A quickly arranged get together in Sydney for a wine board friend that was up for a few days from Melbourne.
MV Krug Grande Cuvee
A pretty classic bottle of Krug MV I thought. Powerful nose with vanilla, toast, apple, lemon and nuts. Tingles the tastebuds on the palate, powerful flavour while retaining an element of elegance. Super length and a super wine.
93/100
2005 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling-Auslese #09
Great nose to this, honey, slate, earth and florality. A magic palate, incredible balance with medium sweetness and focus through brilliant acid. Impeccable length. Drinking really well now, but will probably get even better with some age.
93/100
1997 Domaine Vincent et Francois Jouard Batard-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes
Oxidised :\
NR/100
2001 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatieres
Golden in colour, maybe looking a bit advanced for its age. Nose is reclusive with some smoke, sesame, lemon and a hint of toasty oak. Palate is a letdown, okay flavour but finishes too short and without focus. Drink now.
86/100
1998 Domaine Armand Rousseau Ruchottes Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes Monopole
Gamey, red cherry and musk aromas. Light, softly textured palate, very approachable. Nice but lacking character and depth. Disappointing for the reputation of the producer and the vineyard status. Drink now.
87/100
2000 Domaine Leroy Nuits-St.-Georges Les Boudots
Nose shows aromas of earth, raspberry, a hint of game and swirling florality. The palate is seductive and supple, but with the structure to keep the wine focused. Excellent length. Drink now and over the next 5 years.
93/100
1993 Gaja Barbaresco
An awesome layered nose of coffee, earth, violet, roast meat, and anise/licorice. Palate seems to be reasonably resolved, just a little bit of tannin propping things up nicely. Nice balance overall, palate is actually quite restrained. Drink over the next 6-7 years.
92/100
1982 Chateau Langoa Barton
Classic Bordeaux nose of tobacco, blackberry, cedar as well as some pepper and spices. Palate is nicely balanced with good length. Youthful still, but showing some textural complexity on the palate. A lovely wine for drinking over the next 10 years.
91/100
1983 Château Léoville Las Cases
Youthful nose of sweet blackberry, cassis, tobacco, smoke and licorice. Palate is medium bodied and approachable, with sweet fruit at the fore. Very nice drinking but needs to find some additional complexity over the next couple of years to be excellent.
89/100
1995 Bodegas y Viñedos Alion Cosecha
Bramble, cherry, coffee, musk and plenty of cedar on the nose. Interesting texture to the savoury palate but the fruit seems to be a bit all over the place. Struggled tonight and I don't know that this bottle would have improved with time.
87/100
2004 Wendouree Shiraz Mataro
Inky black colour. Blue and black berry, vanilla, spice and chocolate. Superb, classy fruit on the palate. Great intensity of flavour without ever looking like it would be out of balance. Approachable and delicious now, but has the structure to improve over the next 10 years as well.
91/100
1995 S. A. Huet Vouvray 'Cuvée Constance'
Honey, lime, figs and apricot to the nose. Lovely medium honeyed sweetness to the palate. Very nice but needed a bit more intensity, depth and complexity to take the step to excellence.
91/100