More than Meets the Eye

There's always more than meets the eye. People can be most generous with their time and personality, and yet, there is far more than what's on the surface. So too with wines. The New Year's Day (and night) drinks were perfect examples.

Bubbles set the scene. Pedro brought along a Louis Roederer 'Brut Premier' Champagne. Tight, firm, austere, but with finesse and depth. Plenty of Pinot Noir here. The new livery indicated its youth. Be British and give it some bottle age, and it will show that it has plenty built into it. Followed by a Number 1 Family Estate 'No. 1', 100% Chardonnay. Sweeter, fruitier, easier to access. Moderate autolysis, but a delicious drop still. And aromatics make great aperitifs. The 2009 Spy Valley Pinot Gris was a stunner. Rich, rounded, weighty and with pears and spices. That Paul Bourgeois knows how to makes these wines, and his are better than most. Also Gordy's 2009 Esk Valley Verdelho, tightly sprung, but with depth and intensity of steely tropicals and stonefruit flavours. Gordy reckons it should be drunk young, but a couple of years shouldn't hurt it.

Chardonnay means serious white wine. Gordy's 2007 Droin Chablis GC 'Vaudesir' was shy, minerally but with soft oaken presence and beautifully clean expression. SWMBO guessed it where most of us didn't. In a similar tight vein was Grunter's 2007 Sileni 'Lodge' Chardonnay. More obviously fresh and expressive fruit, but also restrained and very elegant. This is exactly what it should be - modern, classy, ageworthy Chardonnay. Then two oldies. Both from Joseph Drouhin, and both 1983. 27 years old.....Both showed signs of oxidation at the door, but remarkably they hadn't tipped over completely. Savoury, nutty and medium bodied for the Beaune 1er 'Clos des Mouches', but richer, more lush and textured for the Laguiche Montrachet. Neither showed glory, but neither were dead. My perception was disappointment - "only mildly offensive", but others, notably Grunter and SWMBO, were reasonably amazed by their condition. Certainly a case of 'more than meets the eye' - in the eye of the beholder!

Reds were the next stage. Two Spanish. A 2007 Manga del Bruja Catatayud wine. Sweet, jammy Garnacha operating here. Modern and juicy. Then a 2003 Bodega Breton 'Lorinon' Rioja Riserva, young and primary enough, but tannic and dry, by way of our friend Brett. Looking underneath, it was a wine that could have delivered more pleasure.

The serious reds were, well, serious. A 1997 Staglin Family Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon was a monster in extraction. Dark, ripe, and still broody. It could handle another two decades in the cellar. This was a Gordy treasure. The 2000 Ch. Talbot St Julien was a supreme example of horsey brett. However, still lush and plump and juicy with blackcurrants, earth, spices, cedar. A Pedro contribution. Then the best red of the night, a 1995 J-L Chave Hermitage, Elegant, pretty, florals and spices. I would have liked more meat and game, with richer fruit, but it was what it was.

To end the night, a couple of 'sweeties'. The 2001 Loosen Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Spatlese was pale in colour and rather shy on nose, but showed more on palate. Not particularly lush or sweet, it was a wine that rested on its acidity. Delicate toast and kero notes gave away its age. Then finally a 2001 Ch. Suduiraut Sauternes. Golden, with lifted nose of honey, marmalade, Semillon lanolin, oak and botrytis. It became distinctly volatile, but that's Sauternes for you. Absolutely fine stuff, that deserves more than one look.