Top 100 Farewell Dinner 2014

No Flights but all the wines served blind

• NV Charles Heidsieck Champagne Brut Réserve 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  (Tasted Blind): Equal blend of main three grapes. Deepish yellow with a fine mousse on the pour. The bouquet is a rich combination of toasty, nutty and curd cheese notes. A juicy, elegantly textured wine with a distinct leesy character that carries through to the finish. While this Champagne shows age, the mouthfeel is soft and rounded with some complexity. Perhaps it lacks some traditional acid bite; there is a little lemon zest, but an enjoyable richness and long finish.
  This was a recent purchase (compare with next wine)

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• NV Charles Heidsieck Champagne Brut Réserve 88 Points

  France, Champagne

  (Tasted Blind): Lovely brioche notes, intense with some development. Not the vibrant acid of the previous one, but clearly more of the toast, button mushroom and honey notes. I found it a little musty, almost corky and felt it might be slightly compromised. Others felt it was quite evolved. It has a further ten years to evolve in the cellar. This bottle had been purchased 10 years previously and stored in a cool cellar

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• 2005 Les Amis Vignerons d’Anne-Claude Leflaive Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Melon sur Granite 86 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine

  Bright notes of lemon, almond paste, and ripe apple. On the palate, vibrant acidity and a waxy lanolin texture give way to juicy notes of bruised apple, wet-dog earthiness, and a touch of aldehydes. A leesy finish closes with a mushroom and a dirty earth character that linger on the tongue.
  It certainly a good start and enjoyable and complex but felt it was a little too evolved.

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• 2010 Herencia Altes Garnatxa Blanca Terra Alta Benufet 89 Points

  Spain, Catalunya, Tarragona, Terra Alta

  (Tasted Blind): Offering expressive notes of lemon blossom, lime and white flowers with a hint of spritz on the nose, this flows t the palate with intense lemon nicely balanced by its firm acidity and stony undertones that linger on the long, slightly herbal finish. An incredibly bright and fresh blend of Grenache Blanc!

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• 2013 Shobbrook Wines Giallo 92 Points

  Australia

  (Tasted Blind): Light lemon colour; intense flavours of fresh fruit including apples, melon, and a hint of citrus. Aromatic precision! The palate is bright and flavourful, with zingy acidity, supple textures, and abundant juicy fresh fruit. Some skin contact pithy, notes add some structure which all heads to a long, pleasing finish that lingers. Overall, a delicious Sauvignon Blanc, a wonderful balance of finesse and freshness.
  10-day fermentation with skin contact.

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• 2012 Domaine du Pélican Savagnin Ouillé 91 Points

  France, Jura, Arbois

  (Tasted Blind): Mid lemon colour with aromas of peach, vanilla spice and woody undertones. The palate has a pleasant peach fruit offset by a crisp yet fine acidity, leading to an integrated and lovely mineral finish. Texturally and aroma-wise, it is reminiscent of lemon cream biscuits, with almost a lactic feel to it. Excellent length, smart wine. Closes firm.
  The ‘Ouillé’ refers to being topped up.

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• 1990 Marcel Deiss Riesling Bergheim 89 Points

  France, Alsace

  (Tasted Blind): Powerful and intense aromas of Valencia orange and ripe stone fruits. The richness of the fruits is well balanced with fine acidity. There is some tertiary development that is accented with a lovely minty note. A delightful, powerful wine that finishes pretty long but to drink up.

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• 2011 Cambridge Road Dovetail 88 Points

  New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough

  (Tasted Blind): Mid garnet hue; the nose has an abundant and inviting aroma of freshly cut grass, spring flowers and black pepper with a touch of spice. Very attractive if different. The palate is soft and flowing, rich with that sprinkle of pepper. Plenty of ripe red cherry and some raspberry fruits along with subtle hints of clove and savoury nuances - fresh acidity. An interesting blend that seems to work remarkably well. Tannins seem firm but yielding in the blend.
  A natural wine made from 71 PN and 29 Syrah.

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• 1984 Seppelt Shiraz Show Sparkling Great Western 92 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Great Western

  (Tasted Blind): The nose offers chocolate caramel, mint and port-like aromas. This sparkling Shiraz’s aged character is evident on the palate with almost Medical notes and oaky undertones. Complex, classy style with 28 g/l RS, it always is interesting in the lineup! Long, lingering finish.

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• 1981 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) Rioja Viña Real Reserva 87 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  (Tasted Blind): Showing age with plenty of tertiary aromas and a subtle hint of brett. The palate is rich and full-bodied yet still remarkably soft and well-balanced. Touch of that Rioja acid at the end, Old-fashioned Rioja with a long lingering finish.

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• 2001 Château Certan de May 86 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  (Tasted Blind): herbal aromas to start with a touch of earth, graphite but not much fruit. The palate is fresh with some sweet fruit, medium-bodied, and feels nicely constructed and balanced as it ages gracefully. However, the herbal note is annoying, and the aftertaste has a touch of unripe acid.

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• 1989 Kanonkop Pinotage 85 Points

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

  (Tasted Blind): Fairly rich, ripe version with a toffee nose and tertiary evolution, showing its age. A little mushy, although there is a minty freshness in the aftertaste. Mellow, but going nowhere.

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• 2005 Warwick Estate Estate Auction Reserve 89 Points

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch

  (Tasted Blind): Aromas of tomato puree, smoke and mint. Quite Bordeaux-like on the palate with lively acidity, sinewy texture and a long finish. It has diesel and pastille notes and tertiary aged character. Some depth and complexity.

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• 2005 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

  (Tasted Blind): Mid-garnet colour and offers aromas of tar, black fruits, sour black cherries - very much old world and Rhone. The entry is full-bodied, soapy with firm tannins, bay leaf flavours and black fruits. It all seems to come together with some minerals, hung meat, tar and pepper, good depth of flavour and a decent acidic structure - and finishes long. 2005 is a pretty good vintage, and there is a robustness to the wine that appeals.

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• 2005 Thierry Allemand Cornas Reynard 96 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

  (Tasted Blind): Deep black-red hue; this is an expressive and inviting wine with notes of caramel, mint, garrigue, tobacco and brined olives. The palate is rich and tarry with excellent concentration, very much Cornas with its full-body, black fruits, fig, marinated plums and mineral/garrigue. There is a creme brûlée edge here with black olives towards the mid-palate. Well structured, this still has sturdy tannins and a long, winding farewell. Spectacular balanced, extraordinary complexity, this is cracking!

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• 2000 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Cornas Domaine de Saint Pierre 87 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

  (Tasted Blind): Medium red colour with aromas of black olive and mint chocolate notes, reminiscent of South Africa. A rich, sweet entry full of fruit seems consistent, whilst there is a smoky element as well. However, the wine has a fresh, mineral-edged vivid acidity with salinity and savouriness that pushes toward Cornas, somewhat aged. In a more modern version, there is some power and complexity to make for a lovely wine but it lacks the gravitas of a top Cornas; there is little depth, and the body is too light for this AC. Seems a touch easy-going.

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• 2007 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett 91 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  (Tasted Blind): Mid yellow with intense floral notes of classic Riesling: slate, lime, white flowers. Glassy textured with a fine, integrated, racy acidity, and a hint of RS, the palate is linear in shape with a chalky, pithy finish. Long and well balanced.

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• 2002 Joh. Jos. Prüm Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 91 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  (Tasted Blind): Light to mid-yellow with golden edges signifying some age. A complex nose shows sweet almond paste, shortbread, satsuma peel, lemon blossom (touch kerosene), and botrytis. Classic Mosel Riesling Auslese, there is an array of sweet and ripe aromas, rich texture, well-integrated RS and botrytis complexity. The acid is vibrant and, again a linear, elegant shape. Fairly long but not as deep as expected nor as complex or dynamic.

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