Wine group at my place: 1983 thirty years on 25/11/2013 (TNB)

As usual, ended up spending too much time cooking and not enough noting the wines.

• Champagne Brut Carte d'Or 1983 (Drappier) Aged very gracefully, suave and honey-scented. Mousse now insubstantial, and not the most complex wine but rather good. Bare
• Jerez-Xérès-Sherry El Cardenal Palo Cortado 30 Years Old (Valdespino) Fantastic dark, saline, bone dry, intellectual sherry.
• Maximin Grünhauser Abtsberg Riesling Spätlese 1983 (Von Schubert) Lovely graceful wine, tasting younger than its age.
• Rauenthaler Rothenberg Riesling Spätlese 1983 (Freiherr Langwerth von Simmern) Quite good but lacks the verve and depth of the previous wine. Bare
• Vouvray Sec Le Mont 1983 (Domaine Huet) Seems much, much younger: good but doesn't seem to have real distinction.
• Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardives 1983 (Dopff au Moulin) Surprisingly nice - restrained with the fruit very much alive. Top
• Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 1983 Some interest on the nose (custard) but a weak palate. Not very enjoyable.
• Domaine de Chevalier 1983 Straight down the middle - nicely mature Claret. Top
• Château Léoville Poyferré 1983 Hard to separate from the previous wine - top
• Château Léoville Barton 1983 Corked
• Château L'Evangile 1983 Similar quality to the Leoville wines, but with attractive, round plummy fruit. Top
• Chateau Musar 1983 A bit underwhelming. Live but not engaging.
• Château de Beaucastel 1983 Lovely wine - very classic Beacastel, no brettyness. Bare
• Coteaux du Layon Clos de Sainte Catherine 1983 (Domaine des Baumard) Always a lovely wine - timeless balance. Bare
• Dow Porto Vintage 1983 Showing really well - I guess 83 is starting to be a drinking vintage.

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