A quiet Sunday lunch

[Waiters Friend]

G’day

After a Sunday lunch vertical tasting a couple of months ago, a few of us decided this was a good idea, and should be repeated. The theme was “Bangers”, which just meant pulling out some special bottles. So we did.

We met at Lulu’s Little Bistro Lulu's Little Bistro | byo restaurant perth | 328 Bulwer Street, Perth WA, Australia, which has become a mecca for wine lovers in Perth. It never hurts to send a glass or two back to Mark in the kitchen, however, and Mark joined us out front as well for this event.

We looked at thirteen wines in total:

Veuve Cliquot La Grande Dame 2004 (Champagne, France). Deep yellow colour, with a modest mousse visible in the glass, and more noticeable on tasting. Preserved lemon and yeast autolysis on the nose, with lemon pith and strawberry on the nose. There’s some toast, and lively acid. It’s not overly powerful, but supremely balanced, with excellent length and a satisfying finish. A great start to the day.

E.Guigal Condrieu 2016 (Northern Rhone, France, 13.5% alcohol). Deep yellow in colour. The nose shows apricot compote and jasmine / white florals. There’s more concentrated apricot on the palate, which is quite rich and has a waxy texture. The acid balances the texture very well, and the wine has good length.

Domaine Confuron-Cotetidot Echezeaux Grand Cru 2015 (Burgundy, France, 13.5% alcohol): Ruby colour. 100% inclusion of stems in the ferment. Initially forest floor dominated the nose, which opened up to reveal maraschino cherries, strawberry, white pepper and balsamic vinegar. The palate shows stalky tannins, and was initially earthy and savoury. Again, the fruits emerged with time in the glass, along with some cola. This is a muscular wine which is more about the structure than about elegance.

Daniel Rion ‘Les Beaux Montes’ Vosne Romanee 1er Cru 2014 (Burgundy, France): From a higher altitude 1er Cru vineyard. Bright garnet colour. Modest forest floor on the nose. When the fruits emerged, there was bright strawberry, cherries, raspberry, sous bois and star anise. A slightly stalky but ultimately fruit driven palate with fine green tannins, some savouriness, and a medium length.

Pira Vigna Rionda Barolo 2013 (Piemonte, Italy): Crimson bordering on tawny. Typical tar and roses on the nose, with black cherry, shoe polish and balsamic. There’s perfumed red fruits on the warm palate (cherry, cranberry – one taster stated “red fruited brightness”), along with high ripe tannins, good acid and furniture polish. It’s balanced with considerable length.

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Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 (Margaret River Western Australia): Ruby/purple in colour. Chocolate, blackberry, cassis, bramble and graphite on the nose, with some secondary character as well as very slight V.A. There’s more chocolate and blackcurrant on the rich, silky palate. Great acid and excellent structure with moderately grippy tannins. Stunning wine, very long finish.

Gralyn Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2012: (Margaret River Western Australia): Ruby/purple in colour. A smoky nose, with tobacco, prune, graphite and a little capsicum on the nose. The palate is more secondary fruit flavours, with one taster noting “plummy toffee”. Medium to long finish. Not sure this will improve greatly.

Cullen Diana Madelaine 2004 (Margaret River Western Australia): Ruby/purple in colour, belying its age. Secondary dark fruits on the nose, with fresh herbs, cedar and slight earthiness. A complex palate and velvety mouthfeel, with chocolate, dark and red fruits, and plums. Integrated tannins and acid plays a supporting role. Very long finish. It was just starting to fade after 30-40 minutes in the glass.

J.P.B Shiraz 2019 (McLaren Vale, South Australia): Deep purple in colour. Stewed plummy fruits and vanilla on the nose. There’s more intense plummy fruit on the palate, with vanilla, cedar, dried herbs and alcohol heat. Long finish. Opened too young.

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Reschke ‘Bos’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 (Coonawarra, South Australia): Purple / tawny colour. Typical Coonawarra mint, blackcurrant and cassis on the nose. The palate is even more minty, with juicy blackberries integrating tannins and reasonable length. In balance.

Paul Pillot Bourgogne 2021 (Burgundy, France): For some reason we reverted to a white Burgundy. Pale yellow in colour. Lovely nose with struck match initially, then stone fruits and citrus leaping out of the glass, with some cedar and a touch of toffee. There’s clean yellow peaches on the fresh fruit palate, cleansing acid and a reasonably long finish.

The final two wines were dessert wines, both from the 2010 vintage, although very different.

Zilliken Rausch Auslese Reisling 2010 (Mosel, Germany). Deep gold in colour. An intense nose, with some rosewater, glace pineapple and tropical fruits. There’s bracing acidity on the palate, with tinned pineapple and lime cordial. A powerful wine, with cleansing acid.

Chateau Suduiraut 2010 (Sauternes, France): Similar colour to the Zilliken. Crème brulee, pineapple, toffee and dried apricot on the nose. Caramel, burnt toffee, apricots, candied fruit, and marmalade on the unctuous palate, with the intense flavours offset by cleansing acid.

As happens on these occasions, there was much discussion (and poorly applied science) around the wine of the day. For me, there were too many good and varied wines, and the exercise was redundant.

Heartfelt thanks to Mark and Jodie at Lulu’s Little Bistro for hosting us again. Here’s to many more quiet Sunday lunches like this.

Cheers
Allan

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[felixp21]

thanks Allan, great read.
04 is a fabulous vintage in champagne, so underrated.
2011 an equally impressive vintage in WA, particularly MR, and because 2011 was poor on the East coast, it is a year ignored by the majority of wine lovers in Australia. the 2011 Moss Wood is a fantastic wine, glad it showed well for you.