WTNs: Musar, Leoville-Poyferre, Tignanello, 707 and others

From a recent dinner;

1992 Leasingham Classic Clare Sparkling Shiraz
Cherry, raspberry and some leather and earthy elements to the nose. There is a delicious sweetness to the palate that is well countered by savoury nuances. Very enjoyable.
90/100

2000 Besserat de Bellefon Grande Tradition Champagne
Cheesy and toasty nose. Rounded mouthfeel. Lacks depth and finishes short.
83/100

2002 Petaluma Hanlin Hill Riesling
Lemon, orange peel and some toast aromas starting to develop. The palate is long and full, with incredible intensity. This wine holds so much future potential.
93/100

1978 Chateau La Tour Haut-Brion
Tobacco, bramble, ash and smoke on the nose. The tannins are fully resolved, leading to a medium bodied palate with soft fruits and good aged character. Very pleasant to drink wine at its peak.
89/100

1996 Chateau Léoville-Poyferré
Youthful nose of blackberry, spice, cassis and cedar. Intensely tannic on the palate, but the structure is good and this is going to improve greatly once the tannins soften and it takes on additional complexity. Needs time.
90/100

1981 Chateau Musar
Cherry/kirsch, smoked meats, earth and honey. The palate shows amazing fruit sweetness that is balanced superbly by aged earthy, spicy characters. Complex and long. If this was deconstructed too much you may be able to pick out many faults, but amazingly all mixed together they have achieved harmony.
94/100

2000 Hochar Père et Fils
Horsey, with earth, raspberry and a touch of VA. The palate is sweet and soft, it is quite drinkable but looked very simple in comparison to the older Musar had before. Will probably show better given time.
87/100

1995 Antinori Tignanello
Cocoa, blackcurrants, graphite and cedary nose. Lovely medium bodied, savoury palate with excellent balance.
91/100

1991 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
A bold nose, with tobacco, cassis and blackberry. The youthfulness of the wine is evident on the palate as well, with primary fruit still dominant. The tannin structure and overall build of the wine is such that I think this has the potential for greatness.
92/100

2004 Gangloff Côte-Rôtie La Barbarine
Must be close to 10% viognier in this, but it did not bother me as it did some others at the table. Very pretty nose, with lifted fragrant floral notes, apricot and pepper. Long and rich in the mouth with some spice evident. A little bit young still tonight, but very nice anyway.
90/100

2004 Tyrrell's Shiraz Cabernet Vat 8
Earthy, with some raspberry notes as well. Bright, red fruited palate with some earthiness coming through in the background. Tannins are bold, but should settle with time.
88/100

1998 Pfeiffer Tokay Auslese
Caramel, toffee and apple aromas. Medium body and sweetness. Ready to drink now, it could do with some more complexity but I don't think it has the structure to age much more.
85/100

1998 Müller-Catoir Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Auslese
Passionfruit, spice, peach and pineapple aromas. Lovely, lingering sweetness to the palate and it just has the acid to keep it fresh and balanced. This style of wine is right up my alley.
93/100

1995 Hétszolo Tokaji Aszu 6 Puttonyos
Honey, coconut, pineapple and maple syrup. Rich, honey like palate, but with excellent complexity and acidity. Fantastic length, this was a great wine to finish the evening with.
93/100

The '81 Musar is lovely. The Hochar P&F is a troublesome wine for me, with only the '01 an example I would like to own of the ones I've tried. I don't remember having the '00 ever, though. Sounds pretty decent for the wine, certainly!

Is the Penfold's 707 named after the Boeing airplane?

-O

thanks for notes.
the '91 389 rocked couple years ago, not surprised the 707 is doing well.
'98 is maybe my fave year for Muller-Catoir.Thanks for '96 Poyferre update.

The '81 Musar is lovely. The Hochar P&F is a troublesome wine for me, with only the '01 an example I would like to own of the ones I've tried. I don't remember having the '00 ever, though. Sounds pretty decent for the wine, certainly!

Is the Penfold's 707 named after the Boeing airplane?

-O

Otto
Yes it is

wrt Hochar P&F, I liked the 1999 (a useful advance guide to the main wine?)

regards

Ian

Is the Penfold's 707 named after the Boeing airplane?
-O

The story goes that in the 60s Penfolds had a marketing manager whose previous employer was Qantas. Even back then, Penfolds was calling wines after Bin numbers - Schubert christened the Bin 28, Bin 128 and Bin 389 wines around 1960 using the location in the cellar where those wines first lay.
Bin 707 was introduced in 1964 - there evidently was no bin of that number in the winery - it was a purely marketing-driven decision by the ex-airline man. (And, interestingly, for a short time in the 70s Penfolds also sold a Bin 747 red blend as well.) When the Bin 407 cabernet was first released (the 1990 vintage), it got a 'related' bin number playing on the association with the flagship, but otherwise unassociated with any winery location.
cheers,
Graeme

Thanks Graeme, interesting story. I like airplanes and I just remember on some flight forum reading of a wine dedicated to Boeing 707 and the numbers just clicked now! I hadn't heard of a 747 cuvée before.

Ian, I don't remember tasting the '99 HPF, nor the '01 Musar, so I can't really say if it is a good guide to the quality of the first wine. But if it is, then I really look forward to the '01 Musar!

-O

The `99 Musar is in town, I believe one case? I asked them to put aside 2 bottles for me and the Grill picked up the other ten on a heads up from me. Nice work eh.

The `99 Musar is in town, I believe one case? I asked them to put aside 2 bottles for me and the Grill picked up the other ten on a heads up from me. Nice work eh.

I just opened a bottle tonight. YUMMMMMM!!!! We had this last spring in NYC and it was much tighter then, but this bottle I am having tonight is "au point".