Canberra tasting group - 2nd dinner, Aubergine

[pstarr]

The second get together of the Canberra tasting group (still need a name!) is on tonight at Aubergine restaurant (in the Griffith shops).

Jordan is providing the wines, so it should be a good night.

Notes will follow.

[Jordan]

The wines we imbibed were:

1996 Lanson Gold Label
2003 Seppelt Drumborg Riesling
2003 Pierro Chardonnay
1998 Orlando Jacaranda Ridge Cab Sav
2004 Rockford Basket Press
2006 De Bortoli Noble One

The food at Aubergine was fantastic and all the wines showed pretty well on the night. More impressions to come.

Already looking forward to the next dinner!

[redstuff]

another great night. Was very impressed by the Pierro Chardonnay. The 98 Jacaranda was a beautiful cabernet at this point in its life. Oh boy was the 04 BP a delicious beast

[pstarr]

Capital Tasters ?

I quite like that. Thanks.

We had a bit too good a time to remember we were supposed to sort out a name

[dlo]

A top night!

Aubergine, under the stewardship of owner and chef, Ben Willis, rates, by some margin, as one of the finest dining experiences I've encountered in Canberra. Great ambiance, friendly, attentive staff, good glassware and food to die for. I've dined here with 16 people over two separate occasions in the last week and have heard nothing but high praise from all concerned. Quality was amazingly consistent across the board both nights. I hope to return sooner than later to try an entree, mains and desserts combo of pork belly, venison and rhubarb souffle.

The 1996 Lanson Gold Label (90) was very fine indeed exhibiting an oxidative but intriguing toasty nose of cracked wheat and almond meal followed by a lively and tightly coiled palate featuring an abundance of zingy citrus accompanied by bright acidity and a deceivingly subtle but endearing finish. The wine will last (on the palate) for some considerable time but the bouquet suggests the development of more sherry-like nuance over the next few years. I'd be drinking mine in the near term.

The 2003 Seppelt Drumborg Riesling (91) is a complex beast, albeit with a little reductive character on the nose at first that caused me some concern. Some petroleum-like characters hung around this wine all night but not enough to turn me off the classy lime and mineral smells and flavours that make for a superior bottle of Riesling. I'd suggest drinking this over the next 5 years.

The 2003 Pierro Chardonnay is a blinder and was my WOTN. Still harbouring quite a youthful colour, this gorgeous white reveals a ravishing nose filled with peach, fig and guava with ample support from brilliantly worked barrel character of bacon fat, struck match, oak spice amongst many other glorious things. The palate is refined, mouth-filling and moorish without any sign of fatness or blowsiness with surprisingly bright and lively acids maintaining equilibrium. The finish is long, smooth and beautifully delineated. 94 points from me with, perhaps, another 3-4 years of superior drinking to look forward to. A stunning Chardonnay and a better balanced wine than the alcoholic Leeuwin Estate Art Series of the same vintage.

Jordan's first red of the night, Orlando's 1998 Jacaranda Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon, met with glowing approval from everyone around the table. Revealing a deep magenta hue, this brawny, weedy Coonawarra Cab is a class act loaded with terrific extract of nettles, briar, green olives, bitter chocolate, tobacco leaf, tomato stalk layered over deep set blackcurrant fruit and wrapped in a substantive shroud of Rolls Royce oak. It suffers from one shortfall - it needs another five years before being broached again! Otherwise, the wine displays terrific structure with superb acid/tannin balance that moves to a decidedly authoritative, firm finish. I rated this at about gold medal standard of 92 points.

Others at the table, seemingly, were far more impressed than me with Rockford's 2004 Basket Press Shiraz. I appreciate the many virtues of this very ripe, impressively endowed blockbuster but had a minor problem with the excess of alcohol, particularly in the bouquet. It may right itself with time. Otherwise, an excellent wine. 90 points.

We finished our meal with some wonderful inventive desserts accompanied by De Bortoli's 2006 Noble One. The wine always drinks exceedingly well young and on this occasion seemed to match all the choices of the group extremely well. I enjoyed the apricot marmalade richness of this wine backed with almond/spicy vanillin oak and cutting acidity. This wine is not a blockbuster but treads carefully across the palate delivering impressive modulating flavour and texture until it finally glides down the throat. 91 points.

Thanks to Jordan for organising a most enjoyable night.

[Jordan]

1996 Lanson Gold Label - a good aperitif style which is sitting right in its drinking window. Still quite acidic, as expected, with yeasty, toasty notes. Very enjoyable start to the evening.


2003 Seppelt Drumborg Riesling - slightly reductive to start off but cleared quickly. Pale yellow, citrusy nose. Palate was quite lean initially and broadened a bit as the wine breathed and warmed a little. There also was a dominant kero flavour which reduced as the wine breathed and eventually showed a wonderfully balanced palate of lime and minerality. Good drinking now, but still has time ahead of it.


2003 Pierro Chardonnay - a highlight of the evening. Bigger MR style done superbly being both restrained and powerful and looking very good with 6 years behind it. Complex palate showing a smokey, salty element intertwined with pineapple, peaches and grapefruit with an underlying fine line of acid. A complex wine with great balance and length. The crowed was roaring!


1998 Orlando Jacaranda Ridge Cab Sav - unmistakably Coonawarra Cabernet on the nose with herbal aromas of capsicum, tomato leaf and tobacco. Palate was just as good with classic Coonawarra herbal characters underlying the blackcurrant fruit. The structure and tannins of this bottle indicates the wine has awhile to go before reaching its peak.


2004 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz - while i enjoyed this wine i found it slightly confusing (which can happen by the 5th wine of the night!). It was obviously ripe in style but i found it rather delicate and floral early, then falling into stewy/porty territory with a warm alcoholic finish and as the night went on becoming more balanced. Time will tell what becomes of it - i am hoping in 5 years it will have figured itself out.


2006 De Bortoli Noble One - a very good conclusion to an enjoyable night matched by Aubergine's superb desserts. Plenty of spice, apricot and citrus notes. A good lick of acid on the finish delivers the wine a refreshing note on the end of a richly flavoured palate.