The Home of Renowned Tasting

Day One
The notes are a little sketchy, although I took some, but for once I’d expect that you might let me off the hook a little as it’s a social occasion for me, rather than a professional one (such as I might consider myself every now and then). I’m writing these notes straight from the heart - the best wines evoke this (feel free to call me a wanker now). The first night (Friday) was held at the magnificent Yarra Valley restaurant of Gary Cooper and Tim Sawyer, Bella Vedere, who shut up shop and created a feast of Babettesque proportions for our vinous revelry. And now if I don’t concentrate too much on the food, then that’s not because I don’t appreciate it, but more because this is a wine review site. I will say that it was breathtakingly good grub at times, and the food and wine matching was, well…a match made in some sort of heaven. You can click on the menu to have a look at the dishes.

Quail egg with green salt and sugar
96 Krug
This was our standing up and chatting wine - and coupled with the sweet/salt/creamy taste of the innovative egg dish..well masterful. It’s almost a dry white, like a big strong white Burgundy in its intensity and power. Hazelnuts, licorice, white fruits, biscuits and spice but rolled layer upon layer so that the concentration is almost mind blowing. Painfully intense and destined for greatness…but not a wine for pleasure now. Outstanding Champagne.

Caviar Malossol superior Oscietra on crushed kipflers, with flat leaf parsley
90 Krug,
Sitting down now. The 90 is dry and very fine, subtlety harnessed to power. Showing some bottle age, but essentially youthful and vigorous with classic Krug complexity and an explosion of citrus and yeasty fruits. More superlatives required. A much better wine than the 96 at this stage..but not later. The Caviar on kipflers quite simply amongst the best things I have ever eaten.

Crayfish and scampi in brandy butter on angel hair pasta with tomato and crayfish porcini froth
01 Ramonet Montrachet
White flowers, fragrance, almond paste, mineral and yellow fruits. Light but enormous power (often the hallmark of truly great wine). Rich but bone dry with a tapestry of vanilla, almond and stone fruits. The length carrying on for an eternity. Magnificent wine. Amongst the best White Burgundies I have tasted.

03 Leroy Corton-Charlemagne
Slightly funky and fishy, smoke, peach, vanilla and grilled nuts. A big wet sloppy kiss of a wine but full of flavour and drive. It’s fat but beautiful. A lascivious creature that overwhelms the senses. Not the class of the Ramonet, but certainly a compelling wine. Superb long dry finish leaving the mouth aglow with warmth and longing.

96 Drouhin Montrachet ‘Marquis de Laguiche’
Flowers, almond, a smokiness, yellow fruit and vanilla oak. It combines the best attributes of rich creaminess with a bone dry, almost tannic, flinty character - although subtle and winning. By any mortal standards a wine of considerable greatness.

Licorice tea smoked duck breast with fennel and black truffle
88 Leroy Musigny
An engaging potato sack earthiness coupled with sweet black raspberry, vanilla, licorice and an almost alarming fragrance. In the mouth a huge spread of dry extract offering beautiful tannic density combining with earthy but sweet dark fruit. It’s magnificent and builds and builds and builds with time in the glass. Apparently one of about 300 bottles. A rare wine and a rare privilege to taste.

01 Leroy Musigny
Bloody hell..you could get lost in the aromatics pumping out of this. Raspberry, spices, earth, violets, soil, caramel - multi-layered and complete. The palate is an effortless journey from finish to end. Velvety but concentrated - rich but floating through the mouth. The finish endless. The essence of red Burgundy. One of the greatest wines I have tasted. I’m dribbling as I type!

Foie gras and Sauternes jelly with toasted brioche
59 Suduiraut
Now I must say that I’m a moderate consumer of animals, perhaps a couple of times a week, and a lot of vegetarian dishes I cook…so the old FG I approach with respect and caution…but I love the stuff. I’m a bugger for it and we were delivered a rare old slab here. The 59 is an amazing wine - it smells like the freshly torched sugar on a Creme Bruleé and then some apricots, old leather bottle age and a host of other subtle smells. The palate is rich and full with apple and quince past - great intensity and closes with a bone dry finish of enormous length. I’m not a big one for sweet wines but this had me raving.

Rare breed pork shoulder braised in chocolate and sour cherries
62 Vega Sicilia ‘Unico’ All fresh and lively - looked like a 10 year old wine - strawberries and lashings of vanilla, medium bodied, sweetly fruited with slight leathery bottle age character coming through on a silky tannin structure. It built in the glass rather than tired but still looked slightly one dimensional compared to the mighty 65 3110…

65 Lindemans Bin 3110
The legend continues. Licorice, earth, dusty bottle age, blackberry. It’s dry and tannic but still young and vigorous. Layers of flavours and always something new to reveal. It’s a magic wine and one worthy of a place alongside all the greatest wines of the world. This is my fourth encounter in the last couple of years, and every bottle has something unique to say.

Glenloth pheasant boned and filled with foie gras and truffle, glazed en cocot with pomme anna potato
74 Heitz ‘Martha’s Vineyard’,
A second encounter with this wine and by far the strongest showing. A myriad scents - sweet fruit, mint, cigar box, spice and earth. The palate is wonderfully complex but still muscular and vigorous showing all the classic Cabernet traits of lead pencil, sweet fruit, herb and mint. An outstanding wine and most likely a fond farewell - I doubt that I’ll ever have (such) the pleasure again. As good as any Cabernet you could wish for.

92 Dalle Valle ‘Maya’
I’ve since decided that Californian Cabernet hits a particular sweet spot for me and this was no exception. Rich Cassis, cherry, chocolate, mineral and lavish oak. Full bodied, dense and concentrated with ripe fruity blueberry, Cassis and good minerality - perhaps lowish acid but no concern for me as the ripe furry tannins are minding this part of the shop. Great wine - although an alarmingly young one.

Wagyu beef oven roasted with orange salt with black bean sauce and buttered broad beans
82 Chateaux Mouton Rothschild
By this stage I was feeling a bit stuffed but there’s nothing like the fragrance of Mouton to revive the spirits (and someone has written in my notebook ‘Gary is a wonderful human being - so glad you are here!’ - so that’s nice too). An exotic and flamboyant nose of lead, cassis, flowers and mineral leads on to a hugely concentrated, yet balanced and poised, textbook Cabernet palate. It’s a wine of irrepressible charm and charisma, and while the palate is not quite at the outrageously great level of the nose, it’s so good that you’d never want to quibble.

82 Chateaux Latour
A second outing with the 82 and an equally compelling bottle. The nose is more sauvage and strict than the Mouton but still a thing of beauty, although reticent - earth, cherry, mineral, coffee and cedar - brooding and magnificent - the young Marlon Brando of Pauillac. The palate ratchets the intensity up a notch with amazing power and thick mouthfilling earthy Cabernet fruit. The line and length astounding. The essence of Cabernet.

82 Chateaux Margaux
Corked.

Cheese plate – Comte and Meredith blue, Yarra Valley walnuts and pear
90 Chateaux Margaux
Two years ago I remember this being a lush and very full wine but here it seems fine and poised. A more delicate wine of grace and great symmetry with the classic Margaux fragrance and a certain fine boned beauty. Perhaps I’m fading. Nonetheless an exceptional wine, but not inspiring for me on this night.

90 Cheval Blanc
It’s about my favourite wine of all time. Raspberries, a gentle grassiness and fragrance cut with smoke and mineral. Sweet fruit on an endlessly fine, medium bodied palate of grace and precision. One of the true greats.

Apricot and white chocolate pudding with cumquat and sauternes ice cream
67 Chateaux Suduiraut
Again the Creme Brulee, cumquat and spice but without the additional layers of complexity of the ‘59 Suidairaut, which made it look a little simple and old. A thick syrupy palate but still fresh and clean. On any other night it would have been a star.

95 Krug
In the car on the way home. It’s a top wine, and refreshing, but fair to say I was not concentrating enough to tell you more…

99 Chateau Petrus
Black raspberry, tea, plum, truffle. It’s a rich wine but very tight with silky tannins and a winning personality - certainly at this time of night anyway. Here I resort to a Clive Coates style note in my pad and have merely scrawled “very fine indeed!”

Day Two
I have to retire for the evening - I’ll fill this in later.
(more…)

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The more I taste of the 2006 Hunter vintage, the more I like it. Maybe even more than 2005 now that I’ve had a bit more experience of it. Certainly I think this is the finest Terracotta release to date - the dreaded V-word being taken up beautifully here.

Mixed berries, clean earth, dark chocolate and licorice, spice and vanilla oak - lightly perfumed and beautifully presented. I thought there might have been a slight attractive grassiness about it at times that I just might mention. It’s medium bodied and feels fluid, clean and fresh - a wine with energy and life. All red and blue fruits with a little pepper, fine oak and supple smooth fine grained dry tannins that glide through the mouth and off into the distance with a minimum of effort. Lovely wine and a particularly charming one too.

Other vintages: 2005, 2005, 2004, 2004, 2003

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I probably didn’t give this wine the amount of time it deserved, but I knew from the first sniff that I liked it. Sometimes you just know.

It smells of plum, blackberry, Hunter earth, a touch of mint and roast beef. On the palate medium bodied with lively refreshing acidity, fine tannins and flavours of blackberry and earth. Good finish. Balanced, charming and lovely to drink - a great wine for the dinner table (and emphasis on this as a statement of approval).

Other vintages : 2004

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It’s near the end of a hard days work (at work) but in amongst other things I’ve managed to taste about 18 wines. So the backlog is now looking just that little bit smaller in both a vinous and laborious sense. And just at the end of the road, after a mess of Chardonnay and other sundry assorted wines, a couple of Hunter Shiraz pop up that are well worth writing about….

Fine smelling wine with an intriguing mix of plum, blackberry, roast meat (with pepper), earth, tar and a light lavender perfume. In the mouth medium to full bodied with a core of ripe plummy fruit that’s weighty and concentrated with an underlay of Hunter earthiness. It has plentiful fine grained powdery tannins that coat the mouth, slightly tangy acidity, an abundance of flavour and closes with excellent length. Excellent value and a very enjoyable wine.

Other vintages : 2005

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Three times a year a bunch of us rotate venues for a dinner/tasting. We took this wine to end the night on. I purchased it from cellar door on a visit to the Hunter a few months back. I was surprised to see how many sweet whites were available in the Hunter and generally speaking most were very good. This has the classic apricot nose of a botrytis wine although it seems a lot less lifted than many botrytis whites. The flavours are fresh and quite zingy with a long finish where the acid holds the sweetness in check. Very well crafted. Sorry about the way the bottle colour went weird with my photo

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This is an aged release from Meerea Park and Epoch is their entry level semillon. From a hot and generally forward vintage, here is a wine that is doing very well.

Typical lemon, lime, a bit of dried herb, hay and some toasty development coming through. It’s has plenty of oomph and flavour with lemon barley and lime flavours, soft but clean acidity and an affable sort of chubbiness that makes it very pleasant drinking now and over the next few years. Not quite the length of a great Semillon but an excellent aged dry white at a very fair price.

Other vintages: 2007, 2006, 2005, 2002, 2002

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Bright in the glass, just starting to go golden. The nose is toasty, limes and a bit of cashew. The palate is really delicious, with great toast flavours, even suggesting some oak char but it had no oak aging! The acid is the crispiest I have seen in a wine of this age and it really balances the toasty lime flavours well. I saw this at the cellar door and grabbed some for home. I saw 5 older Hunter Semillons in a week and feel that there is a definite window of optimum balance. It is probably 3 to five years wide though but in the Semillons grown on the sandier loams it seems to open at about 7 to 10 years. Once again, I love the low alcohol. This is great value, speak to Scott at the cellar door. The history behind this cellar door is quite amazing since they have diaries going back to the 1800’s that trace the vines to the original plantings in NSW.

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The 2007 Private Bin Reds order form landed in the mail today, which not only reminded me to write this up, but also sent a little twinge of guilt through me for not doing so sooner (and I’m feeling a little pinch for not getting round to writing up some other Shiraz too..namely the 2006 Shaw+Smith and De Bortoli Reserve etc..) So here it is, the Shiraz offering made in a more ‘modern’ style with some French (80%) and American (20%) barrique action and fruit coming off the Brokenback and Weinkeller vineyards.

It has darker fruit, chocolate, earth, spice and a little pepper on a medium bodied palate with fine tannins, fresh acidity and juicy dark berry fruit and licorice backed with a lick of mocha oak. It’s not heavy, and while perhaps it lacks the fruit intensity of some of its siblings from the same vintage (no doubt a hard act to follow), that’s not necessarily a bad thing as there is a gentle easy going charm to compensate. It’s a smooth, regional and handsome wine that should blossom with careful medium term cellaring.

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More Merlot action tonight and this was clearly the pick of the bunch. The other wines on the bench (and left there) were 2007 Dowie Doole (sweet, jammy and shapeless - 85 points at best - $25), 2006 Shottesbrooke (stalks, green coffee bean and berries but freshness and length as compensation. Green but quite drinkable - 87 points - $20), 2007 Ferngrove (rubbery stink, eucalyptus, pepper and berries - light but dilute. 86 points - $19).

A pleasingly rustic mix of earth, cherry and light vanilla cedar oak lead on to a medium bodied palate with berry, earth and tobacco flavours. Good fruit weight and nice chunky tannins offer a juicy easy drinking mouthful with a bit of style and interest. Closes with lightly chalky tannin and good length of flavour. Attractive wine and especially food friendly too.

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Well look at that..I now have a full set of footy cards (and I’ll swap you a Les Boyd for a Graham Eadie any day..) with every vintage of 4 acres ever made now reviewed on Winorama. This was in a three pack of wines celebrating the 150th anniversary of Tyrrells and came along with the multi-trophy winning 1998 Vat 1 Semillon and the 1998 Vat 9 Shiraz. Now that’s what I call a nice little package!

It’s typically 4 Acres to smell, although a little more earthy than the others, and smells as much like Pinot Noir as it does Shiraz. Raspberries, cranberry, a dusty earthiness and flowers are the main flavours with a bit of spice thrown in. It’s just medium bodied with fine tannins and the usual refreshing lively acidity. It has balance, vigour and length and leaves the mouth feeling refreshed and clean. It’s a rare wine in every sense, and one of considerable beauty.

Other vintages :2007, 2006, 2005

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Named after the vineyard that sits at the base of The Brokenback Mountains, not to be confused with Brokeback Mountain.

It presents with a vaguely Spanish feel and with airing opens up to reveal raspberry coulis, cherry, pepper and typical regional earthy characters. All very pleasant. On the palate it’s medium bodied with a spicy earthy aspect, red fruit and touch of chocolate. It has slightly chunky tannins, good acid balance and drinks beautifully from beginning to end. Pleasingly rustic, distinctively regional and exceedingly tasty; I like this a great deal.

Other vintages : 2003, 1998

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Yes it’s screwcap, although the picture shows cork, and the old early release baroque/gothic/ye olde worlde or whatever you call it label has also been replaced. Now it’s one Vat 9 label for all with only the 4 acre retaining the old school look. This is the best young Vat 9 I can remember tasting, although admittedly my memory only stretches back to the 1991 vintage, so I’d like to hear opinions from any old timers out there…

It has ripe berry fruit, a clean earthiness, pepper and choc-mint with a perfumed violet lift and it smells beautiful. On the palate medium bodied with excellent fruit weight of depth and density but no heaviness. It has flavours of berries, spice and a subtle undercurrent of chocolate/coffee/liquorice richness. Fine silky tannins spread through the mouth and fresh acidity cleans up afterwards. Finishes long and clean with an earthy coffee bean aftertaste. Surely the best Vat 9 yet?

Other vintages : 2006, 2005, 2002, 1998

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The fruit comes off a single patch of vines within the Stevens vineyard that was planted in 1867, hence the name, although I might have called it “Old Patch..none much older I’ll warrant eh”. It’s aged in a single 2700L new French oak cask (whereas the 4 Acre is aged in a one year old ex-Chardonnay cask of the same size), so new oak, but about as large format as you’re going to get..and clean too. I think Hunter Shiraz has such fine expression of fruit (in good vintages) that it does not need to be smothered in new oak (although it does cope well enough) and this treatment makes for a wine of superb style and refinement. This is the first release and hooray for Tyrrells for putting some of Australia’s most distinguished vineyard sites into small bottling runs like this - 250 dozen made.

It has a dark earthy richness with blackberry and plum fruit, some liquorice and little spicy seasoning but is fresh and clean to smell. On the palate medium bodied with flavours of blackberry, liquorice and a light earthiness that builds up with breathing. It has fine submerged tannin but the structure is largely built on particularly bright pippy crushed berry acidity. It flows along through the mouth and expands on the finish - both being traits of fine wine. It’s painfully young and shy at the moment but I’m convinced this great patch of terroir has delivered something special this vintage.

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I have no doubt that some people will taste this wine and wonder what all the fuss is about, but it’s not for these people I’m writing, nor am I overly concerned if they think I’m a total flipper. This, after all, is a tiny make of 250 dozen from a distinguished vineyard and is never going to be widely distributed, nor widely understood. I’m absolutely convinced that the quality of this wine is such that in thirty years time, when the roll call of modern Australian classics is read out, the 2007 4 Acres will be spoken of in suitably hushed tones. It’s that sort of wine…and I’m not a greedy man either, and despite my desires, I have restricted myself to a purchase of only one dozen…..

It’s not only striking visually with its intense purple robe, but also aromatically with whole bunches of violets, raspberry, boysenberry, clean earth and spice. It’s as much like a fine Burgundy as anything else and the palate is no different - light to medium bodied with crushed berries, violets and an overwhelming sense of freshness and vitality. It fairly bursts through the mouth with vinous intent - vital and expansive with fresh acidity and fine dry filigreed tannin. This vintage has all the delicacy and fragrance that 4 Acre enthusiasts have come to expect, but coupled with the additional fruit weight and power of the great 2007 vintage. And the finish? Incredibly long, dry and clean. There’s wine and there’s wine…and this is WINE. It’s vintage and terroir wrought large and offered (too) cheap for the taking.

Other vintages : 2006, 2005, 2004

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I had lunch at my local Italian with the affable Chris Tyrrell today and had a preview of their 2007 release reds (more later and wow!) but his little bag of tricks also contained a bottle of this, the mighty Vat 1 Semillon, flag bearer for the Great Australian White. He’s certainly more handy to have around than Felix the Cat…at least for the wine enthusiast.

It’s soft and limey with some fennel and a little spice - refined and delicate and that theme carries onto the palate which is fluid, fine and gentle with a just a touch of toasty bottle age beginning to show. The flavours are typical - of lemon and lime rind and the texture is lightly chalky and fluffy with a lemony acid bite on exit. It’s a delightful Vat 1 that is approachable now and a good bet for mid to long term cellaring.

Other Vintages : 2007, 2006, 2005, 2000,1999, 1997

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I’m so behind in my reviews….and two tastings of this wine too. The first bottle rated 94 points, the second 93. There might be some discussion about brett here but I don’t own a white coat and nor do I think it spoils the wine.

It has black and blue fruits, saddle leather, smoke, creamy chocolate-coffee oak, pepper, a bit of liquorice richness and smells typically Hunter although denser and more modern than some. On the palate ripe sweet blackberry and cherry fruit of good concentration, earth and liquorice are married to sexy creamy French oak, which is liberal, but beautifully taken up. The tannins are ripe, smooth and mouthcoating, the acidity still a little edgy and the finish long and dry. It’s a very fine wine of character and style.

Other vintages : 2006, 2005

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Crikey. Busy day yesterday, in at work early, flat chat, out for an hour to taste all the Wynns new releases including the 76,86 and 96 Black Label Cabernet, back to work, do a bit, taste a few more wines, then off out to the excellent Bentley Restaurant for a delightful degustation with wines to match. I can’t recommend that place highly enough and I’m a bugger for those white anchovies on a stick….

It smells typical of a traditional Hunter red with red fruits, a little pepper, some earth and gum leaf characters and a wisp of smokiness - some licorice with breathing too. On the palate only just medium bodied with light grainy tannins and structure built on prominent but refreshing acidity. It has sour cherry and plum fruit, spice and a touch of earthiness but mainly tastes clean and lively. Closes with an impressive expansive finish. I like to think of this style as being Australia’s answer to Chianti; it shares many of the same attributes and works hardest for you when placed on the dinner table. Good stuff.

Other vintages : 2005

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Two tastings of this now, one in February and one a couple of days ago, and both times I’ve scribbled in a 94-95 point range. The first tasting was amongst its siblings (Alexander Munro and Aunts) and the second amongst its peers (Graveyard and KISS).

It’s aromatic and fresh with berries, plum, spice, a bit of earthiness and some liquorice richness coming through with a bit of airing - quite Rhôney even. Again the theme is replayed on the palate - medium bodied, bright and very lively with refreshing acidity, fine lightly grippy tannins and a real sense of vigour throughout. It has flavours of plum, spice and earth with a deft application of tasteful malty oak and a very long dry finish. Serious and stylish but really needing a bit of cellar time to show its best.

Other vintages : 2005, 2005, 2004, 2004, 2003

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I opened this last night alongside the Meerea Park Hell Hole and Thomas Kiss of the same vintage (more later), all three excellent wines, but on the night this was my favourite, or at least the best to drink now. I’ll re-taste the other two tonight but the Graveyard is all gone; it was just too good to leave alone. Is it worth $125? For myself, the answer is yes, and I’ll be popping a couple of bottles into the cellar.

Wonderful depth of fruit with blackcurrants and blackberry, pepper, coffee, vanilla and aniseed all playing their part in the clean ripe aromas that jump from the glass. It’s just above medium bodied with juicy black fruits, cherry, mocha, cedar and lots of pepper and spice - intense and pretty full on. Perfect balance between fruit, oak, alcohol, acid and fine dry tannin creates an effortless flow through the mouth and the finish is very long and dry with a coffee bean aftertaste. Great wine.

Other vintages : 2004

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Tannat, Tannat, Tannat Tannat Tannat. They are the opening bars to the Pink Panther theme using only the word Tannat as an instrument. I think it’s the only palindromic grape variety too. What a noble, versatile and entertaining grape! I tasted this the night before going on holiday and did not have the chance to observe its development the next day, which is a bit of a shame as I think it may have good potential for cellaring.

Unusual to smell but it makes for an interesting point of difference with honeycomb, liquorice, earth, dark fruit/plum and creamy spiced oak. It’s medium to full bodied, chunky and strong but the tannins, while firm, are pretty good and ripe and they have an appealing multi-layered texture that really fills the mouth. The flavours are of orange peel, bitter chocolate, plums and dark berries, earth and spice - charismatic and adult. A fascinating wine.

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