Wine group at my place 27/05/2019 (TNB)

As usual, cooking etc means I wasn't always fully attentive to the wines.

• Champagne 1911 - 1991/1990/1989 blend (Andre Clouet) Beautiful mature fizz, nice length and balance, still lively and fresh. Top
• Champagne 1996 (Gosset) A bit tired, drinkable but not what one might hope. An odd poor bottle or is this the problem of this vintage aging less well than expected (particularly pinot)?
• Palo Cortado Viejo VORS (Hidalgo La Gitana) Bottled in 2003 according to the label, this is presumably from the "Wellington" solera. That time in bottle has done it no har at all: complex, refined, delicious and long.
• Amontillado Coliseo (Valdespino) From a much admired old solera, this may even have been bottled before the Hidalgo wine. Dark colour, an impression of mahogony both on the eye and on the palate. Stern and powerful. Fantastic wine.
• Pechstein GC 2009 (Burklin-Wolf) Great balance and purity, elegant riesling fruit with a perfectly dry palate. Very, very refined - I love it!
• Riesling Frederic Emile 1990 (Trimbach) A contrast to the Pechstein, weightier, and of course much more eveloved. In great condition though. A strong
• Puligny Montrachet 1er cru Les Folatieres 2005 (Clos des Lambrays) Very fine mature Burgundy. Top
• Palette Rose 2017 (Chateau Simone) One of the great rose wines in my view. Light on its feet, attractive, summery, but with a real depth of vinous flavour. Easy
• Tondonia Gran Reserva Rose 2008 (Lopex de Heredia) Another famous rose, this spends a good few years in barrel. Very vinous, dry, savoury wine with real character. Bare
• Palette Rouge 2000 (Chateau Simone) Simone makes a fine white and read too. At near 20 years old this is probably at peak, completely fresh and a garrigue herbs character ouzing terroir.
• Hermitage Rouge 1985 (J-L Chave) Like much Chave of this period, smokey, medium weight on the palate, deliciously characterful. It does not have the absolute refinement of more recent wines, but I don't like it any less than those. Bare
• Chateau La Lagune 1982 This has always been a rather good 82: excellent mature Bordeaux at peak.
• Passito di Pantelleria Bukkuram Sole d'Agosto 2015 (De Bartoli) This carries its sweetness quite lightly and was generally deliciously drinkable, but did not have quite the distinction I was hoping for.
• Sandeman 1977 Split opinions: some of us, including me, thought this an anomolous bottle that seemed to lack the character one would expect. Others disagreed - and it certainly got drunk.
• Taylors Quinta de Vargelas 1967 This is presumably what Taylors might have been had they declatred in what is in fact a decent Port vintage. It has that lovely, quite stern, dry Taylors style. Lovely. Bare

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