Bentley turned on the wow factor with a tour de force of dishes that respectfully complemented the wines. The team is really switched on, service was spot on, crisp, attentive given all the action happening. The head chef received a deserved round of applause at the end of the evening when he came out on behalf of his team to see if everything had been OK.
The Wines
1982 Moët & Chandon Dom Pérignon
1998 Château Pape Clément Blanc
1982 Joseph Drouhin Chassagne-Montrachet
1937 Château Latour Grand Vin
1911 Château Lafite Rothschild (Chateau re-conditioned in 1983)
1962 Château Mouton Rothschild
1947 Château Latour Grand Vin
1959 Château Léoville Las Cases
1966 Château Latour à Pomerol
1970 Château Cheval Blanc
1947 Château d'Yquem
1982 Moët & Chandon Dom Pérignon
Brioche, yeast, with a touch of truffle, lemon, although no mousse it is quite spritzy and light in the mouth. Good acid, good length, as it starts to unfurl in the glass the nose begins to sharpen to more a lemon sherbet. It had a wonderful ability to attack on the back palate and go on and on, the flavours carrying on minutes after each sip. This wine has had good provenance/storage and obviously still has years in it.
1998 Château Pape Clément Blanc
Red/Bruised apples, sesame, touch of cheese, honey/nougat, with some walnut nuances as it sat in the glass, very supple in the mouth with lots of acid still available which made for good drinking. Very impressed with this.
1982 Joseph Drouhin Chassagne-Montrachet
This was a bit of fun add-in, but wow, for a village level wine of that age it was showing very well. Honeycomb/suckle, very crisp/clean on the palate, it finished short as you would expect with the acid having outlasted the fruit. Nutty, with a touch of caramel and some spices with an overarching lemon backbone. 36 years old and it’s like this, punching way above its weight.
1937 Château Latour Grand Vin
Think - very old leather Chesterfield, cedar, cigar box, char grilled meat, a real sense of smokiness to this, with hints of plums and dark fruits. The bricking was minimal but then I realised it was liked it had fully bricked and this was the second time around. (is that even a thing?). The wine was fully resolved yet clean and pleasant on the palate. I got to enjoy this more the longer I had it, finding little things in it, and being so close to my parents’ birth years made it that bit more special.
1911 Château Lafite Rothschild (Chateau re-conditioned in 1983)
Animal on the nose, leather, dried fruits, mushroom, sous-bois, with about 15mm of bricking, smells old but in a good way, like an old oak dresser. Amazing power of fruit of what is remaining, quite ethereal on the palate, amazingly there is still remnants of tannins and grip. (this must have been almost undrinkable on release), the finish is short but enough on the back palate to satisfy and marvel in what is a 107 year old wine, so just let that sink in for a minute…. Some plum and leather wind their way out of the glass as it warms up a bit. An amazing, amazing wine.
Post Tasting Note: Waiting patiently through two World Wars, The Depression, Man landing on the moon, Computers, The Internet and probably most notably…The Kardashians – for it to finally, finally be drank by a mug like me. What an epic journey and life fulfilled…
1962 Château Mouton Rothschild
Forever forgotten with all the limelight on the 1961 Vintage, this was showing particularly well. Dark red fruits, black pepper, marzipan/dark cherry, undergrowth. Nose and colour says way younger yet on first taste the palate belies its real age. Almost creamy, soft tannins reaching out to the corners of your mouth clutching away where they can, with lovely dark fruits to accompany them. Starts to take on some rose petal/stalk/tomato leaf with hints of cola as it sits in the glass. Stunning wine.
1947 Château Latour Grand Vin
Varnish and Furniture Polish on the nose, bearing in mind this was a hot vintage I was kind of expecting it. Touch of funk which blew off along with the VA and the wine really started to shine. Was about 10mm of bricking. This was a weird one, the nose almost seemed to start halfway up the glass almost like a separate component to the palate, then after the first sip it all came together with almost an audible click. Dark fruits, cherry, plums, and the tannins still there and here was the amazing thing. They were still in perfect balance with each other, sure they’d both aged and done their respective thing, but put them together and you have this beautiful balanced whole. Of all the wines on the night this was the one I just sat there and worked around in my mouth, extracting different components/flavours out of, and it just kept on giving and giving, even long after you’d swallowed it. Wow, just wow.
1959 Château Léoville Las Cases
From a magnum, this had a great colour, really dark red with minimal bricking. Rich fruit cake, touch of VA, cedar, dark cherry, hints of graphite/pencil shavings, green pepper. Good structure, although nearly fully resolved it still had lots of grip for the remaining tannins. The palate didn’t quite live up to the nose, but still had a good length to the fruit, I really enjoyed just sitting on it and smelling it. Great drinking.
1966 Château Latour à Pomerol
Nice red fruit on the nose, stalky, hints of sesame oil and nuts, touch funky, orange bricking on the rim, good tannins. This is a medium bodied wine, which has probably seen the fruit lose the battle to the tannins and remaining acids. That being said it was still lovely wine to drink, aging gracefully.
1970 Château Cheval Blanc
Mushroom, almost Burgundian nose, the purity of the fruit is the first thing that strikes you, just a wonderful linear line to the fruit and almost inherent sweetness of fruit on the palate that follows the nose. The merlot seems to be the star here. Some forest floor, raspberry, tomato leaf. Fully resolved with a real softness yet the acid line provides a sense of purity to whatever fruit is available. A fabulously elegant wine.
1947 Château d'Yquem
Orange marmalade, burnt sugar, toffee, brown sugar, crème brulee, it’s all there. This is a supremely balanced wine, acid and fruit = Perfect, this is a Masterclass of balance in a wine, intense fruit with the acidity to provide brightness and drive. There is just so much going on in the palate and on the nose. (truly special). Given the vintage conditions in 1947 and the hot weather how this wine came to be like this is mind boggling – it seems inconceivable that such balance could be achieved. You could literally still taste it completely for about 5mins after each sip. I could have sat on this all night. Brilliant, brilliant wine.
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