If it wasn’t enough of a moment finding a stash of almost 120-year-old champagne buried underground, a bunch of wine connoisseurs gave it official tasting notes.

I’ve always been a fan of tasting notes and, whilst some are a bit over the top at times, you have to give them credit for creativity and, very often, you’ll find yourselves agreeing with the comparisons.

Our favourite local fizz, the L’Ormarins Brut Classique (R130 a bottle from the Anthonij Rupert Wine Estate) is described as follows:

“Elegant, fresh and lively – this wine is rich in minerality with hints of brioche, citrus and appley notes. Good vibrancy on the nose with perfumey notes balancing the ripe fruitiness and fresh lime character. The palate displays a crisp natural acidity, however rounded with a creamy texture and a long pleasant finish. An exquisite Methode Cap Classique!”

What I do enjoy about their website is they will actually distil the notes, and present the highlights as images. They had me at limestone…

So what highlights would a 120-year-old champagne present? Well firstly, let’s recap on the fascinating story, courtesy of The Drinks Business (referred to as ‘db’ below):

Pol Roger lost as many as 1.5m bottles of Champagne – representing around half its stock at the time – after a period of heavy rain caused its underground cellars to cave in during the night on 23 February 1900, burying the fizz in wet chalk and clay.

Then, almost 120 years later, on 15 January 2018, while Pol Roger was beginning the process of building a new packaging facility above the site of the collapsed cellars, the producer discovered a void, filled with broken glass. Over the course of several days of careful digging, Pol Roger found 23 intact bottles. Some of which were still full.

Fifth generation of the Pol Roger family, Hubert de Billy, expressed his mixed feelings about the find. “We are very proud, but it was a dream, a story that the family like to tell, and now it is a fact,” he told db.

On Thursday 10 October db was present as the Champagne house of Pol Roger pulled the first corks from its extraordinary discovery – that took 20 minutes alone.

As one would expect, the wine was a deep amber colour, like aged Cognac.

Both wines were in remarkable condition considering they most likely hailed from the late 1890s, and had been on their original corks for around 120 years.”

And the tasting notes, you ask?

Bottle One

Appearance: A glowing amber colour, with a fine cloud of sediment.

Nose: Initially shows caramelised notes like very old Madeira, along with some oxidative bruised apple characters, as one would expect from aged Champagne.

Palate: Layered, aged and complex, and, if I had this blind, I would think it was very old dry Amontillado sherry or Sercial Madeira, with aromas of old fireplaces, antique furniture, burnt caramel, and then a fresh, cleansing finish and some warmth.

As the wine evolves in the glass, following a second tasting, it reveals more alcohol warmth, and some salty notes, along with bread, and touch of apple, hay, and a grippy dryness on the finish, like a combination of aged Amontillado and brandy.

Bottle Two

Appearance: Similar to the first bottle, this wine too has a deep, bright amber colour, along with a fine suspended sediment.

Nose: This is lively and expressive, with some caramelised notes, a baked / toffee apple character, tea leaves, dried grass and hay, and seems in slightly better condition that the first bottle, without the bruised apple note.

Palate: Again, this is lively, fresh, and seems just a dry as the first bottle. But it is easier to drink, with a chalky bright character, along with some burnt sugar and furniture wax, then hay on the finish, along with a touch of citrus. Persistent, with more palate weight than wine one, it seems to have a bit more fruit.

I’m a sucker for antique furniture and old fireplaces, so I’m in for a case of Bottle One!

What a lovely story.

A reminder to stock up on bubbles for the holidays – L’Ormarins being our natural go-to!

[source:thedrinksbusiness]