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Salivation for what we feel is our greatest line up yet. The time has arrived for Icon Wine lunch number 4 (tomorrow - Friday). The line up is slightly different in approach with us feeling sentimental.

91 Mount Mary cabernet (AKA Quintet) - an ode to Dr John

04 Balnaves "The Tally"
03 Moss Wood Cabernet
02 Wirra Wirra "Chook Block"

I'm hoping the above order is the right one. Spanish Tapas as the meals.

We intend to try the Mount Mary first, how long should we let it breathe?? We figured we'd grab a MM now before everyone buys them up (assuming they will no longer be made).

scuzzii wrote: We figured we'd grab a MM now before everyone buys them up (assuming they will no longer be made).

What makes you think they won't be made? If the winery continues to be run by someone 'sympathetic' then there's no cause for alarm.
cheers,
Graeme

Good point. Just an assumption. Anyway, we wanted one from Dr John just to say "thanks and cheers"

Darn it, you and your Icon Lunches!!! Every time I read about these, I think "if only.....!?" Maybe I'm in the wrong industry...

As usual look forward to the results of your Icon lunch!! I have the Tally and Chook Blocks in the cellar and have already enjoyed a bottle of each so cant wait to see how your experience compares.

I am sure the Quintet will continue to be made but only time will tell if/how much it misses that perfect touch.

Wayno wrote:Darn it, you and your Icon Lunches!!! Every time I read about these, I think "if only.....!?" Maybe I'm in the wrong industry...

100% agree - would like to try these wines but buying a bottle is out of the question - herindoors would have a fit

regards

scuzzii wrote:Salivation for what we feel is our greatest line up yet. The time has arrived for Icon Wine lunch number 4 (tomorrow - Friday). The line up is slightly different in approach with us feeling sentimental.

91 Mount Mary cabernet (AKA Quintet) - an ode to Dr John

04 Balnaves "The Tally"
03 Moss Wood Cabernet
02 Wirra Wirra "Chook Block"

I'm hoping the above order is the right one. Spanish Tapas as the meals.

We intend to try the Mount Mary first, how long should we let it breathe?? We figured we'd grab a MM now before everyone buys them up (assuming they will no longer be made).

No Hunter Shiraz or Semillon to farewell Len
Mike.

Graveyard is next month.

scuzzii wrote:Graveyard is next month.

OK Scussi,
you are forgiven.
Mike.

Really looking forward to your Icon Lunch and its comments!!!

Hi Scuzzii. How did this end up going?

Apologies for my tardiness here, I've been offline for a few weeks. (Ironically, due to workload...)

It was an interesting start to the day, the cork on the 91 Mount Mary Quintets broke off half way through extraction. Luckily for us I'd asked the guy we prurchased it from if he thought the cork would crumble, he said he guarantees it wouldn't. So we took it back to him (only because we didn't have a decanter and were going to drink it at a lunch). He tried opening another bottle and the same thing happened. He gave us a refund and wiped the sweat from his forehead.. Smelt bloody fantastic though - so no go on the "Toast to Dr John"

1st wine was Balnaves the Tally 2004 - every bit as good as the write ups. We had the 2004 and it obviously is no where near what the wine will become but we really enjoyed it. Still elegant but with a lot of body and you can just tell in 5 years it will repay for some patience. Probably a good 10 years but they never last that long in my cellar for me to know. One of the best Coonawarra Cabernets I've had for a long time. Sweet violet aroma and nice cassis taste.. A winner in my book 9/10

2nd wine was Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 - This was the best wine of the Australia Wine 2006 exhibition (IMHO) and it didn't disappoint at the lunnch. What a great wine! Given I'd tried before I was interested in what my colleagues thought of it.. "better than the Diana" said one, "I don't normally like WA wines but this is great" said the other.. Enough said. The guy we purchased it off (same guy as above) said the 2003 is considered the best vintage to date. Not sure if that's true because I've only tried the 2003 (3 times now) but I can say it is now entrenched as one of my favourite wines. 9.5/10

3rd wine was Wirra Wirra Chook Block 2002 - This is simply the best wine I've ever had.. Pure liquid velvet. Dark purple velvet at that!! What a wine, it was so smooth and we all agreed it was our number 1 wine of all Icon Wine lunches. It has a great mouthfeel and I swear I could taste plums and chocolate and the taste just lingers and lingers.. The bottle suggested it will last til 2020, I want to try one bottle each year til then because, whilst spectacular now, it will no doubt get even better as each year passes. I seriously doubt there will be any around in 2020 - it is too good not to drink. My number 1 wine, I'm sure there is better but I don't care. Oh and the heaviest bottle I've lifted (750ml). It is one thick glass bottle. Everything about it was class.. 9.8/10

Oh and we had Spanish Tapas throughout and finised with a nice Spanish 30yr old Sherry.

This was without doubt the best Icon Wine lunch we've had. The overall mix of wines all stood out and I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience them together. That's what it is all about..

Apologies for my tardiness here, I've been offline for a few weeks. (Ironically, due to workload...)

It was an interesting start to the day, the cork on the 91 Mount Mary Quintets broke off half way through extraction. Luckily for us I'd asked the guy we prurchased it from if he thought the cork would crumble, he said he guarantees it wouldn't. So we took it back to him (only because we didn't have a decanter and were going to drink it at a lunch). He tried opening another bottle and the same thing happened. He gave us a refund and wiped the sweat from his forehead.. Smelt bloody fantastic though - so no go on the "Toast to Dr John"

1st wine was Balnaves the Tally 2004 - every bit as good as the write ups. We had the 2004 and it obviously is no where near what the wine will become but we really enjoyed it. Still elegant but with a lot of body and you can just tell in 5 years it will repay for some patience. Probably a good 10 years but they never last that long in my cellar for me to know. One of the best Coonawarra Cabernets I've had for a long time. Sweet violet aroma and nice cassis taste.. A winner in my book 9/10

2nd wine was Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 - This was the best wine of the Australia Wine 2006 exhibition (IMHO) and it didn't disappoint at the lunnch. What a great wine! Given I'd tried before I was interested in what my colleagues thought of it.. "better than the Diana" said one, "I don't normally like WA wines but this is great" said the other.. Enough said. The guy we purchased it off (same guy as above) said the 2003 is considered the best vintage to date. Not sure if that's true because I've only tried the 2003 (3 times now) but I can say it is now entrenched as one of my favourite wines. 9.5/10

3rd wine was Wirra Wirra Chook Block 2002 - This is simply the best wine I've ever had.. Pure liquid velvet. Dark purple velvet at that!! What a wine, it was so smooth and we all agreed it was our number 1 wine of all Icon Wine lunches. It has a great mouthfeel and I swear I could taste plums and chocolate and the taste just lingers and lingers.. The bottle suggested it will last til 2020, I want to try one bottle each year til then because, whilst spectacular now, it will no doubt get even better as each year passes. I seriously doubt there will be any around in 2020 - it is too good not to drink. My number 1 wine, I'm sure there is better but I don't care. Oh and the heaviest bottle I've lifted (750ml). It is one thick glass bottle. Everything about it was class.. 9.8/10

Oh and we had Spanish Tapas throughout and finised with a nice Spanish 30yr old Sherry.

This was without doubt the best Icon Wine lunch we've had. The overall mix of wines all stood out and I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience them together. That's what it is all about..

Why were you so worried about a broken cork??? happens all the time, the wine was probably still perfect??

Adam wrote:Why were you so worried about a broken cork??? happens all the time, the wine was probably still perfect??

He seems to suggest lack of decanter as the reason. Maybe lack of sieve?

Alex F wrote:

Adam wrote:Why were you so worried about a broken cork??? happens all the time, the wine was probably still perfect??

He seems to suggest lack of decanter as the reason. Maybe lack of sieve?

I would imagine a vessel could be located...it was a restaurant afterall...then its just a simple matter of rinsing the bottle and transferring the wine back to it. Even pouring it off carefully into another wine bottle would have been feasible. Dont decant into orange juice containers though

Adam wrote:

Alex F wrote:

Adam wrote:Why were you so worried about a broken cork??? happens all the time, the wine was probably still perfect??

He seems to suggest lack of decanter as the reason. Maybe lack of sieve?

I would imagine a vessel could be located...it was a restaurant afterall...then its just a simple matter of rinsing the bottle and transferring the wine back to it. Even pouring it off carefully into another wine bottle would have been feasible. Dont decant into orange juice containers though

Hehehehe

we were going to a spanish BYO restaurant.. Lack of everything there except glasses.

If i was at home I would have funnelled it through my sieve and into a decanter and thoroughly enjoyed the Mount Mary. Unfortunately we were at work and had no sieve or decanter to pour into and then back into the bottle to take to a restaurant.

Filtering through a jockstrap works well and adds flavour. Be careful who owns the one you choose to use.
Mike.

Muscat Mike wrote:Filtering through a jockstrap works well and adds flavour. Be careful who owns the one you choose to use.
Mike.

some added crust eh...

scuzzii wrote:we were going to a spanish BYO restaurant.. Lack of everything there except glasses.

If i was at home I would have funnelled it through my sieve and into a decanter and thoroughly enjoyed the Mount Mary. Unfortunately we were at work and had no sieve or decanter to pour into and then back into the bottle to take to a restaurant.

Just pitiful really.

Pour it into a glass as per nomal and either filter it through your beard or spit cork if you are a baldchin.

What a bunch of girls blouses

Muscat Mike wrote:Filtering through a jockstrap works well and adds flavour. Be careful who owns the one you choose to use.
Mike.

This technique is obviously big in the Hunter, don't think it will catch on elsewhere though...

LL

Chook Block sounds brilliant, big call on the best wine ever had - you've obviously had some crackers, certainly Icon Lunch-wise.

Speaking of heavy bottles, I spotted an older vintage Trevor Jones 99 Wild Witch Shiraz. It was so big, I almost mistook it for a magnum...! It was almost as heavy too.

Interesting to note that Wirra Wirra seem to have a thing for heavy bottles -especially for their RSW and Angelus and I tend to concur that it adds a sense of prestige to an icon wine.

Good reading, Scuzzi, I look forward to Instalment 5.

Davo wrote:

scuzzii wrote:we were going to a spanish BYO restaurant.. Lack of everything there except glasses.

If i was at home I would have funnelled it through my sieve and into a decanter and thoroughly enjoyed the Mount Mary. Unfortunately we were at work and had no sieve or decanter to pour into and then back into the bottle to take to a restaurant.

Just pitiful really.

Pour it into a glass as per nomal and either filter it through your beard or spit cork if you are a baldchin.

What a bunch of girls blouses

I agree Davo although us non-beardies just grit our teeth and strain it out that way

Oh and next time get an Ah-so for opening those old bottles and you won't break the cork in the first place

Glen

Wayno wrote:Chook Block sounds brilliant, big call on the best wine ever had - you've obviously had some crackers, certainly Icon Lunch-wise.

Speaking of heavy bottles, I spotted an older vintage Trevor Jones 99 Wild Witch Shiraz. It was so big, I almost mistook it for a magnum...! It was almost as heavy too.

Interesting to note that Wirra Wirra seem to have a thing for heavy bottles -especially for their RSW and Angelus and I tend to concur that it adds a sense of prestige to an icon wine.

Good reading, Scuzzi, I look forward to Instalment 5.

Thanks mate. We've certainly had some good wines with Icon Wine lunch and outside of it. But Chook Block was unanimous as the best we've had (may be just a special vintage 2002). Perhaps we still don't know what we are judging to be honest, but the whole idea is for us to pick wines that considered opinion suggests are special and see if we like them.

We feel very fortunate to do this.