RAC Club | Renaissance Vintners

Mature Burgundy & Piedmont

A second instalment of the September festivities organised by ‘Clive St Hune’ at the RAC Club. The wines served at ‘Dinner Part Deux’ were not served blind, thus saving me from further embarrassment…

Especial thanks again to Clive (who brought the majority of the wines) for organising the dinner – but also to the other four diners who brought with them treasured bottles.

1978 Le Montrachet, Delagrange Bachelet
N/A (RV)
Sadly this bottle was oxidised beyond the point of drinkability.

1989 Le Montrachet, Gagnard Delagrange
93/100 (RV)
Medium gold colour, completely correct for a wine of this age.
The owner of this bottle (it was generously brought to dinner by Richard Berkley-Matthews of Clarion Wines) was slightly concerned about decanting or opening this bottle much in advance of consumption because of its age. In the event his fears were groundless – it was fractionally sulphurey initially, but after 15 minutes in the glass it freshened considerably revealing complex notes of honey, violet, mineral, spice, smoke and meat on the nose. On the palate this also developed and improved over the course of the evening, revealing lovely flavours of baked apple, quince and creamy custard. Not a massive white Burgundy but a very delicious old-school Montrachet on this showing. Lovely: thanks Barkers.

1996 Meursault Luchets, Roulot (Magnum)
94/100 (RV)
Pale gold colour. Very pure scent with lemon zest, a touch of honeysuckle and flint. Impeccable, racy and pure on the palate, with super-fresh flavours of lemon on the attack leading through to a slightly creamy orangey mid palate. Finishes long and mineral with a hint of aniseed. Quite extraordinarily fresh and youthful for a lieu-dit almost 20 years old. Super.

1988 Bievenues Batard, Ramonet
97/100 (RV)
Certainly a contender for wine of the evening, and one of the most delicious white Burgundies I have drunk in a long time. Also the best Bienvenues I can ever remember drinking.
Delicate nose initially. A layered aroma which hinted at cream, eggnog, brazil nut and orangeflower was gradually revealed. As lovely as the Gagnard Delagrange and Roulot were, this is in a difference league for finesse. Sensational, pure, long, creamy palate also with spices like cinnamon overlaying pure citrus and honey fruit. Medium weight but super-fine and extremely long, with a brisk, dry finish. Wow. Mature, but if stored like this, no rush to drink up.

1997 Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Combettes, Sauzet
88(?)/100 (RV)
Somewhat controversial, with some tasters deciding this was not correct. Bright yellow gold hue.
Unusual nose – cheesey, with honey and a waxy spice aspect that makes one wonder about botrytis.
Flavours of yellow fruit with overtones of smokey bacon. Frazzles ? After the purity of the two preceding wines this was hard to accept; on its own I think it would have found a more favourable reaction. Barkers (Richard Berkley-Matthews) thought it faulty as did Mike Laing.

1985 Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St Jacques, Rousseau
96/100 (RV)
Very generously brought to dinner by ‘Major Silk’.
Another obvious contender for wine of the evening on reputation – and so it proved from the glass.
Modest ruby garnet colour. Fantastically complex nose featuring incense, spice, sage, sandalwood, red fruit and a hint of menthol. On first tasting this seemed quite taut, but it developed in the glass into a more opulent wine, albeit one perfectly poised between the savoury and the sweet. An abundance of flavours including smokey raspberry, nutmeg, clove, liquorice and herb. Complex, and perfectly mature, but with great precision. Not a blockbuster, but huge finesse.

1998 Barbaresco Santo Stefano Red Label Riserva, Giacosa
93(+?)/100 (RV)
Really pretty deep ruby. A quantum leap from the delicacy of the Rousseau, this was 100% Piedmont with very intense pungent, slightly volatile scents of violet, spice, earth, gunflint and hairspray. Full bodied. A powerful melange of blackberry and apple pie fruit combining with deeper flavours of plum duff, Dundee cake and liquorice. Very youthful. Very, very good – but not especially charming at this stage. Quite hard to judge after a truly great red Burgundy a decade+ more mature. I may be being mean with my score.

1971 Barbaresco, Gaja
95/100 (RV)
Considerably more subtle than the Giacosa; doubtless due to maturity. Nonetheless this had intense scents of smokey herb, undergrowth and violet, with just a hint of caramel softening the impact.
A big wine, but with a lovely texture not found in young Piedmontese wines. Intense, spicy, savoury, liquoricey flavours. Very long on the palate. Dry but not aggressive. Splendid, fully mature Nebbiolo.

1998 Tokaji 5 Puttonyos, Royal Tokaji Company
92/100 (RV)
A bit of an afterthought after a fairly decadent evening, but a nice one.
Medium gold plus colour. Muted nose initially but with notes of green hazelnut, honey and vanilla emerging. Rather noble nose. Luscious palate with zippy acidity well balanced with creamy orange and strawberry fruit. Full bodied, intense and sweet, but not cloying.

A private dinner ‘a deux’

Generously hosted by noted collector ‘Clive St Hune’. As ever, Clive was thinking – and drinking – big. All the wines drank during dinner and afterward were served to me blind. Having discussed white Burgundy at some length in the beautiful courtyard at the RAC I had arrived at certain conclusions about the nature of the wine tasting before putting a glass to my lips, thus setting myself up for an embarrassing start to the evening…

I initially distinguished myself by (miss)identifying 2006 Camel Valley Bachus firstly as Chablis, secondly as Alsace Riesling and finally as Savennières, before retiring from the fray with my pride and professional reputation in tatters. Clive looked on benevolently, highly amused by my ineptitude. To be fair I am not served 8 year old English wines very often. In fact not ever, until now.

The Great Gallery restaurant at the RAC Club, which I’d never been to before, is, incidentally, magnificent and the service was impeccable. Our waiter dealt with the pressing requirement for 3 starters each (preceding our main courses naturally) with equanimity and even nonchalance; meanwhile the sommelier was fully briefed to keep the considerable array of bottles coming at regular intervals. Before readers baulk at what may sound an implausibly large volume of alcohol, I should say we absolutely did not drink the whole of every bottle which was served !

Two wines were opened but were not served on the basis that they were oxidised – both Sauzet 1er Cru from the mid 1990s. Sadly this was not a surprise to my host or I.

2006 Bacchus, Camel Valley
90/100 (RV)
Pale colour. Crisp, taut scent with notes of green fruit and quince. Very good on the palate with modest weight but very good intensity – before (metaphorically) falling on my sword I was convinced I recognised the briskness of Chablis, the aromatics of a (fine) dry Riesling and finally the quince notes of Savennières. Crisp and long. Nice.

………………..Thereafter the evening settled down into more familiar territory, as follows:

1983 Tokay Pinot Gris ‘Rangen de Thann’, Vendange Tardive, Zind Humbrecht
90/100 (RV)
Full gold colour with hints of orange. Rich honey and quince aromatics with smokey spice notes emerging. This initially smelled a bit oxidised and soapy / flat, but freshened considerably in the glass. Full bodied with creamy quince and baked apple flavour. Just fractionally sherried but still pretty delicious. Also savoury and smokey. Clive commented that it was fresher than several other bottles he’d had recently.

2004 Le Montrachet, Laguiche (Drouhin)
93/100 (RV)
Pale gold colour. A big blast of rich orchard fruit – ‘essence of Chardonnay’ on the nose. I took this to be old fashioned white Burgundy – but did not guess it as Montrachet. Notes of apricot and peach. Initially big and creamy, but slightly grubby. The waxy note blew away to reveal an impeccable, full bodied Chardonnay with the hint of diesel that you can find in Le Montrachet. Tightening in the glass over the course of evening, it became a very serious wine, although not one with the race or definition for greatness. Very good.

2001 Le Montrachet, Laguiche (Drouhin)
88/100 (RV)
The second of a pairing obviously, but not recognisable as the same wine. Full gold colour suggesting a much older wine. Rich with scents of honey, butter and even burnt toffee. Overblown palate with pear and peach flavours. Big but no hint of Grand Cru finesse. Is this a bottle which is out of condition or is it typical ? If the latter it is a huge disappointment. Drinkable and still pleasurable if your taste run to the riper and richer end of the spectrum but sub-par for Montrachet on this showing.

1996 Puligny Montrachet, Leflaive
94/100 (RV)
Pale, bright lemon colour. Super pure on the nose with hints of gravel, lavender and citrus. Hints of smokey matchstick also. Really fine, long and pure. Without the flesh of the 2004 Montrachet but has more race, freshness and elegance. Lovely dry mineral and limeflower finish. I took this to be a considerably grander wine. A welcome reminder of how good mature white Burgundy can be, even at village level.

2008 Pinot Noir, Ryan Vineyard, Calera
91/100 (RV)
Moderate ruby colour with no obvious sign of ageing. Very attractive fresh strawberry notes running through to deeper notes of mulberry and spice. Medium bodied but ripe and round with lush Pinot Fruit. Nice finish of orchard fruit and honey. Not fully mature, but delicious because of the silky texture.

1989 Riesling Clos St Hune Vendange Tardive “Hors Choix”
94(+?)/100 (RV)
I wish we’d tasted this earlier in the night as possibly (make that very likely) my palate was jaded by this point ! – thus my score in parentheses. Modest gold colour. Fullish bodied, but very fresh, creamy and ripe, with lovely candied orange flavour turning to beeswax and cream at the finish. Lovely. Really delicious but I am not sure I was capable of fully discerning the finesse of this wine after its predecessors and four food courses.

A heartfelt thanks goes out to my host, Clive, for a great evening in every respect !

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Wine tasting 2 at the RAC Club

Wine tasting 1 at the RAC Club