Brisbane Offline - Friday 31 March

[Michael McNally]

Just updating

Venue is booked for 7pm under Auswine for 10 persons.
Attendees and wines:
Michael + 1 (I will bring a couple of Cabernets the Angelus and a blind one and an older Yarra Chardonnay, not sure what my +1 - my uncle - is bringing)
Rens + 1 (1998 Chateau Musar and 2011 Kumeu River Coddingtons Chardonnay)
Gerry + 1 (Wynns Cabernet Black Label vintage ??, Grossett Gaia 99 or other Clare Valley Blend, Sparking Shiraz or bottle of bubbles)
Willard + 1 (2007 Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010 Hillcrest Premium Chardonnay and one or two of 2007 Juniper Estate Cabernet Sauvignon or 2007 Te Mata Awatea, 2010 Hoddles 1Er)
Ian (Dahlwhinnie Cabernet and a Paringa Estate Chardonnay)

I have asked a colleague at work if he wants to come with +1 which would make us 11. Nine is a good number also. Still spots free if anyone wants to come. Looks like there will be plenty of wines to try!

Cheers

Michael

[rens]

So much to look forward to on that list. Can not wait.

[Luke W]

Is it too late to come along - I've organised someone else to move my son......?

[Michael McNally]

You are always welcome Luke!

Regardless, my work colleague has declined so you would make 10 which is an excellent number.

Do you want to disclose what you might bring?

Cheers

Michael

[rens]

Is it too late to come along - I've organised someone else to move my son......?

Good to have you along Luke.

[Willard]

Luke told me he's bringing 1990 Montrose. I said "too much!", but he's quite insistent.

[Willard]

Oh, and we'll bring the 07 Juniper to go with the Cape Mentelle. Was the first one I dug out of the locker.

[Luke W]

I got the 90 Montrose out but as I was inspecting the cork it fell in - my mother said I shouldn't poke around where I wasn't wanted....

How about a 2002 Hardy Thomas Hardy - I had one with Ian T a year or so ago and it was stunning. Hope the next one is half as good.

Are we dining at Miskin St at 7pm or somewhere else?
It's been too long......

Cheers

Luke

[Michael McNally]

I got the 90 Montrose out but as I was inspecting the cork it fell in - my mother said I shouldn't poke around where I wasn't wanted....

How about a 2002 Hardy Thomas Hardy - I had one with Ian T a year or so ago and it was stunning. Hope the next one is half as good.

Are we dining at Miskin St at 7pm or somewhere else?
It's been too long......

Cheers

Luke

The Thomas Hardy sounds interesting. Should be hitting its straps at 15 years of age.

Yes, 85 Miskin Street. Yes, 7pm. The degustation menu looks like it matches Chardonnay and Cabernet quite well! Is everyone okay with that as I am sure it helps them to know in advance.

Cheers

Michael

[gpk]

Degustation works for us

[Ozzie W]

The Thomas Hardy sounds interesting. Should be hitting its straps at 15 years of age.

I had a 1998 last week. A lovely example of Aussie Cab. Still had plenty of life left in it. Looking forward to hearing how the 2002 is going.

[rens]

degustation sounds good

[Willard]

Yes to degustation.

[Michael McNally]

My Uncle had something else come up so we are back to 9.

Cheers

Michael

[Luke W]

Perry said he'd come, so u better keep it at 10.

[Michael McNally]

Perry said he'd come, so u better keep it at 10.

Coolio Iglesias!

Cheers

Michael

[Willard]

Hope you got through ok up north Luke?

Hope everyone is high and dry-ish today.

[Michael McNally]

Yes, Debbie seems to have followed you down Luke!

Restaurant just rang and confirmed.

See you all tomorrow night

Michael

[ticklenow1]

Luke is all good. Already in Brisbane. See everybody tomorrow night.

Cheers
Ian

[rens]

Glad this is still on and Luke is safe and well.
Looking forward to seeing everyone.

[Luke W]

Thanks fellas - see u tonite

[Michael McNally]

What's Perry bringing? Just curious (and a little excited!)

We should be upstairs. Booking under Auswine.

Cheers

Michael

[ticklenow1]

The Brisbane crew got together for another night of great wine, plenty of laughs and excellent food at 85 Miskin Street on Friday night. I didn't take notes but scribbled a few thoughts down when I got back to my hotel. I was smart enough to take photos of most of the wines. Cue Michael....

I would like to say that it never ceases to amaze me with the generosity displayed by all the crew. Every time we get together the quality of the wines is amazing. Thank you all.

Bubbles and Whites (Chardonnay theme) to start:

Bird in Hand Sparkling Rose. Adelaide Hills One of the bottles I never managed to get a photo of. Based on Pinot grapes I think. Just a lick of sweetness and not overly dry at all, somewhere in the middle. Nice start to the night. 3/5
2011 Disgorge Rockford Black Shiraz. Barossa Valley As much as I love Rockford wines, this is more my wife's fancy than mine. There were a few "Wows!" and "How good is this" at the table so I think it hit the spot with most. 3.5/5
2009 Paringa Estate "Estate" Chardonnay. Mornington Peninsula. Really my style of Chardonnay. Plenty of oak but not too much and enough complexity to make it interesting. My WWOTN. 4/5
2010 Hoddles Creek 1er Chardonnay. Yarra Valley This was a confusing wine for me. Started out quite un-Chardonnay like though it did improve in the glass. I recently had a 2015 of this and preferred that a lot more, which is unusual as I like my Chardonnay with some age on it. All the same, it was very popular with the group. 3/5
2011 Kumeu River Coddington Chardonnay. New Zealand I think of Coddington and I think of English Bitters! This was very good. Enough oak influence to keep me happy and plenty of fruit as well. Think it actually will improve with a couple more years in the bottle. 3.5/5
2010 Hillcrest Premium Chardonnay. Yarra Valley Very different to the Hoddles. More oak, more flavour though not nearly as complex. More an older style Chardonnay than the current trend. I'd happily drink this any time. 3/5

Onto the Reds (Cabernet theme):

1998 Chateau Musar. Lebanon I remember being a bit confused with a 2004 of this wine at another Brisbane offline a couple of years back. But this was wonderful. Opened a bit funky and earthy, possibly bretty on the nose but that blew off reasonably quickly. A beautiful complex wine developed and got better the longer it spent in the glass. Almost Hunter like if you had to compare it to an Australian style. 4/5
1998 Rymill Cabernet. Coonawarra So typically Coonawarra and while I don't drink or buy as much as I used to, I so enjoyed this and the following Wynns. Quite a hit of mint, showing lovely aged characteristics and a pleasure to drink. 4/5
Gerry (GPK) then served up 3 vintages of Wynns Black Label, served blind. Very interesting.
1986 Wynns Black Label Cabernet. Coonawarra Wow! Just heaven in a bottle. I'm not too good at the whole blind tasting thing, but I know what I like and I liked this. This has reaffirmed my decision to not stop buying a few bottles of the Wynns Black Labels every year. The colour was starting to fade a bit at the rim, but it still had so much flavour. Just a glorious wine. When you consider what would have been paid for this at release, it's amazing VFM. My RWOTN and WOTN. 4.5/5
1991 Wynns Black Label Cabernet. Coonawarra Not far behind the '86 but maybe in a few years it will be just as good. Slightly better colour and just a tad less pleasing on the palate. Another amazing bottle that once again, really surprised me. The balance of this and the '86 were just so good. Nothing really poked out and dominated. Every single offline I go to, one or two wines always blow me away. The 3 Wynns did it this time. 4.5/5
1996 Wynns Black Label Cabernet. Coonawarra Any other night and this would have been right up there for WOTN honours, but it was in the shadow of the '86 and '91. In 10 years time I can see this being something special too. All the ingredients are there, just needs more time to scale the heights of the two previous bottles. One could certainly see the Wynns style in all three wines and in all honesty, if Gerry hadn't of divulged the wine, I reckon quite a few would have said they were all the same wine, just different vintages. Thank you Gerry for doing this and sharing these with the group. 4/5
2007 Juniper Estate Cabernet. Margaret River Sadly at every offline, once the outstanding wines of the night are served up, the wines that follow sort of get a bit lost. The next few were in that boat. I did find this quite tannic for a MR wine. Sort of made the wine a bit out of balance. I think it still needs plenty of time to come around. Plenty of decent fruit there, just those tannins were a bit too in your face. But this could of been the result of having much older wines that were so well balanced beforehand. 3/5
2007 Cape Mentelle Cabernet. Margaret River I found this much more enjoyable than the Juniper Estate. The balance was much better to start with. The fruit was much brighter too. Still needs more time but I quite enjoyed this. Cape Mentelle do make some excellent wines and to me are somewhat underrated. 4/5
2010 Mike Press Cabernet. Adelaide Hills I may have the order wrong here as the haziness was starting to settle in by this stage. Michael served this blind and played the options game. Only thing I got right was the vintage. I'd have sworn Langhorne Creek but I was miles off. Good lick of mint in this and when you take the price into account, a very good wine. Plenty of complexity and will age for many more years. Balance was quite good as well. As with many of the Mike Press wines, very good VFM. 3/5
2004 Dalwhinnie Moonanbel Cabernet. Pyrenees Just didn't hit the heights I'd hoped it would. Quite a lick of acid which was a bit too prominent for me. It was a bit all over the shop. Not sure if age will help it or not. I have one left and I'll hold for another five in the hope that it finds itself. A very high rating wine with some critics that didn't live up to the hype. On another night surrounded by lesser wines it probably would have been described as reasonable. Bad bottle maybe, who knows. 3/5
2001 WIrra Wirra Angelus Cabernet. McLaren Vale There was something wrong with this. I didn't detect any TCA but maybe it was oxidised. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. NR
2002 Thomas Hardy Cabernet. Margaret River/McLaren Vale Probably should have opened a wine of this quality earlier. This is the second time I've had this and it hasn't disappointed either time. So silken on the palate with plenty of complexity to boot. 4/5

Gerry did bring out a 2008 Wendouree Muscat of Alexandria. Clare Valley to finish, but I managed to not try it.

As always the food was excellent at 85 Miskin Street. The Beef Cheeks and the desert being the standouts.

Once again, thank you to all the attendees for the amazing generosity with the wines. It never ceases to amaze me. Hopefully the next Brisbane offline is sooner rather than later.

Cheers
Ian

[Michael McNally]

Great notes thanks Ian!

A wonderful night. Thank you to all who came!

Bird in Hand Sparkling Rose. Adelaide Hills Nice bead and mousse leading to a lovely mouthfeel. Rose petals on the nose. Moreish and quite savoury. Willard said it was ‘delicate’. Nice start! Very, Very Good.

2011 Disgorge Rockford Black Shiraz. Barossa Valley Plum, black cherry. Vegemite and soy. Length to burn. Some choc on the palate. Again, lovely mousse, great mouthfeel. Ian commented on the ‘coffee’ on the finish. Excellent.

2009 Paringa Estate "Estate" Chardonnay. Mornington Peninsula. Light oak on the nose with white nectarine. Some creaminess to the palate and again, noticeable oak, but quite powerful fruit so balanced. Very, Very Good.

2010 Hoddles Creek 1er Chardonnay. Yarra Valley Funky nose from the start, some folks said this had some Sauv Blanc characters to the bouquet. Apart from a hint of grassiness, not my reading. A really funky nose – wild, feral. Assume there was some wild yeast in this and maybe some whole bunches? Almost tangy with the acid. Gerry said it was ‘delicate’. I left some of this in the glass and came back to it again and again over the night. For interest and complexity alone my WWOTN. Excellent!

2011 Kumeu River Coddington Chardonnay. New Zealand Shy nose in comparison to the prebious two wines. Palate of nectarine and grapefruit. Much more built on acid. Very, Very Good.

2010 Hillcrest Premium Chardonnay. Yarra Valley Seems to be a warmer style. Bigger. Will said a ‘more oxidative’ style of Chardonnay. Certainly full-bodied and textural. Very, Very Good.

White Wine/Sparkling Votes: = 1 Rockford (3 votes) = 1 Hoddles (3 votes); 3 Paringa (2 votes); 4 Bird in Hand (1 vote); 4 Kumeu (1 vote)

1998 Chateau Musar. Lebanon A little murky – some VA on the nose which blows off. Flowers and pan juices on the nose (something mushroomy – someone said compost I think). Some masala spice. Hard to pin down and ever evolving. Again, kept coming back to this and it didn’t fall over until towards the end of the night. Excellent.

1996 Rymill Cabernet. Coonawarra Notes say “This is not 21!!” Dark colour. Nose: Tobacco, black forest fruit. Dark plum and blackcurrant palate. Tannin is literally juicy. Fruit essence married to tannin. Harmonious, resolved. Excellent (the laundry strikes again, thanks Perry!)

2010 Mike Press Cabernet. Adelaide Hills I had brought this to play options. No one guessed the region, then a couple got the vintage. Once I had revealed it was Adelaide Hills, Will guessed the 2010 Mike Press. Different to the other wines was not shamed in this lineup (to this point!). Very Very Good.

We all struggled to guess the Wynns Black Label Cabernets (even Gerry who knew the vintages though not the order!). What stood out for me was the consistency. I stopped taking notes and just focused on the three wines. They were all beautiful. The only one still possibly not at peak drinking was the 1996, where I wrote ‘cranberry – balance, cigar box’. In my notes the 1991 was simply ‘delicious’ and the 1986 was simply ‘amazing’. The two older wines were blessed with fully resolved tannins. The complexity and power of all three (despite none being truly ‘full-bodied’) and the way they evolved over the hour or so I had them before me were everything that cellaring wine is about. Thanks Gerry!

Will had bought a pair of Margaret River cabernets from 2007, the 2007 Juniper Estate Cabernet and the 2007 Cape Mentelle Cabernet. As Ian notes, they suffered from a) following on from an amazing triple act and b) their youth. The Cape Mentelle was black, dark fruited and intense. The Juniper Estate similarly intense. You could see the similarity in the noses with gravelly earthy edges to the blackcurrant and cassis. The tannins were still prominent and these will need many many years to reach their best. Both rated as Excellent and for the impatient would be brilliant with a piece of barbecued beef. For the patient, hold for another 10 years+.

2004 Dalwhinnie Moonanbel Cabernet. Pyrenees My notes are getting shorter buy this stage (I admit to spitting less of the Wynns than usual!) “Dark black fruit nose. Really acid driven. A bit short”. Rated Very Good

2001 WIrra Wirra Angelus Cabernet. McLaren Vale Oxidised. Auction/Cork gods were annoyed with me tonight. Happy to take the flak rather than lose any of the Wynns, the Musar, the Rymill or the Thomas Hardy!

2002 Thomas Hardy Cabernet. Margaret River/McLaren Vale Note says: “Smooth. Lovely tannin. Balanced. Long”. This was a very good wine that would star at most wine nights. Excellent+

RWOTN (and wine of the night as it worked out)
1986 Wynns Black Label (5 x first preferences)
1991 Wynns Black Label (3 x first preferences)
2002 Thomas Hardy (1 x first preference)
2011DG Rockford Black Shiraz (1 x first preference)
I did say on the night that my WOTN was the Hoddles Creek – just being contrary knowing the 86 had already won . It was in another league!

2008 Wendouree Muscat of Alexandria. Clare Valley Always a nice end to a meal, but we had had our fill by that point.

Food was excellent, but a little slow in the middle part which led to some hungry patrons. You shouldn't have to order bread in the middle of a degustation. Agree with Ian’s assessment that the standouts were the dessert and the beef cheek (in that order!)

Another fantastic offline – thanks everyone.

Cheers

Michael

[Willard]

Thanks everyone for another fun night. Rach enjoyed herself too, she was particularly impressed that people brought out the older wines (as was I).

I didn't do proper notes – thanks Ian and Michael for your notes! A few musings, then:

- The Black Shiraz was great, first try for me - think the Rockford style lends itself to the sparkling red beautifully, be great to try to snaffle a bottle a year for Christmas drinking!

- Chardonnay flight was great, all good wines I thought with a good variation of styles to try. The Hoddles did take a bit of air time in the glass to open up properly but I thought was great when it did. Divisive which surprised me a bit. I really liked the Paringa too.

- The Musar was great to try, a glassful of contradiction - bright fruit but earthy, whiffs of VA and brett, changing as it sat in the glass. Rach had a go and passed on her pour so I sat on this a while. For all that, it was one of my favourite wines for all its idiosyncrasies.

- Rymill a perfectly balanced and mature Coonawarra Cabernet. The classics done perfectly, at its peak - what I assume was a relatively modest wine at release, from a great vintage. Acid so settled. Soft, full tannins running the finish. In my top 3 of the night.

- Blind Wynns flight was a terrific treat - same wine, guess the vintage. I picked the relative ages but thought the oldest might be 90 or 91. The oldest wine (as turned out to be '86) was resolved, balanced and long. No rough edges as you'd expect and my WOTN too. The '91 a little sweet-sour for me, I had third in the flight but was very well supported by the table. '96 was my second favourite in the flight, acid more proud than the '86 (and the same-age Rymill) and tannins still a way to resolving, though this may be only more apparent with its older siblings alongside. I think ‘96 will be at least as good as the '86 too when its time comes. 3 great vintages and very generous to present, thanks Gerry.

- My younger MR cabs sure got knocked about by the brilliant Wynns flight and the dessert-like palate cleanser. I had the last glass of each the next night, they had opened a bit more and less aggressive. The Juniper still tannic, and on the edge of ripe/porty for my taste, likely better in 5-10. The Cape Mentelle went further ahead after another 24 hours, clearly the classier wine - balance, length, and just the tease of complexity that is to come. Hold.

- Cabernet fatigue for me by the end. Didn't help that the meal pacing was a bit slow this time.

Thanks everyone for a great night!
Will

[gpk]

Thanks for another great night. As always everyone is very generous and we had a huge selection of wine to try. The Hoddles Creek was my pick of the whites. Like Michael and Will I kept a glass on the go for a couple of hr’s. It started of very tight and if served blind I would not have picked it as a Chardonnay. After a couple of hr’s it had opened up to display typical Chardonnay characteristics and was beautifully balanced. For those that like more oak then this would not have appealed.

We had a huge variety of red’s. Thanks to Ren’s for bringing along the Musar. I don’t try enough wines outside of Oz and it was a treat to get to see one of these especially with a bit of age. Earthy and Bretty characteristics are clear descriptors and I can appreciate why people enjoy this wine. RWOTN could have been any of the Wynns or the Rymill as I do like Coonawarra Cabernets. However the 86 Wynns was the standout. Even knowing the vintages and having tried all 3 over the past few years I picked the 86 as being the 91 and vice versa. Both show how good the 96 should be in another 10 years and I am glad to have a few more stashed away. I opened these at home and both the corks on the 86 and 96 were perfect but the 91 did have some signs of seepage about ½ way up. The 91 came from verified provenance and has always been cellared in temp controlled conditions so it may be simply the Wynns cork lottery as I don’t think it showed as well as the past ones I have tried.

Thanks once again for a fantastic offline, lets make sure we get together again sooner than later. Cheers Gerry

[Rory]

Out of interest, the 2009 Paringa Estate Single Vineyard Chardonnay is a step up again from the Estate in terms of power. Still quite a stunning wine. Often overlooked.