Chardonnay & Wines for
Christmas
Butchers Hall, London
3rd November 1988
1986 Chardonnay, St
Michel Eppan (aka San Michele Appiano), Alto Adige, Italy, 12%
Very pale appearance with a greenish tinge. Nice fresh nose. Light on the
palate and not particularly exciting, but with good fruit. Nice, light,
fresh, quaffing wine. 84/100 (£51.49/12)
1986 Chablis, Jean
Durup
Pale goldish colour with a greenish hint. Fresh clean nose with good smooth
butteriness. Nicely rounded on the palate, though there’s a hint of
astringency too. Decent stuff, but a bit pricey. 83/100 (£107.88/12)
1987 Chardonnay,
Hunter's Winery, Marlborough, New Zealand, 13.5%
Good strong straw colour. Fairly complex nose with a bit of oak evident.
Very rounded on the palate and nicely mouthfilling. Rich, but not
overlong. This is quality stuff. 90/100 (£103.99/12)
1987 Chardonnay,
Lindemans, Victoria, Australia, 12.5%
Good colour, with a greenish tinge. Very smooth nose with a nice
butteriness. Very fresh taste. Good character, with a decent buttery
feel. This is good stuff and would go well with sauced fish etc. 85/100
(£65.49/12)
1986 Chardonnay,
Columbia Winery, Washington State, USA, 12.8%
Good straw colour. Very little nose. Quite pleasant on the palate and
fairly long. 84/100 (£57.99/12)
1987 Chardonnay,
Domaine Caperana, Canepa Winery, Chile, 12.8%
Very pale yellow appearance. Oaky nose, with vanilla and sweet spices. A
bit odd on the palate. Good length, but there’s a peculiar aftertaste.
Overall, not very pleasant. Possibly with time it might improve, but I
don’t think it will be worth the wait. 76/100 (£53.49/12)
NV Tomas Abad’s
Fresh Landed Fino Sherry, 16%
100% palamino. A nice light to mid gold. Attractive complex nose – very
light and fresh. A good light sherry, crisp and fresh. Evidently very
fresh landed, which may be its prime virtue. 89/100 (£31.99/6)
NV Leacock’s Sercial
Reserve Madeira, 19%
A yellow ochre appearance, like a thin syrup. A hint of smoky caramel on
the nose. Medium dry on the palate, with full fruit. Quite sultana-y
flavours: pleasant and full. Good with paté. 89/100 (£46.60/6)
NV Leacock’s Malmsey
Special Reserve Madeira, 20%
Nice caramel colour, almost a burnt ochre. The nose has more markedly burnt
and smoky notes with some nutty dry raisins. Sweet on the palate with nice
burnt flavours. Very smooth. 89/100 (£74.20/6)
NV Smith Woodhouse
Crusted Port Bottled 1984
An even colour. This isn’t bad, good fruit with the spirit nicely subdued.
There’s a bit of a hardness to it and it’s still a bit too young. 86/100
(£86.89/6)