Capital Tasters #11 - Lole Residence

[dlo]

Our six person wine tasting group (we call ourselves the Capital Tasters) assembled at my joint on Thursday for our regular monthly meeting. This was the first time one of us has ventured outside using a local restaurant for food and service. My wife, daughter No. 2, Rachel and her godfather, Paul, took on service duties for the evening and a mighty job they did, too.

The food and wine combos went as follows -

Margaret River Brie and Strawberry on wafer biscuits - 1990 Laurent Perrier Grande Siecle

Interlude - 2004 E&E Black Pepper Sparkling Shiraz

Tasmanian Smoked Salmon served with baby beetroot, capers, sour cream topped with chives, slivers of avacado and a lettuce leaf - 1992 Trimbach Clos St Hune Riesling

Interlude - Hugel 1988 Gewurtztraminer Selection de Grains Nobles

Peking Duck - J.J.Confuron Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru 1995

Slow-cooked & deboned Lamb Shanks in a herb, red wine, tomato and mushroom sauce served with garlic sauteed green beans, roasted Jerusalem artichokes on a base of potato and orange yam mash - Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon 1983

Assortment of cheeses - cheddar, blue and brie - 1971 Kays Amery McLaren Vale Cabernet Shiraz (oxidised & stuffed) replaced with a suitable back-up - 1994 Cyril Henschke Cabernet Sauvignon

Baked Ricotta Cake served with French Vanilla ice cream - 1983 Ch. Doisy-Daene Sauternes

Coffee/Tea and Bruno's chocolate truffles - Stonyfell 1967 Vintage Port

Throughout the night yours truly played the piano with an occasional singing appearance from my daughter, Rachel, and after mains, my father came over and joined me to play two sets on alto sax.

The wines were mostly excellent to outstanding. The champers got us of to a flying start; remarkably fresh and invigorating with a still healthy green tinge to the colour and developed yet refreshing bakery shop aroma's with unusually alluring seashell/seaspray notes. The palate equally potent, riddled with gorgeous mouth-coating flavour with a swathe of yeasty complexity and just fantastic carry. 93 points.

Just for the hell of it, I emptied the remnants of an earlier opened bottle of vinious bliss - the 2004 E&E Black Pepper Sparkling Shiraz. This is a rich but beautifully wrought wine of considerable class. You should/might be able to find it around for about 50 bucks. It's a top example of what this controversial style can deliver. The group seemed to give the thumbs up on this one.

At the table we enjoyed the rare minerality of the outstanding Clos St. Hune (92 points) followed by the amazing richness and exotics of the fabulous Hugel SDGN Gewurtz. This ripsnorter of a wine is still amazingly virile, revealing fabulous crisp acidity in its finish and retaining sensational focus and delineation as passes through the mouth. A score of 94 points was awarded from this taster for this joyous example. The wine could live for another decade and thensome!

The reds seemed to pale somewhat compared to what went before them but deserve a mention. The '95 Confuron Chambolle 1er (89 points) was excellent and went well with the duck pancakes, displaying excellent complex aromatics but was just a trifle savoury on the palate, lacking the necessary fruit to garner an outstanding rating. Lovely cleansing acidity was a hallmark of the finish. The 1983 Cape Mentelle Cabernet (90 points) was also rewarding but nothing like the last bottle I opened for the group a year ago. This bottle was still surprisingly fresh and redolent with green capsicum and leafy aspects although one could detect the latent blackcurrant fruit circulating underneath. The 1971 Kays was the very first bottle (of very many!) I've opened that had seen better days. A shame, but it had to happen one day. The impressive 1994 Cyril Henschke Cabernet (89) was loaded with intense dimethyl-affected fruit that hasn't gone over the limit where the off-putting overt green bean and rotten cabbage characters take effect and ruin the wine. Otherwise I thought it very sound and a most enjoyable drop.

The 1983 Doisy Sauternes was a highlight for me. Complete, beautifully balanced and at a great place. I almost gave it top billing with the amazing Hugel Gewurtz on the night.

The 1967 Stonyfell VP (92) was a great way to end proceedings. I found out some years back from the maker of this wine one of the famous Barons of the Barossa, Peter Lehmann) this single vintage fortified shiraz was left in oak for many years before it was bottled, hence the unbelievably good old tawny port characters it displayed.

A wonderful night for me. I hope it was similarly enjoyable for all of our gueats on the night, too.

And a very special thank you to PaulS for supplying his delicious home-grown Jerusalem artichokes.

[Craig(NZ)]

The impressive 1994 Cyril Henschke Cabernet (89) was loaded with intense dimethyl-affected fruit that hasn't gone over the limit where the off-putting overt green bean and rotten cabbage characters take effect and ruin the wine. Otherwise I thought it very sound and a most enjoyable drop.

Yes, that intense blackcurrant seemed almost the signature of the 93+94 cyril and in fact its x factor. I really like it! I had a 96 Cyril about a month ago which just seemed so plain jane and boring - kinda disappointing. You have the circus act folks that think they are somebody picking this fault and that looking down their nose at the uneducated plebs but hey, me like, me drink.

[pstarr]

Cracking night. The Henschke also went really well with the roast jerusalem artichokes.

The 88 Hugel gewurtz, the 67 Stonyfell VP and the 83 Doisy were the top wines for me. Many thanks.

[SueNZ]

DLo, Where was my invite?
Sounds amazing. Love the idea of a a big bolshy bubbly red between two elegant whites.
Your notes make it all very real.
Cheers,
Sue