Post DRC-tasting Dinner

A very mixed group of us made our way down the road to Jade Palace, where we chased the fabulous DRC vs the World tasting with a few more bottles and Jade Palace's comfort food. We started on a high, with two very nice wines, both hardly showing their age, but then very quickly entered into quirky territory - all old world, save for the stikcy, but most from off the beaten track. Very interesting line-up this.

• 1983 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  I really enjoyed this. It drank far younger than its 28 years. Nose clearly spoke of a ripe year - clearly Bordeaux left-bank, but it was almost modern in its rich cassis tones, little touch of oak alongside tobacco and cigar smoke, with a little whiff of crushed flowers. The palate showed sweet but pure cassis tones, still surprisingly simple and primary with the fruit punctuated with some smoky cigar tones at the finish. It had great balance though, very clean and clear, with a nice plush feel. Ready to drink, yummy, but it could clearly develop more. Quite clearly a bottle in far better condition than some of the others posted about on CT. Good stuff.

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• 1988 Domaine Bruno Clair Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru La Dominode 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru

  Two solid 1988 Burgs in a couple of weeks. This was very good indeed. It was far, far younger tasting than the last bottle of the 1988 Bruno Clair Dominodes - better provenance most probably. Lovely nose, very Cote de Beaune, with strawberries, flowers and earth in a perfumy melange. The palate was fresh, clean, vibrant, with fresh acidity and pretty strawberry fruit that got most people guessing that it was a post-2000 vintage. It was only the silkily resolved tannins that even hinted at its age. The long minerally finish was a perfect foil for the more delicate flavours. A lovely drink. Together with the 1983 Pichon-Baron, clearly the best bottles of the night.

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• 2005 Boroli Barbera d'Alba Quattro Fratelli 86 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba

  Not undrinkable, but mediocre. After a couple of really solid Barberas in the past few months, this was a reminder of how the appellation got saddled with a reputation for poor wines. Sweet, modern, candied on the nose, with maraschino cherry on the forefront and not much more in the background. More cherries on the palate, lots of acidity and a touch of mineral in there, which made it a bit less one-note than the nose, but it was the sweetness of the fruit that stood out. Meh.

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• 2005 Mas de Daumas Gassac 88 Points

  France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Pays d'Hérault

  Granted this was far too young, but it was not to my taste - just a bit too anonymously "international" styled. Nose showed liberal mocha notes, all toasty, roast and, chocolate, along with very sweet cassis, and a touch of pepper and earth - got me wondering whether this was a new world Cab blend. The palate was rather better - more like a modern Bordeaux, with plush cassis and plums framed by smooth tannins and good balance. Well made, but this somehow came across as both faultless and soulless at the same time. This certainly needs many, many years in the bottle, but at the moment, decent but nothing more.

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• 1998 Movia Pinot Nero 88 Points

  Slovenia, Primorska, Goriška Brda

  How unusual - a 13 year old Slovenian Pinot! Not great, but very commendable for what it is. Very nice nose for sure - peppery spice, strawberries and red berries, cassis, earth, mineral. Attractive stuff. Did not like the palate quite as much though, Quaffable, with a nice softness and fresh acidity, but there was a sightly cough-syrupy sweetness to its rich cassis and berry fruit that was rather too much. All in all, decent, interesting stuff, but not something I would shell out to buy,

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• 2006 Bodegas y Viñedos de Murcia Jumilla Pico Madama 88 Points

  Spain, Murcia, Jumilla

  Highly rated for a wine of its price, but I thought it was hardly more than just a decent drink. Big nose, modern - could explain why Parker rated it - plenty of glycerol, vanilla, lifted black fruit, earth, eucalyptus and flowers. Very attractive, but in a rather in your face way. The palate was well-made, but not quite to my taste with big flavours of prunes and plums wed to slightly rustic tannins and a background of meat, bramble and a whiff of smoky, spicy notes at the finish. Okay, but not one I am likely to revisit, even at the very reasonable place.

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• 1996 Bodegas Valduero Ribera del Duero Gran Reserva 91 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

  I thought this was quite nice. Like so many of the other wines on show, the nose showed had a modern edge to it, with ripe scents of cassis and dark cherries alongside coffee grounds and mocha and just that whiff of smoky Tempranillo. The palate was very much in line with the nose with a voluptuous richness, this time though with more blue and blackberry flavours rimmed by some spice and a layer of chalky tannins. The age of the wine showed up in the finish, which had a charming dusting of dried fruits - plums and prunes here. Somehow, the whole thing came together with a sense of balance and finesse in spite of its obvious ripeness. A nice wine - one of the better ones on the evening.

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• 1991 Twin Hill Tokay 91 Points

  Australia, Western Australia, Greater Perth, Swan Valley

  Really idiosyncratic Aussie sticky, but quite a fun wine to end the night with. Almost brown coloured, it had a salty, savoury, almost seabreeze note to its nose, along with a rancio character, with dried figs and mahogany floating around in there. The palate was super, super rich, almost like a chocolate liquer in the way it coated the mouth with deep flavours of figs, spice, chocolate cake, prunes, raisins - deep reservoirs of concentration here, very intense, almost a little too sweet, a little too rustic, but than the ultra-long finish sets in with a mouthfull of Christmas spice flavours and all that is almost forgotten. Hard to rate this, but I think warts and all, it still is a wine worth seeking out and drinking every now and again.

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