My (second) 50th birthday lunch
Restaurant The Beehive, White Waltham, UK
Tasted Saturday, September 22, 2018 by Xavier Auerbach with 179 views
Restaurant The Beehive, White Waltham, UK
Tasted Saturday, September 22, 2018 by Xavier Auerbach with 179 views
NV Pol Roger Champagne Brut Réserve 91 Points
France, Champagne
Identical to my tasting note from June 2018. Impressive quality and consistency, seamless and complex. Textbook stuff.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1973 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon 94 Points
France, Champagne
Recently acquired at auction. From a cold and damp cellar apparently. Remains of label only, vintage identified from the cork. Level 1.5 cm below the foil. Different from the bottle from the same lot tasted yesterday, but probably in even better shape. Very healthy bubble, pale golden colour, evolved and mature but completely fresh, elegant and seamless, harmonious, lightly honeyed, smoky, lovely flavours, excellent length. Quite stunning.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2015 Domaine Hamelin Chablis 1er Cru Vauligneau 91 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Delightful ripe fruit, salted butter and chalk, flowers, ripe but fresh acidity, light structure but good flavours and length.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1973 Bodegas Muga Rioja Reserva Prado Enea 91 Points
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Purchased at Christie’s in Amsterdam in June 2011, from a private collection in Vittoria, Spain. Mature but lively appearance; smoky nose, spicy, lovely strawberry fruit, hint of vanilla, nutty warmth; gentle and transparent palate, retains some tannic grip, refreshing acidity, only ever so slightly metallic, warmth from the wood; clean finish, good length. A very good bottle.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1968 Bersano Nebbiolo d'Alba Riserva della Meridiana
Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Nebbiolo d'Alba
Pinta prenapoleonica (1.49 litres), bottle no. 11962. Cloudy. Lively but not correct, probably just a hint of refermentation in bottle. Not rated.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1968 Bodegas Valdemar Rioja Conde de Valdemar Gran Reserva 92 Points
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Remarkably youthful appearance; plummy fruit and American oak, well defined and full of beans, fresh and harmonious, elegant, perfect weight, velvety texture, ripe tannins, very good persistence. Holds up well in the glass.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1973 Ferdinand Pieroth Mönchhofer Kirchenstück Trockenbeerenauslese 92 Points
Austria, Burgenland
Blended from Traminer, Weißburgunder and Bouvier. Lively, full golden colour with orange reflections; open and expressive nose between the honey and Alpine herb stages, lively and with good fruit; juicy and sweet palate, remarkably fresh tropical fruit, not hugely concentrated but fresh and elegant, with subtle but engaging bitters; relatively dry finish, hint of cold tea, good length. On remarkably fine form.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1968 Fonseca Porto Guimaraens Vintage 93 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Gentle and flowing, fresh and harmonious, cedary, black cherries, light but elegant and seamless, pure and transparent but with spicy Fonseca richness, hint of nutty evolution, the alcohol is still well integrated, floral and lifted finish, very good length. An excellent bottle, not far behind the 1970 in fact.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1968 Dalva Porto Colheita 92 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Very intense and powerful, quite salty and woody but does not lack charm, nutty and honeyed, ripe fruit (fresh rather than candied), excellent length.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1915 Cossart Gordon & Co. Madeira Bual Colheita LMR 95 Points
Portugal, Madeira
JNV REF seal. I have recorded this as Cossart Gordon, but I should point out that the stencilling on this bottle did not mention the name of the shipper and there is no paper back label either (unlike with other bottles which I have had) and the wax capsule seems (much) younger. Because of the JNV seal, the authenticity is not in doubt however. Pale amber colour; open and attractive nose, honey, cedar, lemon curd, spice, Grande Champagne Cognac; intense and powerful palate, off-dry, tangy acidity and candied fruit, touch of caramel, woody but not too austere, orange and lemon zest; dry but beautifully delineated finish, very good length. We finished this bottle on 2 Octobre, when it was still in fine fettle.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1968 Goudoulin Bas Armagnac 92 Points
France, Southwest France, Gascony, Bas Armagnac
Very attractive and stylish, smooth and silky, not as powerful as some but also not as rustic, almost Cognac-like elegance, but with lovely, distinctive fruit of ripe plums, flowing, hint of back-end heat but good length. More muscular and masculine after a week in the open bottle, but a sense of finesse remains.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue