The dinner was held on April 2, Saturday night in the suburb of Maroubra. This time around we focused on “The Grapes of BurgundyÂâ€Â. Attendees this evening were:
* David L - Drove all the way from Canberra with two roast ducks in the boot.
* Adair D - Arrived armed with "Tete de Moine" cheese and Girolle.
* Danny Y - Sported a classic Iron Maiden T-Shirt and a big smile.
* David P - MW student who sped over straight from work.
* Stephan L - His last dinner with us before going overseas.
* Attila - The host.
I prepared a Tamari Almonds appetizer for the Champagne. My wife made toasted sourdough baguettes with melted Tasmanian Camembert and asparagus for our first white. For the next, I pan-fried bream fillets with mashed potatoes mixed with American soy mayonnaise. The first main course to accompany the reds, the Hungarian chicken Paprika with dumplings, was cooked by my Mom. Adair provided a fantastic and rare cheese, which was served with fresh and lovely walnut bread. DavidL prepared his two roast ducks, with DavidP carving them up expertly. The preparation of food for this is evening was a team effort. For dinner, I played the CD of Vera Tóth, the 2004 Hungarian Idol.
All wines were tasted double blind. My brief notes on the 17 bottles are as follows:
Pinot Noir group therapy
1982 POL ROGER Rosé Champagne-Epernay
Colour copper bronze with orange hues. Grapey, fruity nose with sherbet. Quite biscuity, perhaps slightly maderised. After a minute, brandied apricot aromas surfaced. Very sweet and quite lovely palate. Tasting old with a whiff of caramel, it is still quite vigorous and creamy. A round and soft wine that passed its peak 6 years ago but is still drinking well. I like aged Champagne so I enjoyed it. Cost AU $80
1997 DOMAINE PINSON “Les Clos†Chablis-Grand Cru
I was the only person in the group who recognized this wine as Chablis. Colour bright golden. Melon, stone fruits and lemon on the nose. Good focussed palate. Ripe, quite rich fruit without obvious oak influence. Intriguing and interesting aftertaste that was long and flavourful. Not your typical Chardonnay taste for sure. Reminded me of aged Semillon. This 8 years old wine is at its peak now. I liked it and enjoyed it. AU $60+
1988 LOUIS CARILLON Bienvenues-Batard-Motrachet-Grand Cru
Medium gold colour. Melony nose with white stonefruits and cedary oak. Mouthwatering rich, lemony flavours on the palate. Excellent toasty oak support and superb balance. An outstanding full bodied Chardonnay in quite an opposite style to the “Les ClosÂâ€Â. Powerful wine, although 17 years old, still has 10 years to go. It can cost you up to AU $300 but itÂ’s a lovely Burgundy.
The 2 Whites
1976 Domaine LOUIS LATOUR Chateau Corton Grancey-Grand Cru
Quite dead. Brick cherry red colour with caramel on the nose. Too old now but it may have been outstanding in the 80Â’s.
1982 ROUX PERE & FILS Santenay-1er Cru
Dead on arrival. Santenay is not a long term red wine in my opinion.
2000 TYRRELLÂ’S Vat 6 Pinot Noir-Hunter Valley
Colour apricot red. Looked older than it is. Savoury red fruits on the nose. Nice, sappy and ripe fruits on the palate. The finish is slightly bitter with rising alcohol. Moments later it appeared disjointed and unbalanced. Looked much better at cellar door. DidnÂ’t show well this time. Pity. AU $39-50
2001 CURLY FLAT Pinot Noir-Macedon Ranges
A stunning Australian. Colour still purple with dark cherry red centre. Red berries, cherry and plum on the nose. Silky smooth palate with gamey, forest floor undertones. Very classy with smooth vanilla oak finish. Expertly made. I liked a lot, surprisingly fine quality, quite Burgundian. Well worth the price of AU $45 (CD only).
2003 DALWHINNIE Pinot Noir-Pyrenees
I loved this and itÂ’s a pity I donÂ’t have any more in my cellar. An excellent wine made by David Jones. Colour dark cherry red. Beautifully fragrant nose of dark cherries, red fruits. Very young and vibrant on the palate with silky sour cherry fruit. David Lole commented that this is “The best structured Aussie Pinot IÂ’ve ever drunkÂâ€Â. Mouthwatering acid and excellent length on the finish. Needs 3 years to show its best. Fifteen percent of the grapes were whole bunch pressed to give this wine fine tannin structure and longevity. The wine spent 18 months in oak, 80% of the barrels were new. Cost AU $45+
2003 SHAKY BRIDGE Pinot Noir-Central Otago-N.Z.
Colour very dark cherry red. Rich aromatic plums on the nose. Hugely promising and inviting. On the palate, quite full bodied with rich and ripeÂ…in fact too ripe fruit flavours. Unfortunately it had a very short finish with low acid. At its peak now as it doesnÂ’t have the necessary acid structure to carry this wine further. I believe the grapes were simply picked too ripe. Cost AU $45.
Expert duck carver, David Pearson.
1988 Domaine COMTE GEORGES de VOGÜÉ Musigny-Grand Cru
Bottle No: 05365. Colour slightly browning with bronze on the rim. Coffee and burnt sugar aromas on the nose. Fully mature and fine palate. Beautifully balanced wine with aged Pinot Noir fruit characters. An exciting old wine that grows on you. Very long aftertaste and fine oak. At 17 years of age itÂ’s still holding up, in fact it will go for another 5-8 years. Lovely drinking experience that can cost you AU $350 today.
1988 MONGEARD MUGNERET Echezaux-Grand Cru
I thought it was a Romanée-Conti. Colour brownish apricot red. Very intense tobacco on the nose with savoury plum aromas. Very powerful and tasty on the palate. Savoury and long aftertaste. Will go on for many years. Classic red Burgundy, I liked it a lot. AU $300.
1996 Domaine HARMAND GEOFFROY “La Perriere†Gevrey Chambertin-1er Cru
Colour cherry red with bricking. Forest floor, undergrowth, gamy aromas and oak on the nose. Unfortunately the palate had lots of green, unripe fruit characters as well. In fact it was a very complex fruity wine that would have been outstanding in a better vintage but not this time. Still a good mouthful and good drinking with food. AU $100.
2000 LARK HILL Exultation Pinot Noir-N.S.W.
Colour cherry red with bricking. Brandied cherries on the nose. Good fruit on the palate but a short finish. The vanilla oak aftertaste was lovely but the wine simply had not enough richness, length and class. AU $50. I still remember the lovely 1996 to be a better wine I drunk a few years ago.
2000 BASS PHILLIP Reserve Pinot Noir-Gippsland Region
Cherry red centre with slightly brown rim. Strong, gamy Burgundian nose that immediately reminded me of the Echezaux drunk earlier. I was convinced that it was Burgundy. The smoky nose was followed by a richly fruity and intense palate. A meaty, focused, long and serious Pinot. Amazing length and beautiful acidity. The best Australian Pinot Noir IÂ’ve drunk in recent memory but then again it can cost you AU $225. I believe this wine is extremely limited and nearly impossible to find. Winemaker Phillip Jones is an expert Pinot Noir maker for sure. Grapes were picked from 21 years old vines and this wine spent 16 months in Allier oak. Great stuff.
1998 VINCENT GIRARDIN Clos Saint Denis-Grand Cru
The best Pinot Noir on the night. Colour cherry red with pale bricking on the rim. Aromatic, powerful nose of undergrowth and timber oak. Superb and pristine cherry flavours on the palate with incredible balance. A very classy and restrained red. Elegant and aristocratic wine with perfectly judged super class oak. Amazing length and aftertaste that lasted for minutes. A great burgundy at AU $250.
Adair must have thought that this wine was Japanese text as he kept repeating: “I donÂ’t get itÂ…I donÂ’t get it!Ââ€Â
David Pearson smiled contently, as he supplied this, the best wine of the night.
2000 CLASSIC McLAREN Wines “La Testa†Shiraz Grenache Cabernet-S.A.
Colour very dark red with black centre. Closed nose with blackberry and dark cherry. Tannic and gripping on the palate with bitter chocolate and plum flavours. A medium bodied wine with quite nice fruit complexity. Fine acid but slightly bitter finish with toasty oak. Needs 3 years to show better. A quite good $20 wine I thought but in fact this “La Testa†will be testing your wallet at AU $50.
1991 CHAIS GRANDS VINS DE GIRONDE Sauternes
A declassified Yquem I believe. It was declassified just in time as this wine looked disjointed and affected by volatile acidity. Anyway, colour looked deep golden. Sweet Semillon botrytis aromas on the nose, promising at that stage. Quite simple grapey flavours that brought the Riverina up in my memory. Disjointed on the palate with a short finish. At 14 years of age, perfectly mature and ready. Pity it wasnÂ’t a good wine. Cost AU $40.
These three were lovely wines among others.
Regardless of the dire last bottle it was a very good night. My wife had to throw everybody out after midnight (except me) as we had too much of a good time talking about the wonders of Burgundy.
Cheers,
Attila
