I was shuffling the bottles around trying to find space for some stuff I had been tripping over for a while, as you do, when my hand came back out of a carton with sticky red stuff on it. Damn, one of my little treasures was leaking. Pulled it out of the box to have with dinner that night, and also made more space in the same action. Who said I can't multi-task?
Seppelt Great Western 1966 Burgundy CH.24
The wine is a multi varietal, multi regional blend as the front label states:- " This Burgundy style wine was blended at Great Western from Hermitage, Malbec and Cinsault from Great Western together with Hermitage from our cellars at Rutherglenand the Barossa Valley. It has a medium colour, fruity nose, medium body and soft finnish."
The fill level was down about 3cm from the capsule. Eased the plastic capsule off to reveal ample dark sticky stuff oozing around between it and the cork, which on gentle removal was as black on top as it was on the bottom with ample evidence of flow all around the sides.
The wine itself was showing its age with distinct browning.
Initially the wine stank of nail polish remover and rotten apples, there is no other descriptor than phew, giving the initial impression that the wine was oxidised beyond resuscitation, gone, dead, extinct. However this blew off rapidly in the glass leaving behind pleasant tart black berries and leather.
Exceptionally smooth in the mouth with saddle leather and hints of licorice but still surprisingly plenty of dark fruit notes with plum and sweet cherry the more obvious. Lighter end of medium body and a long finish.
A very pleasant wine that I was hoping to drink in 2006, maybe its 2 brothers will make it.
Well you can't drink a wine like the Seppelt and leave it at that so we opened a VP to round out the evening.
Baileys 1990 Vintage Port
I never cease to be surprised at how youthful these NE Victorian VPs remain even with 10 or more years on them.
This was no exception with perhaps the only concession to its age being the smoothing down of the tannins, although there were still plenty in evidence.
A lovely VP with tons of bright fresh fruit wrapped in a viscous parcel. Makes me wonder how they ever sold so cheaply, but then you can't complain about such providence can you?