Taylor's Scion 1855 Vintage Port

An old friend received a small sample of this remarkable wine. It was shared on a quiet morning.

Quite brown but with a reddish tint.

Sherry-like, with raisins and walnut on the nose. There's also some dusty leather. Remarkably fresh and bright. Lifts from the glass with little coaxing required. Caramel and cocoa arrive with time. Dark honey notes. Touch of smokey creosote underneath the sweetness. All of this, but gently, and in the proper place. More than a century and a half has smoothed out all the edges. Like a perfect skimming stone.

So much life on the palate. Juicy bursts of raisins soaked in caramel to start, cranks the saliva glands into overdrive, before the raisins turn to figs, with all that crunchy, seedy texture. Figs immersed in oranges and quince, then roasted, caramelising and burning the edges so very slightly. The journey on the palate is utterly gentle after that initial burst. Soft, and hangs around.

Quite remarkable.

*****

Tasted at Luvians 5/10/2012

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Chambertin Grand Cru 1999 Christophe Perrot-Minot

Another top bit of kit. I love The Sampler. 

Very young colour. Not showing its age.

Gentle nose of soft red fruit and a bit of forest floor. Pretty.

Palate is sensual. Plush red fruit guided by gorgeous tannins. Mouth-coating, long and elegant. Juicy and still young. Just that silkiness of the tannins that show the age, and perhaps a touch of stinginess to the fruit.

*****

Tasted 14 September 2012 at The Sampler

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G. Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia 2006

It's slowly becoming a mission of mine to drink as much Barolo in the autumn as humanly possible. I feel it is the ultimate seasonal fine wine. You can hear the dry leaves crunching under foot as you sip it. Well, I can at least. Maybe I'm weird. Maybe people don't hear leaves when they're tasting wine.

Great colour. Ruby edges with a pure, deep core.

Candied cherries on the nose, with saddle leather and cocoa dust. Hint of tar.

Holy shit what a wine. Those cherries are so rich and sweet and sour and utterly entwined with tight, gripping stone, wood and tar. The integration and structure are astounding. Nuanced but powerful. So very young but still compelling and rewarding. Would love to be able to afford a case of it and chart its course over a few decades.

*****

Tasted 14 September 2012 at The Sampler

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Vosne-Romanée 2008 Sylvain Cathiard

Pale, pretty with lovely brilliance.

Cranberries and a touch of the farm on the nose. Quite heady.

Goodness that's sexy Burgundy. Ripe cranberries, cherries and raspberries, juicy and more-ish. Supple on the tongue as well. Perhaps a little all over the place, but immensely pleasurable.

****
Tasted 14 September 2012 at The Sampler

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Chave Hermitage 1999

It's been some time. I've been busy settling into London, writing books and the like. Last month, accompanied by a former colleague, I headed to The Sampler and trolled their lovely bottles for tiny tastes of joy. They did not disappoint. I've never tried a wine from Chave I didn't like. I was only somewhat saddened that they didn't have any white open for tasting.

Burgundian colour.

Pretty and meaty. Crushed dried flowers, raspberries and a bit of leather. Quite stony.

Those raspberries join cherries on the palate. Bright, crunchy fruit wrapped in dusty, still slightly rasping tannic clutch. Beautiful finish that opens up and releases purple flowers as it drifts off.

*****

Tasted 14 September 2012 at The Sampler

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Domaine des Baumard Trie de Spéciale Savennières 2000

Golden. Bright.

Honeycomb and lime/lemon citrus with a bit of wet chalk.

Rich, full palate of fresh honeycomb and honey. A touch of sweetness there. Bees-Waxy palate. Lacking somewhat in complexity but more than makes up for it in sensuous deliciousness.

****
Tasted 14 September 2012 at The Sampler

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