Members were delighted to welcome former cabinet minister Rt. Hon. David Mellor QC to lead this evening’s tasting. Accompanying him were his partner Penny Lyttelton and Nick Clark of wine merchant Haynes Hanson & Clark.
David had brought with him nine of his favourite wines to share with us – his desert island wines - and his and Nick’s commentary on the wines (and other matters) made for a highly entertaining evening.
Prosecco versus Champagne
We started with a lightly sparkling Prosecco (2012 Lunatico Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Frizzante, Azienda Agricola Francesca Rizzi) paired with a Premier Cru non-vintage dry Champagne from producer Pierre Vaudon.
The Prosecco was light bodied, delicately fragrant and easy drinking.
The Champagne was a better quality wine, and one that David was very keen on, particularly because he felt the characteristic high acidity of Champagne was less noticeable on this one. Made from 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay grapes, the wine had a rich, earthy quality, with yeasty notes and a long smooth finish.
A quaffable Rosé from Provence
David’s next desert island wine was a rosé from Provence (Domaine Picque Roque 2013). A blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cinsault, it had a beautiful pale pink appearance, and was very quaffable, tasting of fresh ripe strawberries. The wine is not intended for aging.
Two white wines from Burgundy
Two white wines from Burgundy followed - a Chablis (Daniel Dampt 2013) and a premier cru Meursault (“Sous Le Dos D’Ane” 2011 Olivier Leflaive – Récolte du Domaine).
The Chablis - which had been fermented in stainless steel (untouched by oak) - was bone dry with high acidity. It had flavours of green apples and lemon, a stony minerality and a crisp mouthfeel.
Despite being made from the same grape variety and coming from more or less the same part of France, the Meursault was very different to the Chablis. It shared the Chablis’ high acidity and mineral notes but had a much softer and rounder mouthfeel, showing buttery and nutty flavours which were not present on the Chablis. Some new oak had been used in its vinification, and the wine’s citrus fruit, butter and nut flavours carried through to the end of a long and balanced finish. David reckoned it would improve with two to three years bottle age.
David stopped his anecdotes and descriptions at this point to recite the following rhyme. It has stuck in my mind ever since.
“Lord Jesus Christ divine
Who turned the water into wine
Please forgive us foolish men
Who go and turn it back again”
Four French reds
We finished the evening off with four red wines, from France. The first two of them - a 2007 Pomerol from Château Lafleur-Gazin and a 2009 Côtes du Rhone from Coudoulet de Beaucastel - were from David’s cellar and he described them as a couple of his “core drinks”.
The Pomerol was drinking well now. It had a velvety mouthfeel and showed fruit flavours of blackcurrant and plums along with spicy notes. The oak was well integrated and the wine was structurally well balanced. Although the finish was not super long, it was very pleasant, and overall it was a very nice and approachable example of a right bank Bordeaux. This proved to be the most popular wine of the evening.
There was a bit of a digression at this point to have a lively debate about the influence of Robert Parker on wine making. In conclusion it was suggested that we should all read a French comic book about him called “Les sept péchés capitaux” (although I note that it seems to be ludicrously expensive to buy on Amazon at the moment!).
The Côtes du Rhone, made from a blend of Grenache (30%), Mourvèdre (30%), Syrah, Counoise and all the other thirteen permitted varieties, punched above its weight. It was a big, ripe, smooth and fruity wine, well-structured yet approachable, with a long finish.
The third red David had brought along was a 2005 Châteauneuf du Pape from Vieux Télégraphe. Drinking well now, this Syrah/Grenache/Mourvèdre blend was deep ruby in colour, and showed expressive notes of ripe cherries, blackberries and sweet spice and pepper. Full bodied, powerful and concentrated, with a long and harmonious finish, this was a really nice wine.
The final red was a 2010 Grand Cru Classé St Emilion. Nowhere near ready to drink yet, David might have been thinking this would be a good one to keep in his desert island cellar for ten years or so before opening. The wine was tight, with concentrated blackcurrant fruit flavours, high acidity and notable tannins. It certainly had the structure and fruit concentration to make it suitable for some bottle ageing.
Many thanks to David and Nick for providing us with a fantastic evening of wine tasting and entertainment.
JJW, 10 Aug 2014