A very nice evening at Bistrode recently. Food pictures follow the tasting notes.
de Sousa Cuvée des Caudalies Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs NV
Disgorged 03/07/07. A vigorous, fine bead. Nutty, earthy and some marmalade characters on the nose. Very dry palate, a touch oxidative, but very interesting.
88/100
Christian Moreau Les Clos Grand Cru 2005
White floral characters and light minerals and lemon. Long palate with good focus and balance. Approachable now, I wonder if it has the acidity to be long lived.
88/100
Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays 2001
Powerful nose of cocoa, red cherry, roses and earth. Strong acid and tannin to the palate, but the structure and length are excellent. Needs time, say another 5 years to show its best.
91/100
E. Guigal La Landonne 1994
Tobacco, mint, white pepper and plums on the nose. The palate is deeply complex and layered with an interesting texture and mouthfeel. Exceptional persistence of flavour. Well balanced and should get better with some additional age.
93/100
Pigs Head Terrine
Smoked Eel & Bacon
Corned Wagyu Beef
Pork Chop, Black Sausage & Black Vinegar
Calf’s Liver, Bacon & Onion Gravy
Eton Mess with Strawberries
Wines from a dinnner at Paradoxe in Crows Nest. 4 courses and bread/sides/corkage were only $49 but the dishes were woefully inconsistent. My beef main course was good but overall quite disappointing.
Pol Roger Brut 1998
Good bead. Bready nose with a touch of yeast and lime. Nice palate, approachable with some restrained acid. Tasty and ready to drink.
90/100
Cullen Chardonnay 2002
Minerals and sea spray with a touch of toast, quince and floral aromas. Lovely restraint and balance on the palate. Very good length. Still youthful and will develop nicely over the next 5 years. A highlight of the night.
92/100
Lequin-Colin Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2000
Onions on the nose and palate. A bit oxidative and woody. Not very pleasant.
NR/100
Maison Leroy Meursault 2000
Citrus, honey and some nice nutty aromas. Very nice mouthfeel with medium depth and length. Quite enjoyable.
88/100
Bouchard l’Enfant Jesus 2002
Violets, saffron, raspberry and a touch of licorice on the nose. Very nice flavour and texture on the palate. Medium bodied and very stylish. Very young, and even though it is drinking well now, it will get even better over the next 7-8 years.
91/100
Jean Grivot Vosne-Romanée 2000
Floral aromas with light blueberry and some meaty notes. The palate is not bad, there is very little depth but it is nice to drink.
87/100
Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny 2001
A lot of depth to the nose with cherry, spice, pine cones and rose petals. Incredibly good focus and structure to the palate. Great length and depth. This was very young but lovely already, it has a very promising future ahead over the next 10-15 years.
93/100
Ridge Geyserville 2005
Rich and ripe on the nose with cherry, coconut, chocolate, soy sauce, licorice and a light floral lift. Nice mouthfeel and while the flavours are ripe they are well balanced. Plenty of points of interest here.
91/100
St Hallets Old Block Shiraz 1994
Cedar oak, vanilla, violets and smoke. Sweetly fruited palate with resolved tannins. A nice blend of youth and maturity. Close to peaking.
90/100
Domaine Ostertag Gewurztraminer Fronholz 2005
Complex nose of apricot, citrus peel, spice, ginger and honeycomb. There is a great deal of sweetness on the viscous palate but the wine is balanced through superb acidity. Quite a wonderful wine that should get even better with age.
94/100
Some wines from a dinner at Perama in Petersham -
Pol Roger NV (disgorged 2005) –
Citrus, touch of yeast with honey and nutty aromas. Good balance to the palate, there is some richness that is well balanced by the acid. I really like Pol with a couple of years bottle age and this was no exception.
88/100
Pieropan Calvarino Soave 2006 –
A pretty nose of pineapple, grapefruit, floral notes and some nutty aromas. Medium length, the palate is a bit too oily on the mid palate and tart on the finish though.
86/100
1999 Olivier Leflaive Meursault 1er Cru Charmes –
Honey, nutty, minerals and a bit of matchstick on the nose. The palate has a nice mouthfeel, it is rich but well balanced with good length. Right at its peak.
88/100
Comtes Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre 1990 –
Light gold colour. Nutty, honeyed with some autumn leave type aromas and developed some matchstick aromas after some time in the glass. Rather soft on the palate, I think it is probably on the way downhill but it was still drinking nicely.
87/100
Faiveley Les St Georges 1er 1986 –
Interesting nose with cherry, pine cones, iron filings and some old oak aromas. Quite agressive on the palate, the tannins and flavour are strong and full. Medium complexity on the palate, but not enough depth to be better than very good.
90/100
Isole e Olena Syrah 1995 –
Blueberry and very strong cedar with some chemical aromas. Palate is thin and weak. Not sure if this was an off bottle but it was quite terrible.
NR/100
Henri Bonneau Reserve des Celestins CdP 1999 -
Meaty, violets, olives, pepper and garrigue on the nose, there are plenty of interesting things happening. The palate is incredibly dry and rustic, it really needs food to be tamed. Decent length and an interesting wine.
89/100
Wendouree Shiraz 2006 –
Tobacco, cedar, strawberry, plums and floral aromas - lots of layers. Great balance on the palate, it is obviously young but already complex and approachable. Lovely, with the potential to get even better.
93/100
Puriri Hills Reserve Cabernets 2005 –
Turf/grass, graphit and tobacco. Red berries on the short and sharp palate. Not properly ripe.
83/100
Chateau Kefraya Cabernet blend 2003 –
Chocolate, coffee and blackberry aromas. Bold palate with lots of blue fruit flavours. Clean, quite simple, but tasty.
88/100
Chateau Kefraya Comte De M 2002 –
Deep coloured. Ripe nose, with blackberry, cocoa, cedar and some licorice. Savoury palate but with some ripe fruit flavours as well. Somewhat one-dimensional.
86/100
Musar 2000 –
Varnish, graphite, leather and spices. Flat palate, lacks weight and depth - nothing much going on. Okay at best.
84/100
Vina El Pison 2000 –
Cedar, tobacco, redcurrant, spice and dusty aromas. Sweetly fruited palate, very good length and structure. Needs time, but it is good.
90/100
Loosen Erdener Pralat Riesling Auslese Goldcap 1996 –
Honey, botrytis, pineapple, spice, nutty and light petrol aromas. Medium sweetness, not overbearing - there is good acid and carry to the flavour. Very tasty.
91/100