Important Update From the Founder
Read message >
Wine dinner, few attendees, lots of great wines. (Champagne, Burgundy, Bordeaux, many older bottles))
My place, Copenhagen, Denmark
Tasted September 14, 2018 by M.S.L. with 274 views
Introduction
Being part of a small tasting group, four of us got together. The excuse was my birthday, but really we were just happy to be able to taste lovely wines together. As host, I tried to match wines with what, in my humble experience, enhances the best qualities in the wines. I went with very good sushi for the rosé champagnes. Mushrooms cooked with cream, garlic and thyme on roasted bread for the burgundies. Rib eyes and baked potatoes for the bordeaux wines. Some of the attendees (not me) are rather experienced tasters, but I think we were all in agreement on what was the great wines and what was not. Writing meaningful notes is the hard part, so bare with me, here we go:
Flight 1 - Rosé champagne 2002 (2 notes)
Rosé - Sparkling
2002 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut Rosé
99 points
To me a close to perfect wine, which seemed to be the consensus at the table. It seems both ripe and mellow yet structured and acidic at the same time. Small red berries, perfect acidity and balance. A potential perfect score when it reaches its peak. Decanted for 1,5 hours before serving.
Rosé - Sparkling
2002 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année Rosé
90 points
Perhaps not a bottle in the best condition? It was bought in an airport some years ago. It will always be tough to be paired with Cristal Rosé, but this seemed clumsy and with nothing special going on. The colour of the wine was rather dark. My first experience with this wine, so hope that this showing is not representative. Decanted for 1,5 hours before serving.
Flight 2 - White Burgundy (3 notes)
White
1993 Louis Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champs Canet
92 points
Pop and pour. Rounded and very nice, - almost like a hybrid between Puligny and Meursault. Held up very well and not in danger of decline if in good condition.
White
1993 Domaine Michelot-Buisson Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières
91 points
Pop and pour. Not as clean as the other bottles in the flight. Had some strange nutmeg character, but was otherwise in good shape.
White
1996 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon
94 points
Brought by a friend. From half bottle in great shape. Pop and pour. Clean and with high acidity. Could still be good years from now if in this condition. Really great stuff.
Flight 3 - Older red burgundies (2 notes)
Red
1928 Unknown Pinot Noir
91 points
Unable to find "Chambolle Musigny 1928" so this is the closest category. Remains of label states Chambolle-Musigny, but no producer is visible. I don't have much experience with the 1928 vintage, and don't think I have ever tried a Burgundy from this year. I was surprised with the beautiful, deep colour and the stamina of the wine. The taste was good, but not special and was perhaps a little hard to identify as a Burgundy. The bottle had very good provenance and was in good condition. A fun experience.
Red
1955 Chanson Père & Fils Grands-Echezeaux
95 points
Pop and pour. This had the characteristics I look for in older Burgundies. Small red berries with a certain lushness kept in balance by fine acidity. No sense of decline with very good presence and a long aftertaste. A really great bottle!
Flight 4 - Margaux 1955-1985 (3 notes)
For this flight I said it was all from the same area and ending on the same number. They were quick to identify Margaux, but struggled with the vintages (I would have too).
Red
1955 Château Rausan-Ségla
96 points
Cruse bottling with top shoulder fill. Short decant. True Margaux character, but seeming younger than 63 years. Fruit intact and nothing out of place. A lovely bottle in excellent shape.
Red
1975 Château Giscours
92 points
Base neck fill, good condition. Short decant. Very Margaux, but perhaps a bit simple. Mature and seemingly with less acidity than the Rausan Ségla 1955 served in the same flight
Red
1985 Château Margaux
Unfortunately this was not in the best shape. This is one of the very best 1985's that I have tasted in the past, so this must have been flawed somehow. It tasted like 90 points on the night, but didn't have the fruit and lushness I associate with this chateau in this vintage.
Flight 5 (2 notes)
Red
1982 Château Haut-Brion
98 points
Decanted ca. one hour. Brought by a friend. What a lovely wine! It had become late in the evening, so perhaps my palate was suffering. I thought it was a Cheval Blanc, which is pretty much as high a praise a wine can get from me, but still I was way off... You could easily sense the greatness of the wine without it coming from power. It was mellow with great fruit presence, but also stoic. Balanced and in great shape. A truly majestic wine!
Red
2009 Château La Mission Haut-Brion
97 points
Decanted for ca. one hour. Brought by a friend. This was a brutal wine, but still it was in a shape where you felt it was ok to drink it. If I had bottles of this, I would probably store them for 10+ years before revisiting. This will be amazing in the future!
1 person found this helpful
Comment
Flight 6 (2 notes)
Red
2014 Sylvain Cathiard Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Aux Thorey
92 points
Brought by a friend. Four people shared 16 bottles of wine and this was number 15 so at this point, I should probably not be rating them. I remember, that it was a very good wine, but the characteristics, you will have to read about somewhere else...
Red
2005 Château Duhart-Milon
92 points
Brought by a friend. Four people shared 16 bottles of wines this day and this was number 16, so I probably shouldn't be rating it. However I remeber a rather good if a little bit tight wine, which holds very good promises for the future.
2 people found this helpful
Comment
Closing
Cristal Rosé is in my view the best rosé champagne out there. Haut Brion 1982 is a legendary wine. The 1955 bottles showed very well! 16 bottles for four people were perhaps a bit over the top, at least that's what my head felt like, when I woke up the following day... Anyway we had a really great night where most bottles showed well.