Notes as promised. Very enjoyable evening, with some really interesting wines. Tim also had a 2002 French Champers but unfortunately it was corked.
2008 Rockford Vine Vale Riesling (someone picked up the 08 instead of the 98 doh) Quite fruit forward, no reticent Hunter Semillon here, lemon, pineapple, lemon sherbet, quite full bodied and rich a very Barossan Semillon. Maybe lacking in a bit of acid but otherwise aging well. Nice length and persistence.
(ignore this one, didn't start notes until the second wine and had it in my head that it was a Semillon as I did a note from memory - so the note is for a Riesling so you can can ignore the comparisons to Semillon) - clear as mud?2007 Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet – lots of oak, cream, vanilla ice-cream finishing with sweet tropical fruits. More oak on the palate, quite rich and Moorish, lovely texture and mouthfeel without being cloying, medium to long length with a touch of heat on the back palate. This was textbook ‘Dave Chardy’ so I thoroughly enjoyed it. Many thanks to Mick for bringing it along.
2009 Pyramid Valley Lions Tooth Chardonnay – another favourite of mine, thanks to Tim’s regular contributions at tastings. Very fresh, pure fruit on the nose which comes bounding out of the glass, candied lemon, grapefruit, pineapple, oaky notes. Soft on the palate, with a lovely backbone of acid (lip smacking stuff) which balanced out the oak very well. My only concern was the shortish finish. This would be on page 2 of the textbook
2012 Dr Mayer Yarra Valley Pinot Noir – first time for me on this one with the very Rousseau Chambertin bottle. Good fruit on the nose with some stalkiness to add a bit of interest, cherry, blackberry, raspberry all intertwined and on different layers. The fruit is the star here, very powerful yet elegant on the palate amazing purity of fruit with a luxurious texture and wonderfully balanced the only quibble being a bit of heat at first which settled down after a spell in the glass. This is an interesting and complex wine which has a lot happening with it. Has made me a fan.
2011 La Solana Listan Negro/Cordon Trenzado – served blind, this was a bit shy on the nose, hints of blackcurrant were coaxed out of it, a bit thin and anaemic with some secondary characteristics coming through, some sour cherry and lots of acid. A drink now style in the mold of very young cheaper Chianti.
1993 Wendouree Cab/Malbec – Upon taking the first whiff I knew we were in for a treat, lovely elegant nose, with secondary characteristics coming through, leather, and spice and rounded off by a hint of stalkiness. Lots of plum to stewed plum as it sat in the glass. Very well balanced and in a good place at the moment with the tannins still evident and providing a good counterpoint to the fruit. The tannins having softened somewhat have created a lovely wine in the mouth, the plums and blackcurrant coming through providing it with lots of length. At 21 years old it’s really hitting it’s straps.
1975 Chateau Chasse-Spleen Medoc – lots on funk on the nose, chicken poo, smoked meats, with a hint of taint to my nose. Bit of iodine poking it’s head out, still had a good amount of structure with nice furry tannins that coated the inside of your mouth. Maybe a bit past it, interesting nonetheless.
2006 Meerea Park Hellhole Shiraz – Nice power on the nose, clean fresh fruit, marzipan, dark cherry, very soft and resolved on the palate with a good amount of acid and tannin. Nice jammy, sour cherry notes on the palate with some dark fruits and lashings of spices. The oak was unobtrusive and lent a nice sweet(?) complexity to the wine. A mix of Barossan and Cool Climate shiraz if I had to try and pigeon hole it – give it another 5 years to resolve a bit more and it’s true identity might come out.
1977 Tahbilk Cabernet Sauvignon – nice colour with very little bricking on the edges so showing remarkably well for its age. Lots of plums, and blackberry fruits with surprisingly good length and a structure that carried it through the mouth to a nice finish. This wine had no right to be this good at 37 years old, certainly adheres to the ‘no good wines over 25 years only good bottles’.
2009 Bernard Baudry Chinon Le Clos Guillot – Blackberry and very in your face, still a very young wine with spicy white pepper, olives and a hint of saltiness?, a wine showing good refinement. A touch of heat straight up, which moved to a nice softening on the palate as it was worked around in the glass. Had a nice savoury feel with the acid providing a good counterpoint to the fruit almost refreshing in nature. Would love to see this in 10 years. Really enjoyed this.
2002 De Bertoli Noble One – Orange marmalade, rockmelon, tangerine/mandarin all combining to produce a lovely balanced wine with good acid. Reminded me a bit of orange cordial which brought back the memories of when I was a kid drinking it around the pool on a hot summers day. (funny how some wines can trigger olfactory memories). A great way to finish the evening off, only reinforces my belief that Noble One has no peers, in Australia at least.
Oh and nearly forgot, funny anecdote from afterwards…Mick and Tiff kindly let me stay at their place in Surry Hills after the dinner. Mick had a golf day the next day so in true champion style was up and out by 6am. Anyway I got up at around 6-ish and it’s still pretty dark inside the apartment and needed to visit the toilet, and I walked out of my room to head down the hallway to the toilet and I just stopped, and there was this dark black object about 4ft tall in the middle of the hallway. I just froze, it didn’t move and I’m having flashbacks of every horror movie I’ve ever watched with the small girl in it with the dark hair, I was waiting for it to turn around, I’m moving closer to it (as you do, and I even clicked my fingers to see if I could get a reaction lol) I’m thinking there is nothing that could be that tall just sitting in the middle of the hallway, it was just a dark shape…(I knew I shouldn’t have watched that video…)
It turned out to be Micks black golf bag he’d put there just as he was about to go out....
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