Solihull Fine Wine Society
28th Annual Dinner Not blind.
With some pretty canapés Bollinger, Grande Annee 1997 A pleasant broken biscuit nose with yeasty overtones, lacking fruit and balance, a tad acidic and short. Not my kind of fizz.
With bacon and mushrooms with some leaves.
Clos Floridene, 2003 Graves. Bright and happy, a strange nose of crushed mint leaves and citrus, fine soft full, long spice and again citrus. Beautiful now, but would be better on a summers evening in the garden. A revelation.
Domaine de Chevalier 2000 Graves. One of the tightest wines I have had in a long time. Looked the mutts nuts in the glass, but so dumb, after an hour some riesling notes on the nose! a mouthful of......some fruit, but so tight. Try again 10 years?
With braised guinea fowl and winter veg, ( wonderful bread sauce)
Ch Chasse-Spleen 1986 What a wine, a twenty year old cru bourgeois. No hint of brown, classic leather and pencils nose, tobacco and cassis, all in balance, dies a bit after 2 hours. How many years of life??
Ch Montrose 1986 Typical old St Estephe, classic Montrose, depth++ with only a slight hint of age. Organic sweaty saddles and wet sheep, berries, oak, complex. Huge tannins but balanced with fruit and spice, long, my second WOTN
With, Pembrokeshire Cheddar, Wensleydale and Lancashire cheeses.
I hope Bill S reads this as it does answer in part an old question.
Ch Leoville Las Cases 1966 A little dull, slight brown edge, old dusty wooden cupboard pencil shavings , but all there on the palate with fruit and spice and oak hints, long. Not bad for a 40 year old wine. We have drunk this over the last twenty years and it always impresses.
Ch LLC 1975. I think Bills got some and I have one bottle left.......we have always thought that it might come round, but when? Last had a few years ago when the tannins sucked in your cheeks. Bright as a button. similar nose to the 66, but the tannins have softened and the fruit is holding up. Very long. A connoisseurs claret.
Ch LLC 1982, a wine I have always been disappointed with, except its fiscal appreciation, I sold mine and it helped fund uni fees for son three. Huge, a salty complex tight nose that improved wonderfully after an hour. Full fruit and tannins, rich unctuous long. For many it was their WOTN, but not for me. It was muttered that I had a down on the wine because I sold too soon...bah humbug.
Ch LLC 1986Deeper than the 82, no browning, twinkling in the candlelight, what a nose, musty barnyards and berries. complex ethereal with syrah hints. Massive entry, wonderful soft tannins and full berry fruits, so long, two hours later even better. My WOTN and knocked spots off the 82. Much argument but no fistycuffs.
With parmesan ice cream and pears....the ice cream was a revelation, a wonderful counterpoint to the pears and the wine . Gewürztraminer, Selection de Grains Nobles, 1988, Altenberg de Bergheim, Alsace, Marcel Deiss en magnum
Deep gold, see photos, no oxidation, mature GZT nose having lost the raw lychee, similar to Cuvee Anne, a viscous sublime mouthful , some acidity to balance and just went on and on,
Taylors 1955, English bottling. Tight nose, losing fruit, now too much alcohol, but soft palate and spirituous ++, over the top, but pleasant