A Wine Dinner at Bristol, 30 April 1993

Though we all gathered outside of the Bristol Wine Circle for many formal and informal wine dinners only once did I write down my tasting notes. This particular dinner was hosted at Rob’s house where he prepared our dinner. We started off by tasting four wines blind then moved on to a pair of 1970 Clarets and finally a very young, vintage port.

The dinner menu consisted of:

• Cheese and Tomato Swirl
•  Quails Egg and Asparagus in a Pasty Case
•  Breat of Barbury Duck with Greenpepper Corns and Apple
•  Chocolate and Coffee Marquise
•  Cheese
•  Petit Fours

#1 – 1959 John Harvey and Sons, Riesling, Spatlese, Rudesheimer Hauserweg, Rheingau
75cl Bought at Avery’s 5 Pounds Sterling.
Rob.  Eggy on first nose.  Golden Color, sulfur malt color malt though dull.  No acidity, dull.  Old taste.  Quite sweet similar to 1971.  Best vintage between 1945-1971.  The label has an amusing Photo/Picture of a man and a woman pouring grapes.

#2 – 1991 Umani Ronci, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
3.99 Pounds Sterling. 12%.
Jon.  Alcoholic on the nose, very smooth.  Dark ruby color.  Sweet nose.  Quite young.  Italian, 1991.

#3 – 1989 Huadon Tsingtao, Chardonnay
6.50 Pounds Sterling.  China!!
Supervised by Rosemont Estate.  Crisp and fragrent.  Very pale light straw, slightly carbonated.  Acidy, apple citrus.  Finish may be due to acid.

#4 – 1988  P. Misserey, Mercurey
Nuits Cotes d’Or, 12.5%, 75 cL.
Tannic, big, finish, wonderful.
FF45 Cellier Normand

1970 Chateau Giscours, Margaux
Incredibly dark, huge nose, definitely not cigar-box, definately old Bordeaux.  Young, not there nose.  There is a hell of a lot of tannin.  Disappointed with palette and finish.  Not typical Margaux.  Disappointing.  “You are buggered without fruit.”  This wine has traveled.

1970 Chateau La Lagune, Haut-Medoc
From the nose it is obvious that this “better” than the Giscours.  I would lay it down for a few more years, but it is bloody good now.  Another evening.

1985 Quinta do Noval, Douro
8.50 Pounds Sterling
“You were getting up so early it was like getting up yesterday.”

Rob, Jon, Andrew, Iain, and Aaron