Thanks
to Ben and Mark at the award winning Hanging Ditch Wine Merchants for
organising a very enjoyable and interesting Bordeaux tasting dinner earlier this month
at the St. James’s Club. Given their ethos of quality being paramount I knew
that the wines on offer would not disappoint, but the objective of keeping the
wines affordable was going to be more of a challenge. As is true of many other
great wine producing regions, it is not difficult to find superb bottles of
Bordeaux if money is no object. Unlike many other regions, however, it can be
tricky to find great bottles of Bordeaux that are within the reach of a mere
mortal’s wallet.
The
other issue that counts against Bordeaux’s popularity at most tastings is its
affinity with food. It takes a little practice to appreciate the nuances of young
Bordeaux tasted in isolation. When you taste it with a meal, however, it’s as
if a lightbulb flashes on and suddenly everything becomes clear. That was the
logic behind this tasting dinner, plus it was a great chance for Ben and Mark
to show off their buying skills!
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Champagne Delamotte Brut NV |
Accompanied
by a plucky chanteuse and her really
rather good renditions of French favourites from yesteryear, Ben and Mark
kicked off proceedings in fine style. The first wine, Delamotte Brut (12% ABV) en magnum, was actually the one I most
wanted to try and was, perversely, my wine of the evening. Trust me to fall for
the supporting actress before the leading lady had even taken to the stage.
Delamotte
is a name that will be unfamiliar to most, but, as you would expect from the
sister wine of Salon, its quality is unquestionable. A long established label
in its own right, Delamotte also uses fruit from Salon’s younger vines as well
as wines that don’t quite reach the exacting standards of what is probably the
finest of all Champagnes. Predominantly grand
cru Chardonnay (50%), the balance being Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier (30%
and 20% respectively), this was bright, fresh and beautifully rounded, not at
all aggressive. The rich flavours of white stone fruit and citrus, plus a
gentle yeasty autolytic character, made it a beautiful apéritif. A very classy wine and a real bargain (£30/bottle,
£60/magnum) when compared to a lot of the Grandes
Marques’ non-vintage offerings.
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Château Des Antonins Blanc 2010 |
As
sad as I was to finish my Champagne, when we were asked to take our seats we
had both dinner and a varied selection of Bordeaux to look forward to. First up
were two dry whites made in completely different styles. Château Des Antonins
Blanc 2010 (12% ABV, 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Sémillon, £10) had an initial
nose of candied citrus zest and typically vegetal Sauvignon Blanc aromas which
faded into gently nutty Sémillon fruit. The palate had a Sauvignon Blanc edge
as you’d expect from the blend which was rounded by the Sémillon. Light, fresh and
a little frivolous, this was a great apéritif
wine although it was rather overwhelmed by the powerful flavours of salmon
goujons.
|
L’Esprit De Chevalier Blanc 2008 |
The
second white was an altogether different story. The second wine of esteemed Pessac-Léognan estate Domaine de Chevalier, L’Esprit De Chevalier Blanc 2008 (13% ABV, Sémillon
and Sauvignon Blanc, £25) spent nine months in oak unlike the stainless steel
matured Antonins above. Through no fault of the wine, I struggled to adequately
describe the nose of this one, it reminded me of apple juice and had a slightly
nutty quality. The palate showed lemony fruit, a nutty/oaky weightiness and
just a hint of an oxidative character that called to mind a traditional style
white Rioja. With two years of bottle age and a soujourn in oak that the Antonins lacked, this was a more
serious wine whose richness and complexity were a lovely paring with
the breadcrumbed fish.
|
Château Roc De Pellebouc |
A
trio of reds from a trio of vintages was poured alongside the main course of
slow cooked rump of beef with root vegetables. From Baudouin Thienpont (brother
of Jacques, owner of Le Pin) came the 2007 Château Roc De Pellebouc (12.5% ABV, 90%
Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, £12.50), a modern, lightly oaked style of
Bordeaux from Entre-Deux-Mers, just across the Dordogne from Saint-Émilion.
Ruby coloured and showing a degree of maturity, the Merlot was immediately
apparent on the nose, although the Cabernet Sauvignon did seem to exert an
undue influence considering the disproportionate amount in the blend. It added
blackcurrant, pencil shavings and earthy aromas to the plumminess of the
Merlot. The palate showed bright fruit tempered by pepper, spice and earth, all
tempered by fresh acidity and moderate tannins. Elegant and, to me, a very
traditional style of Bordeaux that was lovely when tried on its own but didn’t
quite manage to stand up to the beef.
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Château Bel-Air Graves De Vayres Fût De Chêne |
Red
wine number two was also from Entre-Deux-Mers, but from the tiny appellation of
Graves De Vayres, so called because of the deep gravel parcels that distinguish
it. Château Bel-Air Graves De Vayres 2006 Fût De Chêne (13% ABV, 55% Merlot,
30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc, £17.50) was produced by Philippe
Serey-Eiffel, the great great grandson of the engineer behind the eponymous
tower. This was a younger looking, deeper coloured, more purple wine than the
Pellebouc, even though it was a year older. The nose had dark fruit, barnyardy,
oaky/vanilla/coffee aromas and a greener edge to it than the previous wine, but
the palate was softer, oakier and somehow less typical. To my palate it was a modern,
international style of wine that worked very well with the main course, but somehow
it just didn’t shout of its origins.
|
Château Barrail Du Blanc 2008 |
The
third red was Château Barrail Du Blanc 2008 (13.5% ABV, 70% Merlot and 30%
Cabernet Franc, £17.50), a Saint-Émilion Grand Cru exclusively distributed the
Mouiex family that owns Châteaux Pétrus, La Fleur-Pétrus, Hosanna, Trotanoy, and
Magdelaine to name just a few! Despite an annual production of only around
1,500 cases, there has been substantial recent investment in completely
refurbishing the estate’s cellar enabling a traditional style winemaking to
continue at the highest quality level. Sixty per cent of the wine is matured
in oak, half of which is new, whilst the remainder goes into stainless steel.
It
displayed soft red and black fruit with a dusting of pepper and capsicum spice
from the Cabernet Franc. Less overtly fruity and oaky than the last wine, it
had an astringent/medicinal touch to the finish that I really rather enjoyed. The
most interesting of the three reds and my favourite, even though its lighter
style couldn’t compete with the beef.
|
Château De Rayne Vigneau
2003 |
Cheese
was served instead of dessert, the Stilton being a better match for the
Sauternes than the Mrs. Kirkham Lancashire. I was unsure about the choice of Château De Rayne Vigneau
2003 (13.5% ABV, 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc, £25) due to the abnormal
heat of the vintage. Was there going to be sufficient acidity? Had the heat
hampered the growth of botrytis? The amber hue of the wine didn’t do much to
allay my worries, but the nose was certainly promising with its rich aromas of
barley sugar, dried apricot, marmalade and ripe mango. Similar flavours carried
through to the palate, balanced by an unexpectedly taut acidity that kept it
vital. It was definitely as good as it will get so plan to drink up any bottles
you might have, but it was an exceedingly pleasant drink and a very agreeable
surprise.
The only thing I felt that was missing was a Cabernet Sauvignon dominated, left bank style of Bordeaux which would have been an interesting contrast to the Merlot based blends shown as well as a great pairing with the beef. That being said, it's always an adventure to tread the path less travelled and I'm not sure I would have tried the selection above if left to my own devices. A
big thank you once again to Ben and to Mark, our ever charming and informative
host, for a very enjoyable evening.
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