After almost 20 years life of AuZone - the wine society, we had reached the magic moment of the 1000th tasting, which we had to celebrate with a very special tasting. several exceptional wines were served, and here's a little report from it:
To start with, of course, a champagne:
1982 Comtes de Champagne, Taittinger
A soft, fleshy and mature champagne with notes of old apples, nuts, chcolate and a touch of sea shore.
Fresh acidity and burnt notes. Slight oxidation. Dark chocolate. Long, a bit acidic aftertaste. A great champagne in the typical opulent style of Comtes de Champagne. A great start and nicely paired with a spoon of salmon roe.
Then two whites:
2004 Silex, Pouilly Fumé, D. Daguenau.
Deeply mineral nose plus greenish notes of nettles, grass, green peas and elder flowers. Plus the aromatic notes of black currant leaves. We had a lively discussion wether the wine was slightly corked or if it simply was the minerality of the wine that gave somewhat the same impressions. I ended up pretty convinced that there was a hint of cork taint, but would need to taste another bottle to make sure.
The taste reflected most of the ingredients in the nose, with a fresh acidity and a long stony, extremely minerally taste. More interesting than charming.
2003 Dalsheimer Hubacher Riesling, Keller, Rheinhessen, Germany
A fine wine from a difficult vintage. Tropical fruits that was masked by a rather strange note of hot dogs. I added a pice of copper tothe wine and after a few minutes most of the hot dogs were gone and a fresh note of pineapples came through.
The taste was fat with sweet, ripe fruit. Decent acidity. Long, fat taste, but with an increasing bitterness that disturbed a bit. A decent result for the vintage, but not really singing.
On to five excellent reds:
1983 La Tache, Domaine de la Romanée Conti
Light brownish red with a broad orange rim
Exceptional nose with game, manure, smoke and sausages. Very developed and with a surpsingly charming uncleanliness.
Fresh, a bit lean attack. Dominant acidity and drysih tannins. A bit coarse and lacking charm. Long, rather nice, smoky aftertaste. Unfortunately the taste did not live up to what the nose promised, but a very fine wine.
1978 Viña Tondonia, Bodegas López de Heredia
More brown thanthe preceding wine and with distince notes of burnt wood, hazel nuts and sugar in the nose. Also a little sour fruit and old wood. Burnt, woody taste with a lively acidity. Softened tannins. Round, smoky and quite nice aftertaste but with an acidity that is taking over the taste after some time in the glass. Nice wine, but a bit tired.
After almost 20 years life of AuZone - the wine society, we had reached the magic moment of the 1000th tasting, which we had to celebrate with a very special tasting. several very special wines were served, and here's a little report from it:
To start with, of course, a champagne:
1982 Comtes de Champagne, Taittinger
A soft, fleshy and mature champagne with notes of old apples, nuts, chcolate and a touch of sea shore.
Fresh acidity and burnt notes. Slight oxidation. Dark chocolate. Long, a bit acidic aftertaste. A great champagne in the typical opulent style of Comtes de Champagne. A great start and nicely paired with a spoon of salmon roe.
Then two whites:
2004 Silex, Puilly Fumé, D. Daguenau.
Deeply mineral nose plus greenish notes of nettles, grass, green peas and elder flowers. Plus the aromatic notes of black currant leaves. We had a lively discussion wether the wine was slightly corked or if it simply was the minerality of the wine that gave somewhat the same impressions. I ended up pretty convinced that there was a hint of cork taint, but would need to taste another bottle to make sure.
The taste reflected most of the ingredients in the nose, with a fresh acidity and a long stony, extremely minerally taste. More interesting than charming.
2003 Dalsheimer Hubacher Riesling, Keller, Rheinhessen, Germany
A fine wine from a difficult vintage. Tropical fruits that was masked by a rather strange note of hot dogs. I added a pice of copper tothe wine and after a few minutes most of the hot dogs were gone and a fresh note of pineapples came through.
The taste was fat with sweet, ripe fruit. Decent acidity. Long, fat taste, but with an increasing bitterness that disturbed a bit. A decent result for the vintage, but not really singing.
On to five excellent reds:
1983 La Tache, Domaine de la Romanée Conti
Light brownish red with a broad orange rim
Exceptional nose with game, manure, smoke and sausages. Very developed and with a surpsingly charming uncleanliness.
Fresh, a bit lean attack. Dominant acidity and drysih tannins. A bit coarse and lacking charm. Long, rather nice, smoky aftertaste. Unfortunately the taste did not live up to what the nose promised, but a very fine wine.
1983 Château Margaux
A legendary wine that I have had the privilege to taste three or four times. It started as a dark purple monster, but has now evolved to a soft and classic Bordeaux. Lovely classsic nose with cedar wood and stable notes. Ripe, warm fruit.
Deliciously fresh taste, still with good fruit. the stable notes remain in the taste and the tannins are well structured. Only flaw is a slightly dry finish. Great wine and keeping much better than most Bordeaux wines of this vintage. My third wine and the group's winner
1996 Côte Rôtie, La Mouline, Guigal
One of Guigal's three splendid vineyard bottlings. Deep nose, still quite dominated by very tasty, toasted oak but also loads of deep, wonderfully fresh and aromatic fruit, bacon fat and coffee.
The taste has a very fresh, tasty acidity, the hallmark of this vintage in Europe. Mouthwatering with chewable tannins. Lovely, fresh fruit. Long fiery, smoky finish. Still very youthful, but extremly fine wine. Leave it for 5-10 years more, at least! Both my and the group's second wine.
1996 Grange, Penfolds
A very interesting comparison with the La Mouline - same vintage and mostly the same cepage (Syrah) but an entirely different wine! Still dark, allmost black colour and with an extremely deep, smoky nose with concentrated dark fruit. Eucalyptus, mint and black currant winegums.
Forceful taste with great concentration. Meat, smoke, and dark fruit. Decent acidity and great, furry tannins, that get a bit coarser in the finish. A massive wine. Not really my style, but nevertheless a great wine. No idea when this could be considered to be ready...
Then two stickies:
1981 Château d'Yquem
Deep yellow colour with a funny greenish tint.
Very deep, fat nose with botrytis, almonds, honey and oak
Thick, sweet oily taste. Concentrated, heavy, maybe even a bit clumsy. Fat long, warm, heavy finish. Not the best of d'Yquems, but impressive and a very good wine.
1970 Craham's Vintage Port
Mature, brick red colur.
Wonderfully, warm, mature, round nose with mint, mushrooms, caramel, chocolate and orange blossom. Just a touch of alcohol prickling the nose (my own) a bit.
Sweet, round and soft. Burnt sugar, chocolate. Creamy and a bit fiery. Long, chewable, creamy finsih. Just soo delicious! My winner of the night and the group's fourth wine.
Finally two extras, a Belgian beer and a single barrel cognac.
2002 Gouden Carolus, Cuvée van de Kaiser
Burned sugar with a sour background. Notes of old cheese and well used stockings...
Burned taste with a pronounced bitterness. Lots of dark chocolate. Not my kind of stuff, but when I tried it with some dark chocolate truffles, I found a marriage made in heaven, sublime!
Landy 25 years
Specially imported from a German dealer, that somehow manages to buy whole barrels of cognac that he bottles himself. He also sells balsamico, white truffles, olive oil. A funny guy, simply!
This cognac had none of the raw character of alcohol that I normally dislike, but instead it was round and charming with a creamy texture and notes of chocolate, cocoa nuts and wood. Long, fiery finish. This is what cognac should be like!
Well, it was a memorable evening and quite exhausted, I finally mounted my bike and arrived home round midnight, weary but very pleased. I look forward to the next jubilee tasting which, incidentally, is not too far away. On the first Saturday of December we will celebrate our 20 years jubilee with a tasting of "Montrachet and such". Should be another memorable tasting!
Cheers, Anders