170th dinner seen by Jancis Robinsondimanche, 23 juin 2013

Here are the comments of Jancis Robinson who attended the 170th dinner.  Link toher website : LINK

She explains her system of notation : « 
I should explain that, for members of Purple Pages of JancisRobinson.com, I try to give a score out of 20 and then my guess at a likely drinking bracket. So ’19 75-25′ means ’19/20 Drink from 1975 to 2020′ ! »

Remember it to understand well her report :

All wines opened between 5 and 6.

1982 Champagne Bollinger Grande Année
Dark brownish gold. Tiny, slightly sluggish bead. Lightly mushroomy nose that is so characteristic of Bollinger. Deep umami savoury flavours. Still tight and youthful. High acidity with came to the fore in the glass but a great glass of wine with real potential still.
  18 95-20

1966 Champagne Dom Pérignon

Definitely fully mature champagne. Amber colour with a rather low key nose initially which opened out to something attractive and lightly sherrified nose that really speaks to the jamon iberico we’re served at this dinner at Taillevent organised by François Audouze, his 170th wine dinner. Very deep and rich yet dry. Real lift to this wine but it also has a  deep, throat- warming finish. There’s a note of cheddar on the nose. Very clean and revitalising. Rich and dense.  19 80-20

1998 Château Haut Brion Graves blanc

Pale gold – looks almost like a fino. Haunting nose – though it was apparently opened quite soon before serving – unlik ethe reds that were opened a good three hour in advance. Lightly pungent. Quite harsh with a sweet palate entry. Much firmer and more structured than the Musigny Blanc 92 with which it was served. I could imagine enjoying this with a meat dish. This is well past its early drinking period but was much livelier and more pungent than a 1982 tasted a few days later. This is a red wine that happens to be white. Between its two drinking windows? 17.5+ 05-10 and 15-30

1992 Musigny blanc domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé

Heady. Floral and rich and lovely with homard. Sweetish and full. Quite unlike a Côte de Beaune white burgundy! Initially there were violets and voluptuousness and then it went a little sour. This made me wonder about its potential to evolve further but I’d be delighted to be convinced. 18.5 00-20

1959 Château Cheval Blanc 1er Grand Cru Classé de Saint-Emilion
Dense, rich, vibrant ruby colour. It looks much younger than a 1959. There were bits of cork in my glass. A little bit stinky at first but then it opened out into a hugely rich yeast extract nose. Very sweet, dense nose but not that subtle. Even a bit brutal really! But then it became sweet and rich with just a hint of mushrooms. Very impressive rather than subtle. 19 70-30

1934 Château Margaux 1er Grand Cru Classé de Margaux

Pale lustrous fox red. Lightly soapy, indistinct nose. A little tart. Very fresh with marked acidity. High toned. A little bit skinny and lean. This wine is a real palate scrub! Pretty old and the fruit is fading but there is still some suggestion of Margaux floral fragrance. 17.5 on way down. 50-00

1980 La Tâche Domaine de la Romanée Conti

Bright lustrous fox red. Sweet and light. A hint of violets and sweetness. My first pour was very lively but not that rich. My second pour from the bottom of bottle was even better however: exceedingly rich and vivacious. Much richer than the initial pour. Even possibly too sweet for some tastes! Very opulent and glorious. 19- 95-15

Mouton 1928

Half bottle. François Audouze added two unlabelled half bottles to this dinner at the last minute. Bright mid ruby. Very dense and jagged with some tannin still in evidence! Bone dry finish. A little austere. But with amazing life for irs age. The half bottle I tasted was quite volatile and a little bit dry on the end, but a great old soldier. 18 45-00

1995 Chambertin Grand Cru domaine Armand Rousseau

Rich ruby. Dense. Very subtle and rich. Fully alive. Racy and still quite youthful. Along with the Haut Brion Blanc, this is the youngest wine of the night. Muscular and not yet at its peak. A great hint of things to come. 19 18-30

1928 Château Lafaurie Peyraguey Sauternes

Bright lustrous orange tawny. So gorgeous. Barley sugar. Crème caramel juice. So sweet on the palate entry but finishing dry and, miraculously, still appetising on the finish. Not at all heavy or cloying. 19 50-20

1955 Château d’Yquem

Fox red. So rich yet subtle. Some umami savour but it manages to be both unctuous and vital. This wine’s burnt edge does not detract but just adds interest. Fabulous! 20 75-35