The group met and Anna & Paul’s on Friday 24th August for an evening of blind Tasting…
Here are my notes:
CHAMPAGNE TAITTINGER BRUT Welcome Wine
Subtle nose, with some gluey notes, a frothy mousse and a palate framed by citrus – getting on for grapefruit, some brioche notes and long deep flavour profile. Excellent!
CHABLIS CC “LES PREUSES” 2011 (La Chablisienne) Laurie
Rich, slightly oily nose, citric and some softer fruit. The palate has melon fruit, a drying mineral line ending in a slight ginger hint and some subtle signs of oak. Long with a satisfying balance of richness and austerity.
ELARA ALBORIÑO 2017 (Nelson NZ) Yvonne
Quite a fruity nose: peach and apricot and a stony twist to stone fruit! Floral hints too. Palate has a very clean profile – freshness, warm acidity and a nutty hint at the finish. A full, but not too rich, Alboriño.
CHÂTEAU FILHOT SAUTERNES GCC 2010 Paul
Marzipan, passion fruit, butterscotch – lovely complex nose. Palate is sweet with some warm – almost burning – caramel notes that remind one of butterscotch. This has time to go – but has lovely freshness now – and integration and complexity will ascend for 7 – 10 (?) years. Luscious!
“THE ISLANDER” SANGIOVESE 2014 (Lurton) Ann
The Island in question here is Kangaroo Island of the coast of S. Australia, 200km SW of Adelaide. Interesting to see Sangiovese grown here, along with Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Semillon – showing Jacques Lurton’s roots! This is slightly herby on first note with plum aromas breaking through… Palate has a slightly burnt, woody note then spice and then plum fruit, some lifting acidity helps freshen the palate…
THYMIOPOULOUS XINOMAVRO 2013 (Naoussa) Anna
Nose is cherry fruit, going towards plums with some herbal tones. Big, dark, brooding, tannic – but round with very dark fruit. Obviously hot-climate but maybe a little young.
ERIMO SAN QUIRICO 2013 (Ercolino) John
This is a, rather superior, Aglianico. Starts with a volatile nose and some sweet red fruit – raspberry? – then herby notes. Palate is sweet, with plum / prune / almond Italian-ish features prominent, but secondary elements: leather, spice… seem only a suggestion thus far – thus lacking a little freshness atm… Needs food.
OSADIA 2015 (Mendoza) Kim
Nose of stoney plum fruit and some citrus. Palate is sharp, spicy, with warmth, big tannins and growing cherry notes. Big boned and not-quite integrated, this needs food or time – or both!
SAINT EMILION GC 2014 (Lay & Wheeler) Rob
This had a slightly stalky / greenish tinged nose – herbs and red fruit. The palate has a slightly laurel-leaf quality and overbalances the fruit v tannin equation in favour of the latter, making the wine seem harsh – undoubtedly too young, by several years…
A great evening of wine and lovely food, especially in my opinion, the crab tarts with the Chablis: a match made in… Kimmeridgian soil?!?!
I – burdened by the call of duty the following morning – left before the final wine, a “DRY SACK” (Williams & Humbert) made by adding a little PX sherry to a 15 year old Oloroso… sounds fantastic – if anyone present wants to contribute a note I’d appreciate it…. (not as much as the wine, obviously!)
I loved the curve of pleasure of the whites and the first red, for me this overshadowed a little the following reds, which were all marked by more-or-less immaturity, making them seem a touch less enjoyable than the preceding wines… but a great evening nonetheless. Thanks to Anna and Paul for their wonderful hospitality…
A couple of days later, thanks to Kim’s organisational genius, more-or-less (4 more and 1 less, actually), the same group visited the nearest vineyard to Nottingham – the Eglantine vineyard near Bunny. You can see more information about them by clicking here . We had tried a wine of theirs a month ago (you can see the note on 30th July post) and decided to visit…
Veronica Skuriat greeted us on a surprisingly wet and windy day and showed us round the vineyard (briefly) and the winery. A fascinating insight into the life of a small winery with small volume manual or semi-manual machinery to get the grapes to be wine in the bottle.
We tried their bubbly – a fresh and lively fizz with floral nose darker fruit and some savoury notes on the palate giving surprising depth and warmth for such a Northern site.
We also tasted the same white we had a month ago, showing similar flavours to then: nutty, floral – stone fruit with a warm citrus acidity.
However the star of the show – literally – is their dessert wine made from frozen Madeliene Angevine grapes – called NORTH STAR. It’s luscious and an interesting counterpoint to the Sauternes of two nights earlier, showing Passion fruit going into butterscotch and honey burn with a succulent, almost lime acidity and great length and freshness. Lovely – well worth seeking out, and if you’re passing the area the vineyard is well worth a visit. Thanks to Eglantine for their hospitality, and to Kim for organising the trip!
I’m off to France now so there will be little activity on the site for 6 weeks or so. Perhaps someone will post notes of the next Sock Club and Tutored Tasting (I’m thinking of Brigitte Bordeaux!?). I’ll be tasting in Burgundy and Beaujolais, and drinking in the Loire so I may have something to add – otherwise enjoy the harvest season!
À Bientôt
w1ngblog 