After an unprecedented two months of Rotters’ dinners lost to the wretched COVID virus, we re-convened, socially-distancing as required, at Geoffrey’s place for a brilliant home-cooked meal of delectable split-pea soup, rare roast with a variety of trimmings, an immaculate chocolate tart and a fabulous cheese plate the size of a bus tyre. Bravo! Reds from 2010 or 2000 was the theme, enlivened with some otherwise conforming whites in the Bruce tradition. All wines & diners in fine form. Nice to be back.
- [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=8444105]NV Château de Bligny Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut[/url] - France, Champagne
{diam, 12%} [Glenn] Muted nose. A little citrus maybe. The dry palate has medium acid, is gently fruit-driven, not very yeasty, with white peach flavours. Nicely even palate, light/medium weight. Medium-sized, quite delicate bubbles. Medium length finish. Subtle above all else despite some generosity of flavour; it’s not too dry and raspy on the palate. Assuming this is cheaper than the vintage BdB variant we tried three months earlier it’s probably the better buy. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=8444106]2008 Moët & Chandon Champagne Grand Vintage Brut[/url] - France, Champagne
{cork} [DavidH] Mainstream Moet; cheese and yeast on the nose. Yellowing fruit on the palate; peaches, browning leaves too. Solid wine, medium weight, somewhat impressive, weight towards the front palate, a bit patchy along the tongue, medium acidity, medium/large creamy bubbles, just-medium length finish. Nice enough, ropey for value given the pricing. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=8444107]2010 Howard Park Riesling Great Southern[/url] - Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Great Southern
{screwcap, 12%} [Glenn] Aged, thick nose of citrus and kerosene. Surprisingly light-bodied on the palate though, with gentle lemon and custard flavours. Low acid, even palate, short/medium finish. Nice enough but a bit simple; not really developed complexity, but has just slowly faded and lost freshness. Palatable, yes, not worth further cellaring unless this is in a particularly dumb phase. I think not. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=8444108]2010 Castle Rock Estate Riesling[/url] - Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Great Southern
{screwcap, 12.5%} [Glenn] Developing nose, but seemed very young after the Howard Park. Aromas of slate and apple sauce; quite Germanic. It’s light-bodied, with low/medium acidity, with gentle apple flavours, less intense than the nose. No kerosene here, although it is totally dry. But it really misses the acidity which would have enlivened it enormously, and perhaps extended the finish past a short/medium length. Will hold, could even improve a bit. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=8444110]2010 Domaine Pierre Guillemot Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Serpentières[/url] - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru
{cork, 13%} [Aaron] Soft strawberry fruit, with a fresh compost note. Developing on nose and palate, with more age to the red berry fruit on the palate, light/medium weight, medium acidity. Not a lot of tannin left here, but it remains a pretty wine, nicely balanced along the tongue, with a medium length finish. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=8444112]2000 Château du Tertre[/url] - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
{cork, 13%} [Graeme] Classic perfumed nose of aging Margaux, cedar and gentle currants; following through on the palate, which is even, medium-weight, with medium chalky tannins and medium acidity. Gently ripe and balanced, nicely structured too. Really good – I was half-expecting it to be a bit pale and wan somehow. Not absolutely top-shelf Bdx but very satisfying now, and not about to fall over either. Had a quick double-decant just before serving. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=8444149]2000 Kirrihill Shiraz[/url] - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, Langhorne Creek
{cork, 14%} [Geoffrey] Aged, leathery old nose. Classic aged aussie palate of gum leaves, shiraz spice, coconut. It’s dry, medium-bodied, with medium acidity and gently endearing in a fading sort of way. Only faintly dusty tannins remaining, preceding a short/medium finish which is enjoyable but fairly one-dimensional. Ready now. Decanted before dinner. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=8444154]2010 Penfolds Bin 389[/url] - Australia, South Australia
{screwcap, 14.5%} [Stephen] Still quite dark. The 389 from central casting; meaty, with tar, vanilla, chocolate. On the palate a bit fumey and warm, with ripe blackberries, some currants too; it’s dominated by black rather than red spectrum fruit. Very Penfolds. Teeters on the edge of over-ripe a bit for me; full-bodied, with medium acidity and medium chalky and oaky tannins. Not much presence on the back-palate, but that’s being picky. Warmth is kept under control. Hefty, medium/long finish. At ten years still very youthful and should improve and develop further complexity. Very good overall, and possibly the pick of this label this century. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=8444150]2010 Henschke Shiraz Mount Edelstone[/url] - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley
{screwcap, 14%} [Gordon] Double-decanted a couple of hours earlier. Developing, meaty nose. Spice and exotic perfumes laced with flyspray. In a good way. The medium/full-bodied palate presents deeply spicy fruit with plenty of cedary French oak and a lick of tobacco. Quite a riot of flavour, verging on confected in a new-world kind of way. Medium acidity, medium dusty/furry tannins. Even palate, medium/long finish. Really impressive, with plenty of life ahead – almost limitless you’d think, given the vibrancy of this. Huge stylistic contrast with the following Cyril cabernet. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=8444152]2010 Henschke Cyril Henschke[/url] - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley
{screwcap, 14%} [DavidM] Only just moving away from youth; all blackcurrant and cedar. Seems very austere after the ’10 Edelstone but it’s perfectly ripe, with gorgeous black fruits, medium dusty tannins and classy but soft oak. Medium weight, and even along the palate. 84% cabernet, 13% merlot and 4% franc. Quite approachable given that composition. Should continue to age nicely for a decade at least. A triumphant pair of 2010s from Henschke. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=8444153]2010 Torbreck RunRig[/url] - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
{cork, 16%} [Gordon] A generous bonus contribution from Gordon to mark the resumption of dinners, and to celebrate some June birthdays including a scary ‘0’. This is a fascinating wine which sits exactly in the middle of the space between a full-bodied red and a vintage port. Developing nose of prune juice, blackberry, raisins with a hint of rocket fuel. Full-bodied palate thanks to blackberry essence flavours, toasty oak flavour; there’s little tannin detectable, nor is much acidity evident. Extremely intense and I guess it’s a legitimate style; it does seem fundamentally unbalanced as a table wine though. Finish is all heat. Will continue to age in its own way, I guess. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=8444157]NV Campbells Classic Topaque Rutherglen[/url] - Australia, Victoria, North East, Rutherglen
{500ml, screwcap, 17.5%} [DavidH] Quite youthful, although that’s often the hallmark of the “Classic” designation from Rutherglen across all producers. Caramel sauce aromas with a hint of molasses. Sugary palate, a touch gloopy to be honest – could use more acidity. Medium weight, medium/sweet in flavour. Goes OK with the right dessert; finishes medium length but without a lot of complexity.
