Perth Offline Notes

[PaulSheldon]

A small group of Auswiners gathered at Jacques in Subiaco for an evening of wining and dining and a great time was had by all. I can echo everyone's sentiments in saying Jacques has both excellent food and service, and Jacque himself is an endless source of entertainment who didn't mind a drop or three of wine either. On the food side I think the highlight of the night was the special, Fillet of Osterich. About half of us went for this as our main and everyone raved about it.

Through the conversation and eventual alcoholic haze I managed to take a few notes, if anyone else would like to add to these or had a different recollection please feel free...

1992 Seppelt "The Millenium Release" Late Discorged Sparkling Shiraz
Very young colour and palate, very smooth with nice fruit sweetness. Peter was a bit put off by the estopol notes but it didn't bother me in the slightest. Excellent.

1998 Henschke Mt Edelstone
Presented as a "controversial" wine and it turned out to be just that. Deep rich ruby colour, strange, muted nose with a touch of plastic, a bit ordinary. The palate was flat, a little sour and a fair bit of pepper on a short finish. Not a disaster but ordinary, it was blown away by wines 1/3 of its price.

Served Blind
1997 Peel Estate Shiraz
Sweet, earthy, fresh, big fruit with great structure, good acid with just a hint of sour but this didn't detract from the wine in any wine, good length. Justin did note a bit lacking in the mid palate. This was easily picked as a shiraz, I even managed to pick it as a Peel Estate, quite distinctive.
Excellent

Served Blind
1996 Amberley Shiraz
Most picked this as a shiraz, but from just about every region except MR. Dusty, earthy, good fruit weight, long peppery finish. A very good wine and the surprise of the night.

1998 Mitchelton Print Shiraz
Big powerful nose of chocolate, earth, sweet plums, hints of liquorice, fine dusty tannins with a long, long finish. Great stuff, was the wine of the night at this point.

1996 Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon
Classic green bean cabernet nose, very green in fact, big mouthfilling palate. I don't mind green cabernet so I rated this highly but others may not agree.

1996 E&E Black Pepper Shiraz
Big, bold and immediately recogisable as a Barossa shiraz, lovely rich mocha, smooth as silk, good balance and length. First outstanding wine of the night.

Served Blind
1998 Yaldara Farms Barossa Shiraz
After the E&E, this was about as atypical a Barossa shiraz as you could imagine. Spearmint, capsicum, palate of black currant, cassis, big finish. Most picked this as a cabernet. An excellent and interesting wine albeit non-varietal and non-regional in every respect. Great for stuffing up an options night!

1998 Bowen Estate Cabernet
Big and still young, a touch green but this seemed to fade off a bit in the glass, typical Coonawarra earth. Yum. This really did improve in the glass and was drinking very well by the end of the night.

1998 Tatachilla McLaren Vale Cabernet
Winestate wine of the year and winner of the best wine on the Australia Show Circuit in Feb 2001, was it worth the fuss? Wow, yes it was, big grippy tannins (the one and only wine of the night that made you pucker), powerful varietal characters with not a hint of green, lush, full palate, very long finish, drinking very well but will last a while yet. Comments were made that it was a surprisingly big wine for the price. Second outstanding wine of the night.

1998 Seppelt Botrytis Gerwurtztramminer
Rich nose of sweet peach, zesty oranges and a strong minerally backbone. Very nice with desert and excellent QPR.

1998 E&E Black Pepper
Similar to the 96 but a touch more restrained on the nose initially, but did open up beautifully. Big and powerful too, but this vintage was for me better balanced and more rounded, best described as enticing and alluring and capable of ageing at least another 10 years. A stunning wine and the third outstanding wine of the night.

The 98 E&E was probably the wine of the night by general consensus but was not a clear winner, a testament to all the wines consumed. Opinions and palates varied, adding to the interest of the evening.

Thanks to all who attended, and a special thankyou to Duncan and Julie for getting me home safely.

[Davo]

Paul,

Thanks for organising an excellent evening and for your notes. Good to meet Justin and Des as well. Did we drink all that? No wonder I was a bit fuzzy this morning. I do recall having some trouble articulating my words last night but had just put that down to tiredness after a long day at the coalface.

Your notes cover my thoughts pretty well. The E&E 98 was just sensational. I did find the VF Cab a bit too green for my liking. And that Henschke Mt Eddy 98 was just plain ordinary. Not a terrible wine but would look better in a lineup of under $15 quaffers.

Thanks again for the evening.

[michel]

Geez Guys
is the 98 Mt Eddie a bad bottle or is it representative?
I tried it once just after release and liked it enough to buy one to retry.
My only 94 was a quality wine.
thanks
michel

[Justin B.]

It seems as though it is representative that 98 Mt Edelstone is a dud. I imagine Henschke are embarrassed, its that poor for the $.

Well done guys on a great effort last night. Looking forward to the next one already.

My favourite was the Mitchelton, followed close second by 4 wines: Yaldara, both E&E's, and the Tatachilla (for value).

Ciao

Justin

[Duncan]

Thanks for writing up the notes, and arranging the evening Paul. I seem to be getting a localised palate, particularly liking the Amberley Shiraz and Vasse Felix CS to drink now - they wouldn't want to be kept. But the E&E 98 was the best wine, and would only get better.
I was very impressed by the Seppelt Sparkling Shiraz.
Cheers, Duncan