TN: BollyVVF, Raveneau, Ducru, Mouton, Vogüé, Rousseau, more

[Baby Chickpea]

Dinner at Sojourn in East Balmain, Sydney, on 5 April 2007, and which now accepts BYO Tues-Thurs. Excellent degustation menu. Highly recommended.

1996 Comte Audoin de Dampierre Family Reserve Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Champagne
Not a lot to add from my previous note of this wine, albeit not showing as well as 1st bottle did about 12 months ago, which had better structure and more complexity. Fine bead and mousse. Mid yellow. Mild toastiness and lemon sherbet. Lovely palate also – so soft, creamy. Elegant, focussed and with exceptional balance. A superb wine now. Not showing a lot of complexity now, and not an ageing style, but this is delectable drinking and exceptionally enjoyable. Softness of the acidity was startling for a 1996.
91/100

1989 Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Françaises Blanc de Noir Champagne
Very little mousse. Developed mid gold colour. Oxidative nose, with yeast autolysis characters, herbs, forest undergrowth, orange peel, wild berries. Palate is much more refined than expected with excellent length, persistence of flavour and power yet grace. A touch too developed with close to cognac flavours on the palate. Not very complex on palate and whilst the finish is clearly superior, it is not staggering or breathtaking like, say, Krug Clos du Mesnil. A very idiosyncratic champagne, more akin to complex white burgundy than champagne! Not the expected “wow” I was anticipating. Nonetheless outstanding. Won’t get better. Would’ve preferred this a touch colder too (I felt it was too warm).
93/100

2002 Domaine François Raveneau Chablis Butteaux 1er Cru
Overt medicinal and iodine nuances on bouquet. Palate is an improvement with tangy acidity, very good length and well balanced that alludes to a peculiarly soft texture. Went well with oyster dish. Touch of AV heat. Drinking well now.
88/100

1995 Remoissenet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Romanee
Very rich sweaty armpits mixed with sweet tropicals! Mid palate slightly dilute before finishing a tad rubbery (not obvious) and with cleansing acid. Not a lot of refreshing fruit on palate and finishes bone dry. Not for keeping.
86/100

1986 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne
Exceptional mid straw colour! Rich, intoxicating nose of hazelnuts and cashews, figs and vanilla fromage. Superbly judged acidity completes the very, very long length. Still primary after 21 years with hints of pineapples and vanilla oak that augments and magnifies the architecture of the wine. Outstanding balance. Gorgeous, subtle, resplendent wine.
93/100

1998 Domaine Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St. Jacques
Pine-o-clean and eucalyptus initially intermingled with wild red strawberries and a touch of mousey-ness. Lovely balance and texture, with fine mouth fill redolent of cranberries married with beautifully delineated fruit purity. Perhaps a touch short.
90/100

1996 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Bonnes Mares
Candied aromas galore! Full and round, filled with sweet raspberries. Much more expressive than the tighter Rousseau. Again, a touch of mouse fur. Excellent acid integration. Softness is surprising, as is its broadness. Tightened up after 15 minutes in glass (decanted for 2 hours). Very good.
88/100

1982 Château Ducru Beaucaillou
Amazing mid purple colour with no browns! Brilliant clarity for a 25 year-old wine. Rich, ripe blackcurrants, cassis, cedar, pencil shavings. Impeccable balance. Long length. Such beautiful, regal, elegant wine that hits all the right notes. My type of wine – not an aggressive powerhouse, not a hair out of place, just incredible purity of primary black fruits, supremely fine tannins and astonishing focus and poise that is at once silky and glorious to drink. An awesome wine that will live for years but at its magnificent peak. A judicious marriage of Pauillac and Margaux. Great wine. My WOTN.
95/100

1988 Château Mouton Rothschild
Even darker purple than the 82 Ducru! A lot more brooding blackfruits here, with massive wads of overt oak that was a little too much for me. The palate is tighter with frightening (but excellent) tannins. My 1st impression was this was excellent, but then tasting the Ducru highlighted the roasted coffee characters, the furry and harder tannins provide an austerity that is hard to swallow, the brawny and muscular structure, and fruit struggling to bear the weight of all the other components. Hasn’t budged much since I last had this about 5 years ago. My only concern is will the fruit hold up in the long term?
89/100

1995 Marchese Lodovico Antinori Tenuta dell’Ornellaia
Lush nose with exotic plums, and meaty, savoury touches. Palate however is slight let down with relatively short finish – you expect the tannins to come surging in on the back palate but they never arrive! A smooth, silky texture and good balance. Excellent wine.
90/100

1994 Domaine Zind Humbrecht Tokay Pinot Gris Rotenberg Vendange Tardive
Advanced bronze colour. Mandarin crème-brulée and honey raisins. Touch oxidative finish. Excellent length. Residual AV heat. I don’t think this was the best bottle as the oily palate didn’t mirror the gorgeous bouquet. This bottle was linear and slightly one dimensional on the palate, albeit with outstanding concentration and intensity.
91/100

[Hunter Man]

Yawn, how bland

[Shadrach]

You really are moving in the rarified air Baby Chickpea. I'm envious. I used to be the agent for Ducru Beaucaillou back in the early eighties and I'm afraid the 1979 would have been the last vintage I tasted at about 15 years old. Great wine and the only problem was it was way too young! How many people attend these amazing dinners of yours and whose cellars are the wines appearing from?