pre-event 1 • pre-event 2 • pre-event 3 • pre-event 4
walk-round • dinner • gallery • seminar 1 • seminar 2 • seminar 3
The pre-event dinner at Ubiquitous Chip
reporter: Stephen Pickles
Our large group assembled first for champagnes & sparklers – including a pure arbanne and riesling sekt to start the evening in good style The food was good at the Chip – maybe not as good as last year, but very good service and excellent wines ensured a rather wonderful social evening was had.
With 18 in the party we were across 2 tables so I didn’t taste all wines. Apologies for the sparse notes – I kept getting told to eat up and stop writing.
Cloudy Bay 2001
Grassy creamy nose, rich full new world.Not as mad asprevious vintages and maybe missing some acid zip here. vg
Meursault, Les Tillets 1er Cru, Patrick Javillier 1999
Beautiful gold,smokey, mineraly.Quince ,rich but very pure fruit & minerals drinking very well and really complex delicious wine vg+ excellent
karlsmuhle lorenzhofer auslese goldkapsule (99?)
waxy lemon.drops, fine, full,and very long vg(+)
2001 Henri Boillot, Corton-Charlemagne
v rich golden.full creamy nose lovely fruit.zippy good balance vg+. great extract & bal vlong,but young
Hallgartener Hendelberg Riesling Spatlese 1971
waxy,honey & apple pie, a little hollow in the middle ,maybe fading, but still long vg+
The gods of cork struck and the first casualty of the night was Bill’s :
1994 Domaine des Chezeaux, Griottes-Chambertin
corked!- a plastic bag was found and the bottle resealed for an experient at the walkround the next day.
Chave hermitage 91
lighter colour, meaty, floral nose with touch of parsley.Full earthy and spice and game on palate – silky and sumptuous .vg+ exc
Leoville Las Cases (St Julien) 1978
Meaty beef &leather nose with a touch of VA .Gorgeous plalate, leather & redcurrants. Very long , just starting to tire? vg+
Chateau Lascombes 1990
Quite brick, seems advanced, still good fruit, but duff cork? touch oxidised? Vg
Catina alta cabernet Sauvingnon 99 argentina
solid cassis.pure fine cassis very fine tannins.long choco fine vg+ exc needs time.
Chateau du tetre margaux 96
deep red. Good oak, floral & cassis, full creamy nose. Smooth fruit & oaky but vg+ -needs time
A mini vertical presented itself VT 89,98 and 00 . Unfortunately the 98 was corked – at this point I think I volunteered to go and set fire to the cork forests.
Vieux Telegraphe ’89
Quite closed leather,meaty sweet nose – needed a good swirl to get going.Full, spicy, sweet cough drops, v.dry burly tannins & meaty gamey palate vg+ exc . Total character of a wine
Vieux Telegraphe 00
Kirsh & cherry nose.Sweet cherry fruit very fine – better tannins than 89.vg+ exc – way too young
Chateau Suduiraut 1989
lovley copper gold.Orange marm, pure, anise spice nose. Orange ,rich,sumptous vg+
Excellent wines all night, and the low points caused by cork.The 89 VT was an absolute star for me just full of interest and character.