Ageing Fine Wine Tasting, Malmaison Hotel Manchester, Wednesday 23rd October 2013

Venue: Malmaison Hotel (Mal Five), 1 – 3 Piccadilly, Manchester, M1 1LZ
Date: 23rd October
Time: 6.30pm until 8.30pm

This tasting is designed to show the benefits of laying down wine (as well as tasting a range of great wine of course). Ageing wine affords it the opportunity of attaining its full splendour and nuance, allowing the youthful elements to knit together and evolve to form much more complex compounds which have flavours that are simply never found in young wine.

The wines comprise five pairs, each composed of comparable high quality vintages to be able to show a young wine and a more mature wine. The wines are from three classic French regions alongside sparkling and fortified. (The ‘young & old’ aspect of the two sparkling wines lies with the use of reserve wines – to be explained at the tasting!)

• Champagne Ruinart Blancs de Blancs
• 2009 Blanc de Blancs, Gusbourne Estate, Kent

• 2010 Pommard 1er Cru Les Pézerolles, Domaine de Montille
• 2005 Pommard 1er Cru Les Pézerolles, Domaine de Montille

• 2007 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe
• 2001 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe

• 2005 Château Léoville Poyferré, St-Julien
• 1995 Château Léoville Poyferré, St-Julien

• 1997 Dow's Port
• 1985 Dow's Port


The tasting is designed to be informative and relaxed. The wines will be introduced by Adrian Heaven (Senior Wine Advisor at Lay & Wheeler) after which the evening will take the format of a ‘walk-around’ tasting. The aim is enjoyment and discussion.