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7 Decades of Rivesaltes VDN 1933-98 (Sweet)

Monday 15 December 2014

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What a splendid tasting in time for Christmas! Join us as we taste SEVEN Decades of naturally sweet wine (Vin doux Naturel) from L'Archiviste spanning from 1933 to 1998.

Philippe Gayral, a VdN fanatic established L'Archiviste through which he sells his latest finds from the dusty corners of Roussillon cellars. According to Jancis Robinson who met up with in Philippe in March 2014 "All these strong, sweet wines are 100% true to the vintage, he assured us, and were kept so long either to celebrate births or other significant dates, or as insurance against poorer quality vintages, perhaps underripe Grenache, to come."

Because they need to be aged for many years before they mature, they fell out of favour with producers, particularly when technology allowed them to make fast-maturing table wines. Total production has fallen from around 60m litres a year in the 1950s to around 1m today of the red VDNs (Banyuls, Maury, red Rivesaltes). Today, they are truly collector's items.

Some of the wines have been aged in big foudres (oak casks), others in demi-muids. Fortification is from pure alcohol (not brandy) so, claims Philippe Gayral, the aromas are from the wine and wood but not from the spirit. Alcohol levels vary between 15% and 19% with the 19% being the original strength which then decreases with time.

Jancis states that "They certainly leave the palate very clean. The wines described below are not heavy, not sickly. They may sometimes be slightly chewy but they have the refreshment of madeira, not port."

Wines on Tasting (7):

1935 Mossé 18.5 Drink now
Pale orange. Much paler than most. But still mainly Grenache Noir with perhaps more Macabeu than others. Lots of rancio on the nose. Very pungent but still fruity. Very sweet and dried peel-like. Reminds me of something Italian/Sicilian. Very sweet – sweeter than most of these. Nuts and dried peel and with a really intense core. Salted almonds plus sugar. 17.5%
1946 Sisqueille 17 Drink 2014-2030
Near Canet-en-Roussillon. The owners owned almost a quarter of Roussillon at one time! Fox red. A bit dank on the nose. Not the most concentrated. Easy and lemon peel. Lighter than most. Salty finish. 16%
1957 La Cresse
1961 Sainte Barbe
1971 Sainte Lucie
1982 Duy 16.5 Drink 2018-2032
Dark porty red – doesn’t look very subtle. Very sweet and all Grenache Noir. Some almonds but much more of an unformed blob than the old Rivesaltes we have just been tasting. 16.5%
1998 Gardies
Scores and tasting notes are from Jancis Robinson

Event details

Date
Monday 15 December 2014
Time
19:00 to 21:00
Type
Tutored tasting
Cost
£50
Booking required
Yes
Website
Venue details
The Wine Cellars at Big Yellow Storage, 71 Townmead Road, Fulham, London SW6 2ST Fulham London