Melvyn's 50th Birthday Bash

This was quite a celebration. A truly great selection of blind wines, solid food, great company - and all that was before we adjourned for whiskies at Auld Alliance. Trust Mel to know how to celebrate his big day in style!

• 2002 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Nicolas François 94 Points

  France, Champagne

  A lovely Champagne – I was very taken by this. The nose was a pretty mélange of apples and flowers backed up with a good dose of yeastiness. The palate was still really fresh and lively, and while it had the lovely fleshy roundness of the 2002 vintage, it certainly was a lot less advanced than most of its brethren, with a super-youthful cut and thrust to it and a great sense of balance in its green apple and zesty lemon notes, all this wrapped in super-fine mousse. There was a great sense of harmony and integration in this wine so that its considerable depth was held with a very light hand, which made it very drinkable. Even then, I think this still needs a good 8-10 years to hit peak, which is saying a lot for the a 2002. Super stuff, and definitely one to watch for the future. 93+

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• 2002 Rene Rostaing Condrieu La Bonnette 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu

  I enjoyed this very much. The nose was very attractive, with classic Condrieu scents of beeswax and chalky mineral and a hint of rose petals prancing alongside white chocolate and lychee crème notes. The palate, although having a rather rich, slightly waxy texture, felt altogether quite clean and defined for a Viognier, with a freshness of flavour and a lightness of foot to its white melon notes, with just the lightest kiss of lychee flesh flecked by a lovely stoney minerality past the midpalate. There was a lovely cut and thrust, especially as it moved into a long finish seasoned with warm spice. I thought the wine got just a touch less engaging when it got too warm in the glass, showing a bit fatter and less fresh. Otherwise, a nice start to the night. Drinking well now.

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• 1996 Josmeyer Pinot Gris Brand 92 Points

  France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

  First time I have had an Alsace from a magnum – one wonders how the extremely tall, elongated bottles are stored. That aside, the wine was very good. It had a lovely honeyed nose, with beeswax and nectar aromas dripped over a core of white peaches and nectarines, and then some higher-toned suggestions of green mango and a twist of orange peel, all drifting along a nice chalky base, with a little curl of smoky mineral at the very edges. Lots of subtle complexity to that bouquet, very pretty. With time, a lanolin note that made me guess Chenin Blanc floated out as well. I thought the palate was rather Chenin-like too, maybe slightly more oily textured than you would expect from a Loire, but the flavour profile certainly fooled some of us – there were sweet lemons and green apple flesh, quince jam, and a little taste of blood orange, all lined with a touch of mineral and spice and just a little drift of smoke at the finish. There was a real shift of gear from nose though. While the bouquet suggested sweetness, this was absolutely dry, with the stirring acidity of the 1996 vintage sill ringing beneath the wine’s pretty flavours – this helped to make a really good pairing with Cantonese roast pork belly incidentally. Really nice stuff, with a great sense of depth wed to lovely energy, and it kept getting better in the glass too – I really like this. It is still very young though, and quite primary at some points. In a magnum format at least, it needs a good 6-8 years more.

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• 2001 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc 95 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Quite superlative, this was the best amongst a line-up of great whites. It had a glorious nose, with lots of beautiful floral perfume wreathed around complex, lifted notes of honey and beeswax, spice and candied ginger, all on a base of white fruit and riper red apple aromas. Layers and layers here, with tons going on. The palate was not quite as complex perhaps, but it was every bit as impressive. There was a quiet authority to the wine, with a rich, waxy textured depth to its lightly honeyed, white fruited-flavours. Yet it was also beautifully pure, with a perfect, tip-toe-ing balance and grace in spite of not having particularly bright acidity. I do not quite know how it describe it, but everything was so perfectly in place and so-well knit together that the wine seemed to glide across the mouth in a complete, inexorable whole. Great finish too - long, full, and deep, with bits of ginger and kumquat peel mingling with a lovely mouthfilling spice. A great wine, drinking well, but seemingly ageless. I would love to try this again in 5 and then 10 years later to see how it evolves.

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• 1990 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

  In magnum, this was beautifully youthful and very good indeed. The nose was quite reticent to start off, but there was a beautiful Puligny character to its bouquet, with little dollop of cream over gentle aromas of white flowers and sweet white fruit framed by chalky hints. Lovely. The palate was stunningly youthful, coming across almost tightly clenched, with lots of sweet lemony citrus and fresh acidity giving the wine a real sense of energy and verve. It was only the slightly rounded, mellower tones on the midpalate, with sweet ripe apples and peach flavours, that hinted at the wine’s age. There was a lot to admire here. Great finish too – long, insistent, with citrussy lemons spiked with lovely mineral tones and the littlest nutty hint. This was very good indeed. A very complete wine that seems as though it will need all of another decade, at least in a magnum format, to really hit its stride.

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• 1989 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

  Wow. This was fantastic – it ran a great bottle of 2001 Chave Hermitage close as my favourite wine of the night. The beautifully subtle nose showed apple flesh and light cream aromas mixed with a panoply of minerally scents – chalk and limestone and seashell – and then a lifted spicy note and some almond nuts running underneath. Nice. There was a lovely, almost spare elegance to the palate – a world away from the oaky blockbusters that BDM Corton-Charlies can be in their youth. While there was a lovely depth and a full, generous sense of breadth to the wine, it was the effortless way that it carried its weight and the wonderful definition in its fleshy flavours of sweet apples and white melons underlined with chalky notes that really got me. There an almost feminine grace and elegance here. It ended in a long, long finish as well, with a lovely interplay of chalk and spice and bittersweet mineral notes. Phenomenal stuff and drinking quite beautifully on the night.

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• 1989 Nicolas Potel Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

  Last of the whites – this was running a bit tired, but was still very enjoyable. There was a lovely nose on its, with sweet scents of white musk and ripe apples, white flowers and a whiff of butter pastry and sweet cream, all laced with a little dusting of chalk. The palate was rather less engaging unfortunately, with a spark of almost over-bright acidity and citrus lemony notes running through white fruited flavours on a chalky mineral base. There was still a lot of tensile strength to the wine and a nice finish with a little lick of spice that had surprising length to it, but this was clearly thinning out a little compared to 1989 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charle that came just before it. Overall though, an enjoyable wine with lots of character.

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• 1969 Marqués de Riscal Rioja Reserva 89 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alavesa, Rioja

  Woah – this literally smelt like s**t, with wet earth and barnyard and dog fur patted down with a distinct manure-like whiff. There was some semblance of dark cherries and some preserved plum aromas behind all that, but this truly not a great nose. Just way too funky for my tastes. Thankfully, while the palate was still overlaid with a little layer of smelly funk, it showed far, far better, with attractive flavours of sour plums and dried cherries and haw flakes. The tannins had faded and the finish was a little short, but there was still a lovely, clear ring acidity supporting the wine and keeping it alive, even charming. Not the strongest Rioja even at its age, but there was something quite likeable and enjoyable about it once you got past the funk on the nose.

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• 1964 Enrico Serafino Barbaresco Riserva 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

  Not perfect – like the ’69 Rioja that came before it, this had clearly gone past its prime. But unlike its Spanish cousin, this was still had quite a bit left in its tank. The nose had a good death of pungent funk to it, with soy sauce, earth, meat and a sweet and sour twang of wilted flowers alongside more traditional notes of black plums and cherries and menthol. There was something slightly dirty smelling about this, but not quite enough to be off-putting. The palate was quite a bit better though. Here, the funk faded into the background and lots of complex flavours of black cherries and mulberries and haw flakes flecked with menthol and spice and fruit peel came to the fore instead, filling the mouth with a surprising fullness. For a wine of its age, this still felt really complete, with a nice amount of orangey acidity that gave the it a nice, juicy feel as well. The finish pulled away gently, with a savoury twang of preserved fig peel and a curl of smoky ash. This was a lovely drink – full of character, really complex. It was in no way perfect, showing a tad rustic and perhaps flagging a bit at its edges, but still really nice.

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• 1993 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny

  One of the best village wines I can remember ever drinking. There was an intensely perfumed nose here, full of sweet dark tones of blueberries and violets sprinkled with earth and violets and sweet spice - heady stuff. It was rich and complete in the mouth, punching way above its weight with full, deep flavours of ripe blueberries and cassis playing against an earthy backdrop. All this was framed by mellow acidity and soft, resolved tannins leading into a long finish littered with sweet violets and spice. A whopper of a Chambolle-Musigny, and drinking quite at peak. Yum.

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• 1995 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

  This was still very structured, especially in the magnum format that we had it in, but this was very impressive and clearly starting to open up and develop some beautifully complex flavours. It had such a lovely nose, pure Chambolle spiked with rich Vogue stylings, with deep draws of blueberries, earth and spice alongside slightly stalky notes of fresh cut flowers and sweeter rose petals. It was a big, ripe nose, still holding primary aromas, but it already ringingly clear and fragrantly perfumed. Certainly smelt like a Musigny I thought. The palate was also firm and muscular, with rather chewy 1995 tannins, but it was not without elegance, showing a lovely freshness and clarity to deep flavours dark cherries and blueberries infused with spicy notes and dark floral accents. From the midpalate onwards, a deep base of structured, minerally notes stretched out into a long finish where some rather teeth-coating tannins came out again. This is clearly a very good wine, but not quite ready. Impressive now, but I think it will be better in a short 2-3 years. On the night, I actually thought it was overshadowed by the superb 1993 Chambolle village that preceded it.

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• 1996 Domaine René Engel Clos Vougeot Flawed

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

  Second flawed bottle. Corked. The nose stank of wet cardboard and iodine alongside notes of dark cherries, spice and earth. I think this would have been quite good if not for the TCA. The palate was similarly marked by a cardboardy over-layer, but beneath that, it felt full and complete, with still rather deep flavours of dark-fruited black cherries, blackberries and lots of smoky spice underscored by bright 1996 acidity. Finish was just a bit flat, petering out with some orange peel notes and a little trail of minerality. That may have just been the effect of the flaw though. Pity.

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• 2000 Domaine Bertagna Chambertin 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru

  This took a bit of time to open up, but showed quite nicely when it did. It had a deep nose of dark cherries and blackberries and dark floral tones floating above savoury bass notes of earth and broiled meat with lots of fragrant spice on the side. Lovely stuff, rather darker in tone than I would have expected from a 2000 Chambertin. The palate was not quite as strong as the nose, but still pretty good. This was a “true” 2000 wine in the sense that there was nice fresh acidity but rather less than great structure, with softened tannins lying behind its broad flavours of dark cherries and blackberries. The softness did not mean the wine was flat though, it was still well supported by fresh, lively, tingly backbone that led all the way into a good finish with fresh black cherries and berries dashed with a little spice. Nice, but about time to start drinking up – even though the wine opened up in the glass over time, I am not sure it is going to improve all that much more.

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• 1998 Pierre Damoy Chambertin-Clos de Bèze 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

  After some smashing bottles of 2001 Damoy Beze, this was rather disappointing when unveiled. Served blind, it seemed to share more characteristics with the aged Barolo that came before it than some of the other Burgs on the same flight. This had a really savoury nose, full of leather and tobacco and a bit of funk running alongside dark cherry fruit scents. At the fringes, woody notes of spice and herb, mint and menthol and a little whiff of cigarette smoke gave a more than passable Nebbiolo impression. The palate had the fullness of depth that one would expect from a Grand Cru in its plummy fruit and juicy dark cherry notes sprinkled and there was a nice bright freshness to it. However, I thought it was a bit simple and rustic, especially in its slightly woody finish where a little layer of powdery tannins came up alongside a twist of dried flowers. All in all, decent, but not quite up to scratch. I am not even sure that this will benefit much from extended aging in the bottle.

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• 1995 Prince Florent de Merode Corton-Clos du Roi 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

  Prices on these bottles have gone up ever since Prince Florent de Merode’s Cortons were anointed as proto-DRCs after the recent purchase of the vineyards by the Domaine. Prior to that, I always thought that they produced very solid wines at a decent value – this bottle was a fine example of that. It had a lovely nose, wafting out of the glass with aromas of fresh blueberries and cherries underpinned by earth and spice and little hints of menthol and rubber. The palate was pure Corton, coming across strong and structured, with a backbone of fine but grippy tannins and well-integrated acidity running beneath pure, well-defined tones of dark cherries and blackberries seasoned with a gentle sprinkling of spice and little menthol notes. There was a good Grand Cru fullness to the wine, but it never lost its sense of control and focus, showing a neat sense of structure all the way into a strong finish where shades mineral and tobacco took their place amidst the dark fruit. Very good indeed and just starting to drink nicely. It certainly has the structure and depth to go on for many years yet though.

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• 2006 Thibault Liger-Belair Corton-Les Renardes 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

  Decently good, but this was a clear step down from the Prince Florent de Merode Corton Clos du Roi that preceded it. There was something rather reminiscent of a Chinese herbal preparation, with a whiff of deer antler soup an Chinese almonds on the nose alongside more typically Burgundian aromas of red cherries and earth. The palate was still very primary, with bright cherry flavours that had a touch of cola on them alongside a twist of orange peel towards the finish, all this riding on a river of bright acidity. Really fresh for a 2006 I thought. The tannins surprisingly velvety tannins for such a young Corton, which made this very drinkable, but it clearly does need many years yet. A bit simple on the night, it should take on more complexity, even if it does not look like it will ever be a truly compelling Grand Cru. Try again in 2018 or so.

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• 1989 Château Gruaud Larose 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  A beautifully mature Bordeaux, still youthful in many aspects, but starting to drink really well. It had a lovely nose, with warm notes of sweet tobacco and loamy earth alongside higher-toned aromas of black cherries, blackberries and dried flowers. The tannins had softened into a velvety robe on the palate, and the wine’s flavours of dark cherries and cassis and plums were beautifully integrated with gentle curls of tobacco and smoke that wreathed around the finish. In spite of the mature softness though, there was still a lovely sense of energy and freshness that gave the wine a very clean, very pure feel that sometimes escapes poorer vintages of Gruaud-Larose. A little chew of juicy acidity and fine tannins right at the finish also suggested that this has some way to go yet. Delicious stuff.

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• 1996 Clos Mogador Priorat 93 Points

  Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

  I have probably been disappointed by more Priorat wines than those from any other fashionably “in” regions in the past decade or so. Just too many big, deep and impressive, but ultimately neither very enjoyable nor engaging wines. This magnum of Clos Mogador, however, was very good indeed. It had quite an intense nose, full of rich, thick blackberry aromas swirling around more savoury notes of dried earth and meat. It was the palate that I really liked though. As would be expected after that nose, there was a real sense of rich depth to the wine’s dark-fruited character, with ripe notes of plums and black cherries and berries backed up by a deep core of earth and mineral. What I really enjoyed though was how juicy and chewy and delicious the wine was, with fine tannins and wonderful acidity giving it an absolutely lovely sense of purity and effortless grace in spite of its weight. Great stuff – this was a very complete wine. In a magnum, it still seems so very young and primary. Delicious as it was on the night, I would give it a few more years to develop greater complexity; and with its balance, depth and structure, this can probably go on for years, if not decades, after that.

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• 1966 Graham Porto Vintage 94 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  A port of great promise. However, straight out of the bottle when popped and poured, I felt that this was still years away from being at peak. It had a beautiful nose with sweet red-fruited Graham’s notes of cranberries and raisins soaked in molasses and honey, and then a touch of roasted walnuts and a whiff of mahogany wood. A lovely, rich bouquet. The palate obviously had some age to it, with a nicely resolving structure. However, it still had some of the primary notes of a less than mature port, with relatively simple flavours of dried grapes and brandied cherries on the fore-palate and a lovely wash of warm spice and raisins at the finish. The pedigree and quality of the wine was clear though – simple as the flavours may have been, they were deep, powerful and absolutely perfectly balanced, with a delicious sweetness filling every crevice of the mouth and just about refusing to let go. This is about as complete a bottle of Grahams as I can remember having. Lovely, but give it 8-10 years more. 94+

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