Alex's Free-for-all Paulée

The Drapers Arms
Tasted Wednesday, March 12, 2025 by NickA with 85 views

Introduction

Let's take over the top room of the pub and drink too much wine

Flight 1 - Fizz (4 Notes)

  • 2016 Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs 91 Points

    United Kingdom, England, Sussex, West Sussex

    Magnum. Really clean and slick, but pretty thrilling too. Greenish fruit and white flowers. Slips down so easily!

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  • NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé 89 Points

    France, Champagne

    Magnum. Very pale salmon. Ginger and lime combine for a Moscow Mule vibe. There's some biscuit too. I don't know why, but the wines of this house never quite hit my spot.

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  • NV Louis Roederer Champagne Brut Premier 90 Points

    France, Champagne

    Magnum, disgorged 2018. Well-developed. There's noticeable dosage, but this seems to be working in harmony with the other elements, the most prominent of which was the lemon/lime fruit. Pleasingly old-fashioned!

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  • NV Ulysse Collin Champagne Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Les Pierrières 94 Points

    France, Champagne

    Disgorged 09/2011. Super wine - so ripe and so delicious. Rich and sexy, with fun notes of orange peel, sweet biscuit, and vanilla. Remains balanced, like a great wine should. A treat to try this, which was one of the best wines in the room.

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Flight 2 - Whites (8 Notes)

Pork rillettes, cornichons and toast

Flight 3 - Reds (13 Notes)

Braised rabbit legs à la moutarde and pomme purée

  • 2010 Domaine Pierre Guillemot Corton Le Rognet et Corton 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

    Magnum. My bottle. Bright 2010 acids. Well put-together, with plenty of grippy red fruit, but has passed the period of overbearing structure - it seemed ready to go. Another 5-10 years to generate more savoury development would not go amiss, though.

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  • 2021 Les Horées Coteaux Bourguignons Mon Poulain 91 Points

    France, Burgundy, Coteaux Bourguignons

    Clearly new-wave, and as refreshing and high-toned as you'd expect. Crisp red fruit, very pure and elegant. You might call it a lightweight, but just enjoy it now for what it is.

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  • 2011 Chapelle St. Theodoric Châteauneuf-du-Pape Le Grand Pin 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Spicy and blue-fruited. Unfortunately, despite my positive experiences with this producer, it didn't escape being overly jammy.

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  • 2018 Massolino Barolo 91 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Magnum. Crisp and clean, but rich enough. Classical 'Barolo' fruit profile. Drinking very well, but not scintillating.

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  • 2009 Casa Ferreirinha Douro Reserva Especial 90 Points

    Portugal, Douro

    Very attractive. Still a bit oaky, but there's plenty of tasty plummy fruit and other dark stuff, and sufficient freshness.

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  • 2010 Camille Giroud Beaune 1er Cru Les Cras 92 Points

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

    I'm always unfairly sceptical of this producer's wines, as they seem so untrendy. This was drinking very well, with lovely balance of fruit and savoury flavours, and fresh acidity.

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  • 2014 Porseleinberg Swartland 93 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Swartland

    One of the world's most singular and distinctive wines, with its notes of deep blue fruit, violets, lavender and cough medicine. Surprisingly salty, too, although it didn't taste of black olive. Quite aggressive and pungent, and unlikely to be to everyone's taste, but I adore it (and this vintage should still have upside).

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  • 2012 Seña 92 Points

    Chile, Aconcagua Valley

    Ripe and fairly rounded, but avoiding any sweetness. I don't seek out these relatively bland, internationally-styled wines, but this was a great example of the genre, and so tasty.

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  • 2021 Domaine de la Côte Pinot Noir Memorious 90 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

    Green-tinged and stemmy, though avoided any funkiness. I guess it's admirable that these guys lean so into their particular style, but it's just not for me.

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  • 2001 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia Flawed

    Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

    Magnum. Seemed to have been very popular earlier in the evening, but by the time I got to it there was un unavoidable TCA mustiness.

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  • 2012 Château Branaire-Ducru 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

    Cedary and classical. Totally ready to go. And a bit dull, alas.

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  • 2015 Domaine Raspail-Ay Gigondas 88 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas

    Magnum. Tight and closed-in at this stage. Very dark in character. Tried towards the end of the night, which I doubt was ideal.

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  • 2015 Domaine de Trévallon 91 Points

    France, Provence, Alpilles

    Evidently a wine that needs time, as this showed quite youthfully. Loved the graphite from the Cabernet, and the chalky texture.

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Flight 4 - Sweeties (4 Notes)

Tarte tatin
Cheese platters

  • 2019 Groot Constantia Muscat Grand Constance 93 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Cape Peninsula, Constantia

    Jeez that is sweet! Wow! Gorgeously toffee'd though, and lots of other sweet goodness, like Turkish Delight and a whack of caramel. I don't see the price premium vs Vin de Constance though.

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  • 1986 Moulin Touchais Coteaux du Layon

    France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Coteaux du Layon

    My second bottle. Rusty coloured. A sadly poor showing: muddy and without definition, and not much going on other than a touch of sweetness. But some others seemed to enjoy it...

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  • 2009 Château Climens 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

    Cloyingly sweet at this stage of its life, alas. Sweet orange barley water and toffee apple made for a tasty combination, but there wasn't enough freshness to provide balance.

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  • 2013 Domaine Cauhapé Jurançon Ballet d'Octobre 92 Points

    France, Southwest France, Jurançon

    Magnum. Lovely clear, vivid vermillion. Sweet, but there's plenty of brightness too - in fact, it's incisive and elegant, with midpalate grip. Just what I needed to finish with - and great value.

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Closing

My favourites:
Ulysse Collin (the most 'in the zone' wine tonight)
Porseleinberg
Alheit

Amazingly, the 29 notes above leave out another 5-10 wines I didn't get to!

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