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Portland Wine Christmas Tasting 2000 - Old World

These are notes from the Portland Wine Christmas 2000 Old World tasting. (12/12/00)

Tasting Notes

Tasted in December 2000. Click to locate stockists:

Champagne

Gosset Grande Réserve Champagne NV: A lemon yellow colour. A cream, yeasty nose with lemony freshness. A creamily textured wine, with good fruit and an oyster richness. Lovely acidity. 17/20 (£26.95)

Gosset Grande Millésime Champagne 1993: This wine has a richer golden hue and a fine bead. The nose is intensely rich and yeasty. It has a lovely mousse, and a superb depth of lemony, flavoursome fruit. Again, lovely acidity, and a rich, yeasty finish. 17.5/20 (£39.50)

Bollinger Special Cuvée Champagne NV: A creamy, yeasty nose. A soft mousse which doesn't fade, with a good balance of fruit and lemony acidity. 16.5/20 (£27.99)

Bollinger Grande Année Champagne 1992: Creamy, yeasty and rich on the nose. Some good complexities on the palate, freshly baked biscuits and fresh warm bread, with obvious leesy notes. Soft, balancing acidity. A delightful wine, and good quality for a poor vintage. For early drinking whilst you are waiting for the 1990 to come around. 17.5/20 (£45.99)

Burgundy

Domaine d'Elise Chablis 1998: A pale yellow wine. A good presence of fruit on the nose, however, slightly tropical with hints of lemons. A lovely texture follows, a touch creamy and leesy, with good fruit. 16.5/20 (£10.99)

Meix Foulot Mercurey Blanc 1998: A pale wine, but with a rich, fruit laden nose. Clean and crisp on the palate, with apples and citrus fruits. Moderate acidity. 15/20 (£11.99)

Louis Jadot Mâcon Blanc Villages 1999: This wine is also tank fermented, but has a four month period in reused Vosges barrels and undergoes part malolactic fermentation. Nice, soft oaky notes on the nose, with some white fruit aromas. A nicely rounded palate, with soft acidity. 15/20 (£7.50)

Louis Jadot Bourgogne Blanc Grand Clos de Loyse 1998: An unusual wine this, sourced from a patch of Chardonnay grown on a strip of chalky soil in the Beaujolais region. It has a pale colour, with a clean citrus fruit nose. Similar fruit on the palate, with crisp, clean acidity. An unsurprising resemblance to Chablis, which says a lot to me about the effect of terroir on a wine. 15/20 (£8.50)

Louis Jadot Pouilly Fuisse 1998: This wine is fermented in tank and has a short aging in reused oak barrels. It has good fruit on the nose, and a creamy, oaky note. A good quality lemony fruit palate, with fresh acidity. The oak seems a touch bitter and seems to require further integration yet. 15+/20 (£13.99)

Louis Latour Mâcon Lugny Les Genièvres 1999: A nice, smoky, oily nose. Pleasant white fruits on the palate, with a rounded edge and good acidity. 15/20 (£6.49)

Louis Latour Rully Blanc 1997: A leesy element to the nose, with good underlying fruit. A soft, rounded palate, with some rich peachy and lemony fruit. A touch tropical! 15.5/20 (£9.99)

Louis Latour Pouilly Fuissé 1998: Good fruit on the nose. Fresh lemony acidity, still a little harsh at present, but it has a good quality of fruit and a lovely, rounded texture. 16+/20 (£13.99)

Louis Latour Puligny Montrachet Les Truffières 1998: A rich nose, full of smoke and burning oil. It has superb balance on the palate, with a medley of fresh fruit, lemony acidity and some nicely applied smoky oak. Lovely texture - this wine exudes class. 17.5+/20 (£29.95)

Louis Jadot Fleurie Poncereau 1999: A pleasant red colour. Attractive fruit on the nose. Softly acidic on the palate, with some fruit gum sweetness. 13/20 (£10.00)

Louis Jadot Bourgogne Pinot Noir 1998: A pale pink-red. A chewy fruit gum nose, with somewhat estery notes. More soft acidity combined with red fruits. Unimpressive. 12/20 (£8.99)

Louis Jadot Beaune 1er Cru Cent Vignes 1996: A good farmyardy, earthy nose. This wine is just on the turn, starting to develop some secondary Pinot characteristics. A combination of blackberry and raspberry fruit and some earthy, leafy notes make up the palate. More soft acidity, nicely subtle tannins. 15.5+/20 (£19.99)

Louis Latour Marsannay 1998: Fabrice Latour has recently made a commitment to Marsannay, with a pledge to reduce yields and market it as a good value Burgundy, rather than its more common fate as a part of Côte de Nuit Villages. This example has a pleasant orange-red hue. There are some smoky strawberry and cherry fruits on the nose and palate, with an obvious house style of soft, peppery tannins and soft acidity. 15/20 (£9.99)

Louis Latour Santenay La Comme 1997: This wine, from the opposite end of the Côte d'Or, has a similar orange tinge to the colour. More smoky red fruits, but a bigger and more impressive palate, with juicy blackberries and good balancing acidity. 16.5/20 (£12.49)

Louis Latour Aloxe Corton 1997: A big, spicy summer fruit nose. Rich, round and mouthfilling on the palate, it has grainy tannins, good blackberry fruit and correct acidity. Nice texture, maintaining the house style. 16.5+/20 (£16.99)

Louis Latour Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru 1996: A lovely rich colour, fading just a little at the rim. This, like Jadot's Beaune, is just starting to turn on the nose, developing some lovely secondary characteristics. The smoky red fruit is still more prominent than the leafy, tobacco notes, but they are there. Elegant weight on the palate, with good integration of fruit and tannins. Nicely balanced. 17.5+/20 (£23.95)

Rhône Valley

Guigal Côtes du Rhône Blanc 1999: A good, clean nose. Fresh, white fruit on the palate, with some estery notes and good acidity. 15/20 (£6.99)

Guigal Condrieu 1999: A good, smoky, pine kernel peachy nose. Fresh pine kernels and stone fruit on the palate, with good acidity and attractive weight. 15.5/20 (£19.95)

Chapoutier La Bernadine Blanc (Châteauneuf du Pape) 1998: An attractive white fruit nose, with a smoky edge. Round, moderately rich fruit. Fat texture, good weight. 15/20 (£18.99)

Chapoutier Condrieu 1997: A delightfully aromatic nose of peaches, pine kernels and lemon sherbet. A lean, elegant palate, with nutty complexities, apple and apricot fruit. Nicely balanced. 16.5/20 (£24.50)

Guigal Côtes du Rhône Rouge 1999: Good ripe fruit on the nose. Good acidity on the palate, packed with ripe, black fruit, spice and pepper. Seems a little thin, but I think more of it now than I did at my last tasting. 16/20 (£6.99)

Guigal Gigondas 1997: A mineral streak on the nose, with plenty of black fruits. On the palate, a good combination of spicy alcohol, elegant fruit and obvious tannins. Warrants more time in bottle yet. 16+/20 (£12.95)

Guigal Châteauneuf du Pape 1997: A lovely nose of spicy, rich fruit. Soft tannins on the palate, with pepper and spice nuances behind a layer of black fruit. Good texture, elegant weight. Drinking very well at present. 16.5/20 (£16.99)

Guigal Côte-Rôtie 1996: Somewhat closed on the nose. Good fruit on the palate, with bags of tannins and good acidity. Needs time. 16+/20 (£23.95)

Chapoutier St-Joseph Deschants 1996: Nice colour. A smoky Grenache nose, with hints of tobacco and tar. Medium bodied, with good fruit, and obvious tannins. Needs more time. 15/20 (£12.95)

Chapoutier Côte-Rôtie 1996: Lovely bright red-purple hue. Good fruit on the nose, with an attractive, perfumed edge. A medium, elegant weight, some very soft but not quite fully integrated tannins, and good fruit. Really should be given more time. 16+/20 (£28.50)

Clos du Mont Olivet (Chateauneuf du Pape) 1996: Loads of fruit on the nose. Elegant body, good fruit, and soft but still obvious tannins. Needs time. 15.5+/20 (£14.99)

Les Cailloux (Chateauneuf du Pape) 1997: A big, spicy black fruit nose. A touch of confection. Soft tannins on the palate, with very good fruit. Drinking very well at present. 16+/20 (£12.99)

Chateau Fortia (Chateauneuf du Pape) 1997: Good concentration of fruit. An elegant weight, with still integrating tannins and good balance. Needs time. 16+/20 (£14.99)

Italy

Frescobaldi Danzante Pinot Grigio VdT (Tuscany) 1999: Pleasant buttery nose, with good clean fruit on the palate. Pleasant, fat weight. Would make a decent summertime quaffer, but a bit pricey at present. 14/20 (£7.99)

Frescobaldi Pomino Benefizzio (Tuscany) 1997: Frescobaldi's wines from the Benefizzio vineyard in Pomino were the first Italian whites to see barrique aging in the mid-1970s. This example has a big, oaky, spicy, barrel-ferment nose. A soft and creamy palate, heavily oak influenced, but with some good fruit and soft acidity. The oak seems overdone here, and I wonder if this is the influence of Frescobaldi's collaberation with Mondavi. For serious oak lovers only. 14/20 (£12.99)

Frescobaldi Danzante Sangiovese VdT (Tuscany) 1998: This basic wine has a smoky, red fruit nose. Good fruit and acidity in a lightly textured palate. 14/20 (£7.99)

Frescobaldi Pomino Rosso (Tuscany) 1996: More intense, smoky red fruits here, but again it seems overly light on the palate, with some red fruits. May improve with age - the 1985 vintage was recently awarded a Tre Bicchieri award by Gambero Rosso. 14/20 (£11.99)

Tedeschi Capitel San Rocco Rosso Vino di Ripasso VdT (Veneto) 1997: A tavola wine which has been passed over the lees of a Recioto or Amarone wine, with the intention that the slight refermentation should bring some complexity. This example seems quite closed on the nose, but has a good weight and texture on the palate. Richly fruited with good tannins, this wine may well yet improve. 15.5+/20 (£7.99)

Tedeschi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico (Veneto) 1995: This is Tedeschi's basic Amarone, their premium cuvées being Monte Olmi, Monte Fontana and della Fabriseria. It has rich fruit on the nose. A rich and mouthfilling palate, with lots of nicely textured fruit and tannins that are yet to soften. 16.5+/20 (£14.99)

Tedeschi Rosso La Fabriseria (Veneto) 1997: A lovely colour. Red fruits, tobacco and smoke on the nose, with a sheen of oak. Nicely balanced fruit and acidity on the palate, with a nice texture. 16.5+/20 (£14.99)

Pellegrino Passito di Pantelleria (Marsala) 1999: Here 30% of the crop is dried on straw mats prior to blending into the fermentation, which is arrested by the addition of grape brandy. The alcohol content of the finished product is 15%. It has a classic, rich, sweet, aromatic Muscat nose, with some fresh quince jelly and orange marmalade aromas. A good texture in the mouth, with a creamy, tangy orange twist. 16.5/20 (£6.99 per 37.5ml)

Pellegrino Marsala Superiore Secco (Marsala) NV: Dry, tawny, woody nose. Harsh palate. Not my cup of tea at all. 12/20 (£6.99)