Lakes Folly Vertical and Muse Hunter Weekend

[dave vino]

A great weekend away in the Hunter Valley for our tasting group. We’d always admired Lakes Folly Cabernets and its ability to age, and we thought wouldn’t it be great if we could do a vertical tasting of the Cabernets at the winery with the winemaker on hand… seemed like a pipe dream… until Greg said ‘Come on let’s do it!! At worst they can say no’. So after months of planning, organising, emails, phone calls etc, etc we had 4 x 3BR Villas booked at the Crowne Plaza. A selection of different vintages of the Cabernets from 1972 through to the current one and a booking with Muse Restaurant in their Private Dining Room – for 18 people. Huge thanks must go to Greg for his tireless work, even organising the nibbles for the tasting, breakfast provisions for the next day, and all the necessary bookings.

Huge thanks also to Peter and Roger of Lakes Folly for their time hosting us, setting up the fermentation room as they did, and being on hand to discuss all the wines, the whys, the hows of the various blends/treatment etc and all the vagaries of the vintages and how they affected the end result. It was really rewarding seeing them getting something out of it as well, as they don’t often get a chance to see so many vintages at once side by side (strange but true) they usually will only pull one vintage out to try and see how it is travelling. And they also kindly joined us for dinner and were really great sports the whole evening. Plus we were also able to surprise them with a 1975 Lakes Folly Maderia (one of Max Lakes Follies for sure), which was drinking really well.

Muse is a lovely space, the roaring fire sets off the room nicely. Our Somm/Waiter for the night, Boris, was tireless, always pouring, topping up, getting dishes out, explaining the dishes and any questions we had. Discussing the wines, making suggestions and even organising a special dish on the spot for our resident cheese-fearing member. Huge effort from him. The food was really good, very interesting, some great combinations, interesting textures, flavours, presentation. Not too over the top, good ingredients with a few twists (Black Garlic Ice-cream anyone?). The 70hr sous vide Wagyu was to die for. The duck moreish, and the truffled pecorino heaven - so many highlights and even the multiple amuse bouches coming out were all worthy of mention in their own right.

1972 – fully bricked, varnish, cedar, tobacco leaf, lots of acid on the palate, and with a bit of work in the mouth you could coax out some fruit. Lovely old drop.
1988 – sweet coconut on the nose, still quite vibrant, nicely integrated.
1989 – more acid and drive, bit of poo, little bit cleaner on the palate.
1993 – bigger and fuller palate, benefits from extra 12mths in oak, lots of structure and tannin still there. Really enjoyed this one.
1994 – similar vein, with a bit of funk on the nose, dark fruits.
1996 – WOTN for me, everything a great Bdx should be. Structure, balance, great length, lovely nose of plums, blackberry.
1997 – Touch disjointed compared to the 96, more structure, nice fruit still, may balance out yet given another 5 years.

After the 05 and 09 and later, I came to the conclusion that Follies really need 20 years to shine in good vintages.

2005 – This was raspberry dominant, reminded me of a Canberra style wine, lip smacking acidity. (a feature on all the later wines).
2009 – This seemed to be in a hole at the moment, I’ve had it before and don’t recall it being like this. So will put it down to bottle variation. Seemed to be neither here nor there.
2010 – Very young, and primary, black peppercorn, blackcurrant.
2011 – Fantastic wine, 2011 in the Hunter unlike most other regions was very good. This will be brilliant in 15 years.
2014 Under screw cap and cork – I was really surprised how different these were even at such a young age, even Peter was surprised. I preferred the screwcap version when I didn’t know which was which. (more aromatic lift) both are great wines.
2015 Barrel Sample – really fresh and primary, almost glowing a bright purple colour. Appreciate the chance to try it.
1975 Maderia – One for the trainspotters, drinking really well, rancio, marmalade, orange, quite fresh considering. A treat to drink.

















































HIramasa Kingfish, served raw (pickled and braised daikon, lotus root, lime, radish)


Cuttlefish and King Brown Mushroom 'Noodles' (sake and miso cream, local winter sorrels, ginger, ink wafer)


Milled Morpeth Sweetcorn (pinewood mushroom, black garlic, yolk, truffled sheeps' milk pecorino)


Redgate Farm Duck Leg and Swede Confit (smoked and cured breast, charred rapa leaf, nashi pear)


70 Hour Slow Cooked Wagyu (fenugreek and wakame, pearl barley, horseradish, eschallot, shitake)


Our Own Iced Semillon Verjuice (golden raisins)


Milk Chocolate Mousse, Black Garlic Ice Cream (warm chocolate brownie, cocoa jelly, caramelised white chocolate)

[phillisc]

Dave...brilliant!!
Did you/your group provide all of the LF wines?
Looks like a stunning place for dinner, fire included.

Would like to do this with Wynns...BTW is that a '99 JR in the background?

Cheers
Craig

[mjs]

Dave, looks like a fantastic tasting. Haven't been to LF for yonks, and I'm talking decades

Craig, maybe between you, Geoff and I we could do a Wynns BL vertical over about thirty years or more!

ps: had a '96 magnum LF with grb2001 a couple of months ago, drinking beautifully

[dave vino]

Dave...brilliant!!
Did you/your group provide all of the LF wines?
Looks like a stunning place for dinner, fire included.

Would like to do this with Wynns...BTW is that a '99 JR in the background?

Thanks, yep we supplied the wines, Lakes supplied the 2 x 2014's and the Barrel Sample.

Muse was fantastic. The fire was blazing, I was down the other end, not sure how Ingrid, Mark and Tim fared being right next to it.

Wynns would be great, we did one about 5 years ago. So would be keen to try another one, maybe with some Michael thrown in?
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=11664

Yep a magnum of 1999, very approachable which was surprising. I bought it directly from Sue Hodder as a museum release at the cellar door and carted it back via car when down there last. (she was doing some paperwork out the back and I asked a question the person at the counter couldn't answer so she got Sue)

[phillisc]

Dave the pictures look even better on a large screen, my phone made the 99 JR magnum look like a single bottle.

Finally catching up with Sue at a tasting in Adelaide next week. Its probably been 10+ years since the last one.
Yes could certainly do a JR and Michael vertical, just a matter of logistics...it might come off one day.

Cheers
Craig

[Rocky]

Thanks Dave. Really appreciated the read and I felt as I was there myself. I have never been to the Hunter but must one day.

[ticklenow1]

I wish the 2014 Cab I bought were screw cap. I didn't realise their was a choice, or did they just bottle some under screwcap for themselves/testing purposes etc?

Cheers
Ian

[NectarOfTheGods]

Wow, impressive adventure. How did you come across the 1972?

[Polymer]

I wish the 2014 Cab I bought were screw cap. I didn't realise their was a choice, or did they just bottle some under screwcap for themselves/testing purposes etc?

Cheers
Ian

They bottle some under screwcap and have them available..they apparently announced it in their newsletter but they said most people still didn't seem to know about it..

For the most part, you have to request it...

The cork one was slightly more approachable...but slightly woodier in flavor I felt...I think most people liked the cork one better but it seemed like it was mainly for it being a bit softer and probably showing a bit better overall.

I actually liked the screwcap one better...a bit fresher...but almost too clean...

I think everyone knew which was which though...it was done blind but the difference surprised most people because it isn't like it had been under bottle that long...It probably surprised the LF guys more than us..

[ufo]

I was taking a friend of mine who came from overseas around Hunter in 2006.
During tasting at Lakes Folly seeing they didn't have anything under screw cap I asked them if they would consider using screw cap and the guy attending the cellar door looked at me as if I cursed his entire family and said " our wines are much higher quality than those found under screw caps and our customers buy our wines to age them, no wine will age under screw cap".
I just shut up and chased my friend out of the cellar door.
Looks like through out the years their ideas/beliefs have changed about screw cap

[mjs]

Dave the pictures look even better on a large screen, my phone made the 99 JR magnum look like a single bottle.

Finally catching up with Sue at a tasting in Adelaide next week. Its probably been 10+ years since the last one.
Yes could certainly do a JR and Michael vertical, just a matter of logistics...it might come off one day.

Cheers
Craig

Craig,
Maybe I'll ask Sue tonight whether we could do a JR/Michael vertical in Coonawarra, sort of half way for both of us!
cheers, Malcolm

[TiggerK]

Yep, Grape Mates rocked the Hunter. Massive thanks to Greg for the huge efforts in making sure we all had a great weekend, and we sure did! The Folly tasting was a real highlight and it was great to see Roger and Peter having as much fun as we were. The wines were all super interesting - I'll put my opinions out there FWIW, for me the 72,88,89,93,94 run was so varied and contrasting.

1972 - bit tired but some nice coffee notes, old mahogany and mocha balanced with good acid.
1988 - elegant, lean, refreshing and youthful, although perhaps lacks the fruit stuffing to age much longer. Really nice wine actually.
1989 - more complexity and power, some OK brett, got lots of love by some, I liked it but found the fruit was swamped a touch.
1993 Reserve - More oak (Reserves got an extra year in barrel), obv more youthful and with good fruit weight too. I was torn between this and the 88 for flight 1, but think the 88 just pipped 93 at the post.
1994 Reserve - More Hunter funk, for me in the cowpat spectrum this time, plenty of well judged ripeness and oak, starting to integrate well. Nice, but not for all.

1996 - Step up in structure and balance here, felt really composed and confident, fantastic.
1997 - Lots of furry tannins, maybe a touch awkward but I really enjoyed those tannins!
2005 - All class and power, needs lots of time but will be great. A burst of flavour explodes on the palate.
2009 - Just a touch awkward for now, fruit and acid in conflict, but did improve markedly for me with extra time in the glass.

Concur with Dave on the 10,11 and 14 wines, they were all so young and so consistently good. They've been doing screwcaps as an option for the 13 and 14 Cab so we got to compare the 14 under both closures as well (mixed opinions and only a year in but cork likely had a bit more love due to it being slightly 'softer' likely due to higher permeability on the cork). Then a surprise barrel sample of the 15 Cabernet which put me in Rhone for a minute! Quite floral and lifted, reminded me of SV, but on the palate the Cabernet vibe was strong. Really nice wine (at this stage anyway) and a brilliant contrast to the classically styled 14. The one to drink while you wait for the 05, 11's and 14's! Lake's Folly really are a top producer.

We also started the tasting with their 2015 Chardonnay which is always a good wine (now sold out) and a new (experimental?) Chardonnay called Hill Block because the Block is .... guess where?? Yep, on the hill. It felt like the oak was less pronounced (although Peter said the same oak treatment IIRC), perhaps it was the higher acid, either way I slightly preferred this, but would be very happy drinking either, and we know they age well.

Dinner was fun, highly recommend the great food and ambience at Muse and Boris was a legend of service. And yeah that fire was fab on a chilly winter evening but I was slowly being roasted from the right, I had to move and let one of the girls sit in the end hotseat, with no complaints! I loved the chilli macaron, shitake tea, the kingfish and the 70Hr wagyu but all dishes were good. Palate fatigue hit by the time the reds arrived but nice drinking for the most part all night. We were mostly pretty tired afterwards but it was still nice sitting around in one of the Villas watching La Tour with a drink in hand (wanted to try Krusty's 20Yr Laphroaig but really wasn't up for a 56% whisky at 1am so went with some remaining Ruinart BdB Champagne).

Oh, and two lots of 9 holes on Sat and Sun was fab to wash off the golf rust and revive my love of the sport. Cheers to Mick, Matt and Kev for being such gracious and helpful companions around the course, loads of fun.

Couple of pics from me...






Cheers
Tim

[camw]

• 2015 Lake's Folly Chardonnay - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
  Flour, lemon, quite toasty on the nose. Rich fruit upfront on the palate, there is good texture but no doubt that the fruit and the oak grabs most of the attention here. 89/100
• 2015 Lake's Folly Chardonnay Hill Block - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley, Pokolbin
  Sulfur, straw, spice, oats and a nice steely mineral element. I really like the push and drive on the palate, it is more bright and mineral driven than the "regular" Chardonnay, as a result having more spark, drive and interest for me. 92/100

• 1972 Lake's Folly Cabernets - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
  Autumn leaves, meaty, smoke, some herbs and iodine. The fruit is fading on the palate but there is still a line of spice and the structure is just holding on to let this be drinkable but it is still past its best, based on this one bottle. Still well worth trying. 85/100
• 1988 Lake's Folly Cabernets - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
  Charcoal, cassis, leather and spice with a background of mixed herbs. Lovely elegant style, it has light fruit while still retaining a sense of depth. On one hand seems to have quite a classic Cabernet feel, but the restraint and lightness of the palate might have some thinking mature Pinot noir. Really quite appealing and a great outcome from a weak vintage. 92/100
• 1989 Lake's Folly Cabernets - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
  Some light earthy and spicy brett notes that add the right kind of extra complexity in this case, along with black cherry and blackberry. Intense, with the fruit concentration contributing to there overall youthful feel. Really fine tannins are ingrained well with the savoury fruit. Has great texture and layered depth. In the zone for drinking but good bottles will hold for quite a few more years. One of the best bottles of Lake's Folly that I've tried. 94/100
• 1993 Lake's Folly Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
  Tar, charcoal, cedar and chocolate on the nose. Youthful fruit, has a sweet element and on its own it seems to have a bit of power, but next to the 94 reserve it actually feels relatively light. Still good tannins holding up the structure. Will age further over the next 5-7 years. 90/100

• 1994 Lake's Folly Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
  Meaty, graphite, violet and blood form a nose with good interest. Mouth-filling fruit and tannins here, with the fruit having a extra level of depth next to the 93 reserve. Really interesting texture and a lift from good acidity across its length. This wine has been very good to great across the 3-4 bottles I've had and this was on the upper end of that scale. 92/100

• 1996 Lake's Folly Cabernets - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
  Leather and earthy spice, tobacco and cherry with extra some light green herbal notes adding an extra dimension without dominating. Really quite refined on the palate, this has beautiful balance and structure. Well on its way to hitting its peak, but with plenty on time on its side as well. Just as good as the last bottle I tried of this, if not a touch better. 93/100
• 1997 Lake's Folly Cabernets - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
  Nose is a little shy at first, some chocolate, raspberry and ash with time and extensive swirling. The palate also feels a little hard to approach, with some up and down fruit not always keeping up with the tannins. Overall it feels a little awkward and I think it might be of benefit to give it few years to see if it comes together. 88/100
• 2005 Lake's Folly Cabernets - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
  Earth, violets, chalky minerality and some background oak. Palate has an enjoyable mix of sweet red fruits, spicy oak and some punchy acidity. Obviously young but rather enjoyable and has all the components to be even more rewarding with age. This was in a much better spot than a bottle about 3 years ago, so might be starting to open back up. 91/100
• 2009 Lake's Folly Cabernets - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
  Inky colored. Toasty oak, graphite, violets and redcurrant. The palate is medium weighted with good fruit purity and good length, but it also feels like it is starting to shut down, so it is probably time to put this away for a good 4-5 years before revisiting. 90/100

• 2010 Lake's Folly Cabernets - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
  Some salami, violet, spice and musk aromas. Fruit feels quite savory and restrained on the palate with good acidity giving it a needed lift. Consistent balance across its good length. Still early days for this wine but it really should come together well if given time. 91/100
• 2011 Lake's Folly Cabernets - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
  Every time that I try this wine I wonder why I didn't buy more. Graphite, cherry, spice, raspberry and redcurrants. Bright red fruit drives the flavor profile, there is power there but also a great deal of poise and class. Lovely and very appealing, this is probably in the prime spot for drinking in its youthful stage now before it shuts down and needs time in the cellar. Cracking young Cabernet. 93/100

• 2014 Lake's Folly Cabernets - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
  Wine known but closure blind. Revealed as cork sealed after tasting. Raspberry, blueberry and cherry, lifted and pretty nose that also has a touch of earth to it. Palate is youthful and vibrant, while having some well weighted tannins giving it structure. Should be excellent with time. 93/100
• 2014 Lake's Folly Cabernets - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
  Wine known but closure blind. Revealed as screwcap sealed after tasting. A touch brighter than the already pretty cork sealed version, with an extra high toned floral and red fruit level. Tight, with clean acid and pure fruit. While in the minority, I just slightly preferred this bottle even with the cork sealed wine being a little softer. 93/100
• 2015 Lake's Folly Cabernets - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
  Blind. Tank sample. Lifted nose with florals, raspberry and a herbal streak that is in balance at this time. The lightest fruit weight of the 11/14/15 wines, it is still clean and bright with some of the herb notes in the background. Probably not a super long term Lake's Folly, but given some of the weaker old vintages we tried, it might prove me wrong! 90/100

• 1963 Lake's Folly Madeira - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
  A curio that was put in casks in 1963 to commemorate the planting of the Lake's folly vineyard and bottled in 1975 - even putting the historical aspect aside, it still has interest and it's legitimately drinkable. Brown sugar, Christmas pudding, sultana and raisin with a VA lift. Medium sweetness remains, and that VA element does lift it up nicely. A treat to try this and very pleasing that it is holding up relatively well. 88/100

• 2012 Lake's Folly 3 Estates - Australia
  Blood, oak and raspberry aromas. Some upfront juiciness on the palate, and a good amount of grip from the tannins. Quite punchy flavours, seems like good drinking. 88/100

[sjw_11]

Awesome notes and pictures guys, very jealous

[Bobthebuilder]

looks like a fantastic day/night
great notes
thanks for sharing!

[deejay81]

1996 – WOTN for me, everything a great Bdx should be. Structure, balance, great length, lovely nose of plums, blackberry.

Thanks Dave, bought 3 at auction last night because of you.

[dave vino]

1996 – WOTN for me, everything a great Bdx should be. Structure, balance, great length, lovely nose of plums, blackberry.

Thanks Dave, bought 3 at auction last night because of you.

Obviously I don't have to remind you of the rules...but just in case...

Rule 4 Subsection C - Any wines purchased on Dave's recommendation, can only be consumed in his presence at an Offline.

[Bobthebuilder]

[Krusty]

What a brilliant weekend !

The thing that stood out most for me was the consistent level of quality across the 40 odd years of vintages. I think the '89 was my favourite of the lot, had a nice bit of funk to it. The '93,'94,'96 was a great run and as others have commented the younger vintages are hinting at being very, very good wines. I loved the Madeira and felt very privileged to be drinking that piece of history in the fermentation room of the winery in which it was made and bottled. Thanks Dave, top job.
Palate fatigue (and general hungover-ness from the night before) kicked in a bit over dinner but the banter was top class, the hours in the restaurant flew by seemingly in minutes accompanied by great food, some really lovely wines and a theme of almost endless jokes and general silliness. Great fun !
The whisky seemed more like a kick starter than a death sentence, after finishing my dram Mick and I ended up opening a bottle of Jura for "one glass" around 1:30am and by 3am we discovered we had drained the bottle ! Didn't do the golf game any good the next day but was still a tonne of fun. Thank god for the preemptive berocca before bed

Much kudos to Greg for exceptional organisation and many thanks to the whole crew who made it such an entertaining trip.

[bacchaebabe]

Wow! Looks like an amazing weekend away. I need to log in more often. Could have added a few vintages to those you tasted and doubled up on some too. And the food at Muse looked like something else. Nice one guys. Might find a Lake's Folly for tonight.

[Croquet King]

Have been AWOL lately and just saw this thread - looks like a cracking evening.

During uni days I used to go up to the Hunter a few times each year and spend time talking to Stephen Lake.
We got a double magnum of 69 off him to have at a birthday celebration.
I still have a few bottles and magnums left the 90's.

[winetastic]

Lake's Folly and Muse, two of my favorite things, great write up