Old Spice

The occasion arose to look at a couple of old Kiwi Gewurztraminers last night. Old Spice for sure. Like the famous aftershave, a blast from the past, but would they be past it? Both from 1987. Yes, way too old in theory, but we were prepared to be surprised. First of the pair was a Villa Maria Reserve from Ihumatao. With a good track record going back to the 1970s, Villa Maria was hot in those days. Golden in colour, aged spice and ginger on the nose, but getting a bit decrepit. Not oxidised to buggery, and with depth of fruit detectable. Not enjoyable to drink. Next, the Matawhero 1987, a Denis Irwin and Hatsch Kalberer effort. The big name in Gewurz. Lighter in colour, herbs and spices, but thinner and lacking on the palate. Oxidative elements about to appear. No good as well. But they brought back memories, and we toasted Denis especially, a remarkable man.

To make up for these, we thought we better look at a Left Bank claret, to see if they looked OK, following our experience with the 1983 Ch. La Fleur Petrus Pomerol last week. So out came the cork on a 1983 Ch. Leoville Las Cases St Julien. Bottle stink and funk at first on bouquet, cleaning up to show great precision. Very good for a hot, dry vintage with a compact growing season. A class act that will keep on going. Not spicy, nor old. But it spiced up the evening, especially for our guest who loves old and great wines.