Scenario: Youngest daughter gains entry to elite jazz school; one of two vocalists to gain entry from 130 applicants with only 30 places offered. Youngest daughter turns eighteen year of age - legit to buy alcohol - party time at the Lole residence etc!
So with a wine tasting group dinner and a good mate's 60th birthday celebrations amidst all this hullabaloo, these are the wine's I opened/drank for/with a bevy of friends, family and guests since last Wednesday evening.
Veuve Clicquot N/V
Veuve Cliquot 2002 Vintage Brut
Tyrell's Vat 1 Semillon 2002
Petaluma Cabernet Merlot 1999
Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 2006
d'Arenberg Noble Riesling 2004
These wines were served at the Capital Taster's Wine Dinner #6 held at Courgette Restaurant last week.
The Veuve Clicquot N/V offered up a very classy nose of toasted cracked wheat and brioche followed by a sound palate resplendent with refreshing acidity and a reasonable carry. A very good aperitif style. The more expensive 2002 vintage from the same stable got off to a very wobbly start, reeking of aldehyde and not pleasant to smell at all. Thankfully, the "nasties" disappeared relatively quickly and we were left with a virile, tight appley champagne with some serious clout but in need of some considerable time in a cool, dark place before being broached again. Drink from 2012 to 2022.
The Tyrrell's Vat 1 from 2002 is a cracker, just a tad too young but has all the hallmarks of being a classic long-lived Hunter semillon. Harbouring a youthful light green hue, the nose reveals a mixture of sunlight soap, green grass, herbs amidst a strong citrussy core. The acid balance is nigh on perfect and the wine possesses a wonderful decorum and terrific length. Outstanding.
The two reds were excellent to blooming outstanding - the 1999 Petaluma Cabernet showing decidedly Bordeaux-like smells and flavours of cedar, tobacco, leather, damp earth over deep-set blackcurrant. I noticed a gradual slight deterioration in this wine as it sat in the glass. The 2006 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz is the best young example I've tried from this maker. Open and accessible, this magnificent red is loaded with, as Paul so accurately put it, "purple" fruit. It's lithe and forgiving for such a youngster, is not heavy or over-oaked, has such wonderfully-judged acidity and glossy, silky tannins and should drink superbly for at least a decade, quite probably, more. WOTN for me.
The sticky was certainly, at worst, very good, jam-packed with heavily botrytis-affected apricot fruit with a substantial dollop of citrus peel thrown in for good measure.
Mount Horrock's Clare Valley Riesling 2002 - 93 points - superb for its age - this wine is now in "the" zone - still youthfully vibrant and chockablock full of tight limey fruit and taut acidity. Has at least another 5 years to go to be fully mature but "is on the money" today.
Castello Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva 2006 - brilliant - 92 points. Although much too young, this wine has great potential. It has a fascinating nose of red and black cherry, oak spice, licorice, road tar, earth and leather but the palate is not yet ready (although becoming approachable) with a seriously good tannin regime and lively acidity.
Pewsey Vale Riesling 2008 - good but lacking acidity - 84 points - for a young Eden riesling this looked a little ho hum - seemingly quite straightforward, rounded and soft without much spine.
Seppelt Original Sparkling Shiraz 2005 - simple, boring - 82? points - perhaps a little sweet, I must admit, I didn't pay too much attention to this and I only had a few sips. Judgment deferred.
Penfolds Bin 389 1996 - outstanding - 93 points - an exemplary Australian red wine full of robust licorice and dark berry fruit complimented by assertive but well-meshed American oak with untold other subtle nuances that generated endless fascination for this taster. The wine displays astute density and power without being heavy or difficult to drink. Probably one of the great 389's and will live for another 20 years!
Elderton Command Shiraz 1996 - very nice - 89 points - compared to the 389 this surfaced as being solid with very good leathery fruit and excellent oak integration but won't go the distance. Downgraded since my last post.
Fritz Haag Juffer-Sonnenuhr Auslese Riesling (LGK) 1983 - a little musty and stripped of its usual better properties NR Gotta love those corks!! NOT!!
Vincent Girardin Chassagne-Monrachet 1er Cru "Le Cailleret" 2005 - lovely - 92 points - from a half bottle - this terrific wine revealed subtle but drop-dead gorgeous stone- and tropical- fruits blessed with a deft kiss of oak. Relatively forward and not for the long haul for me but a fine drop for the next few years. So pleased was I with this bottle, I opened a 750ml bottle last night for guests visiting from Victoria and, three guesses ..... it was marginally premoxed!!!!!!!
Seppelt Drumborg Riesling 2003 - almost perfect - 95 points - a brilliant wine (under screw cap) seething with an exquisite balance of fresh fruit and acid ..... incredible line and length. Cannot sing higher praises for Aussie Riesling with this label.
Kay Brothers McLaren Vale Cabernet Shiraz 1971 - very sound and most enjoyable for what it is .... 92 points .... always opens with some bottle stink but, like all previous bottles, improves markedly on the bouquet with air. Fantastic smooth and relatively fresh palate. Fully mature with untold perplexing pieces that make a beautiful whole. Will hold for another 5 years if well stored.
Ch. Coutet 1975 - sensational - 95 points - a mind-blowing bottle and far better than several of the same vintage opened over the last many years. Superb bright golden colour, brilliant aromatics of creme brulee, marzipan, super-ripe stone fruits, honey, even a suggestion of fresh oranges and mandarin ..... the descriptors keep flooding my olfactories today. The palate is typically Coutet ... elegant but with superb understated concentration and beguiling freshness. The length and finish .... exemplary. Words cannot do this wine justice. Qualitatively, this gem of a bottle is close to the '67 d'Yquem but not quite in the same league as the mind blowing '75 d'Yquem.
Domaine Francois Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru “Montee de Tonnerre” 2002 - tight and youthful - 92 points - Still tight and linear with a steely backbone. If anything this bottle was more backward than the last bottle opened.
Ch. Pichon Lalande 1983 - stunning FWII - 93 points - my impression of this wine is even higher today than on Tuesday when I opened it for family and a good friend at my Australia Day barbeque! The colour, smell and taste was textbook Bordeaux and wine just kept on keeping as it evolved in the glass. Pichon's thumbprint of femininity and elegance is etched all through this wine with haunting aromatics and sweet-fruited aged complexities on a long, silky smooth palate.
