Grand Cru Wine Store and Cellar – Old and Rare wine tasting

[Waiters Friend]

Grand Cru Wine Store and Cellar – Old and Rare wine tasting

G’day

I was delighted to attend Grand Cru’s Old and Rare wine tasting – Grand Cru (no relation to my wine tasting group) hosts a couple of these per year. Vince Salpietro (Managing Director) hosted this event and threw in a couple of surprises (and an Options game) in addition to the advertised tasting list.

The wines were all red, and almost entirely Australian. The vintages ranged from 1987 to 2006, with a heavy emphasis on last century. All wines were opened 3-4 hours before service, and handled with care.

We started with three wines from 1987 and from Margaret River:

Cullen Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 1987: This wine became the Diana Madelaine from 2001 (I think). Garnet with bricking at the rim. The nose was (not surprisingly) quite tertiary, with leather, tobacco, cocoa powder, and the remains of stewed blackberries. The palate displays Chesterfield leather, with a touch of leather polish, and the remnants of dark fruits. The wine has acid dominating the palate, and is a little angular and dried out. Medium to long length, and in my opinion, declining. Others may not have shared my opinion.

Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 1987: Slightly darker in colour than the Cullen. There’s some eucalypt on the nose, along with blackberry and mulberry (not quite developed as the Cullen). The palate has more of the developed fruits, some leather polish, more eucalypt and integrated tannins. Good length. Unlikely to improve, but preferred to the Cullen of the same year.

Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve 1987: Similar colour but brighter in the glass than the ‘standard’ Moss Wood. There’s also brighter fruits on the nose and palate, although these are obviously well developed. There’s slippery glycerols on the palate, with silky fully integrated tannins, and overall the wine just feels fresher (a strange statement for a 38 year old wine!) and youthful by comparison with the previous two wines. Long finish.

GC2.jpg

We then moved onto two Coonawarra cabernets:

Wynn John Riddoch 1991: Garnet with a darker core. Some (typical Coonawarra) mint on the nose, although I imagine there would have been more of it as a young wine. Stewed blackcurrant and some cedary oak behind it. The palate was quite juicy (good acid) and supported the blackberries and other darker berries. There’s also a herbal element (especially rosemary). Tannins are well integrated and the wine finishes quite long.

Wynn John Riddoch 2006: This was one of the few wines under screwcap. Crimson colour, garnet at the rim. A youthful nose, with rich chocolate and primary blackberry fruit. The alate has drying tannins and prominent acid balanced by more primary dark fruits and some secondary savoury characters, Long finish. Needs time.

Next we tasted the only two straight shiraz wines of the tasting:

Rockford SVS Pressings 2001: Frech oak, 14.3% alcohol). I’d not tried an SVS before. BIG! A rich nose of red and dark plums, raisins and dark chocolate (the chocolate built in the glass with another hour or so). The palate was surprising with its softness, with integrated tannins, supporting acid and a silky texture. Don’t get me wrong, there was a powerful wine lurking behind the relatively gentle palate.

Penfolds Grange 1992: (American oak, 13.5%). Purple colour. Slightly oak dominant, with vanilla, cloves and stewed dark plums. I wrestled with the palate initially, as the acid was a little prickly and tannins were spiky, but both of these characters softened over time. Otherwise the palate is (not surprisingly) big and rich, with lots of chocolate and juicy dark plums, but without the Christmas cake flavours I was anticipating. Excellent length.

Then we moved back to cabernet sauvignon or cabernet dominant blends:

Penfolds Bin 707 1990 (Coonawarra, Barossa, McLaren Vale): A legendary vintage of a famous wine. The traditional American oak and 13.5% alcohol. Purple black in colour with purple at the rim. Lashings of milk chocolate, coconut (one tasted described a popular brand of sun lotion popular at the time) and lots of ripe blackcurrant (although not primary fruit) on the nose. The palate shows more rich dark fruits (the word ‘fruit bomb’ were heard), juicy acid, grippy tannins, and a long finish. A big and satisfying wine, but was greatly overshadowed by …..

Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1990 (12.5% alcohol): My first taste of this wine, and it knocked me over with its bewildering complexity. Purple colour. Savoury nose, with plenty of earthiness, fully developed red and dark berries, wood smoke, and so much more peeking from underneath. I could have spent hours on the nose (and would have more complete descriptors as a result!). The palate is also complex, with a total balance between acid, fruits and integrated tannins. Brambles, cedar and a velvet texture. Incredibly long finish and I kept being drawn back to this wine.

Penfolds Bin 707 1990 (Coonawarra, Barossa, McLaren Vale): Purple black in the glass. Mint, chocolate, primary blackcurrant fruit (in a 24 year old wine!) on the nose. The palate is juicy, with dusty tannins mostly integrated, a slippery mouthfeel, and a mix primary and secondary dark fruits. A medium to long finish (these things may be relative in comparison). Restrained and showed less palate weight in comparison with the epic 1990 and may have suffered in comparison to the previous wine.

GC1.jpg

Penfolds Block 42 2004. From the famous Kalimna vineyard. Purple black in colour. Still showing lots of primary fruit on the nose, with cedary oak and some herbs (especially rosemary) The palate is quite intense, with noticeable acid, silky tannins, dark and red fruits and some chocolate (although less than the 1990 Bin 707). Very long finish and my impression was some regret that it had been opened too soon (in my opinion). This will go for decades.

Vince then (very generously) opened a bottle that out-shone the Bin 42 -the Penfolds 2004 Bin 60a. This is a Coonawarra Cabernet / Barossa Shiraz blend and the blend immediately added complexity. Tasters that had been praising the Block 42 were immediately enthused by this wine. Deep purple in colour. Savoury, cedary oak on the nose, with primary dark plums, blackberry, blueberry, and tobacco on the nose. Rich ripe primary dark fruits (plum, dark berries) on the palate, with grippy tannins, and a velvety mouthfeel. Excellent length and totally in balance. More drinkable than the Block 42 now, but should have similar longevity. Fabulous wine.

GC3.jpg

Finally, the Options game. I did not acquit myself well ☹

Garnet colour, and quite light. A pungent nose, with leather, charcuterie, herbs, dark plums and a ferrous character. Considerable sweetness on the palate (14% alcohol) rosemary, lots of red and dark plums, excellent supportive acid, integrated tannins and a long finish. This was revealed as the Henschke Hill of Grace 1998.

A vote was taken which led to the Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1990 being awarded wine of the night. In fairness, this was so different from the Australian wines that it stood out on it own and could not go unnoticed. Regardless, I voted for it too.

This tasting came with a fee, but, for the quality, rarity and value of the wines we tasted, I can only scream “value for money”. My profound thanks to Vince and his team for a memorable tasting, and especially to Vince for his generosity.

Cheers
Allan

[Mike Hawkins]

Nice line up…. And interesting outcome.

Admittedly more than ten years ago, I had the 1990 Lafite alongside its FG peers and was a little underwhelmed. The Latour was the rockstar at the time. Glad yours was really good.

[SipAndANibble]

How much did it cost to go the tasting? A lot of epic wines there !