Sydney Inner West Tasting Group

[Gavin Trott]

That mustiness / yeastiness may be slightly artificial...

Monghead.

Sounds like those socks may have been corked!

[dave vino]

Second one has been completed.

Thanks to all especially our hosts Kris and Lisa. Was a great night.

Also thanks to Alex for getting everything organised on the tasting front, the flights were very well matched.

Loved the cellar and the Galaga tabletop.

Loved the sashimi, the pate and stuff Shannon did and cheeses, stuffed olives etc. (didn't have any oysters so can't comment on them)

The tastings were great, tasting blind is a great leveller. There were some very generous contributions. Krug, Pol Roger, Piper Heidsieck Rare et al.
The Ployez I contributed came about me wanting something a bit left of field. I spoke to Neville (Eurocentric) and told him my ideal champagne style (I like mouth filling with lots of primary fruit, with slight malo creaminess but with a good balance of acid so it doesn't get too cloying) and the 2002 was the one he recommended and I think he got it pretty spot on.

The sparkling Shirazes were strange beasts. I found second flight stepped up a level with the addition of the bbq meats. It was like night and day. You can really pick the ones that use good fruit in their sparkling wines. I think a lot of winemakers see them as a novelty so don’t try it with their good fruit. It will probably always be a drink for special occasions (Xmas morning brekky) and not something I’d buy to cellar.

My WOTN were the 1998 Pol Roger and the 1998 Leasingham Classic Clare Shiraz.

Sorry I was such a zombie all night, I was in a world of self inflicted suffering from the previous night, so I promise to be my usual chirpy self next time around.

Wines by flight

Champagne

Flight 1
Jansz Premium NV
J M Gremillet Reserve
Launois Cuvee Quartz
N.V. H. Billiot Cuvée Julie

Flight 2
Piper Heidsieck Cuvee Rare
Louis Roederer Brut Premier
Pol Roger Reserve

Flight 3
1998 Pol Roger
2002 Ployez Jacquemart
Krug Grand Cuvee

Sparkling Shiraz

Flight 1
Bellbrae Sparkling Shiraz/Pinot Noir
Petersen House Sparkling Chambourcin
Kaesler NV Sparkling Shiraz
2000 Andersen Sparkling Shiraz

Flight 2
1998 Leasingham Sparkling Shiraz
Wild Duck Creek Sparkling Shiraz
1997 Rumball Sparkling Shiraz
2002 Ashton Hills Sparkling Shiraz

Next one is in January I believe and is for Rieslings Old World vs. New World.

[TiggerK]

I'd also like to thank Kris and Lisa (and Wizz!) for hosting such a wonderful evening last night. Much enjoyment was had by all, great company, good wine, yummy food, all in a really nice setting with perfect weather.

As you can see we had 9 Champagnes (plus a Lanson Black label to start with as well as a sherry aperitif) and a Sparkling, followed by 8 Sparkling reds. Big night! I confess to getting a bit blurry towards the end....

Thanks to all present for their food contributions and of course their great wines! I had a great night.

Thanks to Dave for the list above, I'm sure one of us will put up some notes soon.

Cheers
TiggerK

[bacchaebabe]

I don't have my notes here with me (at work - DOH!) but just wanted to say we enjoyed having everyone over and thanks again for the generosity with all the food and wine. For me the oysters were definitely the best match with the champagnes but all the food was superb. I was also surprised at how well the bigger richer more yeasty styles of champagne went with food. What is too much for me alone was really very good with food.

Also, despite my best efforts, there were a few things left behind.
Alex, you left all the pens and the bottles you wanted to keep. You can drop by any time for those.
There was a black wine bottle carrier / cooler (a James Halliday book one)
There was also the Top 100 wines Australian lift out which I enjoyed reading this morning with my home made pate on sourdough for breakfast. I resisted the leftover champagne though!

I think that was it. If you're missing anything, let me know.

I'll post some photos later too.

[cuttlefish]

We were thinking of you guys. It sounds like you had a great tasting !

Hopefully we can be at the riesling taste-off in January !

[griff]

Nice to see Sydney finally getting its act together and getting on with it with two events under its belt Cheers to many more and look forward to the notes. I wonder how the 1997 Rumball went.

cheers

Carl

[bacchaebabe]

Finally found a spare second to post some notes. Going to be brief though as I was up and down all night so possibly didn't give the wines my usual concentration unfortunately.

Champagne

Flight 1
Jansz Premium NV. Pale yellow. Lemony apple. Clean nose, clean palate and very fresh. A little simple in comarison to the champanges but a very good drink never the less. 91

J M Gremillet Reserve. Pale yellow. Toasty nose. Cheesey palate after the Jansz. Very fine though and bready. Almost smokey. I quite liked this. A bit of flint and struck match making me think it's chardonnay dominant however no clues about this on the label. 93

Launois Cuvee Quartz. Pale yellow. Very yeasty on the nose. Tastes older. The colour doesn't indicate any age but it certainly tasted older than the others. Quite viscous in the galss too. I found it a bit hard going and too yeasty for my palate. 90

N.V. H. Billiot Cuvée Julie. Pale Yellow. Toasty yeasty nose with lemons on the palate and a clean finish with some honey notes. I quite liked this one too. 93

Flight 2
Piper Heidsieck Cuvee Rare. Toasty with burnt match and intense lemon. I liked this a lot 94

Louis Roederer Brut Premier. Big rich lemony style. Very good. 93 Note I had the leftovers of this last night and although flat by this time, it was very fine indeed with intense lemon and a beautiful finish. It was very enjoyable, even flat.

Pol Roger Reserve. Lemons and honey. Bigger yeasty style but not as full on as I remember at the DM tasting. Quite good with food. 92

Flight 3
1998 Pol Roger. A step up from the reserve with a bit more intensity, richness and brioch and sourdough. Very good indeed. 94

2002 Ployez Jacquemart. Another quite viscous wine with long legs in the glass which isn't really expected in a champagne - well not by me anyway! Got some pineapple and guava and more fruity sweetness in this. Again I thought it very good indeed. 94

Krug Grand Cuvee. Bigger yeasty rich style once more. So much so I guessed this as a Bollinger but was proven quite wrong indeed.The oysters brought out the lemon a bit more but there's no way I would have picked this as Krug based on my tasing at DMs. It might have been a lot colder there maybe? I still enjoyed it a lot but was very surprised to see it as Krug. 93 on this tasting.

In between there was an 04 Poire Granit Eric Bordelet 3% alcohol - yes only 3%. This was weird. I couldn't really come at it myself although Lisa loved it. It's a sparkling wine made from pears. I think TIm picked up the pears and I guess it had a little bit of that texture. I could see the elegance but it wasn't for me. 85 for my tastes.

Sparkling Shiraz

Flight 1
Bellbrae Sparkling Shiraz/Pinot Noir. 13.5%. Quite a sweet style. Deep purple. I can't rememeber much about it other than that so I won't rate it.

Petersen House Sparkling Chambourcin. Darker blacker colour not giving much on the nose. I found it a little harsh. 88

Kaesler NV Sparkling Shiraz. 14%. Purple red colour. Sweeter nose and again and good intesity and depth of flavour. 90

2000 Andersen Sparkling Shiraz. 14.3%. Very bubbly purple red colour. Pooey on the nose and very earthy. QUite pooey on the palate too. A bit feral for my liking. 85

Flight 2
1998 Leasingham Sparkling Shiraz. Another one with a pooey nose and a lot of barnyard on the nose. Nice complexity on the palate though and opened up with some sweet berry fruit with the barnyard in the background. 92. I had the 97 of this last Christmas and it was fantastic. This one probably didn't show quite as well as the 97 on that occasion.

Wild Duck Creek Sparkling Shiraz 5. A bit sweeter after the Leasingham but also with a very rich core of licorice and a dash of spice. Quite good too. 93 This was a blend of wines from 93 to 07 from memory.

1997 Rumball Sparkling Shiraz. Sweet berries on the nose and licorice and spice with a strong pepper finish. Really lovely pepper and a long finish. I thought this might have been the BVE sparkling but it wasn't. I was really quite enamoured of this wine and thought it the best of the flight. 94

2002 Ashton Hills Sparkling Shiraz. Touch of poo on this one too. Also some pepper and savoury notes over a sweet base. 92

There was also a port at the end. I know it was named after a melbourne cup winner but it's not coming to me right now.

[griff]

Thanks Kris,

That 97 Rumball is pretty swanky when it is performing

cheers

Carl

[cuttlefish]

I'm curious to know what other attendees thoughts were, particularly of the sparkling red wines....

[odyssey]

I have to admit that after 10 dry and mostly yeasty Champagnes I found it difficult to taste 8 sparkling shirazes straight up, it all starts to feel a bit syrupy after a while, so I struggled to fully appreciate the Rumball. Will have to try it standalone some time soon.

Although as David said the last flight seemed to vastly improve with the meal, sausages are a great accompaniment.

As for the whites, many of them impressed of course, great quality all through, my WOTN was the 98 Pol Roger, wow what a great wine.

For the price tag I was still very happy with the JM Gremillet's performance, it's really very decent value for money at $45 over the counter.

[Softie]

The last two get togethers have been fantastic, but I wonder if tasting 16 wines is optimal? I too was palate impaired by the time we hit the Sp Reds.

We're definitely doing a tasting dinner thing, not a tasting per se. I prefer that. Could it work if we split duties? One bottle is going around 16 well - there's always been wine left. Might we split duties between fine food providers and wine providers (and switch across get togethers): 8 wines and fine food and great company?

John

[dave vino]

You could be on to something there.

8 bottles we could have 4 flights of 2 of the two varieties
4 champagnes and 4 sparkling reds.
4 Old World Rieslings and 4 New World Rieslings (for the next one)

12 bottles we could have 4 flights of 3 of the two varieties.
6 champagnes and 6 sparkling reds.
6 Old World Rieslings and 6 New World Rieslings

Also I found the 4 glasses at a time a bit of a squeeze on the table and everyone gingerly picking up glasses so as not to knock down someone elses. Especially with all the plates of food we had on there as well.

[odyssey]

12 bottles we could have 4 flights of 3 of the two varieties.
6 champagnes and 6 sparkling reds.
6 Old World Rieslings and 6 New World Rieslings

Also I found the 4 glasses at a time a bit of a squeeze on the table and everyone gingerly picking up glasses so as not to knock down someone elses. Especially with all the plates of food we had on there as well.

Sounds like an idea, after including the apertif and palate cleanser, the last blind-tasted wine was really the 19th.

20 all up for the night including the digestif!

[TiggerK]

It was certainly a bit much having so many. I do like having such a variety to try, but 20 or so was too many in retrospect. 4 flights of 3, or 3 flights of 4 with an aperitif and a finisher is probably good overall.

Only issue is that everyone likes bringing their own wine, but perhaps some of the couples can do a 1 wine, 1 food arrangement and see how that pans out.

I do like the 'tasting' themes, both for variety and education, but love the dinner with nice wines of course as well. I think there's always room for both. I know I'd have no issue at all with a tasting night once a month and a dinner night once every month or two. People can just choose what events they want to attend and it'll be a lot of fun.

Cheers
TiggerK

[odyssey]

12 bottles we could have 4 flights of 3 of the two varieties.
6 champagnes and 6 sparkling reds.
6 Old World Rieslings and 6 New World Rieslings

Also I found the 4 glasses at a time a bit of a squeeze on the table and everyone gingerly picking up glasses so as not to knock down someone elses. Especially with all the plates of food we had on there as well.

Sounds like an idea, after including the apertif and palate cleanser, the last blind-tasted wine was really the 19th.

20 all up for the night including the digestif!

Oops calculations were off and I was still 1 short. Last blind tasted wine was 20th... 21 wines for the night.

[Softie]

All,

I'd prefer to stick to wine & food events every 6-8 weeks, partly because they have been so successful, but reduce wines by separating food and wine contributors. I suggest we go with the flow: let couples and singles choose to bring a wine per person or bring a foodie contribution, at their discretion. eg Kerry and I would be happy to bring one wine and food to the Reisling evening.

In the long run if we split the work and cost the events will be likely to go on for longer.

Rgds,

John

[TiggerK]

We had a bit of a Christmas get together last night at Atelier. A rousing success with endless excellent wines, great company and very tasty food. I didn't take notes, so just a brief rundown before someone can post proper ones.... And not a cork issue in sight....

Laurent-Perrier 1996 Champagne - This was a promising start to the evening, clean and fresh with a fine bead and hints of lemon peel...

Rockford Black Shiraz - Disgorged 2004 - Certainly the best sparkling shiraz I've had. A rich and dark Barossa beauty with a long finish.

Leo Buring Leonay Eden Valley Riesling 1991 - wow, so this is what aged Riesling is all about. I must now be very patient with the few I've got if this is what 18 years can do. Went well with the salad too.
(Salad of Heirloom Tomatoes, Greek Basil, Vintage Aged Balsamic, Mt. Vikos Barrel-Aged Greek Feta & a Tomato Sorbet)

Mersault 1er Cru Les Poruzots 2005 Henri Boillot - Complex and rich stone fruit with everything in good balance. Delicious.
(Seared Scallops w a `Pot-au-Feu' Terrine, Chive Crisp & a Summer Truffle & Rosemary Dressing)

Cullen Margaret River Chardonnay 1997 'Millennium' in Magnum - Drinking very nicely indeed. All the fruit flavours you'd want to taste from a good MR Chardonnay.
(West Australian Marron Tail w Foie Gras Mousse, Fresh Pea Salad & Pea & Ham Ice Cream, Crisp Pork Jowl)

Charles Melton Rose of Virginia 2009 - A vibrant and tasty Rose, great QPR and a good match with the dish
(Poached Fillets of John Dory, Piquillo Pepper Purée, Confit Fennel & Black Olives, Bois Boudrin)

Felton Road Cornish Point Pinot Noir 2008 - (2 bottles, one decanted since lunchtime, the other only half an hour or so.) - Wish I'd started decanting the day earlier actually! Time was improving this one markedly. The briefly decanted one had more pronounced brambly notes and was a bit bigger and tannic, where the 'older' one had softened quite nicely, becoming more savoury and better balanced.

Torbreck RunRig 1998 - what can you say, this was superb.

Katnook Estate Odyssey Cab Sav 2002 - Another delicious rich red.

Xanadu Margaret River Cab Sav 1994 - some thought just past it's optimal drinking window, but I really enjoyed this.

(All enjoyed over a great cheese selection and Cocoa-Roasted Striploin of New Zealand Venison, Confit Carrot Purée, Baby Turnips, White Asparagus & a Liquorice-Infused Sauce - Yum.)

Lindemans Hunter River Bin 5080 Porphyry 1974 - almost as old as me, a rich gold colour, this was an amazing sweet wine in great condition and a good food match.
(Tonka Bean Cassonade, Basil Custard, Mascarpone)

Le Tertre Du Lys D'Or Sauternes 2005 - ahhh, nice. Not too sweet which balanced with the dessert. An elegant finish to an amazing evening.
(Summer Berry Soufflé w Cassis Sorbet, Malt-Choc Milkshake)

Thanks to all who attended for bringing such fantastic wines, and for the pleasure of your company. Memorable evening indeed.
Cheers and Merry Christmas.
TiggerK (Tim)

[bacchaebabe]

I might actually start a new thread for this as the notes tend to get lost and this could end up being 79 pages long if we keep putting all the notes here. I tend to think it doesn't get read as much if it gets buried. Happy to be corrected though.

[TiggerK]

Yes good idea.....