Having lots of older bottles you sometimes get a leaker. That happened yesterday when I went to collect some bottles from the cellar.
A small pool of wine on the floor. I took it home with a youngster I was eager to try.
NV Brut, Besserot de Bellefon
According to the seller, this was from the 60´s. I hadn´t much hope when I put my nose in the glass but it was more alive than I had thought. Lots of dried apricots, old wrinked apples, earth and mushrooms flows up from the glass. Still alive.
The taste is even fresher than the nose with tiny, tiny bubbles and notes of dry orange fudge, apricots, earth and gravel. A decent length.
78p (tasted 2021/05)
2010 Clos de Cazals, Claude Cazals
This wine comes from one of the few real Clos in Champagne, a closed in plot planted in the 50´s with Chardonnay. This is only the second vintage, the first was the 2003. Zero dosage.
The nose is deep, chalky and complex with notes of lemon peel, white currants, road dust, ripe Sevilla oranges (on day two) and a ever so slight hint of coconut. Very fine. Very young.
The taste is steely and fine with notes of lemon peel, star fruit, unripe grape fruit and sun warm gravel. A very high, finely tuned acidity. Very, very long. Impressive in a taut, high browed way. A really great wine, but - for my palate - if this have had 3-5 gr dosage, this would have been in the high 90´s.
Best on day two (as always...).
94p (tasted 2021/05)