Grand Cru: Terroir

Oxford University Wine Society

A fine tasting to finish what has undoubtedly been the most successful year for the Society in recent academic years. A fitting finale for out-going President Alex Linsley, and a wonderful evening of contrasting wines the likes of which are not tasted often!

Champagne Salon 1997

The prestige wine of Delamotte, and the stuff of legend for many Champagne lovers. Only made in the best vintages, in lesser years the wine is sold as the standard house Champagne. Medium yellow. Nose a little closed, perhaps slightly too cold initially. Leesy, faintly cheesy, but lifts quickly. Very fine mouse. Lemon and lime. Really full bodied on the palate, almost tannic. Very brut and brutish! Intense style of wine, perhaps not to my personal style. Rich++. Long and persistent finish. Bollinger more than Taittinger in style, but all the more remarkable for being Cote de Blanc. 17/20. Approx retail £195.

Domaine Leflaive – Puligny-Montrachet “Les Folatières”, Premier Cru 1997

Medium yellow. Very pronounced, open nose which is showing the aged complexity of white Burgundy. Very classic. Light citrus and perhaps a little touch of honey or honeysuckle set against a dominant aged vinous nuttiness. Becoming waxy as it warms and opens up. Full and powerful palate. Good acidity and balance. Mineralic core to this. Dry finish. Great structure. Lots of extract. Could keep, but probably wouldn’t improve and drinking at peak now I would think. In comparison to the Lafon that followed, I thought this showed a little old and tiring, but the majority of tasters disagreed with that assessment and preferred this Leflaive. 17/20. Approx retail £120.

Domaine Comtes des Lafon – Mersault “Clos de la Barre” 2004

Medium yellow. Open nose – magnificently poised and focussed. Incredible concentrated structure on the palate. Mineralic touched with lemon grass. Far more concentrated than the Leflaive to my palate. Layered, multi-faceted complexity with fresh, high acidity. Magnificent wine and so young. This has a great future ahead of it. Monolithic. 18/20. Approx retail £120.

Domaine Jean Grivot, Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 1996

Deep in colour for a Pinot Noir, darker than the 2004 Engel! Very open nose – seriously meaty and savoury. Dry and dusty. Not at all classic Burgundy, not entirely sure it ever was to have lost it. Tastes as if its drying out to me with a dry-tea character and lacking in fruit. I tried a glass from a second bottle for comparison. If I was being kind then this had fractionally more fruit, but overall just as flat and atypical for both fine Burgundy and fine Pinot wherever it hails from. Poor given the approximate retail price of £100.

Domaine Armand Rousseau, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 1997

Paler – not as pale as the Engel, but paler than the Grivot. Very open and high in perfumed volatility. Classic. Savoury and mature. Lovely acidity keeps the palate very young and fresh, lively and together. The still firm but fine tannins lend this decent structure. This has that ethereal great Burgundy trick of being both light and yet powerful at the same time. A fist in a velvet glove. Long finsh. Really lovely. 17+/20. Approx retail £140.

Domaine René Engel, Grand-Echezeaux Grand Cru 2004

Typically light pinot colour. Classic nose, very open. Complex character. Strawberry, savoury and meaty. Multifaceted and intense. Good levels of tannin balance out body and nose.I would have thought for a Grand Cru wine this would have been older given the lightness of the colour. Very enjoyable but a touch lighter all round in comparison to the Rousseau. 16.5/20. Approx retail £145.

Mascarello Guiseppe e Figlio, Barolo Monprivato 1996

Rim turning brick red. High volatile notes on nose, rather tar like, but not really that open. Monumental tannin levels! Gum-ripping stuff, with immense structure and depth of fruit underlying this. Deep, dark wine, although conversely good acidity levels keep it surprisingly lifted on the palate (although not that surprising – just classic great Barolo!). Drinking this after the wines that have preceded it is perhaps doing this an injustice. I suspect with suitable food to accompany it, it would come across rather different, but to me right now it is something of an impenetrable, dense mass. This probably needed at least another decade before opening and will no doubt go the distance and continue to improve for another 15-20 years. It will be a great, memorable, majestic wine then, but for now I just can’t get that in context so I’m not going to give it a score. Approx retail price £90.

Château de Beaucastel, Chateauneuf-du-Pape 1995

Decanted. Showing some age with a brick red – orangy rim developing. Very open, but after the onslaught of the Barolo it takes some time to adjust. Perfumed, light and appealing – perhaps that would only be ever written tasting this after the Barolo, but this is not the typical Brett-dominated, horse manure style that one typically associates with Beaucastel. Still classic mature wine for this style. Showing very well. Approx retail price £65.

Equipo Navasos Sherry

The following two sherries were fascinating but difficult to put in context so I have refrained from scoring them. They are clearly very fresh, in terms of both the individual wines and also the general style they are trying to achieve. More wine-like and less the oxidated-aged-character of old. Personally, I prefer the classic style. Maybe that’s just what I’m used to. However, I will say that a day or so later I thought of them and something clicked in my brain such that the penetrating flavour was right there in my mouth again. These had etched themselves onto my memory quite vividly. In all my years of tasting I can only recall that ever having happening with one of two wines before!

Equipo Navasos 22. La Bota Manzanilla “Navazos”

Essentially a fino wine from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, hence “Manzanilla”. Deep medium yellow. Very open nose. Manzanilla but with something else too. Hot and almond. Hugely complex. Remarkably high and pronounced esther/aldehyde content. Really, really fresh with much more youthful fruit character than typical. This is a super-charged Manzanilla the likes of which I have not tasted before. Approx retail price £25.

Equipo Navasos 24. La Bota Fino Amontillado “Montilla”

Not tasted a “fino amontillado” before – it is an old style of wine that has only partially completed the transformation from fino to amontillado. More unusual style of fino really. Light in character, flor-dominated, very aldehyde character. Complex, youthful. Overall feels a little odd and overdone to me. Certainly very concentrated. Approx retail price £38.

Joh. Jos. Prüm, Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 2000

Gold. Open. Distinctly Riesling – has the light kerosene character. Toffee and marmalade. Great balance, not gloopy, but concentrated sweetness and core of syrup. Light palate with high acidity. Not as concentrated as I might have imagined, although I’m conscious that it may be little unfair tasting this following the sherries. Nonetheless the finish is surprisingly short. Great but not as outstanding as I would have imagined for this wine and producer, although granted not such a great vintage. 16.5+/20. Approx retail price £100.

Grahams Port 1977

Decanted. However I noted very fine sediment through my glass, which I fear detracted from my glass with an overly bitter, tannic emphasis. I cannot stress enough the importance of letting old great port like this stand for 48 hours before careful decanting. Nonetheless, classic, rich and a touch hot. Still quite fresh. Long finish. I’ve had other glasses of 1this 1977 that have tasted better. Will keep a decade or more yet. 16-17/20.

Followed later after the tasting by…

Château La Nerthe Blanc, Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2010

White Chateauneuf-du-Pape can be very variable in style. This was lovely. Rich and concentrated, with good balance and a nice lift from the acidity. White fruit dominated on the plate. Really very good. 16.5+/20.

Joh. Jos. Prüm, Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Goldkapsel 2000

Certainly better than the Joh. Jos. Prüm, Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel tasted earlier. Tighter, more focussed, higher acidity. Lusciously sweet but balanced by the acidity. This is clearly the better wine of the two. This has a very long, long life ahead of it. 17/20.

The tasting finished with a show of hands for the favourite wine of the evening. In descending rank order, people’s favourite wines of the evening were:

1. Joh. Jos. Prüm, Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 2000

2. Domaine Armand Rousseau, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 1997

3. Mascarello Guiseppe e Figlio, Barolo Monprivato 1996

4. Equipo Navasos 24. La Bota Fino Amontillado “Montilla”

5. Château de Beaucastel, Chateauneuf-du-Pape 1995

Madeira wine tasting

D'Oliveiras Madeira Wine Tasting
Oxford University Wine Society

Madeira is a classic fortified wine hailing from the island of the same
name. The history of Madeira is the stuff of legend. The classic style
of high-acidity, high-volatility wines originating from their prolonged
storage in ship holds, when ship used Madeira as a staging post on the
travels around the world. It is said that merchants realised that casks
kept for extended periods in the hot ship holds developed a better
taste, and century old lists from traditional English wine merchants
show a premium was paid for such wines.

D'Oliveiras didn't export until the 1980's. They hold the largest share
of old Madeira on the island due to amalgamating stocks with other
producers and exporters. Many of the traditional Madeira wine house no
longer exist. From over 100 a couple of centuries ago this has dwindled
to only 6 wine producers on the island! Due to combined problems with
phyloxera, odium and numerous other troubles that befell producers.

Madeira = Spanish for tress. Refers to the forested island claimed by
Columbus in 1419. It is said that the clearing of many forested areas
helped create the particularly fertile soil on top of the distinctive
volcanic rock.

In contrast to other fortified wines, the selection of traditional grape
variety helps determine the character of the resulting wine. The 'noble'
varieties used are:

• Sercial
• Verdelho
• Malvasia
• Tinta Negra

Other rare grapes include Terrantez (of which D'Oliveiras own two
vineyards; not grown much as low yielding, hence they often don't grow
sufficient to bottle) and Bastardo.

Noble grapes account for approximately only 9% of vineyard varieties.
The general rule is that "the higher, the drier", in that grapes grown
in higher vineyard areas are used to produce drier styles of wine.
Southern, lower vineyards are warmer closer to sea level and used for
producing sweeter Madeira wines.

The initial steps in the wine making process for Madeira and similar to
those of other European fortified wines, in that the must resulting from
pressing the grapes is allowed to undergo either a complete or partial
fermentation before oxidation (where as port is partially fermented and
sherry is fully fermented). Fortification occurs with the addition of
grape spirit, which arrests further fermentation where this has only
been partially completed.

There is a not inconsiderable amount of controversy relating to the use
of grape spirit for fortification. Traditionally sugar cane spirit was
used on the island until EU legislation forced the use of grape spirit
instead. This is said to led to Madeira losing some of its character in
recent years, and the blame is laid on the EU using this ruling as an
excuse to try and clear the 'wine lakes'.

Madeira extracts some of its deep characteristic colour from the wood it
is aged in, and sweeter wines extract more colour. Old American oak vats
are used, and if purchased new they are frequently given to table wine
makers for the first 3-years of their life to ensure the stronger
oak-character is extracted before they are used to store Madeira wine.

There are two different aging methods used:
Estufagem = wine that is warmed to achieve the classic Madeira character.
Canteiro = wine that is stored in the warm lofts to attain the Madeira
character.

To serve – the advice was don't generally chill, as it hides the
powerful aromatics that the wines have to offer. Due to the oxidised
style, the wines don't significantly deteriorate in decanter or bottle
after opening. They have been described as immortal and indestructible!
Keep Madeira wines upright – they don't need to be on their side. Look
for the year older wines were bottled – they may develop a little bottle
age as in addition to the long traditional wood-ageing that they usually
see.

D'Oliveiras 5-year old dry
Pale yellow-copper. Very light. Magnificant open nose. Burnt caramel,
very classic and volatile. Arresting palate (in a good way!) High in
acidity of course, and tastes as it smells. Very dry. Good finish. 19%
alc. 16/20. Approx retail price £17.50.

D'Oliveiras 5-year old medium dry
Darker copper/rust. Nose a little richer. Medium-dry palate. Caramel,
burnt toffee, nutty. High acid. Fuller palate. More complex. Longer
finish. Recommended with consumé and cheese such as Shopshire Blue! 19%
alc. 16.5/20. Approx retail price £17.50.

D'Oliveiras 5-year old medium sweet
Darker copper – heading towards light brown. Slightly finer, fruiter
nose but still with the classic high volatiles. Sweeter but seemingly
less body with it. The residual sugar levels are in fact very high,
81-95 g/L, but the piercing acidity seen in Madeira ensures that this
really doesn't taste that high! 19% alc. 16/20. Approx retail price £17.50.

D'Oliveiras 5-year old sweet
Copper-brown. Volatile but smoother nose, softer, more fruit coming
through. Almost tropical in character. Very sweet despite similar levels
of acidity. Heading toards syrupy. Orange peel character. Probably the
most full bodied of all. 19% alc. 16.5/20. Approx retail price £17.50.

D'Oliveiras Reserva Terrantez 1977
Rare wine from the Terrantez grape. Remained in cask until bottling in
2009, some 32-years in oak cask! Huge, long tears in the glass. Volatile
nose as previous, but a marked step-change in character. Much more
marmalade and orange peel. Reminiscent of Countreau liquer! Full palate,
classic high acidity. Rounded mouthfeel. Medium sweet. Long, long
finish. Made with barley sugar cane spirit to arrest the fermentation –
it is said this in part is responsible for the more distinctive
character. Magnificent wine. Excellent aperitif. Clear 17+/20. Approx
retail price £78.

D'Oliveiras Reserva Boal 1978
Gold Medal winner from IWC. Dark brown. Very hot palate – too hot? Very
rounded, rich, full and weighty. Oily and luscious. Less marmalade, more
citrus in style. Incredibly powerful palate. Great structure and length.
Noticeably lower acidity than the other wines tasted. Doesn't marry
together as well as the '77 Terrantez, but still an immense wine. 20%
alc. 17/20. Approx retail price £78.

D'Oliveiras Reserva Boal 1968
The 1968 is a famous vintage of Boal Madeira. Bottled in 2010. Medium
brown colour. Nose – noticeably more restrained and refined. Lighter
volatility, lighter as a whole but no lesser wine for it. Finer and more
elegant. Married together beautifully. Long and balanced. My favourite.
20% alc. 17-18/20. Approx retail £91.

My order of preference for the basic styles, with favourite first:
1. D'Oliveiras 5-year old medium dry
2. D'Oliveiras 5-year old dry
3. D'Oliveiras 5-year old sweet
4. D'Oliveiras 5-year old medium sweet

The vintage wines were uniformly outstanding, although the D'Oliveiras
Reserva Boal 1968 was a step up into a different league.

Pereira D'Oliveira (Vinhos), Lda. Rua dos Ferreiros, Funchal, Madeira