Six of us gathered in Vaucluse, Sydney at Laszlo’s place for this “Bordeaux Classified Growth†dinner on the 25th of November. We were set up on the magnificent balcony terrace in the fresh evening breeze. Attendees were: Danny, Adair, Attila, Laszlo, Neville and joining us for the first time, Malcolm from Dan Murphy’s. Neville and Danny looked suitably bored after their previous “Decadence†dinner which featured many of the world’s great wines. Our last Bordeaux club dinner ended in disaster so Adair and I were a little worried that our bad luck would continue. Laszlo cooked some lamb on the open fire in the backyard while Malcolm enjoyed our heated discussions. Now to the bottles, but please note that I don’t score wines that in my view fall below 90 points.
The usual suspects - Left to right: Laszlo, Neville, Adair, Malcolm, Danny and Attila.
1999 TYRRELL’S HVD Reserve Semillon, Hunter Valley-Australia
Adair opened this before the Champagne arrived. Colour fresh bright clear, lemony, fresh, fragrant nose. Clean and focussed on the palate, good drinking already but the good structure will carry this wine for many years. My only observation is that I believe this HVD Reserve has acid added to it, a practice I don’t appreciate. I make the distinction based on that natural acid is mouth watering, added acid is throat drying. I can be wrong but no points from me until this matter is clarified.
1997 VILMART & CIE Coeur de Cuvée- Premier Cru Champagne
A little known house established in 1890. A blend of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot. Tiny and vigorous pinhead bubbles. Vanilla ice cream aromas on the nose. Intense and fine palate. Good vintage style. Apple custard flavours, complex and tasty Champagne with good length. Enjoyed this! Cost AUD $140. One of the top three wines tonight. 93 points.
2004 JÃÂSDI Siralomvágó (Quarry Of Tears) Olaszrizling, Csopak region, Hungary
Single vineyard wine from the Quarry Of Tears site, only 1198 bottles made from 1500 vines but unfortunately we had a faulty bottle. Pity. Looked great when tasted twice earlier this year.
1997 LEO BURING "Maturation Release" Eden Valley Riesling-Australia
Golden colour. Flat palate, no acid structure. Dead on arrival.
Stand alone greatness.
1999 BASS PHILLIP Premium-Australia
That’s it! No back label, no indication of region or grape variety on this label, the vintage is hand written. This Chardonnay is amazing. Only 150 cases made. A big Thank You for Danny for bringing it.
Colour deep golden. Unique complex nose of baked waffles with hints of maple syrup and vanilla sugar. Unbelievably concentrated, rich and complex palate. Very powerful and seriously built, at 7 years of age providing fantastic drinking. Amazing. Finishing with first class and beautiful vanilla oak on the finish. Pure Chardonnay fruit expression and quality you don’t often see. I think all of us were mighty impressed. In my view Montrachet Grand Cru quality for sure. Unanimously this is the wine of the night and the best Australian Chardonnay I’ve ever tasted. 100 points. Simple as that. My first full score given. Total perfection. Cost AUD $70 but probably difficult to find one.
2003 Chateau LYNCH BAGES-Pauillac 5th Growth
…and so our red Bordeaux adventure begun. Colour dark cherry with black centre. Overripe, slightly cooked fruits, cherry and plum jam on the nose. Medium to full bodied. Lacking power, richness and balance. Did not get better with airing, completely disjointed the next day. Modern style, not something I’d prefer. (My bottle anyway) Cost AUD $150. Malcolm thought it was an Australian Pinot.
2001 LOXAREL Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, Penedes region, Spain
Unfiltered 100% Cabernet, spent 2 years in French oak made by Masia Can Mayol. It had an amazing Pauillac like nose. Fooled most as a Bordeaux.
Colour dark cherry red. Beautiful cigar box nose. Excellent Cabernet definition. Smoky, medium bodied palate. Well made, good food wine. Mouthwatering, slightly high acid on the finish. Very good Spanish effort for AUD $40. 91 points.
2000 Chateau PAPE CLÉMENT-Pessac-Léognan Grand Cru
Colour dark cherry red. Smooth tasting even wine that’s lacking concentration and excitement. Looking diluted (high volume production?) and given the vintage it could have been better. Parker gave very high points but obviously our bottle was different from his. Ordinary Bordeaux without proper concentration, focus and length. Cost AUD $150-200.
1985 Chateau SOCIANDO MALLET-Haut Médoc Cru Bourgoise
Not Grand Cru but better than some. I managed to pick the vintage correctly. Colour amazingly dark cherry red after all these years. Classic cigarbox nose and juicy and full palate. Nice wine but lesser class shows through the fairly high acid structure on the finish. Still, nice wine. 92 points. Cost AUD $ 80.
2001 WOLF BLASS-Black Label Shiraz Cabernet-Australia
Well…certainly rude awakening. Quite a terrifying, overoaked expensive red. Insulting wine, did not get better even after 24 hours. Dark cherry red with black centre. Red berry fruits on the nose. Overoaked, rough and alcoholic palate. An undrinkable (at least for me) coarse wine out of balance. Are they kidding with releasing this? May get better in 10 years time but I’m not willing to wait to find out. To experience this joke cost AUD $99. (Malcolm received this as a gift, he might have a friendly enemy?)
2002 Chateau BEYCHEVELLE-Saint Julien 4th Growth
Back to normal with this one. Smokey, smooth velvety wine with lovely Cabernet flavours. Good fruit concentration. Needs time to unfold, cellar 5 to 10 years to reach its peak. 91 points. Cost AUD $80.
1998 Chateau BATAILLEY-Pauillac 5th Growth
No surprises here. A reliable, good tasting wine without being great. Colour cherry red, mature, gamey nose. Smooth, medium bodied wine. Quite nice with food. 90 points. Cost AUD $80.
1982 Chateau GRUAUD LAROSE-Saint Julien 2nd Growth
Colour brick red with browning on the rim. Old smelling licorice nose. Leathery, quite acidic palate with not much fruit left. Faded old wine, must have been much better 10 years ago. Minor highlight is the smooth long finish.
Second and third place going for Lakes Folly and the Vilmart
1994 LAKES FOLLY Reserve Cabernet-Hunter Valley Australia
A very Bordeaux wine indeed and the best red tonight. Limited reserve bottling. Colour cherry red. Powerful and fruity red with tremendous acid structure and fine tannins. Concentrated, tasting very young, needs at least 10 more years to show its full potential. Will live for a very long time. On par with some 2nd growth Bordeaux. We were all surprised when the wine was revealed. 95 points. It was a bargain at AUD $45.
2003 JÃÂSDI Ranolder Cuvée, Csopak region, Hungary
Named after the past winery owner, bishop János Ranolder who made very good red wines in the 19th century. A Bordeaux blend of young vines Cabernet Franc and Merlot sold in a Burgundy bottle. Surprisingly soft red. Already hitting its peak. Pleasant fruit structure with good creamy oak but no staying power. Savoury finish.
Enjoying the wines on the terrace
There you have it. A “great†Bordeaux night where the top three spots went to an Australian Chardonnay, a Hunter Valley Reserve Cabernet and a little known Champagne. Very interesting… something to think about. Next year we’ll probably do Burgundy and Champagne.
Cheers,
Attila
Tasted: November 25, 2006
