October 26th, 2007
Boizel Joyau de France 1991
Lots happening on the nose - toast, citrus, honey and more. Palate has good length and richness. Good complexity as well. At its peak and very interesting.
90/100
Boizel Brut Blanc de Blancs NV
Strong bready aromas with a touch of yeast/cheese. Palate is much more restrained and elegant. A little bit short but otherwise nice.
86/100
October 25th, 2007
Billecart-Salmon Brut NV
Apple, brioche and toast/oak aromas. Rich mouthfeel. Pretty good.
87/100
Billecart-Salmon Nicholas Francois-Billecart 1998
An appealing layered nose of citrus, floral notes and toast. Good structure and balance between acid and fruit on the palate. Lots to like about this.
90/100
Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose NV
Lemon and florals. Clean palate with some persistence. A little bit on the boring side of things though.
86/100
October 25th, 2007
Bollinger Special Cuvee NV
Lemon pastry aromas. The palate is clean with medium body and richness.
87/100
Bollinger La Grande Annee 1999
Floral notes and apple on the nose. Palate shows excellent depth and length. Open and ready for drinking now. Very impressive.
91/100
Bollinger La Grande Annee Rose 1999
A lovely, delicate nose - smells like a field of roses. Palate is clean, with good acid and length. One of the top Rose Champagnes tasted on the day.
89/100
October 24th, 2007
Ayala Brut Majeur NV
Tight nose, some peaches. Palate has some richness to it. Simple but provides some pleasure.
86/100
Ayala Brut Nature Rose NV
Rose petals and strawberries on the nose. Palate lacks flow and balance.
82/100
Ayala Zero Dosage NV
Nose of lemon and peaches. Palate is fresh, crisp and clean but without depth.
86/100
October 23rd, 2007
Over the next couple of weeks I’ll post quick impressions of the 90+ Champagnes I tasted at this event. The stand outs were;
Bollinger La Grande Annee 1999
Billecart-Salmon Nicholas Francois-Billecart 1998
Boizel Joyau de France 1991
Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millenaires 1995
Henriot Cuvee Enchanteleurs 1995
Mumm de Cramant NV
Jacquesson Avize Grand Cru Rose 1996
Ruinart Blanc de Blancs NV
Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque Blanc 1998
and then a couple of levels above those was the Salon 1996.
October 23rd, 2007
A great dinner at Bilson’s, a top French restaurant in Sydney, almost spoiled by a waiter with a severe attitude problem, but rescued by superb company, food, wine and significantly better service when we asked for another waiter to look after us.
- Tarte Fine of Local Lobster with Mousseline of Spinach
- Grilled Fillet of Murray Cod with Yabbies, Sauce Gribiche and Watercress
- Black Rockfish Quenelle with Petrossian Caviar
- Rack of Lamb with fennel and tomato
- Roasted Partridge ‘en Salmis’
- Selection of Ripened Local and Imported Cheese with Fresh and Dried Fruits
- Assiette of Dark Bitter Chocolate
1981 Bollinger VVF
Light gold colour. The nose is surprisingly fresh with floral characters as well as complex nut, earth, ginger and slate aromas. So long and rich on the palate, but with precise focus and incredible balance and complexity. One of the top Champagnes I’ve had, one of the top wines in fact. I kept a small amount until the end of the dinner, and though it was warm it was still brilliant after 4 hours. Thank you to the person that brought this for a memorable experience.
98/100
1988 Bollinger VVF
Darker in colour than the 1981. An interesting variety of aromas, with yeasty Vegemite, mushroom, aspirin and cedar. Palate has spice and texture to it, but it lacks length. Was given plenty of time to come around, but started to smell like rotten citrus after around an hour. It doesn’t sound all that appealing from the note, but despite that, it was interesting and it was a peek at what a representative bottle may be like.
87/100
2000 Bouchard Corton Charlemagne
Soapy at first, but that lifted after some swirling to show lovely floral perfume, citrus peel and minerality. I thought the structure on the palate was top class, elegant but with a depth and length that proves this has potential for greatness. I slightly preferred the 2002, but I think both were excellent.
92/100
1982 Chateau Trotanoy
The amazing colour I have come to expect from well cellared 1982 Bordeaux, deep ruby red with no real signs of significant age. The nose initially was very herbaceous, but given time in the glass this amazingly retreated to be replaced by aromas of tobacco, chocolate, blackcurrant, cherry and some integrated briar character the only hint at the earlier aroma profile. A delightfully lushness to the palate with structure provided by the balanced and fine tannins. Excellent, and only got better as time went on.
94/100
1964 Dupont-Tisserandot Mazis Chambertin
There were some frowns around the table due to the poor service, but it was fun watching peoples expressions change so dramatically after the first couple of sniffs of this wine. Intoxicating, swirling, perfumed aromas of cherry, spice, strawberry and tea. Long, delicate, balanced and with wonderful texture. I kept switching between this and the Trotanoy as my favourite red of the evening, but they both stand apart as brilliant wines. One of the best red Burgundies I have had to date.
94/100
1996 Roger Sabon Secret des Sabon
As the name indicates, details on this are deliberately to be a bit hard to come by. From what I’ve read, around 80 cases produced, believed to be mainly Grenache but it is a field blend of all 13 permitted varieties from 100+ year old vines in two vineyard plots planted by Roger Sabon’s Grandfather.
Intense nose with framboise, kirsch, Chinese five spice, pepper and a little bit of smoke and earth. Surprisingly good structure for the vintage along with deep, rich red fruit and good length. Approachable, but with potential to get better over the next 4-5 years.
91/100
2001 Chateau Guiraud Sauternes
Strong coconut and honey, peach and citrus on the nose. The palate is approachable with quite a bit of sweetness but plenty of cleansing acidity. No real depth to it yet, and I wonder if it is maybe entering a bit of a quiet period, it was very good but maybe didn’t show the concentration and excitement I was expecting.
88/100
October 14th, 2007
What a debacle the wine master classes were at Restaurant ‘07 (a trade event). Missing wines, corked wines, endless delays and so on …
Update: I was contacted today (30/10) by a representative from the organisers of the event, they had me expand on the feedback and said they would pass it on to the people they worked with on the wine classes and take it under consideration for next years event. It was good to see them being proactive in trying to improve the next time this is run.
The first class was meant to be a New World vs Old World comparison but 3 wines were missing (including the wine of the winemaker presenting the class … embarrassing).
2006 Voice of the Vine Riesling - Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Mornington Peninsula
Clean nose of apples and strawberry. Lime and apple flavours on the palate. Very dry, with strong acid presence along the length of the palate. Lacks an excitement factor.
86/100
2004 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Mosel
Lots of lifted white floral character on the nose as well as spice, slate, lanolin and apple. Lovely balance to the palate, with a flirting, fleeting sweetness and good length. Drink over the next 4-5 years.
89/100
2005 Reichsrat Von Buhl Riesling Dry - Germany, Pfalz
Touch of buttered popcorn on the nose along with apricot and pineapple. There is an element of spice on the palate, along with a hint of fruit sweetness. Simple, but not bad for the price. Drink now.
87/100
October 9th, 2007
A couple of bottles opened recently to celebrate a birthday.
1992 Krug Champagne Clos du Mesnil - France, Champagne, Le Mesnil Sur Oger, Champagne
Straw yellow colour. Very fine bead. Appealing aromas of honey, slate, orange zest, a touch of smoky oak and a light nutty character. The palate is focused, elegant and delicate, yet the flavours are expansive towards the long finish. Super now, but needs another 5 years to develop towards its peak.
93/100
1999 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Mosel
The nose shows a touch of kerosene in the foreground, with slate, honey and botrytis also present. The palate has lovely balance with medium sweetness and cleansing, fresh acid. Medium length. A little bit simple perhaps, but so charming and drinkable. Drink over the next 5 years.
90/100
October 4th, 2007
1996 Comte Audoin de Dampierre Family Reserve Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Champagne
Toast, apple and light floral aromas. Lovely weight to the palate. Still balanced, but the acid has softened considerably. This bottle, a year on from the last one confirms my suspicions that it will likely be at its best in its youth.
92/100
1989 Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Françaises Blanc de Noir Champagne
Amber coloured. The nose is stunningly complex with chocolate, fennel, vanilla, five spice, earth, truffles and saffron. A refined palate with delicate flavour and rather than the explosiveness I was expecting. Softly textured and with very good length, I would put it at its peak now. A challenging, uniquely interesting wine.
95/100
2002 Domaine François Raveneau Chablis Butteaux 1er Cru
A nose of iodine, subtle vanilla, oyster shells and sea spray. The palate has lovely weight of subtly rich flavour with excellent balancing acidity. Long finish. Significantly better than a bottle tried early last year. I would love to see another bottle in 5 years time.
92/100
1995 Remoissenet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Romanee
Light golden coloured. A soapy, nutty, struck match and slightly oxidative nose. Lovely toffee character and texture on the front palate into the mid-palate but takes on a bit of bitterness on the finish. Drink now based on this bottle.
88/100
1986 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne
A youthful straw colour. The nose drew me in with aromas of smoke, lifted floral notes, smoke and earth, matchstick and cashew. The palate is the very essence of subtility and purity. Superb balance, structure and persistence. One of the best wines I have had the fortune to drink thus far.
97/100
1998 Domaine Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
A lovely, expressive nose - with strawberry, earth, cinnamon, violets and cherry. Texturally excellent, showing good balance and depth. Drinking well now, but will improve over the next 5 years. Needed a bit more length to reach brilliance, but still a great wine.
92/100
1996 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Bonnes Mares
Deeply scented nose of raspberry, black pepper, pine and earth. The tannins on the palate demand food. Great depth to the darkly flavoured palate. Standing out is the incredible persistence of flavour, it was exceptionally long and pleasing. This wine provided a very interesting experience.
93/100
1982 Château Ducru Beaucaillou
Excellent colour, deep purple with no browning. Pencil shavings and graphite, cedar and blackberry. The palate shows similar youthful character, with concentrated juicy fruit complimenting the excellent tannin structure. The length and focus of the palate stands out as being exceptional. Very impressive and a step up in class from a bottle that I had earlier last year.
94/100
1988 Château Mouton Rothschild
A dark, brooding, appealing nose of coffee, chocolate, blackberry, cedar and jasmine tea. The palate is austere and dominated by tannin and I struggle to see it having enough fruit to live long enough for these tannins to resolve despite the immense structure. I still thought it very good, but lacking in the fruit and depth on the palate that I would look for in a wine at this level.
89/100
1995 Marchese Lodovico Antinori Tenuta dell’Ornellaia
Dark ruby coloured. The nose shows aromas of dark chocolate, olive, tobacco, violets and spice. The flavour is concentrated and intense on the front palate but is brought back under control by the tannins and acid across the mid palate and the medium length finish. Lots of points of interest to this wine.
92/100
1994 Domaine Zind Humbrecht Tokay Pinot Gris Rotenberg Vendange Tardive
A nose of coconut, honey, pineapple, mango and spice. Concentrated richness and intensity on the palate but with the vibrant acidity to keep balance. Very long length, but a touch of bitterness on the back palate was the only thing to stop this wine from being incredible.
93/100