TN: Classic Wines Club Annual Dinner at Blanc 5/7/10

[n4sir]

PRE-DINNER:

1999 G. H. Mumm & Cie Champagne Cordon Rouge Brut: Noticeable variation between bottles. Light straw with a very vigorous mousse and very fine bead. Very cheesy/bready nose, more developed than expected with a rather lean palate and bitter, mineraly finish. A second bottle was fresher with a more creamy texture and some bright citrus characters.


FIRST COURSE: Barramundi Fillet & Sauteed White Beans:

1998 Tyrrell's Stevens Vineyard Reserve Semillon, Hunter Valley: Quite an oily and pithy nose at first, becoming more biscuity and perfumed with breathing; the palate's very dry and pithy, with pristine lemony fruit, perfect acidity and excellent length. Despite these impressive elements it didn't match the dish, and for some reason the whole package left me a little nonplussed - I got the impression it's not all together yet.

2004 Picardy Chardonnay, Pemberton: Fat, peachy nose that's also slightly grassy/weedy; the palate has a rather oily texture and opens with a wallop of bacon, followed by lashings of vanilla oak ahead of the stonefruit, trying to be showy but ending up looking tarty. It was rather clumsy and short on its own and compared to the Stevens Semillon, but it also went remarkably well with the Barramundi.


SECOND COURSE: Pork Belly & Seared Calamari with Pineapple Sweet Chilli:

2005 Paringa Estate Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula: Bright strawberries with a whiff of old book paper at first, but there's heavy vanillin oak and crushed ants/VA characters that intensify with breathing. The palate's warm and minty, with creamy oak and some tobacco/stalky characters but also searing alcohol heat on the finish. A pretty average wine served on its own, but the bright and spicy characters were a surprisingly good match for the calamari & pineapple sweet chilli, like it really needed something hot and a bit oily/slimy to go with it.

1999 Dom Potel Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru, Les Saint Georges: An exotic and ever changing bouquet of red liquorice and tea roses, earthy/mushrooms, meaty juices and ground paprika and other spices; a soft entry followed by slushy, soft red liquorice and cherries, excellent length and soft, velvety tannins. My WOTN, and an absolutely brilliant match for the pork belly; it's just as well because I left a bit behind for the tea smoked duck main course and it didn't stand a chance against those extremely strong flavours.


MAIN COURSE: Tea Smoked Duck Breast with White Truffle Risotto & Porcini Reduction:

1982 Chateau Lafleur-Gazin, Pomerol: Lots of spearmint on the nose at first, slowly becoming more perfumed and complex, blackcurrants/jubes and liquorice weed, espresso and sous bois. The palate likewise opens quite minty, medium-weight and one-dimensional, but with breathing slowly evolves, becoming longer, velvety, more smoky, meaty/gamey and mineraly, finishing very long and fine with some green tea/liquorice and lemony oak. Totally overwhelmed by the tea smoked duck, but the remnants when left on their own slowly uncoiled to show something special - WOTN for many, and a very memorable wine I would have loved to have tried with something more appropriate like lamb.

1996 James Irvine Grand Merlot, Eden Valley: Huge, bombastic bouquet full of red liquorice, star anise, old soy and a touch of spearmint and caramelised banana; the chunky palate's just as hedonistic, smoky, meaty and sweet with duck fat, cloves and green liquorice, finishing very long and mineraly with a touch of sour mash, becoming more soupy with breathing. It was the only wine that could match the powerful flavours of the potent main course which says a lot; the only others that could do the job which immediately come to mind would be something like Penfolds Grange or Bin 707.


DESSERT: Espresso Pudding with Cream Anglaise & Fig Sorbet:

1986 Chateau Climens, Barsac (750ml): Buttery and floral, the nose oozes botrytis but there's also quince and melon fruit too; the palate in comparison is a massive disappointment, very dry and mineraly and (strangely) slightly salty, finishing short, bitter and metallic.

2000 Villa Branca Vin Santo, Chianti Classico Riserva (500ml): First bottle was corked. The second to be honest wasn't anything special, rather thin, very dry and fino-like with cloves/almonds and a touch of green olive, finishing with decent length. A basic Seppeltsfield Fino would have done at least as good a job, and the classy Selma Melitta would have been a significant improvement for the same sort of money.


WITH COFFEE:

1977 Warre's Porto Vintage (750ml): A disappointing end to the dinner, the nose peaty and lacking fruit, becoming increasingly mousy and oxidised with every second breathing; the palate's marginally better but still stale and nowhere near as good as it should be.


Cheers
Ian

[Gianna]

Ian

I have only one bottle of the 77 Warre's port and have been saving for a dinner next month,
hmmm, I'm not sure I will bring it now based on your note.

Is this the only bottle you have tried or have you had others that have been fine.

P.S I love your other selection of wines, pity that some of them didn't quite match the food

[Mahmoud Ali]

I tasted the '77 Warre's almost 10 years ago and it wasn't really mature back then, more backward then anything else. Also, it wasn't given enough time to breathe. Based on what the late Bruce Guimaraens of Fonseca said at a port tasting in Edmonton, I suggest you decant the '77 Warre's sometime mid-morning and let it breathe all day. Another thing to remember is that Warre's is a dryer style of port and would be best with walnuts or lightly roasted pecans. That is what I plan to do with my bottle of Warre's.

I think the key to Ian's experience was his comment about it being "nowhere near as good as it should be".

Cheers.........................Mahmoud.

[n4sir]

Ian

I have only one bottle of the 77 Warre's port and have been saving for a dinner next month,
hmmm, I'm not sure I will bring it now based on your note.

Is this the only bottle you have tried or have you had others that have been fine.

P.S I love your other selection of wines, pity that some of them didn't quite match the food

One of the hosts thought I was a little tough on the wine, yet I don't think anyone at our table finished their glass which to me pretty much confirmed it was near undrinkable. After so many great wines during the night I can easily forgive them for the last three not meeting that high standard, but it was a little disappointing all the same.

As Mahmoud suggests, my comment is directed at the specific bottle - it's supposed to be a brilliant vintage, and I expected a heck of a lot better since a 375ml half bottle of 1977 Smith Woodhouse & Co VP was singing a few years ago:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5875&p=41953

Hopefully your bottle is much better next month Gianna, otherwise a few more people might be getting a little worried about the Warre's.

Cheers,
Ian

[Gianna]

Thanks Ian

I might try decanting early on in the day as Mahmound suggests and cross my fingers.

I've got a back up 1966 Cheatau Yaldara - but I'm not sure about that one holding up either.

Oh well, by that time of the night, clenzas always seem to find their way to the table somehow...