I intended to take ‘really really good notes’ (in Zoolander voice) for this event but then thought ‘stuff it I just want to drink and enjoy myself’. Sorry about that. Selfish I know. So what follows are some thoughts on the wines we had on the last weekend of October 2005 at the second annual SAK spectacular. The SAK (sell a kidney) weekend is held at Hillcrest Vineyard in the Yarra Valley. Only six tasters attend – JP, Antonio, Dear Leader, DCB, Tanya and myself. We cook. We drink in the renowned manner and generally have a very good time. The theme is supposed to be Bordeaux but this year we kicked off with a ‘great wines of the world’ dinner on the Friday night. During a hair raising lift with DCB from the city to the Yarra (the brake is the one on the left matey. NO LEFT!), in a car reeking of freshly purchased cheese, we were enlighted by his ‘two dogs’ theory of wine tasting. Suffice to say JP and I were ready for some cooling and calming champagne when we arrived. We had to make do with a lovely James Squire Golden Ale though as Dear Leader and Mr Antonio Banderas circled the Woori Yallock area in their Limo. Hopelessly lost. In the meantime DCB showed us his huge salami (politely declined by JP) and we chewed the fat until they arrived. Wines were arranged in readiness and the champagnes put on ice. 
The 1976 Krug is an interesting wine. Fairly deep in colour and smelling of orange, caramel and scorched marmalade. Quite acidic. Still a good bubbliness and a rather sharp finish. Curious but in not so hot really. Only good bottles. A few palate calibrating spoons of Oscietra Caviar and then on to the first bottle of 1973 Dom Perignon. This is not the Oenotheque it is an original release. Smells excellent. Hazlenuts, cream and spice. Fine with a good mousse. Quite chalky with creamy nutty flavours. Very soft and appealing. Excellent length. Not as good as the magnum of Oenotheque we had recently but very very good. The second bottle good but not nearly as fresh but still a good wine. This was paired with our first course – A chequerboard of Hamachi and Tuna sashimi with orange oil – being a rendering of the Tetsuya classic by Dear Leader. 
Now off to the kitchen while I prepare a Linguine with Oriental Mushroom for the next course. An original bottling of 1965 Lindemans Bin 3110 is opened as well as a 1987 Henri Jayer Vosne Romanee Les Brulees. Sadly I put a little too much hot paprika over the top of some of the others Linguine. Not mine though. It was excellent. The Lindies is a very good, though not superb, example of the wine. Classic Hunter offering up licorice, raspberry and earth. A very dense tannic palate packed full of fruit and flavour. This wine looks young. Magnificent. The Jayer has sweet red fruit , mushroom and earthy potato like aromas. Sweet strawberry fruit and licorice flavours. Low acid. Low tannin. I find this wine to be un-naturally sweet but am howled down by DCB who calls me a heathen. A very good wine from a less than famous vintage. Whilst on this course a 1991 JJ Confuron Clos Vougeot is cracked. Now this I really like. It smells of licorice root, pepper, red fruit and mushroom. Nice and dry with spice and leaf and great fruit. Good long finish. This is a wine with integrity. Lovely. DCB calls me a heathen again. Dear Leader has slow roasted some beef. It is very good. The 1982 Certan de May is poured into the six official SAK2 Riedel Somellier Grand Cru Bordeaux stems. This wine is just fantastic. Ripe cherries and blackcurrant, herbs, smoke. One to just to sniff and smile but the palate is no let down. Ripe but balanced. Still looking young. Possibly my wine of the night. Next we have a 91 Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillion and a 1998 Guigal La Mouline. The Le Pavillion is violetty with blackberry, licorice, toast and herbs. Smooth tannins. Quite sweet. Some idiots think it is corked. Hmmmm. I liked it a lot. The La Mouline is monsterous. Massive amounts of smoky oak, dirt, cherry, bacon and spice. Fair bit of lift. Intense palate. This just seems too oaky for me at this point in time and not up to the 1999 in quality. There is a 1997 Gaja Sperss to drink now anyway. Quite a bit of VA here. Dark cherry, violet and roses, tar. Classic stuff. Lots of grippy tannin. Superb wine. To use one of Antonio’s made up words – it is Prostigious! A selection of cheeses is put out. No Quickes chedder though as the dog scarfed it. Quite sloshed now and DCB brings out an options wine. It is a 1998 Bass Philip Reserve Pinot which I declare to be an excellent right bank merlot. Heathen! DCB tries it out on the girls who pick it correctly as a Pinot and also agree that I am a complete heathen. DCB is overflowing with happiness at the confirmation (or is that affirmation?). I was really impressed with this wine but it is late and can’t tell too much more. Another options wine is a 1994 Wendouree Cabernet Merlot which is OK but I am past it now. Not a great idea to go too hard on night one which brings me to DCB’s two dogs theory. When a dog is given a bowl of food with no other dogs around of food it eats at leisurely pace. When two dogs are given the same bowl they go nuts and try and eat the lot as fast as possible. Hmmmmm. Was there also an 88 Climens, a bottle of 04 Hillcrest Pinot, a slide down a muddy embankment and a forklift somewhere in there too? I can’t be too sure.
Next installment: Day 2 Great Bordeaux.
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On a recent trip up to the Hunter I whizzed past Lake’s Folly and thought - “Hmmmmm better re-try that 2003 red again before it sells out”. Thats what I thought. So I rumbled up to the old famous A-Frame winery and purchased a couple of bottles. Look at the lovely red soil in the picture below. Then look up and cop the Brokenback ranges. Very picturesque. Out of interest if I spun round 180 degrees I would be looking at Mount Pleasant’s famous Rosehill vineyard. i.e. good red grape dirt round here. 
I last tried this wine alongside the 1994,1998 and 2000 vintages at Hunter Uncorked 2004 - almost exactly a year ago. On that day I was renownedly hung-over but the palate seemed to be working ok all things considering. On that day the juxtaposition with the mighty ‘98 and ‘00 made this vintage look a little light on. Like someone might have panicked a bit and picked early when a few showers came over. Perhaps….
The old Philip has had a magic run over the last 3 vintage releases - each better than the last. I love this as a house wine because it is not sweet like so much other muck released at this price point….and it has 5 years bottle age. It is a case buy.
Spotted this in a bottle shop and decided to buy to see how it was coming along. The wine was warm(ish) initially so I popped it in an ice bucket to cool it down.
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