Our company Christmas party was held at our Managing DirectorÂ’s house on Sunday, 12th December 2004. Instead of buying wine especially for the occasion, the boss (David) allowed me to choose wines for the occasion from his cellar. I was most happy with this arrangement, especially considering that I have been David's primary wine advisor for the majority of his wine purchases. So it was my responsibility to ensure the wines were enjoyed by all. I think I did a good job!
The wines opened were:
2003 Wignall's Sauvignon Blanc – Albany, Western Australia
Passionfuit, lime and grassy elements on the nose of very good intensity. The palate displays powerful passionfruit and other tropical fruits that are well integrated with grassiness and green bean nuances well restrained by beautiful acidity. Ripe but nothing flabby, with grass and greenry that adds complexity and is not off-putting, something I can't say about the majority of "top" Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc. The palate is extremely long and finishes with powdery, fine and harmonious tannins, quite similar to those found in Cloudy Bay. I have not had a better Australian Sauvignon Blanc made in the New World style. Rated Highly Recommended/Excellent.
2001 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay – Margaret River, Western Australia
Ripe peach, nectarine, melon, and butter with hints of nougat is balanced much better than the 2000 vintage with a totally submerged, fine and integrated acid structure. There is some broadness and a slight glycerine mouthfeel on the front but this is quickly tightened until the end of its very long finish. Much more elegance than I expected but has not lost its power in doing so. There is a hint of Giaconda structural class in this wine. A top LEAS Chardonnay and it will be one of the longest living. Drink over the next decade with confidence. Rated Excellent/Outstanding.
2003 Disgorgement Balnaves Sparkling Cabernet – Coonawarra, South Australia
Big, sweet, ripe cherries, blackberries and blackcurrants of great depth, like waves of flavour flowing over the tongue. Very broad and very, very smooth mouthfeel. A sweet mint/eucalyptus streak runs impressively through the wine. I wonder whether I would have picked the wine as Coonawarra blind. A very hedonistic wine with the complexity and structure to well convey its seriousness. The wine ends with ripe, lightly chalky tannins that carry the wine memorably to a very long and quite dry finish. Rated Excellent, despite the high quality of the Balnaves Cabernet table wines, I did not expect this wine to be this good. Marvellous surprise. It will age well too.
2003 Disgorgement Rockford Black Shiraz (Sparkling) – Barossa Valley, South Australia
On a base of quite restrained ripe red and black cherries, there was a complex gamut of sweet spices and some nuttiness, truffles and earthy elements. A streak of ripe plum liqueur showed with air time. Quite remarkably complexity, significantly superior to the Balnaves in this aspect, but it was not as deep or intense, nor was the finish as long, despite a very classy, fine tannin structure. Rated Highly Recommended, I was expecting greater things from this wine and its 53 dollar price tag. Maybe the wines should have been served after the Balnaves. Maybe it was not a good bottle. I have had better Rockford Blacks. Even my "classical" palate had to admit that depth and power beat complexity on this occasion.
1986 Lindemans St.George Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon – Coonawarra, South Australia
Ripe blackberries, blackcurrants and cranberries with tomato bush and eucalypt on the nose. Unmistakeably Coonawarra. Blackcurrant dominant palate with sweet eucalypt running throughout the wine. Not much depth but there are no holes either, the flavours running well and enjoyably to the end of the wineÂ’s medium-ling finish, thanks to an abundance of fine, chalky tannins that are well contained by the fruit. Elegant and harmonious with good power, this is the best of 3 recently opened bottles to date. Rated Highly Recommended. Drink now as this wine will start to dry out.
1995 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon – Margaret River, Western Australia
This was what they were trying to do with Cabernet in the 1970s-1980s: restrained yet ripe Cabernet ripe flavours without overt herbaceous on a harmonious palate. In this case, Leeuwin Estate succeeded, although it needed 14% alcohol to do so. I loved this wine. Bright, light cherry-red colour. The palate is packed with blackcurrants with oven-roasted red capsicum, tomato bush, leaf and cedar. Blackberry is taken to the absolute end of the palate by a truckload of fine, slightly gravely tannins that fill all end of the mouth, but after a few seconds yield to display a most compelling softness. A lovely Cabernet at its peak. Rated Excellent/Outstanding. I note that this wine is rated lowly by a number of commentators. They need to taste this wine again and reassess.
1996 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz – South Australia
Powerful, deep and dark palate with fruitcake spice from fruit and oak, although this does not give justice to the wineÂ’s complexity. There is a lot happening here that shows quality fruit without, quite admirably, over-ripeness. That Penfolds formic acid is here as well. Big and broad but very well balanced and controlled. It is quite sumptuous now but needs a lot more time. Tannins are ripe, strong and well integrated. Palate is very long. A wine that has the potential to be absolutely marvellous in a decade, and will live for a number of decades. Rated Excellent/Outstanding at the moment and only getting better.
2001 Howard Park Cabernet Sauvignon – 71% Great Southern/29% Margaret River, Western Australia
Pure, deep blackberry fruit of great power that still has a feeling of baby fat yet is so tightly encompassed by powerful and ripe tannins, which are very grippy after swallowing. Beautiful oak nuances add greatly to wine with cedar and caramel. Great length. This wine has massive potential. Rated Excellent/Outstanding, donÂ’t bother opening another bottle of this for 5 years unless you want to taste it over a number of nights. This is a great 2001 WA Cabernet and could well be greater than the sensation 1994 vintage of this wine.
1977 Graham’s Vintage Port – Oporto, Portugal
I did not find this wine in the bossÂ’s cellar but saw it peaking at me from within his upstairs liquor cabinet.
It begging me to take it downstairs to the festivities. 1977 is my birth year after all. 
This wine had been open for quite a while but it still displayed sweet, fresh sultanas, light cream and marmalade on a very long palate. The wineÂ’s structure was a joy to experience, nearly silky, and its spirit beautifully clean and long. Although this wine needs a few more decades to show its best, it was a lovely way to end the afternoon. Rated Excellent.
Lastly, I must thank David & Nikki for opening their well-endowed cellar. These superb wines, along with quite sensationally flavoured and textured food and enjoyable surrounds, made for a most memorable afternoon. I look forward to next year.
Vienna & Adair saying "Thank you"... with the 1977
Kind regards,
Adair
P.S. - One last picture:
David, me and Mike (Chief Software Engineer) with our favourite wines
