Solihull Fine Wine Society November tasting. Blind as usual, we knew it was Sauternes.
Due to a failure in communications, our Edgbaston contingent got the date wrong, so just five of us including host sat down to six opened bottles. Luckily he had not opened the final three, though the theme and structure to the tasting was in dissaray.
1975 Coutet, light pale gold,a butterscotch and marzipan nose. Soft slightly "burnt" palate, ? over the hill,1975 Doisy-Vedrines, deep gold, complex botrytic, beeswax nose, barley sugar palate with good acidity, very pleasant BUT, after two hours, nose had gone and it had become a sweet drink.
1990 Coutet, medium gold, but very bright, a honeyed barleysugar and some spice, fat and full with unctous fruit, needs a bit of acidity, very pleasant.1990, Doisy Dubroca, medium gold, a wonderful nose of bread and butter pudding, apples, hints of rubber, (has he put a riesling ringer in?), what a taste......complex liquid fruit, balanced. my 2nd, WOTN
2005 Coutet, Pale gold, very restrained, slight perfume but tight nose, sweet and cloying, needs acidity1999 Coutet, deep gold, complex multilayered nose marshmallow, nuts and riesling hints. Excellent entry, buttery and botrytis, lingering fruit, long excellent, My WOTN
Hard work and I am glad in a way we stopped at six, even with spitoons it sat heavy on the gut.
JT