Michael Schuster Fine Wine Course Day 1

First evening of fine wine course exploring the classic wine regions of France. Included a revision of tasting technique and tasting of champagne and Alsace wine. Couple of useful reminders: smell, then swirl and smell again; taste front to back and then back to front.

Benchmark examples of NV, Vintage and Blanc de Blancs champagne. Great to compare the difference made by extended lees ageing and the date of disgorgement. The Charles Heidsieck champagnes again stand out for their quality and relative value.

• NV Taittinger Champagne Brut Réserve / La Française 86 Points

  France, Champagne

  Pale lemon. Nose is clean. Fresh, light, some autolytic character - biscuit, brioche. Citrus and green apple. Developing. Off dry, high acidity, medium alcohol, medium body, medium intensity flavours similar to the nose. Medium (-) finish. Creamy mousse but quite aggressive. Good quality chanmpagne but no more. Only 3 years on the lees and it shows.

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• NV Charles Heidsieck Champagne Brut Réserve 91 Points

  France, Champagne

  Medium lemon. Clean nose, medium (+) aromas of biscuit, brioche, baked apple and pear, nuts hint of mushroom. Fully developed. Dry palate, high acidity, medium (+) body, medium alcohol, medium (+) finish, creamy mousse, medium (+) flavours similar to the nose. Outstanding non vintage champagne. The 7 years on the lees and the 40% reserve wines really show when compared to the Taittinger NV (tasted alongside).

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• 2008 Moët & Chandon Champagne Grand Vintage 91 Points

  France, Champagne

  Pale gold. Nose still rather closed, medium (-) intensity, citrus, white blossom, green apple, pastry. Fine bubbles but mousse actually quite aggressive on the palate. Off dry palate, high acidity, fresh, elegant, vital, more pronounced flavours than on the nose, long finish. Outstanding vintage champagne, but this needs time to develop further in the bottle and will definitely improve. 7 1/2 years on the lees, but only disgorged in March 2016.

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• 2002 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  Medium gold. Pronounced nose, very ripe red and stone fruit, citrus, baked apples, biscuit, cinnamon, spice, nuts. Fully developed. Cream mousse. Off dry, medium (+) acidity, medium alcohol, full body, pronounced intensity flavours, but only medium (+) length finish, a little dry on the end. Very mature vintage champagne. This bottle spent 8 years on the lees and was disgorged in 2011. It is clearly ageing rapidly, probably past its best, although this may be a matter of taste, but I'd suggest to drink up soon if you have a bottle disgorged a few years ago.

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• 1995 Charles Heidsieck Champagne Blanc des Millénaires 95 Points

  France, Champagne

  Medium lemon - distinctly so. Clean nose, fine, delicate, lemon, green apple, white peach, biscuit, yeasty, hazel nut. Fully developed. Creamy, graceful, delicate mousse. Dry palate, high acidity, medium alcohol, medium (+) body, pronounced flavours similar to the nose, long finish. Fabulous vintage champagne, 100% Chardonnay. 18 years on lees, disgorged in 2014, so showing benefit of long lees ageing and some bottle age too. Stunning.

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The diversity of Alsace wines came across very clearly in this tasting. Great comparisons of different styles and also quality levels. I was disappointed by the Pinot Gris wines, but these would have gone well with food. The Riesling Cuvée Emile and the Trimbach Gewurtztraminer Vendange Tardive were outstanding.

• 2010 Trimbach Riesling 86 Points

  France, Alsace

  Pale, lemon-green. Clean nose, medium intensity, fairly simple classic Riesling nose of lemon, lime, white blossom, wet stones, kerosene from tertiary development. Developing. Dry, high lively acidity, medium body and alcohol, simple, pure linear flavours. Medium finish. Good quality benchmark Alsace Riesling.

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• 2005 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile 93 Points

  France, Alsace

  Medium lemon. Pronounced aromas of ripe citrus and tropical fruit, wet stones, honeysuckles, petrol, paraffin, wax. Developing. Dry palate, high acidity but actually quite soft, medium (+) body, medium alcohol, rich, pronounced flavours similar to the nose, long finish. Outstanding Riesling, beautifully balance between acid and fruit concentration, complex and concentrated, long persistent finish. Can drink now but suitable for further ageing for many years.

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• 2014 Domaine Ostertag Pinot Gris Zellberg 85 Points

  France, Alsace

  Medium lemon. Green apple, acetone from volatile acidity. Dry, moderate acidity, full body, high alcohol, medium intensity flavours of green apple, hint of honey. Medium (-) finish, alcohol warmth dominating. Acceptable quality. Out of balance, lacks complexity and length, although has some concentration.

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• 2011 Domaine Ostertag Pinot Gris Zellberg 88 Points

  France, Alsace

  Medium lemon. Green apple, honey, glacé fruit. Dry, moderate acidity, medium (+) body, medium (+) alcohol, medium (+) finish. More elegant, firmer than the 2014 tasted alongside it - alcohol does not stand out, no VA, much longer finish.

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• 2008 Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Hengst 90 Points

  France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

  Medium gold. Pronounced nose, classic perfumes Gewurtztraminer aromas of lychee, rose petal, Turkish delight, hint of vegetal. Fully developed. Palate is medium dry, medium acidity, high alcohol, full body, pronounced flavours of lychee, rose petal, honey, stone fruit, spice. Long finish. Very good wine in a showy style - delicious but certainly not subtle. Vendange Tardive style although not labelled as such - 50g/l RS, labelled 4/9 on the bottle. Drink now, not suitable for further ageing.

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• 2012 Domaine Weinbach Gewurztraminer Furstentum Vendanges Tardives 92 Points

  France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

  Medium lemon colour. Medium (+) intensity aromas of lychee, mango, rose petal, stone fruit. Youthful. Medium sweet palate, medium acidity, medium alcohol (only 12%), full body, medium (+) intensity flavours similar to the nose. Long finish. Much more gentle and subtle than the ZH tasted at the same time. Graceful, elegant. Outstanding VT Gewurtztraminer that can be drunk now but is certainly suitable for further ageing.

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Excellent first evening, although personally I would have liked to see more focus on the tasting and a bit less on general discussion of the regions. Certainly benchmark wines and tasting in pairs and across the flights made for some very helpful comparisons.