5.6.40
Fine Wine Diary The Bailey brothers have now tasted 12082 wines in 28 years 6 months and 15 days
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Diary index

At home 21/04/2012 (TNB)

Lunch with TNB in Cambridge 15/04/2012 (RJB)

Both of us at Hedone 12/04/2012 (RJB)

The Diary - April 2012

At home 21/04/2012 (TNB)

  • Riesling Cuvee Frederic Emile 1990 (Trimbach) Seems a little tired at first, but it's just that cellar temperature is too cold. As it warms up, lovely, refined mature riesling character emerges. Bone dry, refined, good intensity: it goes very well with food (in this case with garlic chicken). Bare ****
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 21/04/2012   Return to top

Lunch with TNB in Cambridge 15/04/2012 (RJB)

  • Zobinger Heiligenstein Riesling Alte Reben Trocken 1994 (Brundlmayer) Lovely middle weight Riesling showing good maturity but with years still ahead of it. Good minerality and purity of flavours – clearly old Riesling without being overpoweringly so. ****
  • Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 1988 (Chateau de Beaucastel) It turns out I last had this in 1999, when I suggested that it needed to open out a bit. I was rather disappointed at the time. Well it has opened out, but is still far from showing anywhere close to being over mature even thirteen years later. Rather lovely – not quite one thing or the other, but then again I don’t get to drink a huge amount of old Rousanne. Some custard powder on the palate, and good length. I think this might still get better, but top *** for now.
  • Nerello Mascalese Nonna Concetta 2007 (Calabretta) A new winery to me and a new grape variety for me also which according to Wikipedia is related to Sangiovese. It certainly has the smoked salmon nose I often associate with Chianti or Rioja, which probably doesn’t mean much to others, but which is the trigger smell that works for me (in a good way!). The fruit feels warm – as one might expect coming from the slopes of Etna - without being alcoholically hot and the wine is drinking well now. Lovely with food: porchetta in this instance. ****

    And finishing off the day (and the porchetta) once TNB had left and a friend had arrived to finish off the remnants of the whites above . . .

  • Blanc de Noir Spatburgunder Trocken 2011 (Mayschoss) Brought by said friend that very day from Frankfurt. A light spritz, and a good palate cleanser and refresher. Would be a rather good summer evening wine. **
  • Les Tourelles de Longueville 1999 Drinking very well and keeping to textbook Pauillac. Years ahead still. A good ***
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 17/04/2012   Return to top

Both of us at Hedone 12/04/2012 (RJB)

This was a rare outing of the two of us together for a splendid meal in London. Hedone (in Chiswick) produced a memorable meal: very innovative but not falling over the boundary in to being contrived. Halibut in a shrimp broth was amazing because of the purity and shrimp flavour and duck in beetroot and cranberry sauce was stunning. While the savoury courses in the tasting menu ranged between excellent and memorable, the two dessert courses, while very good, didn't excite to quite the same degree.

Well worth trying, if you haven't already. The wine list has a lot of good stuff on it at mark-ups that are pretty reasonable. The wines are those of a set flight to accompany the tasting menu.

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 21/04/2012   Return to top