A while ago I posted that I was trying to organise a Grange dinner with some colleagues. Well, last night it happened.
Scene of the crime was the private dining room at est. All I can say is, great space, impeccable service. The private dining room is set at the George St end of the restaurant, with huge windows occupying the front wall. It actually feels like you are sitting immediately above George St, which was actually quite cool.
We started with oysters in the bar area of the restaurant, served with Krug MV. The Krug was, well, Krug. Quite delicious. est use Zalto champagne flutes which are quite awesome. The oysters were probably the best I have ever had. Half served with just a drop of lemon, half with ponzu dressing. Both were spectacular and had my dining companions gushing.
We then proceeded to the private dining room where the 6 Granges had been set on stands with some of the younger ones being decanted. We had the benefit of a young, friendly sommelier from Rhone for the evening and he did a terrific job with the wines.
We settled in and the first wine was poured
2002 Giaconda Chardonnay, from magnum served with salad of mud crab, almond cream, baby zucchini, heirloom tomato jelly, basil
I am not good enough at describing wine to do this wine justice. Balanced, rich and complex, powerful but refined, long and compelling.When I was given the wine to taste by the sommelier I must have pulled a face because he just look at me and said 'Yes, it is superb.' And it was. The best chardonnay I have ever tasted, one of the best wines I have ever tasted. Half way through the course I started to get a little sad because I knew I would probably never get to try it again, but if I could find a case of magnums of this wine I would buy them.
Our sommelier for the evening said to me he thought it was the best Australia wine he had tasted. I asked him if he meant white wine and he said no.
2008 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay served with morteon bay bug, grilled leek, broccoli puree, lemon, seaweed, nasturtium
I really like this wine and this vintage is drinking quite well, though still has plenty of life in it. It matched well with the food but this dish and wine would have been better before the previous one. The dish was more delicate than the mud crab salad and the wine, whilst really very good, was completely overshadowed by the Giaconda. Still, lovely chardonnay and I am glad I have several more stashed away.
1983 and 1985 Penfolds Grange served with smoked, roasted quail breast, butternut, summer squash, shiitake, fresh ricotta
Tried the 1985 first. Seriously good wine. Strong herbal aromas with just a little fruit on the nose and a bit of nutty oak. Still good dark fruit on the palate, quite refined texture, long finish. A little eucalypt on the finish.
Then the 1983. Really lovely. Much younger smelling and tasting than the 1985. Some chocolate as well as oak on the nose. Still rich pure dark fruit. More acid.
Rounder mouth feel.
The '85 was better than I was expecting and really nice, but the '83 was much more on song and still so vibrant for a 32 year old wine. It was the better of the two on the evening.
1991 and 1992 Penfolds Grange served with cocoa crusted venison saddle, salt baked jerusalem artichoke, boudin noir, prune, coffee crumb
Alas, the 1992 was fairly badly corked according to both myself and the sommelier. Interestingly, the owner of this wine said he would have been happy to serve it. I am not expert but I couldn't drink it and the sommelier looked shocked when he suggested it could be served. Just goes to show you the lack of understanding/experience of TCA amongst a lot of people. This will be getting sent back to Penfolds.
The 1991 was excellent. Liquorice, chocolate and dark fruit all melding on the nose. Rich fruit still jumping out on the palate but sitting very nicely with the oak and some chocolate and coffee flavours. My Grange of the night.
1995 and 1996 Penfolds Grange served with dry aged heritage beef striploin and slow cooked tri tip, caramelized shallot, yeast, cavolo nero
These had been decanted for about an hour and a half - 2 hours.
The 1995 smelt and felt a bit heavy. It was quite dense, a little stewy but pleasant fruit, good dollop of liquorice. Nice wine but probably the least of the Granges on the night.
The 1996 was very good. Fresh and young nose of concentrated dark berries which followed through on the palate. Silky mouthfeel with plenty of tannin structure left. Long finish. My notes suggest it was close to the best balanced Grange of the night but didn't quite have the elegance of the 1991. I think it will come with a bit more time as this was still very fresh and zingy. Lovely wine.
We then had coffee and petit fours. Some of the guests excused themselves and one ordered a passionfruit soufflé which looked amazing. We had a 1983 Chateau D'Yquem but half the guests had left and it just didn't feel the right time to open it. I think a few of the guests had gone a bit hard on the whites, and although there were 8 of us the two women were taking very small pours of Grange, which left probably 100ml of each for the rest of us. So by the end we decided discretion was the better part of valour.
A lovely evening. The food was all fantastic but special mention goes to the mud crab salad and the venison. Just stupendous. Service was absolutely impeccable and our sommelier, Julian, was fantastic. He did a very good job on some difficult corks and looked after us beautifully, but was also friendly and willing to engage and chat.
So, the wines were
Krug MV
2002 Giaconda Chardonnay (magnum) - WOTN
2008 LEAS Chardonnay
1983 Penfolds Grange
1985 Penfolds Grange
1991 Penfolds Grange - Grange of the night
1992 Penfolds Grange (corked)
1995 Penfolds Grnage
1996 Penfolds Grange
This was actually my first experience tasting Grange and so it was good to have some time with them, get a good taste and try a number of different vintages. Several of the wines were quite excellent, but I must say...I won't be going out of my way to collect them. I have some 2004 (anniversary year) and 2008 (son's birth year) and it is obvious these wines can live a long time, which in itself makes them special, and I will enjoy opening them I am sure...and maybe it is just that they weren't tasted side by side with other 'lesser' wines to let them shine. But I am thinking to myself I have tried some really good reds elsewhere, in particular at offlines that would give a number of these Granges a run for their money, which were a fraction of the cost.
So for me, yes very good wines, yes very good ageing ability, yes plenty of cachet....but don't represent value.
Nevertheless a great night.
Also massive thanks to Dave Vino who helped by putting together a hand out which the guests really loved but which I don't seem to be able to upload because of size issues.
, the 2002 Gia is a wonderful wine, although I've never had one quite as good as that night in the Blue Mountains. I'll keep on chasing. 
