A wonderful dinner to celebrate Adair’s 30th birthday at his home in Riverview last Saturday. Thanks to all the attendees for both the exemplary spirit of the night and the generosity with the wines and food.
Happy birthday Adair!!!
2000 Louis Roederer Rose Champagne
Onion skins, wild strawberries and obvious dosage. Bit too sweet for my liking. Very good length and good structure. Not for long term ageing.
87/100
1996 Salon "S" Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil Champagne
Searingly intense and linear lime sorbet and lemon meringue flavours cascade. Palate is super! Super austerity, super acidity, super architecture, super youthful, and super length. Packed with flavour and so tight and linear. Lacey and remarkably balanced. Stunning wine that was still improving after 3 hours in the glass!
95/100
1999 Yarra Yering Dry White Wine #1
Soft texture, with a touch of heat. Subtle grassy, beeswax and honeysuckle aromas all intermingle. Good length. Not a bad wine. Ready to go!
87/100
2004 Domaine Christian Moreau Pere et Fils Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos
Oooh, liked this one too! Very textured and long with seamless mineral flavours. Much more forward than expected. Excellent wine. Apparently a big scoring Burghound wine.
90/100
2004 Domaine Dujac Bonnes Mares
Now this was classy and sensual, with gorgeous deep set black fruits, spicy forest and perfumed, ripe characters. Palate is medium bodied, yet possesses amazing feminine florals and a judicious suppleness that I loved. No hint of any greenness. Lightness with weight. Beautiful acidity. Exceptional wine! Just how I like my burgs!
93/100
2002 Curly Flat Pinot Noir (Macedon Ranges)
Much more concocted and sweeter this, akin to raspberry cordial (in a good way). More red fruits like strawberries. Very good. Lacked acid and tannin.
88/100
2003 Chateau Lagrange (St.-Julien)
Cappuccino and roasted coffee galore. Didn’t even smell of Bordeaux. Tails off quickly on short length. Where are the tannins? Not sure what to make of this. Finishes touch resiny and slightly oaky. Not impressed.
86/100
1982 Chateau La Mission Haut Brion
Almost impossible to extract the cork! Deep and black. More earthy. Black olives. Still so youthful and primary. Needs 5-10 years. You all know how great this wine is.
96/100
1982 Chateau Leoville Las-Cases
As per the 82 LMHB, just more classic complexity (graphite, pencil shavings), additional ripeness of the broader fruit and superior length on the palate. Marginally darker in colour too. Super furry tannins. Great wine lives up to its reputation. Again, way too youthful. An awesome duo side-by-side, and hard to imagine that even after 25 years these wines are still so young!
97/100
1986 Penfolds Grange
A classic Grange! A whiff of volatility. Bigger, more density and an amazing cavalcade of spicy black plums, finishing with chalky tannins. Real tightness here and a certain austerity but great breed. Beautifully balanced. Again, entering drinking window but far too young for my palate.
94/100
1990 Penfolds Grange
Riper and more fruit pastilles-like on the nose with a softer, more generous palate. Touch hotter too. Really, really dry tannins. Flavours fan out (unlike the 1986 which remains concentrated and focused all the way through). Not a massive fan of this but still exceptional wine.
92/100
2004 Wendouree Shiraz
13.3% AV. Dark purple. Not as heavy or intense or structured or interesting as the Shiraz Malbec that followed. Lacks structure and depth. Super soft tannins. Too much ripeness and broad fruit that is shapeless. Not sure about this. Everyone on the table felt is was a big disappointment. As I did.
87/100
2004 Wendouree Shiraz Malbec
13.0% AV. Even more youthful, more restrained and (thankfully) less ripe and concocted than the straight shiraz. Longer length. Better structure. Excellent wine.
91/100
1977 Taylor’s Vintage Port
Expressive hazelnuts, raisins and honeyed oranges. Some AV heat. Very subtle, elegant and clean wine with long length. Still so young (no browns). Lovely warm finish. Should’ve spent more time on this…but my cab was beeping outside! Another top wine.
90/100
Celebrating Adair's 30th b'day with some awesome wines!
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Baby Chickpea
- Posts: 582
- Joined: Mon Feb 02, 2004 12:17 pm
Celebrating Adair's 30th b'day with some awesome wines!
Danny
The voyage of discovery lies not in finding new landscapes but in having new eyes. We must never be afraid to go too far, for success lies just beyond - Marcel Proust
The voyage of discovery lies not in finding new landscapes but in having new eyes. We must never be afraid to go too far, for success lies just beyond - Marcel Proust
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bacchaebabe
- Posts: 1222
- Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2003 5:04 pm
- Location: Sydney
Happy Birthday Adair indeed! Very noice wines to celebrate with. I'm sure it was a birthday he'll never remember!
First note I've seen on the salon and looks like it's worth the money. Good to see how the 86 and 90 Granges are going too. And the lucky few who are born in a declared vintage port year. Looks like it would have been a fun night.
First note I've seen on the salon and looks like it's worth the money. Good to see how the 86 and 90 Granges are going too. And the lucky few who are born in a declared vintage port year. Looks like it would have been a fun night.
Cheers,
Kris
There's a fine wine between pleasure and pain
(Stolen from the graffiti in the ladies loos at Pegasus Bay winery)
Kris
There's a fine wine between pleasure and pain
(Stolen from the graffiti in the ladies loos at Pegasus Bay winery)
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Mike Hawkins
- Posts: 2747
- Joined: Fri Aug 29, 2003 9:39 am