) gathered at Taste of East Restaurant in Balwyn for a Pinot and Salmon, Quail and Duck night. Food was excellent and reasonably priced.
All Pyenots served double blind.
Devaux D Champagne
Good strong bead. Yeasty-biscuity on the nose. Palate is austere (stony) and powerful with an acid spine. Good food wine and went well with the Scallops (17.5)
1998 Bass Phillip Pinot
Medium brick red. Complex nose of perfumed dark cherries, camphor, beetroot and some maceration. Palate shows earthy cherry-raspberry fruit and nice oak firmness on the finish (18.5)
2000 Stoniers KBS Pinot
Medium depth ruby-red. Initially youthful confectionary and liquorice to smell, then also revealed some attractive maceration characters after swirling in the glass. Medium weight, rich sweet fruit to taste with an acid/tannin finish (18 )
1995 Rene Engel Vosne Romanee Les Brulees
Lightish brick red colour. Slightly reticent initially, then breathed up to reveal an almost ethereal nose of raspberry-plum fruit. Has softened nicely and is ready to drink. In the Burgundian fashion, although there is sufficient raspberry-plum fruit, this is about structure rather than fruit. Long, soft tannin finish (18 )
1998 Freycinet
Deep red. Still relatively primary to smell, with a solid depth of black cherry fruit. Rich fruit and a tannic finish, perhaps a touch short on the finish at this stage of its development, and marked down for that (16)
1998 Felton Road
Deep ruby. Rich black cherry fruit, still relatively young. Good tannins on the finish. We have now had this twice over the past 12 months and it is ageing nice and slowly - no hurry to drink this one by the look of it (17.5)
1994 Bass Phillip Reserve Pinot
Red with browning edges. Quite developed – displays nice pinot forest floor/feral complexity, but drying out a bit on the back palate and starting to look a touch tired for mine. Maybe a cork problem ? (16.5)
2003 Hoddles Creek Pinot
Crimson. Very young, sweet and relatively simple at this stage. Lovely to drink but should develop some complexity with some age (16.5)
1997 Stoniers Reserve Pinot – volatile and acetic
1995 Jadot Nuit-St-Georges Les Prulieres – corked
2000 Tarwin Ridge – oxidised
1995 Chateau Coutet
Light yellow. Drinking nicely now, albeit a touch light in power and weight, even for a Barsac (17)
regards
Chris
