Some notes taken at a dinner attended by some fellow wine lovers –
Seppelt Show Sparkling Shiraz 1990 – (Grampians, Victoria): A nice way to start the proceedings. Blackberry, cherry, spice, violets and earthy characters on the nose. Nice rich mouth-feel, with a bit of sweetness on the palate. Good, long finish. 88/100
Dry River “Lovat Vineyard” Gewürztraminer 2004 – (Martinborough, New Zealand): A style which polarised people somewhat. Lovely, varietal, intense fresh floral nose along with lychee, turkish delight, lemon, apples and a little bit of musk and spice. A concentrated, rich, sweet palate with a long finish.
There was some discussion that this was too sweet to be a table wine but not sweet enough to be a dessert wine, I’m of the opinion that in a non-offline situation you would find a food to match the wine rather than try to force this square peg of a wine into a round hole. However, I won’t argue that it isn’t worth the money. 89/100
Tahbilk Marsanne 1992 – (Nagambie, Victoria): Deep golden colour. Some honey, but mostly oxidised characters on the nose. Palate was thin and sharp. Sadly, a bottle well past its best. Not Rated
Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chadonnay 1996 – (Margaret River, Western Australia): Fairly obvious nutty caramel oak on the nose as well as grapefruit and citrus fruits. Rich, broad palate – powerful creamy texture. Very long finish. From what I’ve tasted of LEAS Chardonnay this vintage seemed to be a good representation of the style with a bit of age. 91/100
Mount Mary Chardonnay 1999 – (Yarra Valley, Victoria): A contrast to the Leeuwin Chardonnay above, but not in a bad way. Steely, minerally, gunflint and struck match on the nose. Delicate, elegant palate with minerally acid providing structure. Long finish. Very good. 92/100
Main Ridge Pinot Noir 1999 – (Mornington Penninsula, Victoria): Sour cherry with strawberry, green stalky characteristics and hints of earth. I didn’t feel that it had enough complexity or interest on the palate to make up for the nose. 84/100
L’Arrosee 1982 – (Bordeaux, France): Wonderfully youthful colour. Cedar, tobacco, blackcurrant, cassis and a bit of a smoked meat on the nose. Balanced, elegant palate leading into a long finish. Drinking so well now and not likely to fall over anytime soon. 92/100
Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 1988 – (Coonawarra, South Australia): Green capsicum, chocolate, mixed herbs and blackberries. Medium weighted on the smooth palate. Good but I thought it needed something more to take the step up into excellent. 88/100
Mount Mary Quintet Cabernets 1995 – (Yarra Valley, Victoria): One of the vintages of this wine that was recently said to not be worth higher than 80 points by Robert Parker Jr. Lovely violets dominate the nose, as well as blackcurrants, earth and sour stalks. Elegant palate, perhaps heading a bit too far towards the thin side of elegant though. 87/100
Masi Costasera 1997 – (Amarone, Italy): Very powerful and upfront. Plenty of oak evident as well as plum and cherry on the nose. Ripe, full bodied, concentrated and powerful – but not at all ready to drink – needs more time for the big tannins and oak to integrate. 87/100
Penfolds RWT 2001 – (Barossa Valley, South Australia): On the nose; Plenty of vanilla oak, cedar, coffee, blackberry, liquorice and some interesting floral overtones. Rich, fruity, oaky palate. Unsurprisingly primary at this stage – needs time for components to integrate and develop complexity. 87/100
Charles Melton Nine Popes 2001 – (Barossa Valley, South Australia): Meaty and savoury, plums, tobacco and blackberry as well as a little bit of sappiness. Smooth and well balanced on the palate – 15% alcohol but doesn’t show any sign of it. Rating is for the wine on the night, but as an afterward, the remains did show a bit better the night after. 89/100
Petaluma Botrytis Essence 2000 – (Coonawarra, South Australia): From a local store wanting to get rid of these because they couldn’t sell them. Slightly over 100 cases of half bottles made. Rich, powerful nose of honey, apricots, citrus peel and some botrytis evident. The palate is luscious, intense and sweet but held in balance by excellent acid structure. Impeccable length. Will age, but I’m not sure that it is worth waiting. Delicious stuff. 92/100