Wine dinner, few attendees, lots of great wines. (Champagne, Burgundy, Bordeaux, many older bottles))

My place, Copenhagen, Denmark
Tasted Friday, September 14, 2018 by M.S.L. with 276 views

Introduction

Being part of a small tasting group, four of us got together. The excuse was my birthday, but really we were just happy to be able to taste lovely wines together. As host, I tried to match wines with what, in my humble experience, enhances the best qualities in the wines. I went with very good sushi for the rosé champagnes. Mushrooms cooked with cream, garlic and thyme on roasted bread for the burgundies. Rib eyes and baked potatoes for the bordeaux wines. Some of the attendees (not me) are rather experienced tasters, but I think we were all in agreement on what was the great wines and what was not. Writing meaningful notes is the hard part, so bare with me, here we go:

Flight 1 - Rosé champagne 2002 (2 Notes)

  • 2002 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut Rosé 99 Points

    France, Champagne

    To me a close to perfect wine, which seemed to be the consensus at the table. It seems both ripe and mellow yet structured and acidic at the same time. Small red berries, perfect acidity and balance. A potential perfect score when it reaches its peak. Decanted for 1,5 hours before serving.

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  • 2002 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année Rosé 90 Points

    France, Champagne

    Perhaps not a bottle in the best condition? It was bought in an airport some years ago. It will always be tough to be paired with Cristal Rosé, but this seemed clumsy and with nothing special going on. The colour of the wine was rather dark. My first experience with this wine, so hope that this showing is not representative. Decanted for 1,5 hours before serving.

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Flight 2 - White Burgundy (3 Notes)

Flight 3 - Older red burgundies (2 Notes)

  • 1928 Unknown Pinot Noir 91 Points

    France

    Unable to find "Chambolle Musigny 1928" so this is the closest category. Remains of label states Chambolle-Musigny, but no producer is visible. I don't have much experience with the 1928 vintage, and don't think I have ever tried a Burgundy from this year. I was surprised with the beautiful, deep colour and the stamina of the wine. The taste was good, but not special and was perhaps a little hard to identify as a Burgundy. The bottle had very good provenance and was in good condition. A fun experience.

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  • 1955 Chanson Père & Fils Grands-Echezeaux 95 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru

    Pop and pour. This had the characteristics I look for in older Burgundies. Small red berries with a certain lushness kept in balance by fine acidity. No sense of decline with very good presence and a long aftertaste. A really great bottle!

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Flight 4 - Margaux 1955-1985 (3 Notes)

For this flight I said it was all from the same area and ending on the same number. They were quick to identify Margaux, but struggled with the vintages (I would have too).

  • 1955 Château Rausan-Ségla 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Cruse bottling with top shoulder fill. Short decant. True Margaux character, but seeming younger than 63 years. Fruit intact and nothing out of place. A lovely bottle in excellent shape.

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  • 1975 Château Giscours 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Base neck fill, good condition. Short decant. Very Margaux, but perhaps a bit simple. Mature and seemingly with less acidity than the Rausan Ségla 1955 served in the same flight

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  • 1985 Château Margaux

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Unfortunately this was not in the best shape. This is one of the very best 1985's that I have tasted in the past, so this must have been flawed somehow. It tasted like 90 points on the night, but didn't have the fruit and lushness I associate with this chateau in this vintage.

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Flight 5 (2 Notes)

  • 1982 Château Haut-Brion 98 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Decanted ca. one hour. Brought by a friend. What a lovely wine! It had become late in the evening, so perhaps my palate was suffering. I thought it was a Cheval Blanc, which is pretty much as high a praise a wine can get from me, but still I was way off... You could easily sense the greatness of the wine without it coming from power. It was mellow with great fruit presence, but also stoic. Balanced and in great shape. A truly majestic wine!

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  • 2009 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 97 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Decanted for ca. one hour. Brought by a friend. This was a brutal wine, but still it was in a shape where you felt it was ok to drink it. If I had bottles of this, I would probably store them for 10+ years before revisiting. This will be amazing in the future!

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Flight 6 (2 Notes)

  • 2014 Sylvain Cathiard Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Aux Thorey 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru

    Brought by a friend. Four people shared 16 bottles of wine and this was number 15 so at this point, I should probably not be rating them. I remember, that it was a very good wine, but the characteristics, you will have to read about somewhere else...

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  • 2005 Château Duhart-Milon 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Brought by a friend. Four people shared 16 bottles of wines this day and this was number 16, so I probably shouldn't be rating it. However I remeber a rather good if a little bit tight wine, which holds very good promises for the future.

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Closing

Cristal Rosé is in my view the best rosé champagne out there. Haut Brion 1982 is a legendary wine. The 1955 bottles showed very well! 16 bottles for four people were perhaps a bit over the top, at least that's what my head felt like, when I woke up the following day... Anyway we had a really great night where most bottles showed well.

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