Marks Birthday Dinner
Mark AS organised a dinner to celebrate his birthday (and the imminent birthday of thehawk) at La Goulue in Crows Nest.
Mark generously brought along 10 ’77s for us to try. We began with Krug vintage 1995. This was a very youthful wine, very powerful on the nose with lots of lemon. With time, I thought the house style showed through, with more sherbet and vanilla. The palate was confronting: very sharp acidity, even by 1995 standards. Danny and I wondered if this will resolve. I trust the skill of the house and figure it will come together with extended bottle age. If you mus drink it down, try a dish with a cream sauce.
After this, I opened a Dom Perignon 1980. Neville, I think, got this spot on: creme brulee. Initially I thought this was one dimensional but it built in the glass over 10 or 15 minutes. Good acid, mouth-filling and above all refreshing. Drink now.
Neville then opened a Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 2002. He and I were concerned about the nose, which seemed dominated by sulfur. This is peculiar because Anne-Claude Leflaive is a pioneer of low sulfur usage. Perhaps we were mistaking this for the characteristic ‘gun smoke’ one can expect from better Puligny? With time, the nose got more complex, but was never citrusy. The palate was very well put together. Excellent balance and length.
Now it was time for the ’77s.
Mark passed forth a Mount Mary pinot noir 1977. Most of us thought this would be over the hill, but we were pleasantly surprised. Many commented on a youthful core of cassis or red grape juice. The palate did look tired and had no real structure to speak of. With time in the glass, I noticed a metallic edge which indicates that the wine will only deteriorate with more time in the cellar. Still, I think we were all surprised at just how well this wine had performed.
Following this, Mark served a Latour 1977. Some were turned off by a fairly noticeable green streak. It was there on the nose, but not the palate. With time in the glass, this wine built and was obviously a left bank wine of some pedigree. I enjoyed it.
Next came a magnum of Hill of Grace, 1997. I found this immediately to be maderised and assume it had been cooked by a careless owner at some stage of its life. What a shame!
Unfortunately, the Penfolds bin 707 1977 had probably seen some poor storage as well, but was still an wine worth drinking and considering. Quite dark, none of the over the top oak handling of its contemporaries. Quite complex on the palate but with a disconcerting oxidative note. C’est la vie.
At first, the Grange 1977 was hard to tell apart from the 707. After a bit of oxygen, however, it revealed its true character: mint, a hint of sweet oak, a touch of raspberry jam. Quite persistent and well structured. Probably the ’77 of the night.
Next to this, the Wendoree Shiraz 1977 looked quite austere. A dominating menthol note is my main recollection of this wine. Interesting to still see it holding together.
Unfortunately, the Mount Mary Quintent 1977 was badly cooked and I found it unapproachable. A shame, as I’m sure we were all really looking forward to this wine. Mark, I hope your other bottle is better 
.
Having drunk our way through Mark’s generous offering, we moved on to a few other wines. David opened a Aldo Conterno Colonnello Barolo 1997. I really enjoyed this wine. It opened characteristically with VA and tar. This dissipated to reveal at first orange peel and then apricot! All the time, this wine changed to reveal different characters of Barolo. The palate was a revelation: very approachable with luxurious tannins and great balance. None of the hardness you expect from Barolo.
To cleanse the palate before dessert, we opened a J.L. Wolf Spatlese 2001 (Pfalz). This, quite simply, was an awful wine.
Danny stepped up with a Moulin Touchais 1977 from the Coteaux du Layon on the southern side of the Loire. Stored in barrel until release (often 20 years after vintage!) this wine is at once a beautiful aged Loire and at the same time something reminiscent of Sherry. Excellent persistence, lots of aged botrytis character. This wine could last for ever. Ideally, it should be opened well before consuming, 4 to 6 hours.
To match this, a Bullers Calliope rare muscat from Rutherglen was brought forth. The temperature of the wine made the alcohol a little noticeable on the nose, but the palate was beautiful and smooth. Insanely complex, with coffee and, in particular, clove. This wine just goes on and on in the mouth. What a great wine.
Finally, a palate cleansing Dom Perignon 1998. I was disappointed in this wine. It didn’t have the developed character I’ve seen in other ‘98 Dom. It was all citrus and smoke. The acid on the palate was a little hard. Still, it’s not every day you end dinner with Dom.
Thanks to all for bringing some great bottles but especially to Mark for generously opening a bunch of great old wines to share with us heathens.
