Dinner featuring Yalumba wines at Paparazzi restaurant at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel.
Angas Brut Premium Cuvee NV - Simple but refreshing. A thirst quencher and adequate welcome drink. OK.
Mawson's Wrattonbully Sauvignon Blanc 2005 - Very restrained flavor. Herbal and boiled sweets scents. Short finish. OK for sipping but not a good match with the green mango and prawn salad or the carrot soup with which it was paired.
Yalumba Eden Valley "Wild Ferment" Chardonnay 2004 - Prominent charred oak and a bit of butter on the nose. The burnt wood carries into the flavor. Full bodied wine that initially seemed slightly flabby but finishes with a good dose of balancing acidity. Over the top for sipping but a good match with the roasted orange roughy fillet with a basil-caper butter sauce.
Yalumba The Menzies Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 - Fruit and coffee nose. Softer than I expected. Chocolate flavors mostly at first. Cherry and cassis fruit after some time in the glass. Long finish. The oak is well integrated. Seamless, complex and perfectly balanced. Excellent stuff and best wine of the dinner.
Yalumba Octavius Shiraz 2000 - Sweet nose with some mint. Spicy. Thick. A little too sweet. Typical Oz. Cloying finish. Strong and heavy wine. Unbalanced. Not good. Totally outcalssed by the Menzies.