1973 Vega Sicilia Unico

1973 Vega Sicilia Unico

11 Nov 2011: Last week I had the opportunity to try the 1973 Vega Sicilia Unico.  I thought it had a slightly funky nose, reminding me of rusty nails and something savoury,  mushroomy and spicy.  There was some fruit character still on the palate, but more towards the lean and ungenerous end of the spectrum, not helped by the high-ish acidity.  Perhaps it should have been drunk a while ago?  14.5/20

The 1989 Pichon Baron was the complete opposite, with masses of fruit concentration and ripeness, showing blackberry preserve, cassis, mocha, and tobacco notes.  On the palate, it was mouthcoating, with firm but ripe tannin fully integrated into the texture of the wine.  Lingering finish.  Still evolving, this bottle was so different, so much more vigorous, chewy and substantial than the other bottles from the same case - the other bottles showed much more of the cedar and forest floor character.   Drinking now but will be a long while before it reaches peak....I would give it another 15+ years before peak would be reached.  18/20

We started the evening with a 2000 Pavillon Blanc du Chateau Margaux.  I felt that the wine was rather reticent on this occasion....showing some nutty, honey, acacia, quince and spicy character, but the palate seemed a little one-dimensional, not really engaging us.  There was some zingy acidity, but not in abundance.  The wine worked rather well with the duck rice, I thought.   It would be interesting to see how and if this vintage would come out of this disinterested phase to blossom into something much more exciting.  15.5/20 

First time I went to Nino's Cozinha (Queen's Road East, Wanchai, HK)....I thought the duck rice was a very good dish here - hearty and savoury, as was the suckling pig.....under the crispy skin, the meat was firmer than the version at Olé, that I had recently.  The African chicken was also not to be missed - firey and spicy (not sure if it's authentic but I loved the spice!).  We didn't get the mussels but the clams were just cooked, served in a delicately flavoured broth, with potatoes - yummy!  Highly recommended!  Perhaps next time, we'll try some Portuguese wine with it....Vinho Verde and some toothsome and elegantly structured Douro red!