“Running” Club Zoom night Vintage Pairs

A group of us gathered for the monthly running club social. Unfortunately lockdown rules mean that we can’t meet in person, so we made do with a zoom and fun vintage pairs wine evening. I decanted the wine into individual labeled bottles, which were delivered to various locations by bicycle...which was great fun until the heavens opened. We had a synchronised dinner - fried chicken with the dry whites and the burgundy, braised beef with the bordeaux, and Waitrose treacle tart with the dessert wine.

• 2008 Eric Legrand Champagne L'Excellence de Belliard Blanc de Blancs

  France, Champagne

  Last bottle from a bargain case bought at auction. Light, not overly complex but definitely the best of these - in a good place right now and very enjoyable. Just the thing to get things started.

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• 2013 Domaine Le Soula Le Soula Blanc

  France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Côtes Catalanes

  Yumola. Colour - deep yellow, almost made me wonder if it was oxidised. On the nose - tropical fruit, fresh, lots going on. On the palate - unctuous, long, again - tropical fruits, a bit of pineapple perhaps? Clearly a wine of the south - puts me in mind of a white Chateauneuf, but not so bold and boozy perhaps. Really delicious - wine of the night for me.

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• 2016 Domaine Le Soula Le Soula Blanc

  France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Côtes Catalanes

  So much lighter in colour than the 13 which preceded it. On the nose - fresh, spritzy. On the palate - light, you can tell that this is 12.5% ABV (rather than the 13.5% of its older sibling) - again, I struggle to place these wines but almost somewhere between a non-oxidative white Rioja and a sancerre...the vaguest hint of cats pee. I feel like I’m damning this with faint praise - it’s a lovely wine, and I will definitely enjoy its accessibility and civilised alcohol levels in the warmer months, but it struggled to distinguish itself when tasted alongside the glorious 2013.

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• 2008 Mark Haisma Gevrey-Chambertin La Croix des Champs

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  Colour - deep red almost purple. On the nose - clean with just a hint of forest floor, red fruits. On the palate - strong spine of acidity, cherry and red fruits. When one of my fellow zoomers pointed out blackberries I could taste those too. Not terribly giving but a very well put together wine. I think it suffered from being tasted in this line up, and a bottle enjoyed over the course of an evening would be a better way to enjoy this...

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• 2010 Mark Haisma Gevrey-Chambertin La Croix des Champs

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  Paler colour than the 08, almost bricking on the rim. On the nose, a touch of earthiness, some red fruits. On the palate - lovely and balanced, a spine of acidity but not too much, this is ready to drink - although I feel it has time ahead of it. A really lovely villages Gevrey - very pleased to have more left in storage. My #2 wine of the evening.

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• 2008 Château Poujeaux

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc

  Perfectly decent left bank claret. All the pencil shavings and cigar box you would expect. No rush to drink these, and I feel that a few more years will cause it to open up a bit and become more endearing.

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• 2010 Château Poujeaux

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc

  mmmmm. Colour - red / purple. On the nose - touch of cigar box, some black fruits. On the palate - just lovely. It clearly has a long time ahead of it, and just starting to show what it can do, but there’s a there there. Long, but in no way cloying or jammy. Really like this wine. My 3rd best of the evening, and the group’s #1 wine by a significant margin.

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• 1997 Château Coutet Barsac

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  Darkest of the bottles I’ve opened so far. I struggle to meaningfully describe sweet wines but - “nice”? Lovely mouth feel but just a hint of bitterness in the aftertaste - this is the least good of these bottles that I’ve opened.

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Really lovely evening, probably my favourite remote wine event so far. The wines showed well - although some I am looking forward to retasting in a less competitive environment.

Each participant rated their top 3 wines, and the results were as follows:

1st Place - 2010 Chateau Poujeaux (10 points)
2nd Place - 2013 Le Soula Blanc (6 points)
=4th Place - 2010 Mark Haisma Gevrey Chambertin (4 points)
=4th Place - 1997 Chateau Coutet (4 points)
=7th Place - 2008 Excellence de Belliard Champagne (2 points)
=7th Place - 2016 Le Soula Blanc (2 points)
=7th Place - 2008 Mark Haisma Gevrey Chambertin (2 points)
Last Place - 2008 Chateau Poujeaux (0 points)

The 2010 Poujeaux was the only wine having more than 2 votes (everyone voted for that one) and everyone agreed that they could have easily chosen a different set of wines.