Wine Puddle II

Wine Puddle II was a splendid reprise of the Wine Puddle event held in 2006. Haut cuisine was served to 10 extremely lucky guests over a very long and enjoyable evening. To match the food there was a small matter of 17 fine wines that even eclipsed the previous year’s selection.

Each wine was initially served blind, usually as part of a flight of themed wines designed to complement a single course of food. This is an ideal way of showing every wine to its best advantage as each wine is tasted blind with and without food.

By any measure you’ll find some stupendous wines here, any one would be memorable. My White and Red wines of the night are noted below.

Amuse Bouche - Cockles from the shell

AC Vouvray Brut (sparkling), Domaine Huët, L’Echansonne, Loire, France. 1983 12%

Deep gold, gently sparkling – possibly less gas pressure than champagne, only slowly rising bubbles, but definitely this is an old wine. Nose of honey and wet wool, this just has to be Chenin Blanc. Palate has great weight, like drinking sparkling honey, slightly oxidative, chalky undertones; high acidity balances weight in the mouth – a real treat.

Vintage Champagne, Drappier, Grande Sendrée, 1989 12%

Superb Vintage Champagne from one of the Aube’s best producers. 55% Chardonnay and 45% Pinot Noir. Not my first encounter with Grande Sendrée but certainly the oldest vintage experienced, recognisable house style. Proof positive that ageing vintage Champagne in bottle pays dividends. Very rich and developed, harmony and balance. Still lively, yeast autolysis, brioche and a delicious nutty finish. Real complexity as it warmed up in the glass.

Jerusalem artichoke soup – Sherry is a great match

Oloroso Sherry, Fernando Castilla, Antique Oloroso, NV, Jerez, Spain. 20%

Anybody that hasn’t yet discovered the magic of sherry should try this – perception busting stuff and a firm favourite. Deep mahogany brown with the patina of an old wooden table. Shouts dry Oloroso from the rooftops! Rich, complex, slightly buttery and rounded, oxidative, fantastic length, incredibly dry. Nuts yes, but a whole range of mixed nuts - walnuts, hazelnuts and cashews. No age indication, but this must contain a high proportion of old wine. A fantastic match with the soup.

Lamb sweetbreads and mushrooms in a white sauce – Q: What to drink with Pancreas? A: Viognier…

AC Condrieu, Domaine Georges Vernay, les Chaillées de l’Enfer, Rhône, France. 2001, 14%

Did I get the grape? No! Thinking more Alsace, has the mouthfeel and slightly oily texture of a Gewürztraminer but without any rose water perfume. Textbooks say Condrieu is best drunk young while floral and perfumed (with the exception of Château Grillet, see below). Viognier’s tell-tale blossom, apricot and peach certainly subdued, but this opens up in the glass to give wonderful nutmeg smells and flavour with some peach hints on the finish. Enough acidity to balance the oily full mouthfeel, a great combination with the sweetbreads, but drink up.

AC Château Grillet, Château Grillet, Neyret-Gachet, 1998, Rhône, France. 13.5%

A huge Viognier contrast and the Rhône Viognier that can age. Vegetal, lactic nose, musky too, perhaps truffle, all of which is strangely addictive. Really subtle flavours on offer here, some dried fruit and an austere minerality and truffle again, lowish acidity, then a hint of toast on the finish. Drinking nicely now but possibly yet to peak. Tiny Château Grillet (less than 4 ha) has its own appellation too, (elsewhere in France only Coulée-de-Serrant and Domaine Romanée Conti can boast this). Very rare and said to be a frequently underwhelming experience, this vintage has je ne sais quois in spades, matched the mushrooms in the dish a treat.

Viognier, Yalumba, The Virgilius, Eden Valley, SE Australia, 2001. 14.5%

Greenish-gold and leggy high alcohol stuff. Incredibly ripe, recognisably Viognier and has to be New World – big fleshy apricot fruit, honeyed unctuous oily texture. There’s a leesy quality too and recognisable toasty oak – must have been some barrel work. Enough mineral acidity to balance. A big, sumptuous mouthful but not subtle. A great contrast.

Salmon in Beurre blanc – 3 rich whites to match a classic Loire dish

Scheurebe, Weingut Müller-Catoir, Halbtrocken, Pfalz, Germany, 1990. 13%

Stunning! A first meeting with Scheurebe, a Riesling/Silvaner crossing which I would previously have passed over in favour of Riesling – and just how wrong would that be? A wine of many, many revelatory moments. Firstly, it’s fermented out to dryness. A lovely mid-brass colour, clearly showing some age. On the nose and palate there’s a rare intensity – some slate minerality and raciness like a Riesling, but no overt petrol/kerosene here. Instead it’s pure red Grapefruit. Very focused grapefruit and apricot flavours on the palate. Loads of fresh acidity yet rich and satisfying. Approach slowly and savour every moment. White wine of the night. Simply brilliant, acidity cuts straight through the beurre blanc.

Chenin Blanc, Forrester Meinart, The FMC, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 2001. 14%

Recognisably South African Chenin Blanc but in a different league to most – is this SA’s best Chenin? Where to start? Aroma’s of classic Chenin – wet wool, mellow oak, honey hints, then the palate—high acidity balanced off by residual sugar, the result being just off dry. Big boned with nuts, lanolin (wet wool) and tangerine- some botrytis going on here for sure. Only 2,600 bottles made, big Loire influence (and all the better for that). Iconic. Great Salmon match. I’m off to Waitrose to buy more!

AC Vouvray Sec, Domaine Huët, L’Echansonne, Haut-Lieu, Vouvray, Loire, France, 1989. 12%

More genius! Vouvray’s best Domaine and an early biodynamic convert, here’s a dry Chenin Blanc by which all others are measured, giving its best with bottle age. Fresh acidity, incredible length and in between rich complex lanolin and honey flavours.  So this 89 is sublime yet still only a teenager, a glass could (and should) last for hours, of course mine lasted minutes. Someone said “like your first kiss”. No more to be said.

Wild Duck – three red 1990’s and then an old lady

AC Pauillac, Château Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse-de-Lalande, 2nd Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France, 1990. 12.5%

A second growth claret from a good vintage, being (I looked it up) 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 8% Petit Verdot. Would this be the claret moment I crave? No. With a reputation like this, clocks should stop. But time carried on. Good enjoyable wine, pencils on the nose (I’m a sucker for Cab Franc), and plenty of Brett, which gave it that savoury feel but masked the fruit. Served decanted, further air really improved things, cedar, tobacco and leather all being revealed. A big treat yet I wanted so much more from this bottle.

AC Vosne Romanée, Domaine Jean Gros, Clos de Réas, Monopole, Premier Cru, Burgundy, France, 1990. 13%

Red wine of the night. My last tasting of this 1990 had been a vertical tasting with Clive Coates MW back in 2003. Then it was profound, but 4 years on, what description is beyond profound? Words fail me. Perfume, autumnal sous-bois, mushroom, cherry, bonfire smoke and so much more, all delicacy and poise. Á point now but this has another 10 or even 15 years. It’s time Clos de Réas was upgraded to Grand Cru status. This was made by Jean Gros, son Michel is now in charge.

Toscana IGT, Cepparello, Isole e Olena, Tuscany, Italy, 1990, 13.5%

At the time of first release this wasn’t allowed to be a Chianti Classico DOCG because this is 100% Sangiovese. Now the rules have changed to allow this - Cepparello doesn’t need Chianti but maybe Chianti needs Cepparello. A fine expression of what Sangiovese can do. Stewed tea and dried cherry nose, juicy acidity, grainy tannins - needs food and a good match to the duck, the tannins disappear with meat, becoming smoother and richer. Not yet peaked, another 5 years perhaps. Excellent wine

AC Corton, Domaine Doudet-Naudin, Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 1971, 13%

A 35 year old Grand Cru burgundy is not an everyday encounter, made by a traditionalist in a five-star vintage. Back then Rod Stewart was Number 1 with Maggie May, but now this wine has turned into Holst’s Saturn. Very light colour, still the palest blushing core with an advancing orange-brown rim. Delicate nose, still fleeting berry fruit but leather and game indicate this is well into old age. Something slightly corky but it’s not corked - the palate’s gentle raspberry and cherry fruit clings desperately to life. Autumnal notes and spice, serene remnants of a power long gone, form a long dignified coda. A tired Old Lady, the struggle for breath, close your eyes and sleep before endless night.

Chocolate soufflé

Moda Amarone, Primo Estate, Joseph Grilli, McLaren Vale, SE Australia, 1996. 14.5%

A strange yet intriguing hybrid. Recognisably new world Cabernet Sauvignon (green leaf quality) and Merlot treated to Italian Amarone-style winemaking using partially dried grapes. Result is a thick, deep coloured full-on berry fruited wine with an oaked finish. Muscular wine to be taken in small quantities. Medicinal and restorative, better alone than with chocolate.

Recioto della Valpolicella Classico DOC, Giovanni Allegrini, Veneto, Italy, 1988. 13%+3%

Classic Recioto, dried grapes fermented but left sweet (hence the +3% indicating the potential alcohol if the remaining sugar was fermented out). Deep ruby, quite lifted nose. Morello cherries, big and thick, very concentrated, with a hint of bitter almonds on the finish. Goes on and on. Big sediment. Betcha there’s a high Corvina content. Good with Chocolate.

Cheese – Cheddar from Churchmouse Cheeses, Kirkby Lonsdale

AC Vouvray Moelleux, Domaine Bourillon Dorléans, La Coûte d’Or, Vouvray, Loire, France, 13%

Another good Vouvray, this time very sweet. Deep gold and leggy, with plenty of botrytis, orange peel, marmalade, acacia honey and something like bacon fat. Richness matched the cheese very well – one of the finest Cheddar’s I’ve tasted.

Carcavelos DOC, Manuel Boullosa, Vinho Generoso, Lisbon, Portugal, 1990. 20%

I thought this was a Tawny Port. Close, but não. Carcavelos is further south on the coast near Lisbon, where there’s maybe only 25 ha of vines left, making a wine very similar to Tawny Port. A tawny colour, lots of acidity, nuts and oxidation but also spirit dominant with an alcoholic burn. A true rarity and a good nightcap.

 

For K & C of course, the perfect hosts