Vintage Club News February 1995
Hello,
Katie and I have survived the Invasion of Wimbledon, we somehow managed to
shoehorn 26 odd people into our house in what must be the biggest VC tasting
outside of Bath. So here is a quick synopsis of the wines tasted.
1) Karen Roberts+ Sarah- a wine of "mighty morphin' gooseberries"
apparently, a rich flinty Sauvignon, slightly oaked with lots of floral scents
with lemons, most people guessed at high quality Loire in a ripe year, a few
plumped for NZ.
France Pouilly-Fume 1992, Buisson Menard. Threshers £1(I don't think this
is right somehow)
(this was voted the best white wine)
2) Ken Figueredo- a mysterious wine smelling of cherry, bananas and
sesame with a taste of Chinese caramelled bananas, most guesses were for
Portugal or Spain, Mike Brown thought that he "could be seduced by an Alsatian"
nobody was quite sure if he was talking about the wine or his taste in dogs.
Swiss Fondant de Sion, Chasselas, 1993 Les Murettes
3) Alan Blackwell- rich buttery vanilla with lots of lemony fruit with an
appley finish. Lots of guesses all wrong a few got Riesling but not a NZ
example.
Nelson Riesling, 1992, Siefried Est. ~£8 from N
4) Alison Drasdo- odours of lychee, violets but sweetness, an oily rich
taste which was mostly spicy oak. Guesses from all around the world, the most
bizarre of which was Chilean Pinot Blanc.
Alsace Auxerrois, 1990, Dom. Martin Schaetzel
5) Graham Heath + Sue- appley, petrol and diesel nose had everyone
identifying Riesling, the taste was rich apples with a spicy sherbety finish.
Most guesses were for Germany or Alsace.
Australia Mount Barker (Western Aust) Riesling 1991 Goundry. £6
Indep.
6) Mike Duggan- Powerful floral nose, a soft fruity but quite sweet
palate with a slight liquorice finish. The best guess was Alsace Muscat.
Alsace, Klevner, 1992 Cuvee particulaire Klipfel.
7) Mike and Clare Brown- a floral but closed nose, no real identifiable
fruit suggested Pinot Gris, had a pleasant oak/smoke finish.
Alsace Pinot Gris 1992 Cave Vinicole de Turkheim £5.90 Wine Rack
8) Mike and Clare Brown- a buttery peppery nose, but the taste was watery
sherbet with a slight peppery finish. Someone mentioned English wine but failed
to elaborate.
English Chardonnay 1992 Denbies
9) Karen Roberts and Sarah- gooseberries and asparagus was immediately
seized on as NZ with a grassy, gooseberry sweet fruit with balancing acidity.
N.Z. Marlborough Sauvignon blanc, 1993, Wairu River. £8.99 Thresher
10) Tim Pope- real intense white pepper nose, dry clean fruity taste with
a white pepper taste at the finish. White Rhone was the consensus and so it was.
Vin de pays Voignier 1992, des Collines Rhodanierres. Wine Rack
11) Katie Ruffle- gamey, black cherry and raspberry nose, a peppery black
cherry and raspberry. Too young burgundy was generally aggreed upon.
Burgundy Santaney premier cru, Cote d'Or Pinot Noir, 1993, Les Gravieres.
£8 French Airport.
12) Steve Gibbon- rich oaky, minty, black cherry nose tasting of black
cherry yoghurt, spicey American oak, everyone liked it! and said it was the best
wine Steve had ever brought! Voted the best red.
Washington State, Columbia Valley, Merlot 1992 L'ecole no 41. £10.99
Oddbins
13) Niel Markwick and Sarah- a pleasant caramel and vanilla nose followed
by a blackcurrent and green pepper taste. Most guesses were for claret and they
were not far from the mark.
France, Corbieres N.V. Co-Op Mont Tauch £5 Indep
14) Helen Arnold- black cherry and oaky nose which promised to be a bit
tough on the tannin but was in fact well balanced and fruity.
France Collioure Grenache 1990 Les Clos de Daulilles £6.99 Oddbin
15) Katie Gould and Tim Pope- dry leathery vegetal smells preceded an
oaky vegetal sweetish fruit palate. People thought it was Rioja although
attention spans were getting a little short by this time.
Spain Navarra Reserva, Tempranillo 1990 Chivite
16) Niel Markwick- the bouquet was described as plums smeared with
bovril! the taste was a complex mix of soft fruits with peppery finish. This was
very popular although guesses varied from 89 Clarets to Super Tuscan (in fact
Mike Brown guessed that every wine from now until the end was a super T).
Australia Mudgee Shiraz 1987 Montrose Special Res.
17) Catherine Shafto- this too had a plummy, smokey nose although less
opulent than the last with a more refined and less sweet taste, the finish was
like fresh green peppers and crushed peppercorns.
France, St. Joseph Syrah 1990 Cave St Desirat £7.99 Waitrose
18) Graham Heath- This old looking wine smelled off raisins and other sun
dried fruits and tasted of raisins pepper and liquorice. Some who were still
conscious said Barolo! and they were right.
Italy Piedmont Barolo Nebiolo 1987 Monfalletto £15 Indep
19) Andy Howard- this was really thick in colour "a red hole in a glass",
the flavours detected were bags of cherries and spices but a good balance of
acidity and tannin. No-one thought it new world. Those who guessed Rhone were
again correct.
France St. Joseph Syrah 1990 La Grand Pompee- Jaboulet £7.50
Sainsburys
20) Ed Kay- this was really orangey with a marmalade nose, but a dry
peppery taste and a cherry/plums fruity finish. Everyone had now got the hang of
guessing Rhone!
France Chateauneuf du Pape Syrah/Grenache et al 1992 Dom de Font
Michelle
21) Davie Macallan- again back to raisins and pepper with a dry, quite
acidic green tannin and liquorice taste . Most peoples memory had gone by now so
very few said another Barolo.
Italy Piedmont Barolo Nebiolo 1987 Bricco Fiasco Azelia £6.50 Tesco
22) George Wickham- this was rich, complex with a sort of rotten silage
whiff full of rich, plummy/blackcurrent fruit. Again popular which was
unfortunate because a patch of carpet behind our sofa enjoyed half of it! (It
all came out by the way!) "Claret" we said and claret it was.
France Haut-Medoc 5eme Cru 1986 Ch. Cantemerle £20 from France
23) Chris Edmead- nectar! concentrated sweet honey and grapefruit nose,
zesty grapefruit acidity to balance the honey-like sweetness. Everyone thought
it was delicious, even with no competition it was the best sweet white! and
nobody could believe what it was!
England, Late picked Muller-Turgau 1992 Pilton Manor £9 per 1/2
bottle
That was it! After a rushed emptying of the bottles we trooped off to the Ahmed
tandoori for some delicious hand prepared Indian food. During dinner most people
could hardly keep their eyes open so most folks disappeared home after the food
leaving me, Katie, Ed and Chris to walk home and face the mountain of washing
up.
The next tasting organised is the Bath AGM in June, the date has yet to be
finalized however it has been decided that people will have to get themselves
somewhat organised into small groups (2 to 4) and bring along 2 bottles of their
chosen wine! The reason for this is logistical, particularly at Bath it is
getting very difficult getting one bottle to go around! so we thought it would
be more enjoyable/responsible/easier to have half as many wines but twice as
much of each and this of course will allow a longer social finishing up session
at the end. Another spin-off of this will be your chance of getting some of your
favourite at the end instead of unholy scramble for the "stars", not that any of
us behave like that anyway!
At Bath we will be electing a secretary (I'm retiring after 2 years) and a
treasurer so if you want to know what the job entails or you fancy it phone
myself or Anne Wellings (the current treasurer) and we will tell you what goes
on.
If anyone wishes to organize a tasting between now and June let me know ASAP
there is still time, if you fancy having your wino friends around and each
bringing an example of your favourite kind of wine (because you choose the
theme, of course you may not get many visitors if you pick '61 first growths!)
now is your chance.
I hope you have all enjoyed my ramblings for the last two years, I expect
this will be the last full VC newsletter I shall send out. So wherever you are
raise your glass to the fact you won't have to read another one again in a
hurry!
Cheers and happy slurrping!
Stuart.
last modified by Roger Jardine
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