The Champagne reception was quite impressive. We began with the Veuve Cliqcuot 1995 rose, served from a Jeroboam, which is a truly impractical size for a bottle of wine. This was followed by Le Grand Dame 1990 served from a Magnum. With the blind Champagne tasting earlier this week this makes 4 different Veuve wines tasted within 48 hours. Quite impressive.
Here is an indication of the scale of the jeroboam:
Some tasting notes:
Veuve Clicquot 1995 Rose en jeroboam
The colour of this wine was so intense it almost had hints of orange - see the picture below. A rather mellow aroma profile with hints of raspberry and strawberry. On the palate the wine was fruit-driven. The mousse was rather restrained, maybe aging too quickly..? Some tannin in the wine, particularly considering that this is a Champagne; however, the tannin was balanced by a quite pleasant hint of sweetness. On the finish, the fruit vanished pretty quickly leaving just the acid. In conclusion, this was pretty good, but not aging as well as expected.
Veuve Clicquot 1990 La Grand Dame en magnum
This wine was bright, clear and golden with lots of fine bubbles. The most prevalent aromas were yeasty/autolysis and biscuit notes, as would be expected from a vintage Champagne. There was also some secondary development character coming through, mainly as a strong nutty aroma. The mousse was fine - particularly given the age. The acid was well balanced with the fruit and the finish was very crisp, refreshing and dry. All in all, this wine was clearly excellent, but maybe not at its best as an aperitif. The strong acid and intense flavour might be best paired with food.
Chateau Pavie St Emilion Rose 2004
Pretty good considering I'm normally not a fan of rose wine. The nose was clean with mostly red-fruit character. The palate was round with a smooth mouthfeel. The tannins were, not surprisingly, quite low. Despite being quite unassuming the wine was well balanced and rather pleasant. Considering my normal low opinion of rose wines, I was impressed with this. Not amazing, but a good example of its type.
Chateau Puy-Blanquet 1982
At first glance this wine might appear to be past its best. The wine was definitely on the brown side and there was some volatile acid on the nose. However, despite being low on fruit, the nose was clean with pleasant tobacco and cedar-wood notes. Whilst past its best the palate was surprisingly intense and fruity, with a good length. All in all, I liked this wine and would have probably been more effusive if there had been less stiff competition on the day.
Chateau Cure-Bon "La Madeleine" 1982
This was an unexpected benefit since it was not mentioned on the wine list. The rim was quite pale and watery, but otherwise the wine was opaque and bright. Whilst the nose smelled 'old' the palate was surprisingly fruit-driven. There were pleasant plummy notes and some bitter chocolate. The tannins were fine and medium intensity and well balanced with the acid. This wine had aged very well and showed excellently - particularly when one considers the wines this was tasted against.
Chateau Ausone 1982
Considering that this wine would cost over £500 if bought today, this wine was quite underwhelming. The nose was impressively fruit-dominated with strong red-berry notes. The secondary development aromas were far more restrained than one might have expected for a wine of this age. The tannins were intense and the wine was still fruity with well balanced acid. However, the tannins felt as though they outweighed the fruit - particularly on the finish. So whilst the wine was clearly very good and dealing with age very well it was still far from the perfect wine one would hope for at this cost. Had I tasted it blind (and without the burden of the preconceptions that come with knowledge of its cost) I'm sure I might have rated it more highly.
Chateau Angelus 1980
This wine was quite pale but this was not reflected in the taste. The nose was very fresh and fruity and only showing a moderate amount of secondary development considering the age. On the palate this was only medium bodied. There were high levels of tannin, but they were fine and pleasant on the finish. All in all a quite classy wine.
Chateau Pavie Decesse 1961
This wine definitely looked old. The nose was surprisingly reserved with quite pronounced volatile acidity. The palate was definitely past its best with some vinegar notes appearing on the finish. Despite this, it was clear that this used to be a formidable wine - the pedigree couldn't help showing through. However, the wine deteriorated rather quickly in the glass. It would not be fair to judge this wine on the basis of this showing. However, I'm sure that a few years ago this wine would have been fantastic.
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