Birthday Dinner 2014

It is always great celebrating your birthday in the presence of great friends. This year, we built the dinner around a stupendous bottle of 1995 Armand Rousseau Clos de Beze that the Missus bought me as a birthday gift. The food was unfortunately very disappointing - so bad that we had to adjourn for supper after 12 courses - but the wines (all blind but for the Rousseau) were lovely. The 1920 Blandy Madeira at the end, in particular, was an absolute knockout.

• NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée 94 Points

  France, Champagne

  We have been on quite a streak recently with Grand Cuvee bottles. After a little fillip with a string of middling bottle a few years back, the quality really has been beyond reproach. Part of it could well be because we are picking those with a bit more bottle age these days – this bottle (disgorged before Krug started putting on the codes in 2011) was a fine example of that. It had a beautiful nose with a touch of maturity on it, showing honey and brioche, ripe lemons and kumquats and sweet red apples, with a touch of white meat and a little whiff of tumeric spice at the sides - lovely. The palate was really delicious, with a supply powerful body to its sweet, fleshy apple and ripe lemon flavours wrapped up in a a creamy mousse and buttery texture. There was a lovely roundness to the wine, yet it was still held up at the core by a spine of bright, tensile acidity. A dash of citrus, a sprinkle of spice and a little savoury mushroomy linger then brought it into a satifying end. Lovely stuff, drinking beautifully now. It was every bit as yummy, perhaps even more so, than the 2003 Vintage Krug that was served alongside.

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• 2003 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  A really solid Champagne, but this was a much tighter-wound wine than the nicely aged Grand Cuvee that was served with it. The nose was a case in point, showing bright but tight-lipped and rather unexpressive notes of lemons and lime packed with plenty of earthy minerality. Only after a nice long time in the glass did some subtle scents of caramel biscuits start drifting out, while the bright fruited accents spread out into richer, deeper citrus aromas – it was quite a power-packed, and rather engaging nose at that point, if perhaps lacking a bit of complexity. On the palate, this was a very powerful, very muscular Champagne, with the warmth of the vintage coming in with the ripeness and weight of the fruit, yet with tons of acidity driving it on at the same time. It was very tight on first pour as well, with an almost one-dimensionally citrus character. However, like the nose, it opened up really nicely over time, with bright lemony tones shading into more generous flavours of green apple flesh wound around a beautifully core of slatey mineral and finely vigorous mousse. The finish was still quite tight, but had a good energy and length to it. There was quite a lot going on in the core of the wine, but it was still too young to fully express itself. I would wait 5-6 years at least, although I do think that this will be a relatively early maturing vintage Krug. While not the greatest Krug of recent times, this still is a very solid Champagne.

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• 1999 Penfolds Chardonnay Yattarna 92 Points

  Australia, South Australia

  A nice wine, but a far cry from some of the great Yattarnas from the earliest vintages of the project. This had a rich, ripe nose – it was actually quite perfumed, smelling like sweet corn wreathed around a ripe yellow fruited core, with dollops of sweet cream and a little chaser of spice and mineral, all topped off with quite a bit of toasted oak. There was little doubt that this was a new world Chardonnay with a nose like that, but I must say it was quite attractive. The palate also had a new worldly richness, with a glycerol infused creaminess and a lot of ripe fruit – nectarines and apricots - all ringed with sweet oak and toasted bread accents. There was solid weight and depth on this wine, yet for all that ripeness and power, there was a really nice balance and clarity to it, with a juicily refreshing midpalate and a nice, open finish with a little linger of spice amidst brighter citrus notes. A bit in-your-face, but actually a very good wine, and quite ready to drink.

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• 2010 Bernard Van Berg En Busigny Blanc 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne-Grand-Ordinaire

  A super-serious wine, none of us would have picked it up as Bourgogne blind in a million years. It had super minerally nose, with shades of flint and slate and stone with a little ring of seashell at the sides, all this wound around a core of subtle white fruited scents, and finally a little kiss of burnt butter and spice. The creamily textured palate would not have been out of place on a good 1er Cru, or even a Grand Cru with its effortless depth, superb balance, and a very nice complexity in its beautiful flavours of sweet apples and lemon-rind curled around a deep-set core of mineral and acidity, all this pulling away into a long, savoury, mushroom and cream finish. A really nice white, quite superior to the Penfolds Yattarna that came a little earlier in the evening – that’s what you get when you pay 150+ EUR for a Bourgogne I guess. Not sure that I would purchase it on the open market, but it certainly had novelty value.

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• 2002 Domaine Bruno Clavelier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru La Combe d'Orveaux Vieilles Vignes 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

  Very pretty. This had some 2.5 hours in the decanter before service, and it really seemed to have benefitted from it – the wine showed no sign whatsoever of the rather stubborn monolithic feel that quite a few 2002s still have. It had a wonderful nose from first pour, with a touch of funky sous bois framing wonderfully fragrant aromas of spice and sweet dark cherries and layers of perfumed flowers. A rich, heady bouquet, almost at the edge of being liquered. Beautiful, seductive stuff. The lovely palate was classic Chambolle, with finely silken tannins beginning to soften and melt into the wine, and lovely fresh acidity bringing into relief beautifully detailed flavours of cherries and wild berries. All this was seasoned with pinpricks of spice and a gentle minerality as the wine glided into a lovely, elegant finish with a little with a little floral kiss. This was a nicely put together wine - depth, breadth and balance all there, but what I really liked most was the beautiful silky elegance that just screamed Chambolle. Lovely stuff, drinking wonderfully with a lengthy decenting.

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• 2002 La Pousse d'Or Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Bousse d'Or 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

  What a difference 5 years has made - this had grown from being a grumpy, reticent wine to a 1er Cru of the very highest order. Truly, this was gobsmackingly delicious. Like the 2002 Bruno Clavelier Chambolle 1er Cru Combe d'Orveau that was served alongside, it had 2.5 hours in a decanter before being poured, and it seemed to do the wine a world of good. It had a great nose, just a bit overshadowed by the soaringly perfumed bouquet of the Clavelier, but this was lovely in its own right, with similarly rich, heady scents of dried berrries and red cherries mingling with bits of earth and spice and a lift of fresh-cut flowers. It was quite clearly stronger than the Chambolle on the palate though. It had an absolutely beautiful feel – textured and layered, with velvety tannins and wonderfully integrated acidity running through mouth-coating flavours of blueberries and dark cherries, laced on the midpalate with earth and spice. It shared the beguiling feminine elegance of the Clavalier Chambolle, but here, it was underlined by a sense of strength as the wine pushed into a lovely, long tail of mineral and spice and then a beautiful sweet floral blush right on the very finish. A lovely wine, with wonderfully complexity to it. Starting to drink really well too. Brilliant stuff.

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• 1999 Sylvain Cathiard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru En Orveaux 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

  Another wine that was very good, but also very young – far too young to drink actually. This had a deep Vosne nose, with wafts of woof spice drifting amidst dark cherries and blackberries, and then a touch of dried flowers and a bit of forest floor. Very nice. The palate was a lot more backward though. It had a very sinewy feel to it, with a fine structure of firm tannins and tightly-woven acidity to go along with dark cherry flavours that had an admirable clarity to them. It was still super-tight though, yielding little past the dark fruit and flashes of earth and dried spices at the finish. This was very much a child of its vintage – deep, rather dark and quite brooding, yet with lovely ripe depth and breadth and strength wed to a noble structure and balance. A wine of quality, but like many of the top-1999s, still backward and needing time. Give it 7-8 years more.

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• 2002 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru

  Good, but way, way too young. This felt like a baby next to the pair of 2002 1er Crus that preceded it. It was perhaps unfair to place this next to an absolutely singing 1995 Rousseau Clos de Beze as well. But for all that, it was actually quite impressive. Like the Beze, this had a beautiful Gevrey nose - a mix of masculine and feminine aromas, with sweet cherries and strawberries, and even darker shades of blueberry patted down with earthier aromas of damp sous bois, chalk and a touch of spice. It still smelt like a young wine, almost primary with all that fruit. Same thing on the palate. There was a lot of strength here, but it was young and tight, with a little meatiness and a soupcon of spice undergirding lush, but still tightly coiled flavours of dark cherries and blackberries. Again, that primary edge to the fruit was clear, along with a sense that the wine was still rather monolithic, rather stubborn. It was only in the long finish where a hint of complexity in motes of spice and dried earth drifted out. This is a pretty good wine, but it needs 5-6 more years in the bottle at least. My feel is that a decade of rest might be even better.

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• 1995 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

  A birthday gift from the wife, this was an absolutely beautiful wine that was just starting to drink at peak. It had a beautiful nose, somehow both soaring and subtle at the same time, beautiful sweet scents of ripe red berries and dried strawberries ringed with summer flowers and a hint of sweet spice, all set against a lush earthy, mushroomy backdrop. A great bouquet, full of wonderfully clear, lifted aromas that were both pure Gevrey and pure Clos de Beze. On the palate – wow! This was purity in the glass, with wonderfully transparent flavours of strawberries and petit fruit rouges that had wonderful depth and breadth, yet without any impression of weight. Gently fresh acidity wound through the fruit on the midpalate, like shafts of light dancing amidst crystal clear waters, illuminating complex little nuances of spice and earth, dried herbs, and fragrant floral notes. The wine had a wonderfully soft and feminine mouthfeel, but right at the end, there was just a little grip of fine, slightly dry tannins that reminded one of the austerity of the vintage. The fruit then lingered in a ripe, sappy kiss of red berries, before ceding way to a surprisingly muscular minerality that stretched away into the distance. To me, this is what great Grand Cru Burgundy is all about - complex, full and satisfying, yet altogether effortlessly elegant and absolutely enchanting - magic in the glass. This is so good now, but given the structure and balance it has, I think it will be even better in a few years time.

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• 2004 Domaine du Clos de Tart Clos de Tart 92 Points

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

  After a whole lot of 2004 wines that were devoid of green meanies, this wine gave an almost comfortable familiarity when served blind. Quite a few of us picked up the vintage almost immediately. It certainly hadn't lost any of the green from the bottle we drank two years ago. The nose was full of slightly sweet boiled Chinese herb aromas – angelica root, dried wolfberries, even a touch of ginseng, alongside more standard Morey shades of blueberries and dried flowers on a bed of damp soil. It was certainly a bit green, but I would say this was pleasantly so, rather than being completely distracting. The palate had a certain finesse that belied the vintage, with bright, citrussy acidity and fine tannins giving shape to deep, weighty notes of blueberries and darker black cherries. There was a nice sense of purity to it all, again something one does not always get in 2004. The wine then wound its way into a full back-palate, with earth and meat and a ring of spice and florals and just that menthol-like green note making up a long, satisfying finish. A little grip of fine tannins right at the end showed the relatively youth of the wine. Otherwise, this was actually drinking quite well. It should go on developing nicely in the near future as well. Not a knockout Clos de Tart, but certainly a nice wine - if you do not mind a bit of green meanies that is.

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• 1970 Mommessin Chambertin-Clos de Bèze 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

  How very rare – a pair of Mommesin wines, brought serendipitously by different people. This bottle was just about still alive, showing the sort of genteel charm that you only get in very old wines. The nose got me a bit worried, it was all earth, meat and soy and balsamic tones at first, only slowing taking on air and opening up to show sweeter notes of dried berries and, quite strangely, a whiff of umami-laden Chicken Chickadee snacks. An odd nose, but far from unpleasant. The palate, thankfully, showed more live in it. It was certainly resolved, having a soft, rounded feel in the mouth. However, there was still a good amount of fresh acidity and hints of fine tannins that gave a touch of grip to surprisingly full flavours of cherries and wild berries sprinkled with some dried flower tones on the attack and midpalate. It was only in the finish where the age of the wine reasserted itself, with the fruit retreating and ceding way to an earthy mélange of bittersweet herbs, spice and soy. All in all, still enjoyable, but this is certainly tiring fast and needed to be drank up.

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• 1990 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux Le Haut-Lieu 93 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  Very nice indeed, but this was another wine on the night that suffered from being put right before an absolutely giant – this time a 1920 Blandy’s Madeira. Nevertheless, this was a lovely example of Huet’s craft. The nose was classic Vouvray, with little lanolin notes flirting with sweet scents of honey and red apples, green mangoes and papayas, and a little citrus lift at the height of the bouquet. Very attractive. The palate was lovely. There was gentle sweetness to its flavours green apples and lemons edged by more exotic torpical fruit. Yummy, but what made it really stand-out was the wonderful purity of it all, almost clarion clear, with juicy acidity running through the spine of the wine, all the way into a gentle flourish of stony mineral at the finish. This was not a wine that shouted its quality, rather a more subtle, gently complex expression. Really nice. While drinking well now, this will last for decades.

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• 1920 Blandy's Madeira Bual 96 Points

  Portugal, Madeira

  Oh the joys of old Madeira! This brilliant bottle was probably my wine of the night, just shading a knockout bottle of Rousseau Chambertin. I enjoyed my first glass at the end of dinner with the group when it was first popped, and the last quarter bottle or so over the next couple of nights at home. While it was fantastic the first time round, it just got better and better with time. The nose was super complex, unfolding all the while, with deep scents of dried dates and fig peel, ripe sultanas and candied orange, with savoury beef broth in the background, and then dancing aromas of sweet berry fruit coming up with time, all ringed with shades of wood spice and dried flowers and even a twang of caramelly crème brulee. Amazing. The palate still had a stirring freshness to it, with a stream of wonderfully lifted acidity that infused the wine’s richly moreish tones with a vibrant, youthful energy. We got layers and layers of flavour here - sweet dried fruit like dates and figs layered with molasses and toffee, with a saline twang of salted fruit peel and a nice meaty backnotes. There was great depth and intensity here, almost heady in its richness, but the wonderful acidity and structure of the wine always kept it focused and poised. Super yummy. It finished long and powerful, with a delicious tones of caramelised nuts and a warm flush of spice that filled every inch of backpalate, all this before a little kiss of black tea lingered right at the very end. This had incredible complexity, tremendous depth and endless length, all laced with wonderful mouthwatering acidity. A great, great wine, and a fantastic way to end the night. I do not have enough experience to gauge whether this is exactly at peak, but while drinking beautifully, it still had a really youthful energy to it that may well render it indestructible.

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