Sydney Offline (April) - Bordeaux

[TiggerK]

Yes thanks so much for going out of your way and being so generous David, not sure if you didn't like the 86 or were having us on, but it was really good. Your Pontet 01 was classy with some nice subtle perfume but like so many of the younger wines, was still fairly closed and brooding. But behind the walls of tannin in the younger wines, there was still much enjoyment to be had, and we had it.

2008 Pierre Peters L'esprit Blanc de Blancs

2012 Tronquoy Lalande Blanc

2005 Larrivet Haut-Brion
2005 Roumieu-Lacoste Les Fleurs de Graville (my WWOTN)

1970 Ch Haut-Beycheville Gloria Saint-Julien
1979 Rausan-Segla Margaux

1986 Grand-Puy Ducasse Pauillac
1996 Lafon-Rochet Saint-Estèphe

2000 Calon-Segur Saint-Estèphe
2001 Pontet Canet Pauillac

2003 Leoville Poyferre Saint-Julien
2006 Monbousquet Saint-Emilion

2007 Calon-Ségur Saint-Estèphe
2010 Gloria Saint-Julien

Blind Red - 2006 Newton Forrest Estate Cornerstone Gimblett Gravels Cab Merlot Malbec

2010 Lions de Suideraut Sauternes

WOTN for me was the 1970 as the nose and palate was pretty much all that I look for in aged Bordeaux (albeit without bonus points for sheer power or complexity), it was superb for 10 mins or so we but had to finish it quickly as it started to fade away. A birth year wine for me and exceeded my expectations as it was much more 'in the zone' than a previous decent bottle I'd had around Xmas. The 1979 was also really good, bit of odd brett stuff detracted here and there, some liked more than others. I do like em old, like me!

The 86 was in good form too, then once you hit the 96/00/01/03 etc it becomes that dark brooding reluctant tannic package often hinting at potential excellence, promising good drinking in 10/20/30 years. Wheres that steak tartare or rare rib eye. The Poyferre was a bit more expressive than the other youngsters, but no bad wines anywhere (although I wasn't much of a fan of the Tronquoy or Larrivet whites). The Sauternes (mine) was simple and needed more acid, but did the job of something sweet at the end. Touch of Macallan 18yr old popped up too.

I had a fantastic time, really enjoy the private room at Rocket, food was good, service excellent (Charly is a star) and of course the company was top notch. Sorry you couldn't make it David, more Bordeaux action over Winter could be on the cards methinks.

Cheers everyone... stay tuned for some Jura action... by special request.

Tim

[Hacker]

not sure if you didn't like the 86 or were having us on, but it was really good.

Woke up this morning bright as a button, always a relief after the headache of last night.
I wasn't having you on, it tasted acidic and metallic, but as I mentioned, a complete transformation can happen, and seemingly did this time.
Or maybe I have a crap palate

Interested on a writeup on the wine and food!

[deejay81]

Great night guys!! Thanks everyone for coming!! Dave, the Grand-Puy was really good and it was so generous for you to drop both the bottles off! I'm glad you feel better as it was such a shame you couldn't make it

[VINH NGUYEN]

Made it to work today ... just lol
Feel buggered, need sleep
No more skool nite offlines for me unless i have the following day off me thinks

[TiggerK]

A few iPhone bottle and food pics.... light was a bit low for the full lineup! We missed you Dave.

[Bobthebuilder]

I didn't take notes unfortunately, but will note the highlights

If anything, the night was an eye opener to me in a couple of ways
It made me realise I really like Bordeaux whites
It made me realise I generally like my Bordeaux reds with 30 yrs+

The champagne was exceptional
Complex and yeasty, very different nose to the palate. I had trouble putting my finger on any of the flavours or aromas, so all I can say is it was very enjoyable, and dangerously moorish for the first flight!

The whites;

2012 Tronquoy Lalande Blanc - lots of oak, great acidity, and a big, mouthfilling wine. Really nice, I really liked it, but I like that style and can see how it may put some off if they are searching for the fruit and put off by too much oak & acidity. I took the leftovers home and enjoyed it even more the next night. 24 hrs air really opened this wine up, it brought the fruit out.

2005 Roumieu-Lacoste, Les fleurs de Graville - The last of 3 bottles I bought a couple of years back and one of the first Bordeaux wines I ever bought. The fruit had taken on some lovely secondary development and was very entwined with the oak, which always keeps me curious as to what I'm tasting. Been looking for a couple of replacements ever since I first had this but to no avail, very small production (I think?)

2005 Larrivet Haut-Brion - very nice. Initially, I preferred this to the Graville, which was due to the greater influence of oak and also some subtle mid palate sweetness. It didn't hold my interest as much though, and I'm not sure why. That said, on its own I would probably appreciate it for what it was a lot more.

Reds to follow, run out of time!

[Mike Hawkins]

I just had a bottle of the 2008 l'Esprit. Incredibly young and drank best 5 hours after opening the bottle. This was really good - the essence of minerality. I can only imagine how good the Chetillons will be

[Bobthebuilder]

1970 Haut-Beycheville Gloria St-Julien. - Gloria for glorious, just outstanding. My WOTN. Old leather and library books, some fruit still present with a little acidity to keep it alive. across the table everyone seemed to be impressed. Seriously nice wine, god help those to follow!

1979 Rausan-Segla Margaux - closed and disjointed initially, my extremely limited experience with Bordeaux led me to think that it was best not to let this breathe to long, and probably a bad call, because I enjoyed it more as time passed. As Tim mentioned, some Bretty notes stood out, but not in an overbearing way. Surprisingly young for its age, there was still some fruit apparent, tannins were fine and smooth on the palate. nice wine but alongside the Beycheville it just couldn't compete.

1986 Grand-Puy Ducasse Pauillac - Really really good. So much going on, fruit and spice and earthy forest floor flavours, a steely note on the finish that seems to gel with Hackers note, but no one else seemed to agree at the table. I didn't know this was hackers wine at first and there was literally no label left on the bottle, but it raised my eyebrows straight away. Very nice.

1996 Lafon-rochet st estephe - the first of the full on tannic wines. Gripping the gums and teeth big time, there was a lot going on but the tannins overpowering it all. still fresh and lively, I'm guessing this is a typical tannic Bordeaux that just needs more time.

2000 Calon-Segur St Estephe. - like the lafon before it, big tannic wine that I'm sure I would enjoy with more time. The tannins were now inducing palate fatigue so I can't really say much more, but a big, full bodied wine that I think I would enjoy more in 10 years or more.

2001 Pontet Canet - another big tannic wine but more approachable than the previous 2. I went back to this at the end of the night and noticed it really had benefitted from the airtime. Lovely fine tannins and ripe blood plums on the palate. Long finish, really nice wine.

2003 Leoville Poyferre. - tannic and young like many of the previous wines, but nice structure. The tannin not as grippy as some before it, but still very present, just finer and smoother. Nice minerally, earthy notes on the palate with slightly sour cherry. Reasonably long pleasant finish. For me, a great food wine for heavy meaty dishes.

2006 Monbousquet. - quite a bit less tannin than the others just before it, a little more savoury on the palate. Nice spicy oak and stewed red berry fruit, but not a particulary long finish. Surprisingly different and unexpected considering the wines before it. Not something I would imagine would be for the long hall, but no rush to drink either.

2007 Calon-Segur. - lots of oak, coffee, mocha, dark chocolate on the palate. Grippy tannins but not too overpowering. A lot going on, but just a little disjointed. Maybe just needed more air time. With wines that present like this I find they are usually much better on day 2 or 3, and I feel this would have been the same. I think some was left and someone took some home?

2010 Gloria St Julien. - big and tannic, but a nice wine still. Lovely nose, dark fruits and chocolate. Another wine I think will have been much nicer with 24hrs or so of air, or 20 years! Long finish, for me, a definite food wine, for French food (who would have thought! Lol)

Blind Red : 2006 Newton Forest Estate Cornerstone Gimblett Gravels Cab Merlot Malbec - this had everyone confused. It reminded me of a big South American cab, the kind of wine you get at an Argentinian steakhouse. Fruity, oaky, big, mouthfilling. Nice balanc of sweet fruit and savoury meaty flavours, reasonably long finish. Was surprised to find out it was from NZ.

2010 Lions de Suideraut Sauternes. - unfortunately there were too many at the table for me to get a good schooners worth of the stuff! lol. Nice, perfect way to end the night. Not as sweet as most Sauternes I've had and I quite liked that. Mandarin and cashew nuts and a dash of sweet lemon. medium finish. Quite refreshing.

All round a great night. I found it really interesting because I haven't had much experience with Bordeaux at all and have always been quite hesitant to delve into it, probably because of the massive production and not really knowing where to start. The range of wines over such a long timespan of vintages was excellent and I found it surprising that with all the 16 wines consumed nothing appeared to have any taint.

Cheers,
Nic