TN: Goodbye Leiden, Hello Melbourne

[mychurch]

This was sad – the last get together with the boys before heading off to Melbourne. Australia is not the end of the wine world, but its also not the greatest place for lovers of Weird Wines... We decided on a late lunch at Steakhouse Terrior in Leiden and our 2:30 start finally ended around 9. There was no real theme to the lunch but we managed to get a good assortment. Every single time we do these tastings, we end up drinking way more than expected, so I took 8 bottles along, to try and cover all possible options…we still ordered something from the list.

Palate Cleanser

Bollinger Cuvee Brut Special 3*
Jelle, Ramon and I all travelled by bike and arrived at exactly the same time. Michiel had to walk from the Station and arrived a bit early. Rather than wait, he ordered a bottle of bubbles. This was young and clean and perfectly drinkable. Having recently gone through a mixed case of grower champagnes, this was a bit dull in comparison though. Still it got us going.

All the wines were opened to check that they were in ok condition and to make a match of styles. Apart from a slightly porty 98 Wendoureee, all were in good nick

Flight 1 Romorantin
2009 Cuvee Francois 1er Cru, Domain Huards, 4*
2009 Provignage, Henry Marionet, 4*

Cour Cheverny is great and these are 2 of the stars. The Huards is best QPR wine I have bought over the last 5 years and in a lunch with some very big names, it's not outclassed. Fully mature now, this has lovely rich ripe fruit and a hint of minerality. Good match for the sweet, raw Langoustines. Yum. The Provignage is still tight and cool, with a chalky, sandy texture. From the oldest vines from France, this is a step back in time and it’s a wine that really will develop over the medium term.

Flight 2 Chardonnay
2008 Meursault Genevrieres, Coche Dury, 4.5*
2010 Single Block Release Chardonnay, Yabby Lake, 4.5*

Served with Sea Bass and truffle, these wines showed just how difficult it is to compare wines made from the same grape. The Coche starts a bit heavy and oaky, with a touch of marzipan, but over the afternoon it opens up superbly and haunts the tongue. Fat and low in acidity, the intensity and length are incredible and the only reason it does not get 5* is that Jelle pointed out that the CC and Perriers are usually even better…The Yabby is not outclassed though. In a different style, with higher acidity, spice and structure, this was the surprise of the day for the rest of the guys. It to improved through the lunch and the last glass was the best. Needs time, but so lovely now.

Flight 3 Syrah
2001 Hermitage, Chave, 4*
2001 Ermitage l’Ermite, Chapoutier 3.5*

These came with some Black pudding that had been stuffed with Veal. Yum
Interesting flight as the 2 wines were in different states of development. The Chapoutier was the more backward of the 2 and in need of time in the cellar. You could taste the minerality and appreciate the balance, but the fruit was muted and the wine just appeared to be tight and closed. The Chave was much more open, with resolved round tannins and mouth coating dark fruit. Drinking well, but without any secondary complexity. Great, but Gonon is just as yummy to drink and will save you a lot of money….

Flight 4 Bdx Style
1996 Haut Brion 4*
1996 Maurizio Zanella, Ca del Bosco, Italy 4*

We shared 200 grams of heavily marbled kobe beef with this flight, which was great.

Hard to go wrong with Haut Brion, although this was not quite up to a bottle Jelle brought a few years ago. Impeccable balance though, scorched earth, complexity. So easy and moorish to drink. Yum. The Zanella was the discovery of the day for me. A Cabernet Sauv/Franc/Merlot blend, it’s the 20% Cab franc that shines through and gives the wine a lovely earthiness. Deep dark fruit, velvety texture. Long and still plenty of potential. Good QPR.

Flight 5 Wendouree
1998 Shiraz Malbec 4*
2012 Shiraz Malbec 3*

This came with a big chunk of prime rib, served with roast cauliflower and bone marrow. Another great dish.

2 years ago Trudi stayed on in Auz after Xmas and arranged to send the Wendouree we had been storing at her mother’s back to NL. Great, but now we find ourselves going the other way and I am not flying the wine back, so time to show a couple to the boys. The 98 was the oldest I had and initially seemed a bit disjointed and porty. 4 hours later though it had blossomed. It actually appeared younger than the ’12 with a deep purple colour, eucalyptus and layered ripe fruit. Really impressive, although by now the alcohol was kicking in. The 12 was the only wine we decanted and even after 4 hours it was still very primary. You could see that the 2 wines were related, but this needs to be stored away for a while. Impressed the owner of the restaurant though. Worth noting that the last cm of the 98 was better 4 days later...


Flight 6 Rieslings to be Cheerful
1990 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese, JJ Prum 4.5*
1997 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spätlese, Markus Molitor 4*
1997 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Auslese , Haus Klofterberg 4*

Desert was poached pear with shaved duck liver pate. Nice combo with the wines

When we tasted the wines at 14:30 the Prum was, by a long way, the wine of the day. It brought me out in a giant smile and I started dancing on the spot. Only mature, top quality Riesling can do that to me and this was perfect, with botrytis, smoked pineapple, glycerine and an endless finish. Normally these wines continue to improve, but this time we got it wrong and by the time we came to eat desert around 19:30, the wine had gone backwards. The nose was still intoxicating, but the finish was now clipped and not nearly as long. Shame, as I was sure that this was going to be the absolute star.

Ramon was meant to bring another 90 along, but could not find the bottle, so instead we had the 2 97s. They were both more concentrated than the Prum, but they also had lower acidity and they missed that extra level of excitement. No need to rush to drink either though and on another day they would probably shine in their own right.

Flight 7 The Weird Wine
I had 2 backups left at this point and we decided to open the Vin Natural which was the l'Ange Vin Cuvée Bistrologie from Jean-Pierre Robinot. NV of course, but probably 2015, I was expecting oxidation and an orange colour, but actually it was pale, with clear varietal definition and rather refined. Would have been great with the Xmas dinner, and actually was lost here.

I’m hopefull that this was not the final Weird Wine Group tasting, but if it was, then we did go out in style.

[mjs]

mychurch,

Sounds like a great tasting and meal with friends Yes, Melbourne is far from the end of the world wine-wise. Let us know when you settle in, there are a couple of off-line groups around that might interest you
cheers, Malcolm

[conformistpete]

Seems like a pretty normal wine group with one weird wine.
Plenty of the conventional and offbeat in Melbourne for you to explore.