Academie des Vins Anciens June 2010
Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 11:42 pm
This evening, I was fortunate enough to attend the Academie des Vins Anciens dinner in Paris, hosted by Francois. As most BWE'ers know, Francois has a regular series of dinners, known as "wine-dinners", featuring older wines from his cellar, in which participants pay according to the wines that are supplied. A few years ago, Francois began organizing another set of dinners for enthusiasts of old wines, as part of what would become the Academie des Vins Anciens. These dinners are much more BWE-style, where participants share older wines from their cellars and then pay for the meal. Francois and some of his friends organize the wines to be served, splitting the wines across multiple groups so that diners can both get generous pours, as well as taste through a variety of wines.
This evening, Francois and the Academie invited a number of gastronomy and wine students to join, which was probably their first exposure to older wines. He also opened a number of wines from his cellar, as he was going through an organization and had a number of wines that needed to be opened (a good problem to have, of course).
Here are the wines and the notes that I took from our group. Note, I don't have scores, as I really don't think its possible to score these wines. However, I'll try to differentiate the good from the not as good.
Moet et Chandon Champagne (age unknown, believed to be late 50's) from Magnum
Nothing like starting off with a really old wine, this Champagne was dark in color, and lacked any fizz. It did have quite a bit of acidity, in my opinion. The nose was of chestnuts, really remarkable. For me, it wasn't too exciting, but was certainly pleasant, with full body and a nice lingering note of nuts and caramel.
Soutiran grand cru millesime Champagne 2003
This was the baby of the bunch, and the youngest wine I believe we had. It was fresh, lots of apple on the nose and palate, bubbly. Nice, but lacked the depth following the Moet and Chandon.
Houdard de la Motte Champagne (age unknown, believed to be from the 80's sometime)
Gold in color, seemed too aged for its actual age. Lacked bubbles. Interesting, if somewhat uninspiring.
Prince de Bourbon Abel Lepitre Champagne 1975
Wow, just wow, I have never tasted anything like this. Straw colored, bubbly but not overwhelmingly, amazing structure. The taste reminds me of a combination of honeysuckle and leather, if thats possible. I kept this throughout the course of the night, and even though it lost all of its fizz, it remained a powerhouse of a Champagne. "Paradise" was the word that our table used to describe it.
Chateau de la Grave Bordeaux Blanc (age unknown, believed to be from the 1940's)
Dark amber color, smelled of burned wood. Not really sure how to describe it, as it seemed similar to some of the other older white wines that I've tasted in the past.
Bourgogne Aligote Les Caves Unies 1960
The only way I can describe this is simple. It still has a youthful feel to it, and it is quite fresh on the nose. Not as dark as the white bordeaux. But there were no secondary characteristics to the wine. Most of the other wines at least had some complexity, this was good but not intellectual.
Puligny-Montrachet Grands Chais de Dijon (exact age unknown, believed to be from the 1950's)
Another wow, incredible wine. Golden/amber in color, somewhat in between the bordeaux and the bourgogne. But the taste is just amazing. Mineral on the nose, but not like any young Chardonnay that I've ever had. Somewhat reminds me of the 61 Montrachet that we had in Beaune, although wasn't quite that complex. Still, simply amazing. I held back a glass of this for the remainder of the dinner, and at the recommendation of one of my tablemates, tasted it with the Stilton cheese. Fabulous pairing.
Chateau de Cavaille Bergerac 1982
Pretty much dead, not very interesting. Most people ended up dumping it.
Chateau Bourgneuf Vayron Pomerol 1971
Other people at the table liked this wine, I didn't. I thought it was bland, lacked any fruit, and didn't really give much pleasure.
Chateau Langoa Barton 1966
The wine I brought, so I was a bit biased. Very nice nose, almost sweet. The Saint Julien characteristics really are coming out in the wine. Medium bodied, like coming home to a good bordeaux. It didn't seem old, but it also didn't have some of the secondary characteristics that I would have liked to see. Overall very good though.
Chateau Haut-Brion 1963
Someone at the table commented that this is not a true example of an Haut Brion. When I smelled it, the first image I had was being in an automobile repair shop with the smell of fresh tires, combined with a little bit of rubbing alcohol. It was quite strange. I thought it had a lot of body, despite somewhat disappointing flavors.
Chateau Margaux 1962
Another incredible wine, completely overshadowing the Haut-Brion. Margaux nose, one whiff and I was dreaming of being back on the veranda at Chateau Margaux. The wine just fills your mouth with a sweetness, then comes back and dazzles you again after you swallow it. Really remarkable.
Chateau La Gaffeliere Naudes 1934
Is it possible to completely upstage a 62 Margaux? How do you define perfection? This wine had everything, when you smell it, you are transported to a field with the most beautiful smell of jasmine and other flowers. I can smell this all night (and actually, I did, as I kept it for the rest of the evening). On the palate, the wine just takes over and gives your tongue a complete massage, so that afterwards all you can think is "did I really just experience that?". I cannot say enough about this wine, it is perfect. My WOTN, and the WOTN for the person sitting next to me. This is ranked in my top five wines of all time.
Chateau Chauvin Caves Nicolas 1929
This wine would have been great had it not followed the Gaffeliere. Beautiful nose, definitely aged. Some others at my table had tasted a 29 Comptesse de Lalande, which they said was much better than this one, but it was still an excellent wine.
Macon reine Pedauque annees 1950
I didn't like this, tasted over the hill, not very interesting.
Mercurey Clost du Roi Antonin Rodet 1943
On first smell, the only way I can describe it is dirty socks. Think of the stinkiest feet you have ever smelled, multiply by five, and you have the opening of this wine. Some might describe that as a cheese smell. Nonetheless, once you get past this, a remarkable, full bodied wine that has all kinds of things going on for it. Complex, dark fruits, really wonderful. And even the nose becomes interesting.
Echezeaux Domaine de la Romanee Conti 1957
A lighter color than the other wines, this wine was definitely more subtle, although had some complexity. Some others had tasted a Grande Echezeaux at another table that they claimed was much better than this. It was definitely a beautiful wine, although not as remarkable given the wines that proceeded it.
Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape 1986
This was a strange wine to me, although I generally don't like Rhone wines very much. It tasted older than it should have, so it may have had some damage along the way. Nice for what it was.
We then followed with a number of dessert wines, although I didn't keep track of everything that I had at that point. Nonetheless, the evening ended as it started, with incredible wines alongside lots of great and interesting people! And a big thank you to Francois for inviting me to participate in it!
Tim
This evening, Francois and the Academie invited a number of gastronomy and wine students to join, which was probably their first exposure to older wines. He also opened a number of wines from his cellar, as he was going through an organization and had a number of wines that needed to be opened (a good problem to have, of course).
Here are the wines and the notes that I took from our group. Note, I don't have scores, as I really don't think its possible to score these wines. However, I'll try to differentiate the good from the not as good.
Moet et Chandon Champagne (age unknown, believed to be late 50's) from Magnum
Nothing like starting off with a really old wine, this Champagne was dark in color, and lacked any fizz. It did have quite a bit of acidity, in my opinion. The nose was of chestnuts, really remarkable. For me, it wasn't too exciting, but was certainly pleasant, with full body and a nice lingering note of nuts and caramel.
Soutiran grand cru millesime Champagne 2003
This was the baby of the bunch, and the youngest wine I believe we had. It was fresh, lots of apple on the nose and palate, bubbly. Nice, but lacked the depth following the Moet and Chandon.
Houdard de la Motte Champagne (age unknown, believed to be from the 80's sometime)
Gold in color, seemed too aged for its actual age. Lacked bubbles. Interesting, if somewhat uninspiring.
Prince de Bourbon Abel Lepitre Champagne 1975
Wow, just wow, I have never tasted anything like this. Straw colored, bubbly but not overwhelmingly, amazing structure. The taste reminds me of a combination of honeysuckle and leather, if thats possible. I kept this throughout the course of the night, and even though it lost all of its fizz, it remained a powerhouse of a Champagne. "Paradise" was the word that our table used to describe it.
Chateau de la Grave Bordeaux Blanc (age unknown, believed to be from the 1940's)
Dark amber color, smelled of burned wood. Not really sure how to describe it, as it seemed similar to some of the other older white wines that I've tasted in the past.
Bourgogne Aligote Les Caves Unies 1960
The only way I can describe this is simple. It still has a youthful feel to it, and it is quite fresh on the nose. Not as dark as the white bordeaux. But there were no secondary characteristics to the wine. Most of the other wines at least had some complexity, this was good but not intellectual.
Puligny-Montrachet Grands Chais de Dijon (exact age unknown, believed to be from the 1950's)
Another wow, incredible wine. Golden/amber in color, somewhat in between the bordeaux and the bourgogne. But the taste is just amazing. Mineral on the nose, but not like any young Chardonnay that I've ever had. Somewhat reminds me of the 61 Montrachet that we had in Beaune, although wasn't quite that complex. Still, simply amazing. I held back a glass of this for the remainder of the dinner, and at the recommendation of one of my tablemates, tasted it with the Stilton cheese. Fabulous pairing.
Chateau de Cavaille Bergerac 1982
Pretty much dead, not very interesting. Most people ended up dumping it.
Chateau Bourgneuf Vayron Pomerol 1971
Other people at the table liked this wine, I didn't. I thought it was bland, lacked any fruit, and didn't really give much pleasure.
Chateau Langoa Barton 1966
The wine I brought, so I was a bit biased. Very nice nose, almost sweet. The Saint Julien characteristics really are coming out in the wine. Medium bodied, like coming home to a good bordeaux. It didn't seem old, but it also didn't have some of the secondary characteristics that I would have liked to see. Overall very good though.
Chateau Haut-Brion 1963
Someone at the table commented that this is not a true example of an Haut Brion. When I smelled it, the first image I had was being in an automobile repair shop with the smell of fresh tires, combined with a little bit of rubbing alcohol. It was quite strange. I thought it had a lot of body, despite somewhat disappointing flavors.
Chateau Margaux 1962
Another incredible wine, completely overshadowing the Haut-Brion. Margaux nose, one whiff and I was dreaming of being back on the veranda at Chateau Margaux. The wine just fills your mouth with a sweetness, then comes back and dazzles you again after you swallow it. Really remarkable.
Chateau La Gaffeliere Naudes 1934
Is it possible to completely upstage a 62 Margaux? How do you define perfection? This wine had everything, when you smell it, you are transported to a field with the most beautiful smell of jasmine and other flowers. I can smell this all night (and actually, I did, as I kept it for the rest of the evening). On the palate, the wine just takes over and gives your tongue a complete massage, so that afterwards all you can think is "did I really just experience that?". I cannot say enough about this wine, it is perfect. My WOTN, and the WOTN for the person sitting next to me. This is ranked in my top five wines of all time.
Chateau Chauvin Caves Nicolas 1929
This wine would have been great had it not followed the Gaffeliere. Beautiful nose, definitely aged. Some others at my table had tasted a 29 Comptesse de Lalande, which they said was much better than this one, but it was still an excellent wine.
Macon reine Pedauque annees 1950
I didn't like this, tasted over the hill, not very interesting.
Mercurey Clost du Roi Antonin Rodet 1943
On first smell, the only way I can describe it is dirty socks. Think of the stinkiest feet you have ever smelled, multiply by five, and you have the opening of this wine. Some might describe that as a cheese smell. Nonetheless, once you get past this, a remarkable, full bodied wine that has all kinds of things going on for it. Complex, dark fruits, really wonderful. And even the nose becomes interesting.
Echezeaux Domaine de la Romanee Conti 1957
A lighter color than the other wines, this wine was definitely more subtle, although had some complexity. Some others had tasted a Grande Echezeaux at another table that they claimed was much better than this. It was definitely a beautiful wine, although not as remarkable given the wines that proceeded it.
Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape 1986
This was a strange wine to me, although I generally don't like Rhone wines very much. It tasted older than it should have, so it may have had some damage along the way. Nice for what it was.
We then followed with a number of dessert wines, although I didn't keep track of everything that I had at that point. Nonetheless, the evening ended as it started, with incredible wines alongside lots of great and interesting people! And a big thank you to Francois for inviting me to participate in it!
Tim