Celebrating DLo's 50th Birthday

[Baby Chickpea]

Made the hike down to Canberra from Sydney on the weekend to celebrate DLo’s 50th! Many, many thanks to David Lole and his lovely wife Janet and daughters (and his mum and dad!) for allowing us all to invade his house at all times, roaming about like lost stray cats! Great food all round (the beer batter prawns, the blackfish fillets, the Weber roasted chicken, the bacon and eggs for brekkie were all outstanding, great company, great wines, a great time all round! Happy 50th dude! PS – Great to see the big fella visibly and emotionally moved when we presented him with the Sydney Label Drinkers Society (SLDS) Duck Decanter!

1998 Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg / C. von Schubert Riesling Spätlese (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer)
8% AV. Touch sulphur-ish but not overt. Springy and zesty nose with good pure fruits and sweetness. Lovely balance. Excellent length. Clean linear acid. Still very primary. So refreshing, so crisp, so slatey and minerally, so subtle with haunting sweetness that hints and hints and hints….
90/100

1998 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling-Auslese (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer)
7.5% AV. Fuder 6. More developed colour (light gold), nose (lanolin, liquid paraffin, tropicals – white peach, nectarines, flowers) and palate (greater concentration, more persistence, longer length, fuller and more complete texture). Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous. Fully integrated acid and at its peak. Absolutely delicious wine. Drinking this on a stunning Canberra day was perfect. Alas, the bottle disappeared quickly! I could drink this all day... and all night.
92/100

1995 Domaine François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux
Oxidised nose with hint of AV heat. Very dry. Lots of acid mingled with grapefruit flavours. No point holding longer. Good length but palate is hot and rough mid-palate with aggressive acid. Got significantly better after 20 minutes.
87/100

1997 Domaine Blain-Gagnard Bâtard-Montrachet
Mid gold. Buttery. Yet still primary. Very good texture in the mouth. Quite oaky. Later, green herbs and basil on nose with freshly squeezed lemons. Nice complexity. Excellent length. Got better and better. Excellent wine.
91/100

1993 G. Vachet-Rousseau Père et Fils Mazis-Chambertin
Mid red with some bricking. Sweet, perfumed nose with ripe strawberries, spice and forest undergrowth. Very elegant. Palate is clean with little complexity yet. Like walking into a swampy forest and finishing with drying tannins. Still youthful.
89/100

1986 Château Leoville-Barton
Decanted for 3 hours. Mid red with barest touch of bricking. Regal, chock full of rich, dense blackfruits that leap from glass, with hints of evolving cedar and pencil shavings. Still so youthful but entering its drinking window on day 2!!! Subtle sweetness of primary blackcurrants is at once arresting and surprising for a 20+ year-old wine! Yet still so tight and austere. Needs another 5-10 years. Remaining glass on Day 2 was even better, displaying a rare poise and super balance. One 1986 Bordeaux wine that has enough pure fruit to ensure it doesn’t dry out like the 1975s. Will improve markedly. Outstanding wine.
91+/100
93/100 Day 2

1995 E. Guigal La Mouline Côte-Rôtie
13% AV. Decanted for 3 hours. Spicy. Liquorice. Rich and exotic. Touch of AV heat. Massive tears stain the glass. So viscous and thicker than the Barton. Overt oak on both nose and palate (but what quality!). More power and aggression yet still integrated and intact. Drinking better than the 86 Barton.
93/100

1988 Château Rieussec
Very crumbly cork. Deep gold. Thick and unctuous. Rich honeycomb and apricots with a good dose of oxidation. Not a representative bottle and lacking in piercing acidity of previous bottles I have had. Seems to be a lot of bottle variation with this wine. I’ve now had 4 bottles from same cellar and all were different.
87/100

NV Chambers Rutherglen Rare Tokay
Burnt copper colour! Caramel, spices, crème brûlée, chocolate, truffles, toffee, intense raisins. Super elegant and yet so concentrated, even profound. WOW! What a finish! Over one minute…just goes on and on and on, never losing its power and amazing memory that stains the mouth and tongue. You feel its presence in your entire body. Reminds me of Proust’s closing sentence at the end of Chapter 1 of Du côté de chez Swann (Swann's Way): “But when from a long-distant past nothing subsists, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered, still, alone, more fragile, but with more vitality, more unsubstantial, more persistent, more faithful, the smell and taste of things remain poised a long time, like souls, ready to remind us, waiting and hoping for their moment, amid the ruins of all the rest; and bear unfaltering, in the tiny and almost impalpable drop of their essence, the vast structure of recollection.” How can you fault such wine? Perhaps only lacking freshness (bottle looked pretty old) but this is in a class of its own, even relative to other Rare Muscats and Tokays. A definite table lifter. God’s nectar.
98/100

Then the following morning, two brunch wines…

1988 Hugel Gewurztraminer Sélections de Grains Nobles
Super light gold colour. Packed with sediment! Very complex and aromatic nose of spice, nectarines, apricots, coffee beans and honey. Palate has excellent length but dovetailed by a slight dip in mid-palate and then very mildly fans out to the finish. Acidity is still there and well enclosed. No sign of 15% alcohol! Still so primary yet possesses so much secondary development. Years to go. Excellent wine.
92/100

1996 Laurent-Perrier Champagne
Very, very yeasty nose which both surprised and concerned me. Alas, the palate is fresh, powerful and still primary with excellent length and structure. Acidity is prominent but not overdone or tough or bitter. Perfect for a warm spring sunny Canberra day and a great way to say goodbye before the 3 hour drive back to Sydney!
90/100

Awesome time!

[Adair]

Damn it. I was hoping you would say that the Chambers Rutherglen Rare Tokay was as good as the Bullers but just more expensive!
Thanks for the notes.
Adair

[Wizz]

1998 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling-Auslese (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer)
7.5% AV. Fuder 6. More developed colour (light gold), nose (lanolin, liquid paraffin, tropicals – white peach, nectarines, flowers) and palate (greater concentration, more persistence, longer length, fuller and more complete texture). Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous. Fully integrated acid and at its peak. Absolutely delicious wine. Drinking this on a stunning Canberra day was perfect. Alas, the bottle disappeared quickly! I could drink this all day... and all night.
92/100

I have one of these left. Awesome wine. By the sounds, the one I had last yr was less evolved than this, primary limey slatey stuff, tasted like a 1 yr old.

As for drinking it all day and night... I tihnk the acid would rot your stomach lining first!

[Attila]

1986 Château Leoville-Barton
Decanted for 3 hours. Mid red with barest touch of bricking. Regal, chock full of rich, dense blackfruits that leap from glass, with hints of evolving cedar and pencil shavings. Still so youthful but entering its drinking window on day 2!!! Subtle sweetness of primary blackcurrants is at once arresting and surprising for a 20+ year-old wine! Yet still so tight and austere. Needs another 5-10 years. Remaining glass on Day 2 was even better, displaying a rare poise and super balance. One 1986 Bordeaux wine that has enough pure fruit to ensure it doesn’t dry out like the 1975s. Will improve markedly. Outstanding wine.
91+/100
93/100 Day 2

Ah, the classic Bordeaux resurrection with time and airing. Happy B'Day to DLO. Being fifty is a great milestone! I'm sure most of the Burgundies were his but this Leoville probably yours?
Cheers,
Attila

[dlo]

Day 3

The Sydney guys have just left my place - fantastic night - no time for notes with the masses arriving here for an all day affair in less than 12 hours - so must be brief - notes to come when time permits.

All wines (bar one) served bind -

Maximin Grunhauser Abstberg Riesling Spatlese 1998 - 92

For a 1998 this excrutiatingly tight wine displayed very little colour development, a little sulphur on the nose at first, followed closely by lovely red currants, traces of minerals and lemon merangue. The palate is drop-dead gorgeous, albeit very steely and tightly bound by mouth-watering acidity. Quite a gorgeous wine that must gain a higher rating as it evolves over the next twenty years. Bravo!

Fritz Haag Sonnenuhr-Juffer Auslese 1998 - 90

A more open wine than the spatlese, revealing decidedly more colour and fruit more in the peach/nectarine spectrum with a vein of oiliness on both nose and palate. The palate is far more expressive, sweeter and softer than the Grunhauser, with significantly more weight, lower acidity and additional suggestions of honey and cream to the ripe stone fruits mentioned above. I consider this wine almost ready and although the lower score may put some readers "off", I thought very highly of it indeed. Remember, 90 points is on the cusp of a verbal rating of Outstanding! Monitor this beauty over the next five years as it seems to be nearing its apoge.

Raveneau Butteaux 1995 - 89

Wow! What a roller coaster ride we had with this one. Opened almost as if we had missed the boat. Danny thought the palate oxidised, I didn't like the hints of sherry on the nose. With considerable time, this remarkably good wine threw off its tired old clothes and displayed a much fresher wardrobe. Typical Chablis notes of chalk, rocks, seaspray and oyster shell intermingled with nice crunchy green fruit with just enough acidity to keep everything in check. Decent length, perhaps a tad broad. A drink now proposition, but with a caveat of giving it a decent breath (say 30 minutes) before tipping it down the sink! My initial score on this wine would have been far lower. I'm glad we gave it a chance!

Blain-Gagnard Batard-Montrachet 1997 - 93

How could a wine be so intact after some 15 hours sitting in a glass? Another wine that started off a little shaky but just blossomed, and then held the bar high, in the glass. This wine screamed brilliant new French oak treatment to me - meal, butterscotch, smoke and a haunting minerality over tight white peach and green fig fruit. Hardly surprising after the almost "oak-less" Raveneau, but I continued to find more and more in this wine as the night progressed, keeping about half an inch in the Riedel and going back to it time and time again, including during our fantastic foray with the ancient Chambers Tokay, and being more impressed with this wine's aromatics as the evening wore on. The palate showed plenty of weight without being heavy, read "ditto" of nuance to that of the bouquet and driven by bright, powerful acidity and assertive, but controlled input from the spicy oak. Long as the night, this wine pushed all the right buttons, particularly considering the "so so" 1997 vintage. Given the next morning when Cam and Danny arrived for breakfast, the wine was still "all there", it might just go another ten years, possibly more!

Vachet-Rousseau Mazis-Chambertin 1993 - 90

This Pinot Noir revealed a healthy deep colour, spot-on aromatics but left me a trifle flat on the palate. There's a suggestion of "four-square" here, and with some relatively firm unresolved tannins and grating acidity, either this wine needs more time or will never reach the heights the bouquet delivers. This might sound too negative for a 90 pointer - there is plenty to like about this full throttle masculine Burg.

Ch. Leoville-Barton 1986 - 91+

How can a 21 year old red look so young? The colour, the brooding bouquet full of cedar and graphite, the palate with robust puckering tannin, tarry black fruit, heaps of acid and a whopping long firm finish? This wine needs years of rest to enter its drinking window and will last for several decades thereafter on this showing. A great effort from Leoville-Barton and I'm confident this will get a whole lot better. Thanks be to the infant legume for letting us share it together.

Guigal La Mouline 1995 - 92+

I was positive this was another Bordeaux of a similar ilk. Top flight maker, plenty of time on its side, although a little less savage in its still youthful tannin structure. Lots of new oak, cedar, tar, herbs and brooding black fruit. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! Goodonya Cam! See ..... you can cut the mustard with the big guys! I thought this Outstanding example will improve over the medium term and drink well for another 15 years. Thanks for a most generous contribution to my birthday bash.

Ch. Rieussec 1988 - 82 (Errant bottle)

Very worrying dark orange/burnished gold colour - I thought Rieussec from the early 70's and passed it. Danny and Cam were more impressed. Fat, clumsy, cloying and difficult to drink and nothing like the bottle Danny opened a while back. No more to say. Just bad luck with this one, methinks.

Chambers Rare Tokay - 97

A ripsnorter of a wine! Opened with that old stale hint of boot polish and molasses that generally points to needing refreshing. Don't know how long this has been sitting in the bottle, but with a little air time this incredible Tokay dropped most of the little nasties I detected and just soared out of the glass and reverberated around the mouth with such incredible aplomb you really have difficulty in putting the all components into words. The price of 270 bucks was mentioned as a price for this half bottle! After trying the otherwordly Seppelt the following night, I'm happy for anyone to open a bottle of this (or Chambers rare muscat) for me; but as good as it is, I won't follow Cam's lead unless it was something I'd know he'd treausure (as I did Saturday night), I'd be buying the Seppelt (if i was assured all their bottles were of uniform blend and quality). Thanks be to Cam once again - very generous of you, old mate.

[dlo]

May as well add all the wines from the big open day at my house on Sunday. Danny and Cam had to return to Sydney at lunch time. The last of the drunks rolled out of our place after 2 AM on Monday morning. A top day of wine and food.


Day 4

Sunday, all day at my place - relaxed format, plenty of food, simple fare - lots of warmth, plenty of shade, no rain. Yes!

Dishes served -

Turkish dips and bread

Crumbed blackfish bites and yes, I caught the fish

Side of smoked Tasmanian Salmon served with a bevy of condiments - capers, red onion, sour cream, chives, lemons etc.

Salt and pepper beer batter prawns

Chicken kebabs served with coban salad and rice

Kofta with chilli and homuss dips

Eye fillet kebabs served with a turkish bean salad

Floating Euro lemon tarts (abandoned)

Rich chocolate cake (good-on-ya Rach and friend!)

Coffee and truffles

The Wines - not exactly in order opened

Hugel Gewurztraminer Selection de Grains Nobles 1998 - in incredible shape - luscious and exotic but holding wonderful poise and still remarkably fresh, finishing dry. Didn't notice the 15% A/V. 93

Laurent-Perrier Vintage Brut 1996 - most excellent displaying a very tight personality. To me this wine has a long way to go - approachable yes, but will be better over the next several years 91

Lindemans Reserve Pinot Noir/Chardonnay/Pinot Meunier 1999 - Not Tasted - opened for mouth rinsing purposes only - truth be known previous bottles opened were pretty darn good FWII - paid a whole 8 bucks a bottle for this retail!

Seppelt Drumborg Riesling 1999 - only tried a splash of this - looked remarkably fresh with a wealth of fruit and the first vestige of bottle development - plenty of juice still in the tank NR

Grosset Polish Hill Riesling 2002 - disappeared before I got to try any - the few comments rendered were highly positive

Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon 1998 - again only a passing glimpse from me with this one - displayed a deep yellow/gold colour, plenty of development on both nose and palate - sound but not particularly exciting NR

Tyrrell's Vat 1 Semillon 1995 - right back to form after the slightly dissappointing errant bottle on Friday - top flight Hunter Sem with enormous reserves - looked young and pristine to me 92

Freycinet Chardonnay 1995 - looked solid enough without creating much excitement with the small amount I tried NR

Tyrrell's Vat 47 Chardonnay 2002 - NT - GazzaB commented this looked very young - "still a pup" were his exact words I think

Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2001 - thanks be to GazzaB for this one - looked awfully classy to me, tightly coiled but with a wealth of nuance on both nose and palate - lovely wine with plenty of time to go. NFR but somewhere in the 92-93 range at a guess

Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile Riesling 1996 en magnum - finally got to open one! Pristine bright straw green, haunting minerally Alsace bouquet with bucket loads of fruit in support. Served way too cold at first (I forgot I had it in the freezer) particularly hindering the palate (a bit short and bitter). Improved dramatically in the glass as it warmed. 92

Meo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Les Chaumes 1996 - Charming, svelte, sexy Pinot probably nearing its peak drinking window. NR but low nineties wine as a guide

Michel Lafarge Volnay Clos des Chenes 1993 - another gorgeous example very much in the style of the Meo-Camuzet, but if anything, a little better. Probably worth 94 points if you want a numerical value. A Burgundy that sang from start to finish. IMHO, the best Burgundy of the day - beating the other premier and grand crus!

Vachet-Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru 1993 - repeat performance from the night before -masculine, beefy palate, perhaps a little unready behind a quite lovely bouquet. 90

Frederic Esmonin Chambertin-Clos-des-Beze Grand Cru 1996 - another Outstanding Burg - having trouble with descriptors here and thus won't point it but in the scheme of things I'd rate it between the Chaumes and the Lafarge, somewhere around the 91-92 points mark

Marc Pavelot Savigny-Les-Beaune Les Dominode 1999 en magnum - almost fotgot about this one! Truly Outstanding for its (lesser) station in life compared to some of the supposed big "guns"above. If anything, surpassed them! Very youthful, beautifully balanced, silky, great line - absolutely loved this, particularly the class of the fruit - and its got time on its side! 92

Rockford Black Shiraz 2005 Disgorg. - thanks be to JLo for this scintillating number - amazingly pure with bucketloads of creamy blackberry fruit - will last for yonks, methinks NR

Wynns Black label Cabernet 1998 - this was opened when I was cooking the shaslicks and didn't get a looksee

Howard Park Cabernet Merlot 1995 - I know this has received some bad press over the years for a volatile acidity problem, but this bottle looked excellent to me, extremely varietal with some similarities to a modern ripe Bordeaux with a distinctive "gravelly" character. 90 points on its ear. Thanks to IanB for this one.

Penfolds Bin 80A Cabernet Shiraz1980 - cork disintegrated on opening - a bad start - but what I strained into the decanter was absolutely stunning and way over my jittery expectations. Still with plenty of life in front of it, this red showed a deep vigorous colour, superb aromatics and smooth but concentrated palate of great length with heaps of fruit to burn. Every component meshed to perfection, IMHO. One of my top wine's of the day. 94

Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 1991 - very sound if a little unexciting and did attract some strong comments from the table when revealed. I thought the oak treatment spoilt the fruit a bit. Very good verging on excellent. High 80's from me.

Lindemans Sesquicentenary Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 1990 en magnum - does contain just a litlle less than 10% Shiraz - this looked Outstanding to me, but at this stage of the evening the sheer quantity of reds was making judgement difficult. NR

Stonyridge Waiheke Island Cabernets 1994 - an eye opener for me - right in the slot. Nothing underripe here - a gloriously rich and well-honed red with everything in place. Up there with the best of them on the day. 92 Thanks again to GazzaB for this one!

Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou (St. Julien) 1978 - probably a few too many years past its best drinking window, but still very good although drying out a tad on the palate. 86

Ch. Leoville-las-Cases (St. Julien) 1978 - just fantastic aged Bordeaux - layered, aristocratic, lots of extremely good things going on here - if anything better than the last bottle I opened and assessed carefully. http://www.winestar.com.au/forum/viewto ... highlight= 93

Domaine de Chevalier 1978 - this was my pick of the 1978 Bordeaux flight. Just a superb wine drinking at its apoge. 94

Zentralkellerei Ezeuger-Abfullung Ediger-Osterlammchen Beerenauslese Riesling 1976 375 ml - probably got things a bit wrong with the label - a curio GazzaB picked up for a song somewhere - very deep burnished colour, nice aromatics and an incredibly lush, unctious palate - drying out a tad but I still thought it very good - about 85 points

Ch. Suduiraut (Sauternes) 1983 - quite simply, absolutely brilliant - incredibly youthful, elegant but seriously complex in nuance of bouquet and palate, about as good as it gets for an aged Sauternes without the sheer power of D'Yquem. Bordering on exceptional - 94 points

Seppelt Rutherglen Vintage Port 1972 - made from Touriga, Bastardo and Alvarelhao - in great shape - 92 points

Seppelt Rare Rutherglen Tokay DP 59 - this really rocked my boat. Having tried this on many occasions, this bottle surpassed anything I've had previously. Cam's incredibly generous contribution the night before of a half bottle of Chambers Rare Tokay blew me away - I gave it 97 points! This was as good, if not better - words cannot do either wine justice! 98 points

A huge thank you to the gang for making the day what it was -

My terrific wife and daughters (extra-special thanks to Rachel and friend who worked like trojans)

Mum and Dad

Eric Wallace

GazzaB

Tony and Deb

JLo

Lyndsay Kerr

Rob Buettner

Toi Low

Ian Beverley

Ann Morant

Paul Heimburger

Baby Chickpea

Cam

A most moving experience!

[707]

Hell I'm almost moved to tears reading this stuff. A number of the Bordeaux tasted I once had in my cellar but they went off to auction a decade ago to pay for the divorce!

Oh, and a BIG welcome to the Old Bastards Club David.

[camw]

1998 Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg / C. von Schubert Riesling Spätlese (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer) AP 3 536 014 14 99
Soft florals, tinge of smoke, kiwi fruit and some background sulphur that blew off with time. The palate is a refreshing combination of clean acid with just a hint of fruit sweetness. Nice length and delicately textured, this is lovely drinking now, but will improve over the next 10+ years.
91/100

1998 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling-Auslese (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer) AP 2 577 050 6 39
Slightly more developed in colour than the Maximin. The nose shows honey, toast, a little bit of peach and mango and with a touch of kerosene and lanolin to it. Awesome balance, poise and length to the palate. Intense fruit flavour lends a pleasing mouth-feel to the wine without being broad. Drinking superbly at the moment and should continue to do so over the next 5 years.
92/100

1995 Domaine François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux
Honeyed nose, with lemon and sesame over the top of some slightly oxidative characters. The good weight on the palate is spoiled by some heat and some more oxidative characters. Improved slightly to the final score with food, but drink now based on this bottle.
87/100

1997 Domaine Blain-Gagnard Bâtard-Montrachet
Golden colour. Nutty and honeyed aromas, with a touch of basil, butterscotch and restrained quality oak. Delicious, balanced palate with excellent texture and length. Opened up and took on more weight and length with air, I think this lovely wine will be best drunk over the next 5-10 years.
93/100


1993 G. Vachet-Rousseau Père et Fils Mazis-Chambertin
A great nose of blood, violets, milk chocolate and strawberry. The nose is open and lovely, but the palate shows signs of not being ready yet with drying tannins and simple primary flavours. I feel that the structure is good enough that this has the potential to improve in the next 4-5 years.
90/100

1986 Château Leoville-Barton
Smells like class. Decanted for three hours. Cedar, spice, pencil shavings, violets, cassis and blackberry. The depth and primary flavour on the palate is surprising for a 21 year old wine. Brilliant length and structure. Still slightly austere on the palate, but has the structure and fruit to go the distance and achieve its wonderful potential.
94/100

1995 E. Guigal La Mouline Côte-Rôtie
The nose is expressive immediately on opening and seemed similar after three hours. Pepper, floral, charred meat, chinese five spice and restrained oak. The palate exhibits great concentration and layers of intense flavour while not being overwhelming. Great length and enjoyable to drink even at this early stage of its life.
95/100


1988 Château Rieussec
Dark golden colour, darker than the '83 I opened a couple of weekends afterward. Rich nose of caramel, spice, apple and coconut. Medium level of sweetness on the palate with a core of acid that is only just enough to keep the focus. I enjoyed drinking it and thought it quite tasty, if slightly simple.
88/100

NV Chambers Rutherglen Rare Tokay
A wine for deep contemplation. The nose is stunningly complex - deep coffee, toffee, raisin, floral notes, truffles, Christmas cake, rum, chocolate and tea leaves. So viscous that it clings to the side of the glass with every swirl. This amazing viscosity carries across to the palate where the wine rolls around, covering your mouth with incredible, powerful, complex flavour that stays in your mouth for what seems like forever after swallowing. Memorising and incredible.
98/100


The following evening after the drive home, I finished my smuggled back glass of the following;


1988 Hugel Gewurztraminer Sélections de Grains Nobles
Great colour, a very light shimmering gold. Nose shows honey, nutty, and pineapple aromas, it is still very floral and fresh. The palate is medium bodied with a full mouth-feel and just hints at richness, with the sweetness balanced by fresh, acidity that disposes of any notion of broadness and focuses the wine into a long, dry and clean finish. Showed no signs of overt alcohol despite it sitting at 15%. Still so young at 19 years, this will live on for some time!
93/100