Casual Pinot Offline 1 Oct - Sydney

[Bobthebuilder]

Geez they don't like to put numbers on shops anymore!

[dave vino]

$150 for dinner was a bit much...

I think we had 4 ducks, endless dumplings, buns, pancakes, pizza looking thingos...

Some good wines from all over the place. Aussie, French, Kiwi. Fun night.

[Bobthebuilder]

Lucky I took the take away
Devoured upon getting home

[Croquet King]

Glad you made it home Bob.
Excellent night - my guess would be $800 worth of wine and $180 worth of food.

All the wines were great. What did I learn:
I was amazed at how fruit driven and big the Kiwis were.
Surprise of the night was the Patina. Good value for what you get.
I like the Geelong region.

Company and general banter was excellent as always.

[TiggerK]

Wonderful night, bill shock always the issue at that place. Eating tasty duck and great dumplings with their awesome chilli oil all night... the look on everyone's faces when told they owe $25 (inc a 10% tip) was priceless.

I left with a newfound appreciation for the way that winemaking styles trump terroir. The Crown Prince 2012 tasted 15 years old to me, lovely aged, autumnal soft notes. No chance for any complexity as yet, but nor would I age it for any great stretch, but I couldn't help but wish more new world producers made pinot in this style. Enjoyed all the wines, certainly no duds, my top 3 would be the Bass Phillip, the Patina and thanks to it's hint of bretty funk, the Farrside wins over the Beaune 1er.

Somehow missed getting a pic of the whites. We had..

Rieussec Bordeaux Blanc Sec 2011
Framingham Dry Riesling 2005
Lethbridge Chardonnay 2008

And the reds.. (M.V. was 2008 - hard to read in pic)




Cheers everyone, such a fantastic and affordable way to relax, eat, talk and enjoy great wine in good company. Bring on the next one! Count me in automatically please!
Tim

[pc79]

Another great night with the Sydney Auswine crew. Mountains of food for a song, some quality wines across the board and good banter.
For mine, there wasn't a bad wine amongst them. The Mayer was quite muted early, but opened up with time in the glass.
The colour of the 2006 Escarpment Kupe was shiraz like, the nose full of primary fruits. Got years left. Martinborough Estate was excellent also and a good comparison of two wines from the same region.

Favourite of the night would have been the wine from Orange. Patina Estate. Each sniff revealed another aroma. Cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, cherry. beautiful silken mouthfeel. not a long termer, but delicious and feminine in comparison to the bolder NZers.
The Crown Prince was bricking and a 2012. Quite amazing. Most at the table had it pegged at betw 7-12years old. Great mouthfeel and flavour profile.

I could go on and on.

Top 4
Patina
By Farr Farrside
Crown Prince
Kev's 1er Beaune

Special mention to the Lethbridge Chardonnay too.

Good work everyone!

"That's it. I'm done" - Croquet King as he reaches for more duck.

[PaulV]

Interesting to see a Foillard Morgon in the midst. What year and how did it come up - I presume a bit light , fruity and crunchy compared to the bigger style pinots. Probably needs 10 years for the gamay fruit to start smelling/ tasting like a decent village burg.

[Willard]

Looks like a fun, relaxed night.

The Patina is a new one to me, haven't crossed paths with it before. An impressive showing by the sounds of it in that line-up. Looks like a label refresh might be in order though....

Will

[Croquet King]

So I've never seen the Patina for sale so have assumed it's only available Cellar door. (so hopefully this post is ok)
$30 a bottle with free freight to Sydney for a dozen.

Seems like the clear bargain of the night and what I was hoping to find. Thanks B&M

[Polymer]

Interesting to see a Foillard Morgon in the midst. What year and how did it come up - I presume a bit light , fruity and crunchy compared to the bigger style pinots. Probably needs 10 years for the gamay fruit to start smelling/ tasting like a decent village burg.

It is a 2011 Corcelette.

Foillards are going to be biggish on the Beaujolais scale...stem...Lightish on the palate but still relatively ripe...I think the Corcelette has a bit more tannin as well...

I personally think they're quite nice young...I prefer them to most village level burgs..but I guess that depends on the producer and village....There are plenty of great Chambolle Musigny and Vosne Romanee village level burgs I'd MUCH rather have....I do agree though, with age it is often harder to tell the difference between Beaujolais and Red Burgundy...

I brought it just as something different....I always think Gamay in Pinot tastings is an interesting throw in...It is also a style not obviously Beaujolais...although we had a couple of people guessing Beaujolais but my option of "Burgundy, Loire, Jura" was a bit of a cheeky one since technically it is in Burgundy and it threw them off...

[Phil H]

In relation to the Patina Pinot, what was the vintage? (I have scrolled through the posts - not mentioned?) The 2013 has just been released, and is supposed to be one of their best.

[pc79]

In relation to the Patina Pinot, what was the vintage? (I have scrolled through the posts - not mentioned?) The 2013 has just been released, and is supposed to be one of their best.

Last night's was the 2012

[TiggerK]

In relation to the Patina Pinot, what was the vintage? (I have scrolled through the posts - not mentioned?) The 2013 has just been released, and is supposed to be one of their best.

It's in the pic! Thanks for the tip on the 2013....

[Croquet King]

Ok so I got the price wrong - It's $45 for the 2012. I still think it's good value at this price.

Had a great chat with the winemaker Gerald. What a nice guy.
I told him about the tasting, who he was up against and what we thought of his wine. He loved the feedback.

He only sells direct from CD or via his website. The 2012 will be up for sale early next week on his website.


BTW - how good was the food last night and that duck (I just had to go back for more).

[Phil H]

In relation to the Patina Pinot, what was the vintage? (I have scrolled through the posts - not mentioned?) The 2013 has just been released, and is supposed to be one of their best.

Hi All,

Ok so I got the price wrong - It's $45 for the 2012. I still think it's good value at this price.).

Hi All
CK, you are not all that wrong, it is more me. According to the website the current release Pinot (2010) is $30, however their new release (not on website) will be $45, due to it being a notch above. I thought the new release was 2013, however reviewing Patinas website and the current post it could be the 2012, which was tasted at this offline.
As from my previous posts you can see that I have an active interest in Orange wineries, and I first discovered Patina earlier this year at the Hyde Park Cellar Door and the recent Orange promotion at Martin Place. I visit relatives in Orange about once a year, and of course there is always a visit to a few cellar doors. I will be visiting early December, and Patina is on top of the list.
If you review their website it should be noted that they release their wines with a few years bottle age: 2006 Merlot, 2007 Cab Merlot, 2006 & 2009 Cab Sav. Most at $30. I have tried the Merlot & Cab Merlot and I can recommend them. The Chardonnay is also worth trying.

[dingozegan]

Fun night, thanks for organising pc, and thanks to all for the wines.

I'm really glad you guys enjoyed the Patina. Yes, the 2012 was bought from the winery and is the new release (for $45). The previous release (2010 for $30) has higher acidity but more of that forest floor-like Pinot character than the 2012. As Phil says, some of their other wines are worth trying (particularly the Chardonnays and the Cab Sauv's IMO).

The Foillard was quite grippy in comparison with the Pinots (as might be expected). I agree with PaulV that it probably needs 10 years before it starts to (if ever) seem like a Village red Burgundy.