We all know that wine can age. However we usually think in terms of reds, vintage port, Madeira, sweet whites and the like. Certainly there are some dry whites out there that seem to age forever – Tyrrell’s Vat 1 Semillon is one good example. You don’t hear much these days about old aged white Burgundy. In fact you now hear the opposite buzz that it is safer to drink them earlier on. Chardonnay can age well particularly from Burgundy pre the mid-90s before those worrisome pre-mox issues first arose.

At a recent Burgundy event there were several treasures contributed including a quintessential biodynamic red Burgundy 1999 Nuits-Saint-Georges “Les Pruliers” 1er Cru from Etienne Grivot showing that magical complexity of power with finesse and intensely delicate. Another star was my interesting bottle of white Burgundy now nearly 60 years old the 1957 Batard-Montrachet from Maison M. Doudet-Naudin. Fortunate to taste with Yves Doudet of Domaine Doudet-Naudin in Savigny-les-Beaune several times during the late 80s where they had so many ancient bottles covered in mold lying peacefully in their very cold cellar. On one such visit at an extensive old white wine tasting I was impressed with the acidity fruit balance shown in their Grand Cru Batard from 1957. Eventually I acquired some bottles in 1991 which were recorked at that time before being shipped to me in Vancouver. Vintage 1957 was described by Michael Broadbent as “Quite good, firm, rather acidic but flavoury wines” and Clive Coates in 1997 when the wine was only 40 years old said 57 whites “are good but now past it”. Surprising to all at this recent tasting that this bottle showed a lovely lemony zest with a layer of almost sweet very nutty walnut-like flavours. Mature yes but not oxidized with only just a little touch of maderization complexity and not clearly past it. Delicious. There are old white Burgundies out there usually at great value particularly in many of the old cellars in Burgundy or at auction. Keep an open mind about them and you too might experience a rare treasure of history.

Have you tried any very old white Burgundy?

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By Joseph Temple

In the spring of 1867, French emperor Napoleon III offered a warm welcome to dignitaries arriving from around the world to witness the Exposition Universelle. Held at the picturesque Champ de Mars over a period of eight months, enthusiastic Parisians of the Second French Empire gladly followed suit by embracing the nearly seven million visitors who travelled to a city that was modernizing at a rapid pace. And of the over fifty thousand exhibitors who set up shop, one group of Americans simply dazzled French citizens with a drink so unique that it spread like wildfire.

It was called a Sherry Cobbler.

A simple recipe consisting of sugar, muddled citrus and Spanish fortified wine, it became so popular that the U.S. delegation went through approximately five hundred bottles of sherry a day in order to serve up this concoction to a mostly French clientele. Of course, British visitors knew all about the drink after reading the serialized novel The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens. After the main character describes the cocktail in glowing terms, its popularity soared throughout England, surprising another famous author Mark Twain. “And it warmed my heart more than, I can tell, yesterday, when I witnessed the spectacles of an Englishman, ordering an American sherry cobbler of his own free will and accord,” described Twain. “With a common origin, a common language, a common literature, a common religion, and—common drinks, what is longer needful to the cementing of the two nations together in a permanent bond of brotherhood?”

Recipe for a Sherry Cobbler from How to Mix Drinks by Jerry Thomas.

Invented sometime during the 1820s or 1830s, the Sherry Cobbler quickly democratized America’s drinking habits, being consumed by a wide cross-section of the country. Listed in his now-famous 1862 book How to Mix Drinks, bartender Jerry Thomas writes that while the cobbler “does not require much skill in compounding … to make it acceptable to the eye, as well as to the palate, it is necessary to display some taste in ornamenting the glass after the beverage is made.” Garnishing it with berries certainly didn’t hurt its popularity but two essential elements that made it so trendy was shaking it with crushed ice—and topping it off with … a drinking straw.

Today, we see nothing special about adding ice to a drink, but in the early nineteenth century, before the commercial ice trade and mass refrigeration, frozen water was described by Mark Twain as “jewelry, none but the rich could wear it.” Being such a novelty, it soon transcended classes. And being the first drink to popularize the straw, everyone from the upper class sherry drinker to the young college student could be seen sipping his or her ice-cold cobbler with this strange new device. What bartending legend Harry “The Dean” Johnson described as “without doubt the most popular beverage in the country” had bridged the gap between tavern and restaurant as the century came to a close.

So if you’re looking to indulge yourself in a sweet slice of American nostalgia, have a look at the recipe below to make your very own Sherry Cobbler and party like it’s 1839!

Sources:

Baiocchi, Talia. A Modern Guide to the Wine World’s Best-Kept Secret, with Cocktails and Recipes. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2014.
Beazley, Mitchell. GQ Drinks. Octopus, 2014.
Twain, Mark. Mark Twain’s Speeches: Easyread Super Large 18pt Edition. Sydney: ReadHowYouWant.com, 2008.

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By Henry Salomé (Own work) [GFDL or CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Question: We have a bottle of Château Haut Brion, 1985, Graves, Red Bordeaux Wine. When is the latest that it should be consumed?

Answer: What a treasure you have there! 1985 Bordeaux are underrated generally because they were so delicious right out of the gate and concerns were expressed that they would not last. Haut-Brion is a star in every vintage because of their unique special terroir providing wines with outstanding balance. Robert Parker in his Bordeaux book 4^th edition (2003) gave your 1985 a solid 95 score and his stated “Anticipated maturity: now – 2012” but it will last a lot longer. Now at 30 years of age where well stored it still should be on a fantastic plateau of elegant charming enjoyment. I tried a bottle of 1985 Haut-Brion in 2015 that was mature but a pure stylish delight. Best vintages of Haut-Brion surprise you as they seem to go on forever. Last year at the Château I tried the 1945 (granted a fantastic concentrated vintage) that was still amazingly complex yet fresh and it is 40 years older than your 1985! Wonderful to drink the 1985 now but it will last at least several decades more. Impossible to give you a specific definite ending date. Another alternative you always have is to auction it off with current prices in the $400 US range and continuing to go up. Enjoy!

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Last week I was privileged to attend a dinner of our local Chapter of La Commanderie de Bordeaux featuring a vertical of Chateau Haut-Bailly. The 9 wines featured included the following vintages with short descriptions provided by Veronique Sanders:

2003: Atypical

2002: A Very Pleasant Surprise

2001: Elegance

1998: Merlots Blessed By the Gods

1995: Velvety (or Sexy Playboy)

1990: Powerful

1988: Intensity

1986: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon

1985: Splendid Maturity

The wines were very elegant overall with maturity providing some beautiful complexity. The wine of the night was voted on by the group with the impressive “powerful” 1990 the winner though I had a soft spot as well for the balance and classic elegance of 2001. What was brought home to me again at this event was how different the wines showed from several older wine reviews on them. Take for example the two oldest wines of 1986 & 1985. Robert Parker ‘s Bordeaux 4th edition (2003) showed both last tasted in January 1997 with scores of 85 & 86 respectively. Certainly they showed far better now some 19 years later than those scores indicated deserving at least 89 and probably 90+ in this new era of inflated wine scores. We know there will always be bottle variation with older wines but we don’t always appreciate that wines (especially Bordeaux, Burgundy, Piedmont and others) can develop and change dramatically over time.

Notes  of Parker show:

1986: RMP 85 – “a soft wine that can be drunk at a very early age”, “The full-intensity bouquet of sweet, smoky oak and ripe plummy fruit is very attractive”, Maturity to 2005. In 2016: Excellent purity of classy cabernet sauvignon, stylish and still fresh. Impressive.

1985: RMP 86 – “not a great deal of depth”, “quickly narrows out to a lighter-style, supple yet unexciting wine”, Maturity drink now in 1997. In 2016: Some bottle variation but best bottles showing typical mature Graves earthy tobacco and lovely drinking right now.

Don’t always believe that older tasting notes accurately reflect the description notes and score of the wine you are actually drinking many years later!

Have you had this experience?

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By Stephanie Watson [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

By Joseph Temple

For anyone who thinks that a famous French monk invented sparkling wine–well, here’s some news for you! More than a century before Dom Pierre Pérignon began experimenting with bubbles on the chalky soil of Champagne, a small commune in the foothills of the French Pyrenees named Limoux was already producing its very own fizz. Back when Épernay and Reims were best known for their wool exports and the surrounding vineyards grew mostly red wine grapes, this small community on the river Aude became the birthplace for French bubbly.

Today, Limoux is largely seen as sparkling wine’s redheaded stepchild when compared to the names Veuve Clicquot, Bollinger and Krug. However, with some experts predicting that the market for high-end Prosecco is about to chill, Limoux may experience a renaissance for those seeking out a competitively priced alternative to Champagne. So here are ten facts to get you up to speed on this French wine region.

By Sieurd’arques (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

1.  According to the Limouxins, sparkling wine has been produced there since at least 1531. However, some historians believe it was first invented during the Middle Ages.

By jmt-29 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/jmt-29/2400948787/) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

2.  A mix between Atlantic and Mediterranean climates, Limoux is situated on a high altitude. The limestone slopes make it an ideal spot to grow Chardonnay.

By Stephanie Watson [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

3. The two main styles of sparkling wine are Blanquette de Limoux and Crémant de Limoux.

By syvwlch [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

4. Blanquette de Limoux must be made with 90% Mauzac grapes – a local variety also known as Blanquette and tastes similar to apple skins. The rest is made up of Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc.

By Tomas er (Own work) [GFDL or CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons

5. The more popular Crémant de Limoux only needs 10% Mauzac and/or pinot noir with the remaining 90% being Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc, resulting in a more refreshing taste.

6. Crémant means French sparkling wine that is made outside the district of Champagne using the traditional method of secondary fermentation occurring inside the bottle.

By Pinpin (Own work) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons

7. Whereas Crémant de Limoux must spend at least fifteen months aging on the yeast lees, Blanquette de Limoux is aged only nine months on the lees.

By Stephanie Watson [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

8. In 1938, an AOC was given to Blanquette de Limoux. But in 1975 and 1989 respectively, the rules were loosened to allow less Mauzac grapes and more international varieties such as Chardonnay.

By Sieurd’arques (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

9.  Limoux sparkling wine is known to have pear, peach and apricot aromas and a round, creamy taste with lemony acidity.

By Tomas er (Own work) [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

10. Most sparkling wine from Limoux is dry and sold as a non-vintage.

Sources:

Coates, Clive. An Encyclopedia of the Wines and Domaines of France. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.
Gasnier, Vincent. A Taste For Wine: 20 key tastings to unlock your personal wine style. New York: Penguin, 2006.
Hammond, Carolyn. 1000 Best Wine Secrets. Naperville: Sourcebooks Inc., 2006.
Joseph, Robert. Eyewitness Companions: French Wines. New York: Penguin, 2005.
MacNeil, Karen. The Wine Bible. New York: Workman Publishing, 2015.

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