A Tasting of Aged Old World Wines

Members of the Yale Wine Society, In Vino Veritas (the Harvard Law School Food and Wine Society), and the Harvard Business School Wine & Cuisine Society gathered one fateful evening for a tasting centered around great old world wines at full maturity. All told, the ten featured wines had accrued a cumulative 322 years of age, over two-thirds of which were attributable to the oldest three.

• 1996 Champagne Fleury Champagne Brut Millésimé 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  Vivacious Champagne: steely and mineral with roasted nuts, brioche, and a great spine of malic acidity and effervescence--basically the Eiffel Tower's hourly light show in your mouth.

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• 2010 Dönnhoff Hermannshöhle Riesling Großes Gewächs 91 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  So 2010 really was a monstrous year for Germany. Intense minerality and acidity are not upstaged by the prodigious amount of extract, lending this dry wine some illusory sweetness. Flavors run honeysuckle, lime, lemon, and that lovely Hermannshöhle fruit amalgam married to its wall-of-slate backpalate.

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• 2009 Cave de Roquebrun Coteaux du Languedoc Chemin des Olivettes 84 Points

  France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc

  A hot climate red with a little redeeming earthiness. Currants and dark fruits, decent acidity, stringent tannins, and a medicinal note about which I'm not sure how I feel. Some intrusive heat on the nose.

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• 2009 Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Bourgogne 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne

  Strawberries and cranberries, bright and refreshing, this Bourgogne possesses fine tannin, bracing acidity, and great structure for aging... Yet it is ever so perfect right now! Surely it will evolve as the years pass, but for lovers of young Burgundy, I'm not sure one could find value appreciably better than this.

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• 2009 Achával-Ferrer Quimera 87 Points

  Argentina, Mendoza, Lujan de Cuyo

  New world style. Not my style. Blowsy dark fruit (opulent?), low acid (plush?), round tannin, heat, oak toast, creme de cassis, and lacking in structure (hedonistic?).

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• 1985 Château Haut-Brion 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Classic yet somewhat reticent Haut Brion nose of mushroom, smoke, tobacco, bleu cheese, and sage. Light to medium bodied on the palate, it offers red and dark fruits, ash, cigar tobacco, and wonderful acidity. I cannot help but speculate that I would have better enjoyed this after another decade. While the predominant primary and secondary notes were a treat, I go crazy for a stronger tertiary presence.

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• 1968 R. López de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Bosconia 95 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  Noble and tertiary--the wine projects a haunting and mysterious ethos--we are drawn in by vegetable stew, sherried notes, nuts, and so many hints that just refuse to be put to words. Savory and still holding lots of Tempranillo character. Spritely gravitas.

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• 1947 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva 96 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  [Decanted 8hrs] A screeching, primal nose bombards with game, smoke, mushroomy funk, fine vinegar, tobacco & leather; there are brilliant flashes of menthol here. Mouth-watering acidity brightens unweathered fine tannin; amongst the gravitas of noble minerality, light, bright red cherry fruit adds charm to the palate. The finish haunts you. An old sage mocking the pantheon.
  
  My WOTN.

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• 1985 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux Clos du Bourg 93 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  Perfect acid-sugar balance; there is electricity in the glass! Typical Chenin Blanc oily and waxy yet clean mouthfeel boasting fresh peach, honeysuckle, lively acidity, spice, and very little heaviness given the level of residual sugar.

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• 1880 Whitwham Porto Millennium 97 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  Breakfast and dessert all at once! Caramel, coffee, chocolate, wood, herbs and bitters--picking apart the endless flavors grows pedantic. We have bright acidity with just a hint of friendly alcoholic burn on the toasty finish. Heavy yet weightless. While this was truly without flaw, it did not leave me swooning, thus my reservation of a few points.

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As per tradition, after methodically tasting and discussing a one ounce pour of each wine, our assemblage proceeds to the second half of the night. All of the remaining wine is finished over cheese, conversation, and conviviality.