A pre-40th Birthday Celebration

5 May 2013: What do you do when a good friend's shipment of wine got delayed for his 40th birthday celebration?  So we decided to take on the hosting of a small pre-celebration.  A good excuse for a wine dinner with some more than decent 1973 champagnes (generously provided by birthday boy!) and a surprisingly delicious bottle of 1973 'Hunter River Burgundy' (that has nothing to do with Pinot Noir!)!

1973 Mumm Cuvée René Lalou: Medium gold colour, with some amber highlights. A mature bouquet of ripe pear, hazelnuts, acacia and coffee notes, with a hint of caramel and liquorice.  Rather delicate mousse.  Intensely flavoured on the palate. The finish featured a hint of acidic kick.  16.5/20

1973 Ruinart Blanc de Blancs: A medium lemon colour.  Expressive bouquet, with pear, almonds, frangipane.  Some mineral notes on the palate, still brimming with energy and tension.  Creamy mousse, persistently fine bubbles.  A very fine aged champagne indeed!  18.5/20

1973 Krug: Again a fine golden colour.  Mature bouquet of brioche, pear, hazelnuts, acacia. More creamy texture on the palate, good intensity and complexity on the palate, and the finish. I found this just a little bit more harmonious than the Mumm.  17/20

1973 Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles, Louis Jadot: Afraid this one did not quite make the cut!

1973 Lindemans Hunter River Burgundy Bin 4810: A deep ruby colour, with no sign of bricking at the rim.  An intense bouquet of black pepper, blackberry, plum, tobacco and violet notes, with animal, savoury and leather character permeating through the bouquet.  Very supple on the palate, velvety texture, perfectly well balanced, still holding its structure at this age, with fully-integrated ripe tannin and just enough acidity, giving a nice lift to the opulent juicy fruit!  Finishes almost sweet. We are still trying to find out if this was a 100% Shiraz or a field blend with other grape varieties. An admirable effort and what a great discovery that Hunter wines can age so remarkably well! 18/20



1978 Clos de La Roche, Rousseau: Garnet core. Beguiling aromatics, with notes of dried raspberry, rose petals, pot pourri, autumn leaves, pomegranate, layered with savoury and mushroom nuances. On the silky palate, the intensity and complexity was of a superior class and displayed much finesse. Long finish.  Drink now. 17/20 (I would have scored this higher had it not collapsed after about an hour.) 

1976 Clos Saint Denis, Dujac: (thank you birthday boy!) This was a bottle that came directly from the domaine via a recent auction in HK. Medium ruby core, with some garnet at the rim.  The nose was initially a little closed and needed some aeration.  Redcurrant, forest berries, spices make up the rather youthful bouquet (considering the age), with no hint of tertiary notes. The palate was initially very tight and showed a firm, sinewy structure, delivering energy, verve and concentration.  Not the most charming wine of the evening but the energy and youthfulness was rather amazing.  17.5/20 

1966 Clos de Tart: The perfume was headturning here, floral and candied fruit notes overlaying the leather and sous-bois characteristics, almost sweet to the nose. The palate was as seductive as the nose, as the wine disappeared rather effortlessly between sips. There was a distinct hint of sweetness on the finish. Silky and delicious, delivering a most harmonious act. Very impressive!  Drink now!  18.5/20 



All the bottles had very good levels, given their age

 1991 Clos Saint Denis, Dujac: A lovely bouquet. Totally sumptuous on the palate, with a mid weight frame of well-integrated elements. An understated wine that speaks of elegance, finesse and pedigree.  Finishes long.  Drinking beautifully now and over the next 10 - 12+ years. 18/20 


1976 Rieussec: Deep tawny colour.  A nose redolent of orange marmalade, apricot and rye.  Utterly unctuous, bolstered by firm acidity.  Perfect now (and perfect to be paired with my orange marmalade cake and the Portuguese egg tarts personally delivered from Macau!).  I did detect a slight dryness on the finish, so I would probably prefer to drink this over the next 5 - 6 years.  18/20




What a treat to have all the bottles behaving themselves!  During the evening, our conversations turned to the topic of what sort of wine really made the earth move for us......and it was no surprise that Bourgogne invariably featured at the top of the list......closely followed by Rhone!