Peter's Exit Dinner

Peter passed his exit examinations and we gathered at one of our usual haunts to celebrate. Given Peter's tastes, Burgs (white and red) and Claret dominated. What a night it was though, starting with sherry, moving on through bubbles, whites, reds and then sweet - with great wines across the board, a handful of truly exceptional bottles and some of the best food I have ever had from the kitchens of Imperial Treasure. Great company rounded the whole thing off and made for a perfect evening.

• NV Equipo Navazos La Bota de Manzanilla 22 "Navazos" 93 Points

  Spain, Andalucía, Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda

  A sherry lover's dream Manzanilla - realised quite quickly when this was poured that not all wine lovers are sherry lovers though! Nevertheless, a great wine and just beautiful pairing with roast pork belly and roast suckling pig. Lovely nose showed dusky figs, preserved plusm, a dusting of walnuts, some gentle woody notes and some earthy depth. Palate had all that palate-staining intensity I remembered from the first bottles. Lots of preserved fig skins and lemons bolstered with fresh acidity on the attack and great textured richness on the mid-palate. Past that, it was lightly less powerful at the finish, but still intense and absolutely lipsmackingly delicious as it pulled away with a show of lemon zest and mineral. Somehow the last two bottles did not quite hit the heights of the first time I tried this. Still, I just could not stop drinking this - absolutely delicious.

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• 1969 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec 93 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  This was really interesting. Only Peng Fong called it a Huet - the rest of us thought it was some sort of Cremant. Golden yellow in colour, almost no mousse save for the tiniest prickling at the very back of the mouth - this could almost be a Demi-Sec Vouvray. Nose showed sweet caramel, mushroom omelette, chicken stock, damp earth, lemon oil and some woolly socks. Nice, obviosuly aged and very intriguing. The palate was sweetish with an aged German Spatlese type of off-dry sweetness. It had a clean entry and then honeyed tones with ripe red apples, sugarcane, yellow fruit and some metallic seashell notes back-end, where the wine again met some fresh lemony notes. Nicely rich, melting, and delicious. A yummy wine.

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• 1988 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut 94 Points

  France, Champagne

  A superb Champagne that went down a little too fast. It was only towards the last few sips that it really opened up in the glass. Golden orange, almost amber in colour. Very developed on the nose, with deep meaty scents, some caramel notes and umami galore, with savoury Bovril and some mushroom essence swimming around the glass. The palate seemed a lot younger though. It had really glorious acidity, this was just amazingly fresh and zippy. Not in a young strident way, but just brilliant in the way it zoomed across the mouth, revealing fruity red apples, a strong undercurrant of white meaty goodness, and some absolutely lovely minerality as it entered into a long, powerful finish. Lots of depth, yet this went down so deceptively easy. I guessed either 1985 or 1988 given the strength of the wine, but could not pick out the Krug. This was a very different beast from the heavier, maybe more masculine 1989. In contrast, this was quite, quite the elegant wine. This particular bottle was just about getting into its stride too - I would give it 2-3 years more before it hits peak drinking I think.

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• 2004 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne 93 Points

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

  Very young, but very good - a sight better than the corky 2002 we had last week. This was still very tightish though. Nose had lots of mineral, little hints of mushrooms and earth, and just the bit of perfumed flowers and a little whiff of mushy pees. All very subtle scents needing some amount of coaxing before they drifted out of the glass though. Palate was clearly young too. Rich, palate-staining, but still quite dominantly marked by lean, clean acidity and a solid mineral core. With time, white chocolate notes emerged along with a super-long, detailed finish that showed yellow fruit and chalk flavours. Tight as it is, I really liked this. I think it will be a blockbuster in the next 5-6 years (providing premox does not get to it). It just has everything I would look for in a BdM, balance, length and intensity in spades, with buried complexity just waiting for time to uncover.

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• 2002 Domaine Jacques Prieur Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes 92 Points

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

  A goodish Puligny. Not everyone liked this - quite a few people thought it was a bit too new worldly, but I was actually quite taken by the wine. Sure, the nose was marked with buttery popcorn, but there were clearly some nice yellow fruit scents and flowers accents below that. Palate was rich, a bit weighty and pumped up (again a bit new world-ish in that aspect). However, it had high acidity, very integrated too, so that it showed great balance. Past the fruit, there was plenty of dry extract, with lots of minerality on the mid-palate and towards the lengthy finish. Given the weight, balance and minerality, I actually thought it might be a Meursault Perrieres. All in all, this may not be to everyone's taste, but I thought it was a good showing.

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• 2000 Domaine du Clos de Tart Clos de Tart 94 Points

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

  Brilliant stuff - we caught this at just the right age I think, it was just drinking gorgeously. Strangely for a 2000 too, it was positively the most elegant Clos de Tart I have ever had. I actually thought it was a Chambolle at first, and switched my guess to a Clos des Lambrays when told it was a Morey - it was just all so elegantly seductive. What a wonderful nose for a start. Beautifully floral, like hundreds of rose petals had been distilled and added into the wine, along with pure red cherries and a little earthy, woody spiciness at the fringes. The palate was just brilliant too. Absolutely silky tannins just glided through the mouth in a show of gloriously pure red cherries, all soft, elegant and yummy. On the mid-palate, some meatiness and a bit of brambly spice added a bit of ommph before a fleshy, voluptuous finish set-in with some roses nestled amongst more melting tannins, all superbly integrated into a lovely whole. This wine just gave tons and tons of sensory pleasure in a way that only a Burg can. Slurp...

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• 1958 Marchesi di Barolo Barolo 94 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Outstanding stuff. It took awhile to get going even though it had already been decanted before serving. After half an hour in the glass, it just blossomed with classic notes of roses, tar, earth, dark fruit and haw flakes on the nose, along deeps whiffs of porcini mushrooms and puffs of smoke. No one was in doubt that this was a Barolo, let alone a Nebbiolo. Palate was still so alive too. Fresh acid played a fine accompanaiment to gloriously singing flavours of dark cherries, licorice and oyster sauce and soy notes. The wine was beautifully integrated by now, and as it opened up, it started showing deep flavours of meat and smoke as it wound its way down into long finish full of savoury umami and raisin flavours wrapped in a cloak of gently resolved tannins. Wow. This was at peak.

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• 1996 Château Cos d'Estournel 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe

  A lovely Claret just beginning to exit its awkward adolescence. This showed far, far better than the last bottle I had. Although it was still young, it certainly gave me much hope for the couple of bottles I have ferreted away somewhere. Thought it was a Pauillac at first, but picked it out as a 1996 Cos when our attention was drawn to St. Estephe. It just had a classic Cos nose of tobacco, wet leafy forest floor, black tea and some woody, minty cedar bark scents. The palate marked it as coming from a strong cab sauv vintage. Lots of clean, pure, cool cassis flavours. Nothing forced, nothing extracted, just perfectly ripe, wonderfully pure fruit held in lovely balance by fresh acidity and given structure by fine tannins. Little capsicum hints marked the palate as the wine sunk into a deep, long finish full of more dark fruit and wreathes of long cigar smoke finish. Still a bit primary, but a real joy to drink, and when paired with lamb, just absolutely wonderful.

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• 1953 Château Latour Grand Vin 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Really lovely. This would have been my wine of the night if not for the ridiculously good '66 La Mission that followed immediately after. Wonderful nose showed damp forest floor and sweet cassis mixed with gentle red fruit and cherry scents, all with some floral accents floating around. A beautiful nose, deep, integrated and altogether alluring. This had some palate too. Rich and melting, it showed sweet cherries, slightly wilting flowers and a little muddy earth, all in one superly integrated whole laced with glorious freshness. I thought this was just perfectly balanced. Martin and I both guessed it was a 1961 Pichon Baron on this showing, but this was quite a sight older, and drinking every bit as well as one would expect from a top-end claret one or two decades younger. As with all Latours, it was just that singularity of focus and seamless coming together of classic Pauillac features that really struck me. Complex, interesting, yet still one complete whole that was nigh impossible to pick apart. A solid, solid wine.

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• 1966 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Awesome. Wine of the night for most of the people on the table. That is really saying something given the company this had. The nose was suitably impressive. Deep scents of haw flakes, dried cherries, raspberries, fresh herbs and a tiny hint of capsicum all made for a really attractive introduction to the wine. It was the palate that really blew me away though. It was so nicely integrated and mellowed that it went down incredibly easily, but make no mistake, this was a towering wine. It had wonderful concentration wed to pitch perfect balance, and just ringing clarity in its clean, pure sweet cassis character. Just profound from first sip to last, with perfect definition and focus as it filled the mouth all the way into a finish layered with earth and gentle tobacco notes. The finish did not exactly have prodigous length. But hey, who is complaining This was an incredible Graves, and one of the best Bordeaux I have had this year.

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• 1986 Château Climens 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  Deceptively understated stuff, this was actually very good, but so easy on the palate that you would have missed the quality if you blinked. It had all the hallmarks of a good 1986 Sauternais - not too aggressive sweetness, lovely balance, but no lack of concentration. This was apparent from the get-go, with the nose showing plenty of botrytised notes, with honey, burnt sugar, dessiacted coconut with a rather inexplicable whiff of prawn roe. I actually thought it might be a D'Yquem on the back of those coconut notes, but the palate suggested otherwise. Super fresh and very tautly put together, it lacked the opulence of a D'Yquem, but had really nice definition in its apricot and peach-led flavours. Clean, elegant and delicious, yet with more than enough depth to stand up to a rich custard and egg-yolk bun dessert. Quite the perfect pairing actually, with the wine's acidity cutting through and refreshing the palate after each bite, and the long finish with peach poached in brown sugar lingering away in the mouth. Maybe not quite the depth of the 1988-1990 triumvirate, but this was enjoyable all the way from first sniff to last sip. A great way to end a fantastic dinner.

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