My eldest daughter turns 21 today and last night we shouted our immediate family and Katherine's closest friends dinner at Aubergine restaurant at Griffith shops here in Canberra to celebrate the occasion. This is a top class restaurant and owner/chef, Ben Willis and staff, once again, looked after our 15 strong party with terrific food and friendly, attentive, top-shelf service - something all too rarely found in Canberra restaurants these days. Thanks ever so much, particularly to new arrival, Briony, restaurant manager, Graham, Steve and their colleagues that looked after us on the evening. A great time was had by all in attendance.
We opened the following wines for the evening -
Hugel 1989 Alsace Riesling "Hugel" Vendange Tardive "350th Anniversary Release" - brilliant! Not as opulent or lush as the Trimbach CFE VT from the same vintage but every bit as good in its own right. Infantile colour for its age, riveting nose of ripe white peaches, kaffir leaf, limes, chalky minerals and a whiff of toast. Still fresh and most invigorating! The palate raises the bar another notch (or three) - perfectly wrought with stunning balance between slightly sweet but perfectly integrated flavours that mimic the nose and just the best acid cut imaginable. Finishes ohso long with amazing clarity and precision. Drink now - 2020. 95 points.
Jim Barry 2002 The Lodge Hill Riesling - screw cap - for a top-of-the range Riesling this disappointed somewhat. Developed straw gold colour with an oily/petrolly nose swamping anything underneath. The palate a little better with attractive limey fruit and again plenty of toast and petrol but, structurally, just a little too phenolic for my liking. Drink up, if you have any. 84 points.
Grosset 2002 Polish Hill Riesling - screw cap - I bought a dozen of these at release and have always thought highly of them, although, to date, the few I've tried have been very tight and reticent albeit, always, with enormous potential for some higher degree of greatness. The bottle opened last night did not fit this billing. Nice enough bouquet with some oiliness and attractive toasty character sitting atop pristine lime and mineral-tinged fruit but I found the palate in compartments with hole-in-the-middle syndrome and quite harsh acidity predominating in the finish. It was a notch above the 2002 Lodge Hill but in the end I had trouble getting to a score of 87 points. I need to revisit another bottle to check out if this was an errant bottle, the wine's gone into some sort of terrible transitional phase or, possibly, something worse.
Lindemans 1990 Coonawarra "Sesquicentennary" Cabernet Savignon (Magnum) - opened, seemingly, a little thin and leafy but grew in the decanters to blossom into something quite special to the half dozen of us who drank red wine on the night. (The staff were well catered for with this one!). At 12.9% A/V and matured in new French Never oak, this outstanding example of Coonawarra cabernet eventually revealed a melange of cool climate scents and flavours that consistently kept you looking (and finding) something of more interest. Neither heavy or too "lean and green", everyone who tried it agreed on its superior balance and smoothness braced with fine, lacy tannins and melting bright acids. The wine has considerable room for better things over the long term, perhaps even the next 20 years. A good long decant is necessary if drinking in the near term to allow it build its latent quality for your enjoyment. 91+ points.
Chateau Coutet 1981 - This was a recent purchase and apart from a very mature but attractive nose the palate was like hitting a brick wall. Dead from the middle palate and thereafter. All my previous bottles were quite spectacular from a very good vintage from this very fine Barsac Chateau. 72 points.