Solihull Fine Wine Society October tasting.
I have been lurking of late as have been travelling a bit. My first tasting for three months.
This is a varietal simple tasting, blind as usual. It would turn out to be a long hard slog, but very educational as you will see.
Jacobs Creek, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir Fizz, Oz, 2004. Is this water? pale++, nose of cheap sweets, bubbles but no mousse, sweet yet bitter........foul
Nottage Hill 2004 Chardonnay Oz Watery thin dull. nose of rancid sweets and chemicals, even worse on the palate, watery syrup and bitter.
Pouilly Blanc Fume, Wine Soc generic 1996. Good looker, pale gold, complex earthy nose, soft entry then searing acidity and finished bitter. At least I spotted the SB
Mainzer St Alban Kabinett, 1977, Pieroth!!!! Brown, maderised to hell, so lacking in residual alcohol, we thought it had to be Germanic, I suggested Falkland Islands Tete de Cuvee.
Berncastler Schlosberg Spatlese 1988 Green tinged viscous, with a complex smokey nose, yet soft with some sweetness, long. I hadn'y a clue, only one taster mentioned Riesling!!!
Declassified Y'Quem 1992, ( or so we were told) Beautifull deep gold, bright. Nose of Evostik glue as was the palate, sweet cloying and bitter. ( you could be arrested for sniffing this in public)
Fleurie, 2004, George of alleged adulterating wine fame Duboeuf. Simple easy drinking light gamay, at least it was alive.
Beaune Marchonets Premier Cru 1982. Pale brick with brown edge. Soft piss pinot nose with some vegetal strains, but dried out and almost dead.
Hermitage La Chapelle, Jaboulet, 1980, brown edge to a dull wine, still complex syrah nose with tinned tomatoes, dryin out with little fruit left. I thought it was an old Croze.
VCC Pomerol, 1989. At last a serious wine, deep with huge extract, a complex vegetal faecal nose which was not unpleasant. Soft full entry with firm tannins and all in balance, long. Beautiful. ( although after the previous wines a Gallo box wine would be pleasant)
Ch D'Angludet, 1989. Very similar to the VCC, but lighter in all ares. Again a vegetal margaux nose like Brane- Cantenac of old, chewy fruit and spice, long, most pleasant but not up to the VCC.
Lessons learnt
Wines die eventually, especially if your central heating boiler is in your cellar. In the UK Nottage Hill and Jacobs Creek have a large % of supermarket sales of Oz wines. What can I say?