Michael, our Monday Table group member had planned to build a dinner around the 1720 H.M. Borges, Madeira “Pather” in 2020. The 300-year mark seemed to be the right time to open this thing. Unfortunately, a pesky virus got in the way, but we did have a look at it last night at age 302. It was a bottle purchased several years ago from The Rare Wine Co. The wine was transferred from barrel to demijohn in the 1930’s and then bottled in 1989. Michael did a wonderful job pulling together one of the finest dinners we have had. Everyone dug deep in their cellars to ensure its success.
2016 Hundred Hills Preamble: Michael had read that this was on someone’s list of 25 wines you must try before you die and kindly bought one in from the U.K for us. It was intense, with piercing citrus fruits. There was a lime sherbet note. The acid sat off the fruit a bit.
1962 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon Oenothèque : The colour was fresh and clear but there was just something a bit too dank and shroomy from the cork. It was rich in the mouth, with some decaying leaves mixing it up with baked apple and ripe peach flavours. It still had a lively bead.
1985 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut: Michael served us a glass from a bottle, next to a glass from a magnum. He has pulled this trick before, the sneaky bugger. The bottle was in perfect shape, purchased on release and cellared in the one cellar since. The Magnum was a purchase from a restaurant cellar. I thought the pour from the bottle just had it over the Magnum. It was rich and powerful, with some truffle, red fruits and aniseed spice. It had a chalky base, great build and a finish of such grace and authority. The Magnum had a slightly more developed and sweet mid-palate and a light brulee note sneaking in.
1962 Penfolds Museum Oloroso: Never commercially released, this was a beauty. It has muscat-like sweetness to the nose along with grilled nuts and citrus rind. It was intense, salty and tangy and incredibly long.
1952 Antoine Clavelier Batard-Montrachet, Grand Cru : Only just hanging on in there. A bit fishy. Some vinous peachiness and a suggestion of cheese rind.
1978 Maison Leroy Meursault Les Narvaux: Complex aromatics of smoky mineral, white peach, tangerine and aniseed. A fresh and intense palate, with fine minerally line. Beautifully balanced, great detail and a long finish with plenty of chalky dry extract and citrus tang.
1985 Marquis de Laguiche (Joseph Drouhin) Montrachet, Grand Cru : Gently fading. Some white peach fruit. There’s a light nuttiness and it is a little cheesy. It has some lavender florals and the finish is saline mineral. It still has good persistence and is a calm, resolved wine.
1986 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial Blanco: Supremely youthful. Loaded with intense peach fruit. There’s some custard apple, smoky mineral and plenty of spice. It is rich in the mouth, silky of texture and incredibly long.
1923 Hospices de Beaune Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Cuvée Fouquerand Henri de Villamont Collection du Docteur Barolet : Leather and ginger spice, with dark fruits. There’s an intense and sweet core. It has some meaty nuance and there’s a thread of licorice weaving through the flavour profile. The finish is salty and length is very good.
1937 Lupé-Cholet Nuits St. Georges: Initially smells of spent fireworks. It breathes up beautifully to show notes of sandalwood, dark fruits and some wild herbs. It is unctuous, with a silky feel against the gums. It fans out and is very long.
1937 Domaine Armand Naulot Clos Vougeot, Grand Cru: I’ve had two previous bottles of this that have shown far better. This one had a bit too much nutty aldehyde. There was still something sweet and vinous at its core, and you could still feel the wine’s structure to a degree, but it lacked the wow factor that the other two had.
1947 Clos de Tart: This was the Vandermeulen bottling. Sadly some tca robbed us of what could have been a fine bottle. The palate still had sweet dark fruits and was layered, with decent underlying grip.
1953 Pierre Ponnelle Musigny, Grand Cru : A gorgeous nose of sandalwood, sweet leather, black cherry and earth. It was luscious and layered, with rich dark fruits. There was stony minerality beneath the flesh and the finish powered on and was expansive. I love Musigny!
1990 Domaine Leroy Richebourg, Grand Cru : An engaging nose of floral spice, grated ginger, pomegranate and cherry. It is complex, deep and layered. It has so much flesh and a finish that is spice laden and oh so long. It has a high degree of elegance.
1899 Château Villemaurine, Saint Emilion: Remarkable colour for its age. Aromas of leather and cedar greet the nose. There’s a gentle nuttiness and a suggestion of briary fruits. It is clean and vivid on the palate, with good acid drive and all sorts of subtle savoury traits. Beautifully balanced with real persistent. Not just a curio, a joy to drink.
1945 Château Gruaud Larose: The fruit has a raisiny, port-like quality. It is rich and layered, with some baked earth notes. Tannins are perfectly ripe and it has super length.
1947 Château Gruaud Larose: A rich, ripe and heady wine. There are dark fruits, licorice and a grind of pepper. It is creamy, with a low acid feel. Some V.A gives lift to the finish. A hedonistic, pleasurable wine.
1895 Château Coutet: Intriguing nose of chestnut, sweet peach and truffle. It is just drying out a tad in the mouth, but there are still echoes of sweet fruits. There’s a gentle meatiness to the wine and a finish that is fresh and very long.
1866 Lorenz Reich Tokaji Esszencia: Incredible complexity here. Starts off with caramel, treacle and toffee and really builds in the glass. There are some tangerine top notes and Indian spice. It has brilliant acidity and has phenomenal length.
1720 H.M. Borges, Madeira “Pather”: The nose is spirity and punchy and there some wonderful baking spice notes emitting. The palate is incredibly intense and super-tangy. There’s orange rind, salted caramel and toffee flavours. The finish crackles with energy and complex spicy flavours linger for an eternity.
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