School of Wine (W.A.) Old and Rare Wines dinner 21 November 2024

[Waiters Friend]

G’day

Adam Collet operates his School of Wine here in W.A., and offers educational courses and events, including a series of Old and Rare Wine dinners. Although I have known Adam for about a decade, I had not attended one of his events before. This was held at Una Mes restaurant in Menora.

The wines lived up to the “old” label, with vintages spanning 2015 to 1995, and showed the virtues of different French wine regions. There were eight wines in total – one Champagne, one white, five reds and a dessert wine. Each wine was accompanied by an information sheet, and Adam’s enthusiastic and engaging commentary. The notes below are mine.

Castelneau Champagne 2006. 50% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir and 20% Pinot Meunier with 10 years on lees before disgorgement. A moderate yellow colour – certainly lighter than I was expecting for an 18-year-old Champagne. Little discernible mousse in the glass, but more noticeable on tasting. Yeast, brioche and lemon pith on the nose with a hint of strawberry. There’s more toast and yeast on the palate, with a hint of sherry. It’s quite delicate, dry and has a moderate length.

William Fevre Chablis ‘Montee De Terrerre’ 1er Cru 2015: Pale yellow colour and quite clear in the glass. There’s green apple, oyster shell, lemon jasmine and a slight toast to the nose. The palate shows similar elements to the nose, with a lick of salinity and minerality, and a slight nuttiness. Acid is supportive without dominating, and there’s some intensity of flavour while retaining a medium weight. Excellent wine.

Marchand & Burch Vosne Romanee 2008: The second vintage for this producer. Garnet colour. An intense and complex nose with the fruit taking a back seat to five spice, cinnamon (lots), mushroom, forest floor and leather. There’s fine, drying tannins and moderate acid. Developed fruits included cherries, raspberries alongside some savoury notes. Medium length only, and I would have liked to see this wine a fraction younger.

Le Pas De L’Aigle Gigondas 2009: 90% Grenache 10% Syrah. A fragrant nose of dried fruits, leather, spices and a touch of mocha. The palate is also quite vibrant with developed raspberry, cranberry and fig. There’s slight alcohol heat, tannic grip, a slippery texture and prominent acid leading to a reasonably long finish.

Jean-Luc Baldes Clos Triguedina ‘The New Black Wine’ 2007: This Malbec from Cahors is certainly deeply coloured. The nose shows Christmas pudding, fading violets, and a plum conserve. There’s a juiciness to the palate, which shows more plum conserve, Christmas pudding, and drying tannins. This was quite fresh and even restrained for a Cahors Malbec – I was expecting something a little heavier, and this was a pleasant surprise.

Chateau Fauzen 2005 (St Emilion): A savoury nose, with hints of mocha, and barely discernible fruit. Initially the palate was a little sharp, but softened with more air to reveal developed black and red fruits, prunes, and some leather polish. Long finish.

Chateau Montus Madiran 2002: From Gascony, and made mostly from Tannat grapes with a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. Stewed red and dark fruits on the nose, with prunes, leather and slight alcohol heat. The palate is porty, with Christmas cake and raisins. Strong supporting acid and grippy tannins. Fruit is starting to fade and the wine finishes reasonably long. A big wine all round. I would have like to have tried this a few years earlier.

Josmeyer Selection De Grains Nobles Grand Cru 1995: This wine from Alsace is made from Gewurztraminer. Deep caramel colour. Vanilla, ginger, spices, raisins and a slight smoky character on the intense nose. The palate is showing candied orange peel, caramel and some of the spiciness one associates with Gewurztraminer. Very long but not heavy. I could have just nosed this for an hour.

This event was interesting, not just for the range of wines shown, but for some of the conversation that ensued. How do you like your wines? Some people go for young and primary, and some people prefer fully mature wines with lots of tertiary development. You will see from my notes above that I felt a couple of the wines might have been better earlier in their life. This is only my opinion, and different tasters have different age preferences. Conversely, I will also say that I drink a lot of wines between 7-12 years of age, and sometimes find some new releases a little challenging as a result. Each to their own, I suppose.

My preferred wines were the William Fevre Chablis ‘Montee De Terrerre’ 1er Cru 2015 and the Josmeyer Selection De Grains Nobles Grand Cru 1995

Thanks to Adam for his knowledge and obvious passion for the wines – he sees these events as educational for himself as well as for those attending – and he can talk for hours on his favourite subject. Good luck to him.

Cheers
Allan

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