We attended this tasting in Los Angeles last weekend. All the wines were Australian including eight or nine pre-tasters and a couple dessert wines. I didn't take notes as I was busy in the kitchen, but I recall a 2008 Eden Valley Riesling that was the best of the bunch, a 2004 Dominique Portet Sauvignon Blanc from Yarra Valley that confused with too much residual sugar (this many years out?) and a 2007 Rolf Binder 'Highness' Riesling that was chubby and low acid. Also, among the desserts, a 1997 Brown Brothers LH Riesling was full of pleasing caramel and tangerine notes.
The wines were brought bagged and divided at random into three flites of five each. Fifteen tasters were present.
Flite One, with a marinated mushroom and arugula salad served on a bressaola carpaccio
1) Plum, black currant, vinegar, bluish, jammy, hot. Just awful. Prompted the involuntary thought “This is going to be a long night”--a thought immediately erased by the next four wines. Group last, my last. 2008 Mollydooker Maitre D.
2) Tobacco, black, saturated, sweet blackberry fruit, not very cabbish, contains syrah? My 3rd, group 4th. 2004 Penfolds Bin 389.
3) Shows age nicely, leather, grippy tannins, mint, Chloraseptic. Interesting. 2002 Pretty Sally, Victoria. My 2nd.
4) Young, good cab flavors, tobacco, blackberry, green tannins, sawdust. Group 1st, my 3rd. 2005 Balgownie, Bendigo.
5) Similar to #4 at first, develops more depth, very balanced. Intriguing nose with something haunting on the palate. For me, the most complex wine of the flite. Age +/- 5 years. My 1st, group 2nd. Well wasn’t I wrong about the age: 1997 Penfolds Bin 389. In retrospect, one of the best if not THE best wine of the night.
Flite Two, with chicken breast roulades on a red bell pepper curry cream sauce
1) Heavy, coffee, aged?, dark chocolate, good acidity and tannins. Napa-ish. 2008 Penley Estates ‘Phoenix’, Coonawarra.
2) Sweeter, simpler, hiding?, could have some age. Hard to tell as it lacks character but for powdery tannins. 08 Razors Edge, McLaren Vale.
3) Dilute, average, bit oaky, cherry, very new worldy. 2001 Zema, Coonawarra. (Funny because I brought this wine, having bought it in Australia a decade ago for its old world, very traditional style. Not sure which--me or the wine--didn't know what we were doing!)
4) Spicy, develops VA. Weird at best. Group 3rd, my last. 2009 Dancing Bull, California. Astonishing that someone would bring this. Ringers, if brought, should make a point or be worthy of our attention. $10 supermarket plonk is not.
5) Dilly, shows its American Oak but in a nice way. Dusty tannins, old leather, iron, aged color. My #1, 1996 Highbank, Coonawarra.
Flite Three, with a Provencal beef stew finished with fresh garlic and savory
1) Big, rich, aged, espresso, black fruit, and everything in its rightful place, long future ahead. My #1, Group #1: 2006 Yalumba The Cigar, Coonawarra.
2) Cocoa, softer with something milky and malolactic. My #3, group #2, and a wine I brought: 1999 Vasse Felix, Margaret River.
3) Balanced, bright, seems aged, with black cherry, cedar and celery root. Terrific, and my #2. 1992 Wynn’s John Riddoch, Coonawarra.
4) Big, young, sweet, parsley, black currant, quality, angular. A shock upon reveal: it’s the same as wine #1, the 2006 Yalumba The Cigar. But even once we knew this, the wines tasted side by side bore no resemblance to each other. Where the other was elegant, this was a ruffian. This was my 4th in the flight, last place but for a wine I didn’t care for at all (below).
5) Big, young, sweet, very correct if too modern and polished for my tastes, develops jam and a note of VA. 2006 Tait Basket Pressed, Barossa Valley. Oh, and 16.2% alcohol. Yikes.
Since we were staying with the hosts, I retasted all the wines left the following day which had been left open overnight. As often happens, the crowd favorites got drained. Here are my notes:
Mollydooker: bubble gum, pure yuk
Dancing Bull: solid VA, hideous
John Riddoch: if anything, even better than the night before. Very solid
Hightower: faded
Razors Edge: more focussed, more interesting
Tait: hot, harsh
Pretty Sally: dead
Zema: tired
Yalumba #1: tired
Yalumba #4: more expressive midpalate than the night before, but oppressive tannins
Penley: much more open, rich and vibrant
Balgownie: sophomore slump, all tannins
2004 Bin 389: good, more focussed