Bordeaux and friends 4.1.2025

[Waiters Friend]

G’day

A quiet Saturday night dinner was an excuse to pull out some older wines. T-bone steaks accompanied a couple of old Bordeaux, and of course, they weren’t the only wines of the evening.

We started with an old Champagne:

Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin 1990. Disgorged October 2008, so a massive 18 years on lees. Golden colour, even amber. The cork gave a very modest ‘phhttt’ on release, and there was no discernible mousse in the grass. The nose showed sherry, toffee orange peel, creamy caramels, lemon curd and bergamot. Over 3-4 hours, the nose (and the palate) moved firmly towards sweet marmalade.

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The palate showed some dissolved CO2 which, along with the acid, made the wine surprisingly fresh. There was a small degree of yeast autolysis, and a much more prominent nutty character, along with more sherry. Long finish and an interesting start to the evening.

Jean-Marc Pillot Chassagne Montrachet 2018. Medium yellow in colour, and possibly a bit darker than the equivalent-age than the average Aussie chardonnay. The nose initially showed savoury nutty characters but opened up quickly to reveal pronounced peach, grapefruit and peach blossom. The palate reflected the nose, with nutty, spicy oak, peach, citrus, and a creamy mouthfeel. Well balanced and excellent length.

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Then to the reds (and the T-bones)

Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron de Pichon Longueville 2000 (Pauillac, France). Crimson colour with slight bricking. The nose initially showed violets and opened up to reveal developed black fruits (cherries especially), polished leather (maybe Chesterfield) and pencil shavings. The palate showed more leather and developed dark fruits. Tannins are well integrated, fine and slightly grippy, and acid is sufficient to support the wine. Considerable length and a soft finish. Excellent wine.

Chateau Talbot 1993 (Saint Julien, France). Similar colour to the Pichon, but with tawny hues as well. We suspect there is a touch of Brett in this wine. Fruit was diminished on the nose, which was dominated by Vegemite, leather, pencil shavings, and a ferrous character. The fruits were in the plum and dark berry spectrum, and the nose also showed some dark chocolate or cocoa powder.

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The palate showed a little more fruit, dark berries and plums, with more Vegemite and some cloves. Moderate acid and chalky but soft tannins led to a long finish. A shame about the touch of Brett – I would have liked to see this bottle (admittedly from a lesser vintage) in pristine condition.

We had two desserts, so two dessert wines were called for:

Weingut Schloss Lieser Braunerberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 2008 (Mosel, Germany). It took almost as long to say the name than to drink it! Golden colour. Glace pineapple, dried apricot, freshly sliced pear and red apple on the nose. The palate showed considerable acid, but no glycerol (only 7% alcohol) on a fresh palate with citrus, pears and more red apple. Slightly short finish but this was a minor quibble.

Royal Tokaji 5 Puttonyos Aszu 2016. 11.5% alcohol. Deep golden colour. Intense nose of orange peel, dried apricot, glace ginger, toffee. A couple of us were reminded of the sauce that goes with the classic Crepe Suzette (with Grand Marnier).

The palate shows more of the intense orange peel, apricot and ginger. It’s high acid and reminiscent of pulpy orange juice. Long finish. Possibly slightly less complex in terms of range of flavours than the Schloss Lieser, but a higher level of intensity. The 250ml bottle was just the right amount for 4 people.

Thanks to our hosts for a delightful evening -excellent food, fascinating wines and wonderful company. Here’s to many more evenings like this.

Cheers
Allan

[Waiters Friend]

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[Mike Hawkins]

I really bought into the left bank 2000 hype. Ten years ago I was lamenting that, but I’m now glad I did… they just needed time. I really like Pichon Baron… time to revisit the 2000. Recent 96 and 09s were fantastic. Thanks for the note