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Edinburgh Tasting: After the Port

These are tasting notes from an eclectic selection of wines served after the recent Elderly Port Tasting chez Toby Bailey of www.finewinediary.com. I can only be grateful for Toby for his warm hospitality, and as most of the wines below were from his cellar, with just one or two contributions from myself and the other fortunate attendees. All the wines, except for the Vilmart, were served blind. (22/11/06)

After the Port: Tasting Notes

Tasted in October 2006. Click to locate stockists:

Vilmart Grand Cellier d'Or 1990: A mid-gold hue, and rather a fat bead. Lovely style on the nose which shows some honey and cream along with obvious oak. Overall it has a rather meaty, outgoing feel to it. A gentle mousse on the palate despite the obvious bead, and a more elegantly poised palate than I expected, with delicate acidity balanced with a creamy presence, deep flavours and a slowly fading finish. Lovely freshness. Very good. 17.5/20

Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Les Perrières 1998: A golden, pale honey-like hue. On the nose there are appealing oatmealy notes. Dry, rich and yet reserved on the palate, a very rounded, complete style which I find attractive. Good, certain finish. Has lots of potential for development. 16.5+/20

François Jobard Meursault Premier Cru Les Genevrières 1994: A similar hue here, but a much more evolved and open nose; here we have sweet honeycomb, toffee and smoky minerals, all wrapped up in a remarkable package. This is quite fine, balanced, incisive and flavoursome on the palate. Notes of nuts and fresh sea salt. This has lovely appeal, and is very ready now. 17/20

Rolly Gassmann Pinot Gris Reserve Personelle 1983: Another rich and golden wine, but a different nose here. This has similar honey notes, with a mature, meaty, smoky bacon note wrapped up in some fresh, mineral fruit. Indeed, freshness is the watchword here as the palate shows a wonderful texture and presence carried along by delicately balanced acidity. Quite flashy in a way. But certainly very, very good. 17.5/20

Armand Rousseau Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes 1991: A very clear hue, with a pink rim, a cherry red hue, and plenty of vibrancy. Great colour that fails to belie this wines age. The nose is obviously Burgundy, with notes of sous bois and cherry, with a slightly gamey undercurrent. Tight, extracted, textured, with rather primary cherry fruit on the palate. This has a good, rather elegant style with a firm, peppered cherry fruit finish. Certainly elegant, but not much interest here otherwise at present. To my palate this is early drinking at best. Good potential. 16.5+/20

Unidentified Gevrey-Chambertin 1964: In keeping with our unidentified ports, another mystery wine, yet again another chance finding in a mixed lot from auctioneers Straker Chadwick. A mature, ruby-garnet-claret colour on inspection, with an unusual, deep and meaty nose that had me all over the place, looking for tasted descriptors more usually associated with Italy or other Mediterranean climes. There are notes of hot, ripe fruit with a very dense and beefy character. The palate follows on from that theme,, the flavour supported by a big texture and firm acids, culminating in a spicy-peppey finish. Overall, rather big and creamy, and it is hard to believe this isn't one of the adulterated wines that Burgundy was renowned for turning out in this era. Good fun, though. 16/20

Chateau Haut-Bailly (Pessac-Léognan) 1981: Served blind. A lovely, dark yet vibrant, deep red hue with fleeting nuances of orange and gold. On the nose there is quite a bit of beefy character, with a mineral edge. Full, textured, quite softly elegant though, really good style. Lovely weight and really very flavoursome. Just another example of the superb wines this property has been putting out over the last two or three decades. It surpasses the 1983, though, although I think the 1985 is the greater of the trio. 18.5/20

Chateau Lafite-Rothschild (Pauillac) 1986: A desperately youthful appearance, dense and almost purple still, so no clues to the age of this wine there. The nose remains remarkably primary, showing just some sweet blackcurrant pastille fruit, with some very dense, cedary pencil. The palate shows a lot of structure and future potential rather than anything else; firm tannins from the midpalate through to the finish, supporting a raft of sweet fruit, but not showing great complexity at present. Elegantly textured rather than a blockbuster. This clearly needs more time in the cellar, and should be great for the future. 17.5+/20

Amayna Pinot Noir (Chile) 2004: An unusual nose here, all cherry and intense smokiness at first, transforming into notes of burnt fruit and smouldering wood. Dry on the palate, very gamey and mature, with more of that burnt character coming through. Charcoaly. Decent, although shows a lot of winemaking I think. I don't think I like it very much, although there is nothing terribly wrong with it, but I think it might appeal to some. 14/20