light and ready to go.
Barbaresco 2010 - Gentle fruit, almost dry Ribena in flavour. I have had some great older vintages of this especially the 1979.
Barolo 2010 - A step up, blended in the traditional way from three or four sites, really good, very complete, combination or red and black fruit, sweetness that makes it drinkable now but certainly best kept, impressive.
Barolo Cannubi 2010 - Needs time but very classical and impressive but with a lovely red fruit leaning.
Barolo Brunate 2010 - More brooding, deeper, darker more saline and savoury, a keeper, classy.

We managed to get a good slot at the Guigal tasting table and go through much of the range. It worked well that we also managed to taste the "La La's", wines I am not as familiar with at a younger stage.
Cotes du Rhone Blanc 2012 - 65% Viogner which is very high for a Cotes du Rhone. It was a good combination of perfumed fruit with a oily richness on the palate, a little spice on the finish too.
Condrieu 2012 - Mellow nose with good balanced palate, not OTT.
Cotes du Rhone Rouge 2011 - Berry fruit, a little jammy but good jammy, nice, medium weight palate.
Cote Rotie 2010 - A more Bordelais nose than I'd expect, inky on the palate, violates and a savoury edge. All in all at a rather strange stage in evolution.
Chateau d'Ampuis 2010 (Cote Rotie) - Bottled Nov 2013 after 36 months in oak (1/3 new). Made from the 7 best vineyards except for the "La La's". Oak shows a little in the texture compared to the straight Cote Rotie. The wine feels like it needs a little more weight of fresh fruit but then I think it may just be a serious wine that leans towards the savoury and meaty.
Cote Rotie La Mouline 2010 - 11% Viognier which is very high. Floral almost, lifted and very pure of fruit with some pepper, lovely.
Cote Rotie La Turque 2010 - Deeper and a touch darker, good acidity, a lot of fruit weight.
Cote Rotie La Landonne 2010 - 42 months in new oak is a test for any wine. This is a bit of a monster (not in negative way), savoury, saline, meaty, stocky, has no Viognier and is deep. Some black pepper and spice. Very Syrah.
I would own the La La's in reverse order of priority to their stature (so La Mouline the priority). Great to get to taste these especially given the legendary nature of the vintage.

We saw a few of the Bordeaux Negociants while we were there and several wines impressed. I've mentioned a few below. It was interesting to note that with the 2011 and 2012 campaigns having been generally tough and the 2009's and 2010's "dead in the water" pricewise they need to sell some wine.

Will be buying this again!!

"G" Guiraud 2013 - is a cracking wine that given it'll be around £100 a dozen in bond I will be buying at least a case of. It has a cracking blend (70% SB / 30% SEM) than means it'll have legs for the next couple of years.
Pavillon du Poyferre 2011 - Rich, nicely heady, slight spice, quite bold, quite proper, good.
Palmer 2007 - Really easy, lovely, elegant but is this good enough for the stature of the Chateau?

Need one of these at home!

Guiraud 2004 - From a massive bottle (Imperial I think), tasted really good in a not young or old way, fresh enough to drink a fair bit of but with a little rancho character. I am impressed by how active Guiraud are being, they seem a Sauternes house with a real energy.
Paviel de Luze 2011 - A nice easy but complex, smokey, iron-like side to balance some good fruit.
Croix de Beaucaillou 2006 - Good mineral texture and a balance of earthiness and fruit. I do though have a bit of a problem with the 2006's. I find them overly foursquare.

At one stage we tasted the full Vietti range courtesy of the German agent. I am more than a bit of a traditional man when it comes to Barolo and as a result have never been a buyer of Vietti. The wines though from Barbera d'Asti 2010 to Barolo "Villero" Riserva 2010 were impressive. If there has been a turning down of "oak-volume" then brilliant.

Retro Aussi Tawny

Having done a recent tasting of the Penfolds bin series icon releases for this year there was a few other wines to look at on the Penfold's stand. The Grange 2008 which I had not tried and is obviously a very high profile wine. It was impressive, refined, bold but also poised, massive life ahead of it. As soon as I saw they had a Sangiovese 2007 I had to have a try, I liked it, it had a warm Tuscan (in land) feel about it but definitely showed the Sangiovese variety, nice. The last wine to try form this stage was the "Grandfather" an impressive "Tawny" with upwards of 50 years age to it…lovely unctuousness but acidity backed brown fruit with prunes.

At the Chateau Musar stand we met up with Serge Hochar and his team, an honour. We tasted the full range from the tyoung ("Jeaune") wines through the Hochar rage and onto the headline act. Chateau Musar is one of those wines that never fails to excite and interest. I'll be honest and say it is quite some time since I have tasted the wine. We were served a few vintages:
2007 - Leather, spice, sweeter leather, a lovely salty tang, old wood and warn bruised fruit.
2004 - Delicious, mellow, perfect balance, easy but not boring, red fruit on top of the finest leather, refined, very impressive.
1998 - Slightly browner fruits, in the next stage of life, tea and herbs, a little liquorice, a dash of eucalyptus and mint also. Good.
1979 - Soy and Chinese spices, salty with a whiff of swimming pool, tiny bit of mint as well.
1977 - Spicey old sadly leather and black fruits with some spice to follow.
On the interest side the 1974 has only been recently released and there was never a 1992. Also did you know that the "Decanter Man of the Year" was created to give Serge an award?

So what next? Well a very good tasting with Wine & Soul from Portugal with the white field blend "Guru" really impressing from 2012 and 2013. The 2012 reds from Quinta da Manoella, both the VV and the "Manoella" were very impressive in terms of the pure fruitidness. The Pintas and Pintas Character 2012 also hit the spot, big wines with a blue candied fruit but a wealth of freshness. Then we were onto their 10 year old tawny which was on the fruity side, may be not showing the full 10 years of wood but good. The Pintas 2011 Port was very impressive which I am delighted about as it showed ok but not more back when we tasted the Port 2011's on this showing it has really come together, deliciously decadent and with cracking balance. Then there was the 5G Tawny (G = Generations) which was mind blowing…more on that another time…

More general tastings took us past Fontodi where the 2010 Chianti Clasico was lovely, charming and very easy, the Flaccianello 2010 was a little bit of a monster, was it balanced? Time will tell, there's a lot going on…Heitz Napa Cab 2009 was easy mellow and very cabernet without being too much of one thing. The Heitz Trailside Vineyard 2007 was special, complete, balanced and rather splendid. Jonata another winery I know next to nothing about (but there's a fair bit of info out there) was impressive in doing a range of wines with integrity…a stunning White Bordeaux blend was very fine. Monteverro in Tuscany make some delightful wines too…solidity in "red country" but the Chardonnay impressed a lot. We then passed by the Tenuta di Passopisciaro and Tenuta di Trinoro wines and tasted as we went, impressive as ever and often written up here on this blog.

One of the next people who we managed to taste with was Dal Forno. Now this I was really looking forward to as, with the except of the odd bottle, I have very little experience. I left, having tasted, a little confused. The people were wonderful and very very honest, saying that 2008 was an average vintage, no hype, not great but not bad. So why was I confused? Well because the wines were massive and as I have no experience with them I do not know where they are going.
Valpolicella Superior 2008 - Was to quote my notes exactly "herbs, spices but mostly herbs - delicious. Savoury but with fruit depth. GRIP, savoury fruit…bruised". Just not really like anything I've tasted before.
Amarone Monte Lodoletta 2008 - was a little more fruit focussed…a surprise when you think that Valpolicella will "out fruit" Amarone. This was more mellow but also rich and bold. Not quite sure how you end up with both.
Vigna Sere Rosso Passito 2004 - is just knock out gorgeous in a "sweetness meets meat dryness" sort of way, sweetly draws you in and then tannins you out…fascinating. Can a wine be savoury and sweet at once.
In summary I am intrigued by the Dal Forno wines. I have just remembered an occasion when the Sere worked a treat… HERE

Mighty impressive

The first tasting on the last morning was the Ridge range. Wines I have enjoyed and made by a man that is massively respected for his quietly confident but humble approach.

Estate Chardonnay 2012 - Generous fruit and all in-check and balanced, beautiful use of oak to frame the fruit but nothing more.

Monte Bello Chardonnay 2011 - Very refined, clean and rich at the same time, lovely texture, great.

East Bench Zinfandel 2012 - A new wine for Europe (as a market) and 100% Zinfandel. Red blooded fruit, a little spice, easy to enjoy, unpretentiously delicious (a great "magnum with friends" wine).

Geyserville 2012 - 71% Zinfandel, 19% Carignane, 7% Petite Sirah, 2% Mataro (Mourvedre), 1% Alicante Bouschet - Headily dense fruit, a little closed, classy.

Lytton Springs 2012 - 82% Zinfandel, 16% Petite Sirah and 2% Carignane - Planted in 1901, more "Rhonesque", a little more savoury and structured.

Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 - Good classical blackcurrant but restrained, savoury edge, good.

Monte Bello 2011 - a remarkably lovely 12.8%, so so balanced between sweet and savoury and between black fruit and red, a very complete wine.

Monte Bello 1995 - Mellow easy black fruit, come mushrooms, a dash of eucalyptus and then a tobacco edge but no one flavour dominates, elegant.

Monte Bello 2013 (cask sample) - richly fruited, red over black, deliciously primary and pure...

All in all a cracking range of wines…Bravo.

Good showing

Next up we tasted the Achaval Ferrer range, very good showing it was too but I'll write them up another time. Pieropan was another stand we tasted at, great Soaves as ever but the reds also very good in a delicate way…impressive. A brief tasting at Scavino was interesting, a few different vintages and sites.

The next place we stopped between meetings and really tasted was Castello dei Rampolla so that I could add a few recent wines to the  Sammarco and Vigna d'alceo 1983-2006 tasting done recently.

Chianti Classico 2011 - quite glycerol, quite "high", very good but ripe, ripe, ripe, may be OTT or may be just needs to mellow. 2011 was hot and easy after all.

Sammarco 2005 - Lovely with an intriguing combination of tobacco and sweet red fruit, well balanced.

Sammarco 2009 - Nice work, more texture, good acidity, quite opulent but balanced also.

Vigna d'Alceo 2009 - More mellow than many at the tasting, a good thing.

Along the way we managed to taste the Sassicaia 2010 and 2011. Both showed well if slightly subdue as they do in youth. The 2010 was tighter, less expansive but with a lot of glance and some red fruit…promising. The 2011 was easier than the 2010 classically subdued Cabernet. A good showing from both.

Nice just add "1272"

We swung by Jacquesson and tasted the 737 (2009 base) - toasted, fresh also, not too big, mellow, easy. Then the 736 (2008 base) which had a bit more weight over the 737, a lovely drop, delightfully toasty nose. To get the vintage of the base wine from the Cuvee number all you do is add 1272 to the cuvee number!

And so to the final tasting - Zilliken - brilliant wines, I'd heard good things, all justified and lovely people, oh and they do an awesome gin….right taxi to the airport...

The food each evening was just what was needed after a day on our feet and with lots of varied tasting going on. Both the places we went were welcoming and efficient with delicious food that was cracking value…After both suppers there was time for a cigar or two…once in the Capella Bar and Cigar Lounge at Hotel Breidenbacher Hof which was a nice setting with slightly over humidified cigars and slightly odd service then the other time was just outside in the old Town over a beer seated near a "patio" heater…The Bolivar was the pick, the Party Short as sturdy as ever and the Hoyo needs years…

Schweine Janes - this man's back must be "crackling"

Schweine Janes - perfect post tasting dinner

Hoyo - Grand Epicure EL 2013

Pork Knuckle again, this at Brauerei im Fuchschen

Bolivar Short Bolivar - Asia Pacific release 2008

Partagas Short (REA April 2010)

Not a new agency just yet...