Meeting 302 -A Tasting of Clarets from the 1980s
Held at Waltham St Lawrence Friday 23rd March 2007
Doug Miles presented us with a collection of clarets from
his own cellar. The wines covered several of the established areas of the
region, including Pauillac, St- Julien as well as Pomerol and Moulis. The
vintages included the exceptional 1982 and 1989s. Not far behind were 1983, 1985
and 1988. Doug provided full supporting documentation on all his chosen wines.
For those who missed this information, it can be downloaded in PDF format by
clicking here.
The quality of the wines and Doug's expert presentation were described by our President, Julian, as being 'the best ever tasting in the Branch'.Because of the consistently high quality of the wines, members were not asked to rate them in the usual way, but were asked to decide which they preferred as first or second choice. This method of marking, is extremely severe and can lead to some excellent wines getting little support. But it does have the advantage of introducing that most important aspect of wine appreciation - the personal preference!
The Wines
Aperitif: Cuvee Royale Brut, AC Cremant de Limoux
0. Good Ordinary Claret, Waitrose NV (Doug's
starter for 5!!)
1. Ch. Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Pauillac. Deuxieme Cm Classe 1983
(Rated 1st or 2nd choice by 5 members)
2. Ch. Leoville-Barton, St Julien. Deuxieme Cru Classe 1989 (Rated by 10)
3. Vieux Chateau Certan, Pomerol 1989 (Rated by 1)
4. Vieux Chateau Certan, Pomerol 1988 (Rated by 7)
5. Ch. Leoville Barton, St-Julien. Deuxieme Cm Classe 1988 (Rated by 0
members but still a very good wine)
6. Ch. Lynch-Bages, Pauillac. Cinquiemes Cru Classe 1988 (Rated by 11
members)
7. Ch. Cissac, Haut-Medoc. Cru Bourgeois Superieur 1985 (Also a 'nul points'
surprisingly)
8. Ch. Leoville Barton, St-Julien. Deuxieme Cm Classe 1985 (Rated by 23
members - the second most popular)
9. Ch. Chasse-Spleen, Moulis en Medoc. Cm Bourgeois Exceptionnel 1982 (Rated
by 7 members)
10. Ch. Leoville Las Cases, St-Julien. Deuxieme Cru Classe 1982 (Rated by 24
- the most popular by a very small margin)
The Supper wine was Trinity Hill Gimblett Road Cabernet/Merlot,
Hawkes Bay 1999
Supper
Planned & Prepared by Charlotte