Appellation Australia

These were tasted at The Book Kitchen Restaurant in Surry Hills. Most dishes are available in entree and main course size, so most of us opted for 4-5 entree sized courses so that we could try a wide variety. Some dishes were excellent, while others lacked flavour. The service quality was also rather inconsistent. I will return, but hopefully these problems have been ironed out by then.

1996 Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésimé
Disgorged September 2004. Brioche, orange peel and lemon aromas. Long, bold and full flavoured palate, with some acidity in the background keeping it from being too full-on. Absolutely delicious. Much less advanced that a bottle had in the last couple of years that was great but not as fresh.
93/100

2002 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut Reserve
Lime and some floral characters on the nose. Palate is medium bodied with strong acidity. Lacks interest and purpose.
85/100

1985 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut La Grande Dame
Cocoa, nuts, orange peel and saffron aromas. Creamy and long on the palate, with fresh acidity providing lift. Excellent flavour and texture.
93/100

1996 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru
Citrus, earthy and a touch floral. Medium bodied with good acidity. Very good, but desperately needs time to develop and soften.
89/100

1982 Ployez-Jacquemart Champagne Liesse d’Harbonville Blanc de Blancs
Pears, floral notes and a touch of toast. Deliciously fresh and fluffy palate. Amazingly youthful. this has lots of life ahead of it based on this bottle.
90/100

1979 Lanson Champagne Noble Cuvée
Honey, pine nuts and toast on the nose. Excellent complexity on the palate. Great length and balance. At its peak.
92/100

1976 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut Reserve
Deep aromas of honey, toast and citrus. Palate is excellent with complexity and freshness both playing complimentary roles. Delicious and long.
93/100

1995 Moët & Chandon Champagne Dom Perignon Rosé
Delicate nose of cherry and strawberries. The palate has good body and the flavours carry into a good length finish. Very good, but it just didn’t thrill me.
90/100

1999 Bollinger Coteaux Champenois La Côte aux Enfants
Still Pinot Noir from Champagne. Black cherry, raspberry, stalks, candied aromas and a touch of pepper. Sweetly fruited, soft palate. Starting to show some signs of development, but most of the flavours are primary still. I’m glad to have tried it once, but it was interesting rather than great.
88/100

1997 Domaine Robert Arnoux Grand Cru Clos Vougeot
Raspberry, earth and some VA. Fruit is thin on the palate and the oak and tannins stand out.
84/100

1991 Michel Lafarge Beaune 1er Cru Grèves
Corked.
NR/100

2002 Domaine Meo Camuzet Grand Cru Clos Vougeot
This just kept getting better the longer it was left in my glass. Aromas of raspberry, red cherry, earth and pretty lifted floral notes. The palate is long, intense and has excellent structure. This was a standout among the Burgundies on the night and will only get better over the next 10+ years.
93/100

2004 Domaine Leroy Bourgogne
The nose is reminiscent of cool climate Shiraz rather than Pinot, with black pepper, cherry, lifted florals and mixed spices. An intense palate, dense and spicy. This is an enjoyable wine if you don’t mind that it may be hard to identify as Pinot.
89/100

1998 Domaine Marquis d’Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs
Dark chocolate, cherry and boot polish on the nose. Good texture and length on the palate. Quite elegant and silky. Drinking pretty well right now and while it won’t fall over soon, I don’t know that there would be much more improvement to expect.
90/100

2000 Geantet-Pansiot Grand Cru Charmes-Chambertin
Initially beetroot and milk chocolate aromas with bacon and sausage dominating after some time in the glass. Palate is medium bodied but there is a touch of sourness that also grew the longer the wine was left. A shame as it was very nice when poured.
83/100

1985 Lake’s Folly Cabernet
Amazing floral notes for the age, backed by tobacco, leather and redcurrants. The palate is youthful and shows plenty of softly sweet fruit balanced by savoury characters. Grew in stature and intensity as it was left in the glass, the last sip was the best. Just a touch behind a stunning 1987 recently, but extremely good anyway.
92/100

N.V. Jacques Selosse Champagne Cuvée Exquise
Very doughy aromas with quince, apple and honey as well. The palate is not as sweet as I expected, to me it was much more subtle and along the lines of an off-dry style with great balancing acidity. Interesting and very good.
91/100

I’m jumping back on board the Hunter Valley Semillon train after the stunning 1986 Lovedale the other night, and while this isn’t quite in the same league – it is interesting, pretty darn enjoyable and a steal at $11AUD.

Straw, lemon, wax, acacia florals and some toast just starting to develop on the nose. Medium intensity on the palate with very good length and well balanced between touches of fruit sweetness and some refreshing, mouth tingling acidity across the whole palate. Enjoyable now, but should also mature nicely over the next 5 or so years.

Score: 91/100 Drink: Now – 2012

Paul Bara Brut Reserve Grand Cru NV - (Champagne, France):

Medium bead with a very light mousse. Smoke, rose petal, lime and a light overlay of roasted nuts form the nose. The palate has a nice intensity of flavour as well as racy, well focussed acid and a slight citrus tang. Champagne of this quality is a steal for the price (around $55AUD).

90/100

Crabtree Watervale Riesling 1997 – (Clare Valley, South Australia):

A light golden yellow in colour. The nose is shy and reclusive, after a good deal of coaxing it revealed a little bit of honeysuckle and apricot. The palate lacks depth and anything much of interest, falling away very quickly after the mid-palate. Uninspiring and going nowhere rather quickly.

82/100

Tahbilk Marsanne 2004 – (Nagambie Lakes, Victoria):

This has a floral nose with notes of honey, nuts, pears and peaches. The palate has a slight viscosity about it that provides an interesting counterbalance to the acid. Medium length and while it was reasonably good, it is clearly in a bit of an “in between” phase – no longer youthful but not yet complex. Leave remaining bottles alone for a few years.

88/100

Yalumba “The Signature – Harold Obst” Galway Vintage Reserve Claret 1966 – (Barossa Valley, South Australia):

80% Shiraz and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon

A deep red in colour with just slight browning out around the edges. The nose has strong overtones of fennel (aniseed/liquorice) with peppermint, earth, leather and violets following through. The palate was balanced, with just enough sweet fruit and tannin remaining to carry the medium length of the wine. Enjoyable for about 25 minutes and then faded away quickly.

90/100

Cooper Shiraz 2002 - (Hunter Valley, New South Wales):

An old style Hunter Shiraz nose of earth, tobacco, spice and some barnyard – with around half an hour in the glass, the tobacco seemed to turn into a dominant smoky aroma that smothered the rest of the nose. The palate showed good flavour and character, although I would suggest that it is drinking at its peak now.

87/100

A fun night recently with some of my wine drinking associates where we celebrated the birthyear (and in one case the conception year) of the people attending with wines from that vintage. The years we were celebrating were 1963, 1968, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1984. None of the years are especially legendary or classic, but we still managed to put on a very good selection.

Krug 1979 - (Champagne, France):

There is a very fine bead on this but not much mousse. Orange peel, honey, almond, some oxidative characters and some toast. Compared to the bottle I had at Marque earlier in the year I thought it was lacking the flavour concentration on the palate that endeared me to the previous bottle. For me, the palate had a slightly odd sweet and sour element battle being waged.

90/100

Seppelt “Maturation Release” Riesling 1984 - (Eden Valley, South Australia):

Opens with passion fruit, lime, floral touches and some toast on the nose. Palate is simple and lacks definition. A nice enough wine, but certainly not living up to reputation as being one of the classic Australian aged Rieslings. Consistent with the last bottle I tried which was disappointing.

86/100

Trimbach Clos-Ste.-Hune Riesling 1981 - (Alsace, France):

A shimmering light gold colour. My first sniff straight out of the bottle was not promising – very sulphurous, but given some air time, I felt that it really started to open up with wax, straw, petrol and citrus emerging. The palate was where the class and finesse of this wine really shone through though – super balance, style, structure and length! Might be one of the few ’81s that will stick around for my 30th birthday!

92/100

Mildara “Peppermint Patty” Vintage Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1963 - (Coonawarra, South Australia):

The was low to mid shoulder in level. There were a series of approving noises being made about the medium garnet colour of this while it was being poured into the decanter. There was just a slight tinge of brick-red around the edges in the glass. What an amazing set of aromas it produced – smoke, leather, blackcurrant, dried flowers, a slight mulchy element, caramel, vanilla and even a touch of peppermint leading into eucalyptus. A superbly balanced, multi-layered palate with breathtaking length.

This was a very special experience. A legendary wine that is apparantly showing lots of variation between bottles, I think we were lucky to get one that was in the best condition that could have been hoped for.

98/100

Chateau Latour 1970 – (Bordeaux, France):

The nose is deep and rich with graphite, menthol, roasted meats, blackcurrant and some mulchy and cheesy characters. The palate is youthful and shows aggressive tannins along with reasonably good length. Didn’t live up to reputation and probably suffered from coming after the Peppermint Patty.

92/100

Chateau Cheval Blanc 1979 - (Bordeaux, France):

This wine was poured along with the story of one of the attendees proclaiming to her boyfriend earlier in the day that she was unready to die as she had not yet tasted Cheval Blanc! Initially the nose is pretty decent, some violets, cherry, spice and florals but these seemed to disappear quickly to be dominated by band-aid aromas. Palate wasn’t great from the start with a lack of fruit resulting in a thin, sharp and short palate. She might have to continue living for just a bit longer yet to try a good Cheval Blanc!

80/100

Chateau Margaux 1979 – (Bordeaux, France):

This was the best of the three 79s that we tried. Nose shows great character with liquorice, cassis, cedar, pencil shavings, raspberry and violets. A good length palate that has aggressive tannins coming in over the top and disrupting the flow somewhat.

90/100

Chateau Trotanoy 1979- (Bordeaux, France):

My first Trotanoy. Aromas of sea salt and brine, iodine and briary characters. The palate showed little to generate any excitement and started heading out of balance and downhill shortly after being poured.

86/100

Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion 1981- (Bordeaux, France):

A nose of cedar, graphite, pencil shavings, violets, earth and some meats. The palate is a disappointment that lets the wine down – entirely austere and overly tannic.

85/100

Chateau Haut-Brion 1981- (Bordeaux, France):

Cooked, spoiled, yeasty, oxidised … totally stuffed basically.

NR

Tyrrell’s Vat 5 Shiraz 1981 – (Hunter Valley, New South Wales)

A lifted floral nose with cinnamon, raspberry, chocolate, plums and tobacco. The palate shows good balance and plenty of sweet fruit but perhaps pulls up a little bit short and lacks complexity. Regardless, it is a good wine from a less than stellar vintage in many areas of the red wine world and was the best of the flight of 81s.

90/100

Penfolds Grange 1977- (South Australia):

Aromas of rhubarb, violets, some smoked meats and a touch of VA. Lovely aged complexity as well as rich fruits on the palate along with great length and good balance. Pretty close to its peak I would think.

92/100

Penfolds Grange 1979 – (South Australia):
A fairly imposing nose with vanilla oak, caramel, chocolate, liquorice, raspberry, VA and tar. Palate showed very good length but was lacking in anything much else to get excited about.

90/100

Penfolds Grange 1980 – (South Australia):
Lots of dried herbs and tea leaves on the nose as well as raspberry and redcurrant. The palate was simple, short, one dimensional and lacked structure.

85/100

Penfolds Grange 1981 – (South Australia):
Oak, ground coffee beans, some nuttiness, sweet fruits and a smidge of VA. Palate is youthful, with reasonably good length but again some clumsy tannins on the finish throw off the balance of the wine.

89/100

Penfolds Grange 1984 - (South Australia):

Nose is fairly simple at this stage with a fair bit of vanilla oak, blueberry and blackberry. Palate shows some youthful richness but it is ultimately too oaky and there is some bitterness on the finish. Based on this bottle I would be giving it more time, but I’m not entirely convinced that it will come into balance.

87/100

Chateau Musar 1979 - (Bekaa Valley, Lebanon):

A cloudy ruby colour. Earth, ash, VA, spice and smoked delicatessen meats on the nose. The palate has abundant style! Medium bodied, good balance, great length. This was my first Musar, and hopefully not the last.

91/100

Moulin Touchais 1977 - (Loire Valley, France):

Slightly oxidative nose with sour apples, ripe pear, lemon and butterscotch. Too much acid causing the palate to look disjointed and a bit short.

86/100

Hardy’s Vintage Port 1968 - (South Australia):

Has a caramel, toffee and nutty nose. Palate is fine – pretty good balance and seems reasonably fresh but there isn’t any real depth or complexity.

87/100

To balance the night of French legends that I spoke of in the last post – it was decided that we should come together again in early April to have a dinner that would be a tribute to some great Australian wines.

We gathered at Restaurant Atelier at Glebe – another restaurant with an excellent reputation.

We again selected the degustation menu as we find that it is best to space out the amount of time that you spend with each wine, and this is easier to do with multiple small courses of food.

The degustation menu is decided two days prior to the booking, to take into account what fresh produce can be obtained and it consisted of the following courses;

Sourdough Bread, EVOO, Balsamic & Tapenade, Échiré Butter
Chilled Spiced Lentil Soup & Roquette Oil
Duck Egg ‘ATELIER’ w Goat Curd Soubise, Unpasteurised Ocean Trout Roe
House-Made Black Pudding with Foie Gras, Seared Scallops and Parsnip Puree
Zucchini Flower filled with Prawn, Crab and Bill, Fillet of King George Whiting, Sauce Vierge
Rare-Roasted Gauler River Pigeon, Confit Cabbage, King Mushrooms
Seasonal Selection of Cheeses, House-Made Lavosh, Sourdough.
Sauterne Custard with Lychee Gastrique
Caramelised Almond & Praline Soufflé

It was interesting to note the similarity in some dishes to the menu at Marque (the Egg, Black Pudding, Rare Pigeon and Sauterne Custard) – but while they sound similar, the difference in flavour profile was quite pronounced for some of them.

I would say that if I were to cast a critical eye on the food (and I guess I am), it was of excellent quality and taste – but it probably didn’t quite have the depth of flavour or excitement that the food at Marque did. Some members of the party were not impressed with the Pigeon dish saying it was too rare. It is very rare and that gives a certain texture to it that you may or may not like, but for my tastes it was fine.

The service was smooth and well executed and Julian the sommelier was right on top of things when handling our wines. The glasses were alright but not great (bring your own if you are bringing special wines) and the number of decanters provided was good. The chef (Darren Templeman) was also able to produce some good looking (and apparently tasting) dishes for a member of our party who has a very long list of foods that he is unable to eat.

And the bill? $110 total per person including the 7 courses ($75), bread, cheese ($8), corkage ($8 per bottle), coffee ($5) and gratuity. I think for a degustation of this quality, you would have a hard time doing much better than that.

I think that Atelier is among the top level of restaurants in Sydney and if I were to rate it, I would give it 94 points including a couple of extra points for the value.

So, with that out of the way – let’s talk about the wines. 19 bottles opened and each one a classic wine from mostly classic vintages. Our 19 bottles were from 11 different wine regions in Australia, showing that regions outside those two or three that are currently in fashion can still make great wines. They performed as follows -

Grosset Polish Hill Riesling 1996 – (Clare Valley, South Australia):
A mid-gold colour. Nose is comprised of butterscotch and lemon meringue, as well as some honey characters after some time in the glass. Length was good, but some overt acid on the palate disrupts the balance. Seemed a bit over developed, holding up alright but was apparently not nearly as good as another bottle consumed by two others at the table late last year and not a patch on the ’96 Grosset Watervale I had recently. 87/100

Tyrrell’s “Vat 1″ Semillon 1994 – (Hunter Valley, New South Wales):
Rich nose of lanolin, honey and a small amount of toast. Palate is of medium intensity and has excellent mouth-feel, balance and length. A very good wine and it was consistent with a bottle that I had last year at a Tyrrell’s tasting. Drinking well now for my tastes, but should hold for some time. 92/100

Giaconda Chardonnay 2002 – (Beechworth, Victoria):
Nose has good intensity – toasty, spicy and caramel oak, citrus, nutty and minerally/flinty characters. What I really enjoyed about this wine was its texture and mouth-feel. It has very good length with excellent structure. It should develop very well over the next 5-7 years. 93/100

Leeuwin Estate “Art Series” Chardonnay 1987 – (Margaret River, Western Australia):
Good complexity on the nose – toasty oak, marmalade, oranges, honey and grapefruit. Palate has good depth, but there is a note of tartness on the finish just disrupting the line slightly. Sits in between the two bottles I have had previously, one better (see here) and one worse. It was still an excellent wine and did deserve to sit in on a dinner of Australian legends. 93/100

Bass Philip “Reserve” Pinot Noir 1997 (375ml) – (Gippsland, Victoria):
I was truly in the minority at my end of the table, but I really liked the complex nose on this – stems, sappy, earthy, mushrooms and a bit bloody and gamey. I did not like the palate so much, there was some tartness and some aggressive stalk characters disrupting the finish. 88/100

Bannockburn “Serre” Pinot Noir 1998 – (Geelong, Victoria):
Nose shows stalks, cherry and earth as well as being a bit alcoholic. Palate was simple and somewhat one-dimensional, but I thought it was smooth and had good balance and carry. It wouldn’t surprise me if this took on some complexity with additional age. I preferred the aromas of the Bass Phillip, but would take the palate of the Bannockburn. 89/100

Mount Mary “Quintet” Cabernets 1986 – (Yarra Valley, Victoria):
Corked – musty and totally stripped of fruit on the palate. How can people say that they would miss the “romance” of cork? NR

Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 1995 – (Margaret River, Western Australia):
Youthful in colour. Nose has elements of violets, cedar, cassis and iodine. The palate is brooding and powerful yet beautifully balanced with all the elements present and working together. Excellent tannin structure and bound to be even better over the next 10 years. 93/100

Wynns “John Riddoch” Cabernet Sauvignon 1982 – (Coonawarra, South Australia):
This was the backup bottle for the corked Mount Mary. Mocha/chocolate, plum, earth and some capsicum (but in the background rather than the foreground “essence of capsicum” of the previous bottle I had generously been given the chance to try). The palate shows superb focus, depth and length. A remarkable wine that will live for years to come (bottle/cork variation pending). This was my Wine of the Night for drinking tonight. 95/100

Cullen “Diana Madeline” Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2001 – (Margaret River, Western Australia):
A last minute ring-in for the 1996 Cullen DM. Alcoholic heat on the tight nose as well as some violet and cherry aromas. A tannic palate that culminates in a harsh acidic finish. Just a development phase or falling to pieces, I suspect probably the former. 87/100 on this showing.

Penfolds “Grange” Shiraz 1972 – (South Australia):
Corked – One of the worst cases of TCA that I have ever experienced initally – and almost unbelievably it got worse with more air – I was unable to reuse the glass that this was poured into. NR

Penfolds “Grange” Shiraz 1978 – (South Australia):
Furniture polish as well as the furniture itself on the nose. Palate is acidic, tannic, lacks fruit and has a bitter finish. This bottle was way past its best. 78/100

Henschke “Hill of Grace” Shiraz 1986 – (Eden Valley, South Australia):
The brett police were out early on this one but I wasn’t getting any. Dark chocolate, sour cherry, leather and sweet fruit on the nose. A still youthful palate showing some tannins sticking out a little bit. The palate was getting better and taking on weight with additional airtime. A lengthy finish. Just needs to come together a bit on the palate. 93/100

Henschke “Hill of Grace” Shiraz 1990 – (Eden Valley, South Australia):
Nice complexity on the nose. Cherry, raspberry, blackberry and very well integrated oak. Palate has good structure but is powerful and intense as well. Perhaps maybe just a touch of acid sticking out on the palate to disrupt what is otherwise a wine with a very long life ahead of it. 90/100

Penfolds “Grange” Shiraz 1990 – (South Australia):
Primary, rich nose of sweet caramel, chocolate, plum, spices and American oak. Good intensity on the palate, tannins are prominent but are of high quality. Excellent length. Very young and needs a significant amount more time to really strut its stuff. 93/100

Penfolds “Kalimna Block 42″ Cabernet Sauvignon 1996 – (Barossa Valley, South Australia):
A vibrant nose of spice, raspberry, earth, tobacco, cedar, dustiness, cassis and restrained oak. The palate is very classy, elegant yet it has superb depth and intensity of fruit, wonderful balance and a long, unbroken line and length. It may not be a pure expression of Cabernet Sauvignon, but it is a pure expression of Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon. Needs 10, maybe 15 years to be at its peak and could be one of the all time classics at its peak. My Wine of the Night for potential and just all around class. 96/100

Brokenwood “Graveyard” Shiraz 2000 – (Hunter Valley, New South Wales):
Very closed, very hard to judge. Some liquorice, violets, blackberry on the nose. The alcohol was showing through on the palate. I was excited to taste this, but it really felt a bit lacklustre. I would not touch another one for 5 years. 88/100

Jim Barry “The Armagh” Shiraz 1991 – (Clare Valley, South Australia):
The backup bottle to replace the ’72 Grange. From a single vineyard in the Clare Valley. A nose comprising pepper and spice, hazelnut, mulberry and chocolate. The palate has a certain vibrancy to it. Very good, long finish. Really enjoyable. 91/100

De Bortoli “Noble One” 1984 – (Riverina, New South Wales):
Nose shows a bit of promise with apricot, botrytis characteristics and sultana. The palate is disjointed, alcoholic, spiky and finishing short. Disappointing for one of the legends of Australian dessert wine.80/100

The Nepalese Kitchen is a busy restaurant in Surry Hills. The food and spicing wasn’t ideal for wine matching, but I thought it had good flavour and there were lots of vegetarian options. Plus, at $121AUD for 6 people, the value was excellent. The downsides were that we were shifted from place to place, initially upstairs and then into a private room and then back downstairs and then at the end of the meal they tried to charge us $240 (perhaps a mixup due to the tables being changed).

We tried the following seven wines;

Lakes Folly Chardonnay 1994 – (Hunter Valley, New South Wales):
Light golden colour with some hints of green at the core. Nose is alright at first, some butterscotch and grapefruit, but quickly starts to show wood and varnish. Fruit is gone from the palate. Short and some harshness on the finish. Drinkable if you were really desperate! 83/100

Seppelt Maturation Release Riesling 1984 – (Eden Valley, South Australia):
The first thing I mentioned was how youthful this looks, not knowing the identity of it. The nose was not showing much intensity, some kerosene and toast. The palate was watery and short.

I left some in the glass to warm up, and it didn’t fall apart any more over the course of an hour but it remained mediocre. This wine is an Australian legend in Riesling circles, it’s something I have wanted to try for a long time, unfortunately it didn’t live up to it on the night, but that is one of the “joys” of cork. 85/100

Sorrenberg Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon 2004 – (Beechworth, Victoria):
Interesting nose, grapefruit, lime, wet slate, some spice and florality, candy (which ended up reminding me of those faux banana shaped lollies) and just a hint of toffee oak. Palate was good as well, creamy and with some balanced acidity flowing across the palate and into the finish. I really liked it for its difference. (I also love a tough to guess options wine as long as I’m not the one trying to guess it!) 90/100

Charles Melton Sparkling Red NV (Disgorged 1996) – (Barossa Valley, South Australia)
Some dirty horse-osity initially which did blow off which a bit of time to reveal raspberries and some plum. Some sweetness and some background oak on the palate. An okay wine, but not really my thing. 86/100

Lindemans St George Classic Release Cabernet Sauvignon 1980 (Released 1989) – (Coonawarra, South Australia):
The person who brought this wine warned us that this would either be herbaceous and horribly under-ripe or would be very good.

Youthful violet with not the slightest hint of fading or browning. Powerful, beautiful nose of tobacco, ash, tomato leaf, cedar, roast vegetables, blackberries. Palate is vibrant, yet elegant – with all facets having integrated and balanced perfectly – tannins, oak and fruit were all there but acting as one. The finish is amazingly persistent. After 45-60 minutes of breathing, it was just as good if not even better.

In one word, stunning – I could still taste this wine the next morning and couldn’t think about anything else on the drive to work or for most of the morning at work. I initially said 92, then 94 after half an hour before coming to rest at 96 the next morning. Thank you to the person who brought this. 96/100

Viking Grand Shiraz 2000 – (Barossa Valley, South Australia):
These grapes were previously part of the parcel used to select Penfolds Grange from and to be fair, 2000 was a very difficult vintage in many parts of the Barossa.

Iodine, band-aids, sawdust and a chemical smell along the lines of what I imagine a mad scientist’s laboratory would smell like. Some heat on the nose. Shockingly the palate actually wasn’t too bad, young and showing some obvious tannins but the length was good and the finish was fine. 84/100

Glendonbrook Shiraz 2001 – (Hunter Valley, New South Wales):
Bacon and a spirity liqueur character and well as a hint of violet and blackberry. Palate was smooth and easy to drink and matched up with the price point of the wine.

Apparently not a representative bottle based on the nose. It had been sitting in a car boot for a week. 84/100

All wines were tasted blind at dinner with some friends from the Winestar Forum with the exception of my bottles which were the Bindi, Sorrenberg and the Elk Cove.

Bollinger R.D 1988 – (Champagne, France): Disgorged May 2000. Tarnished gold in colour. Toast, walnut, yeasty dough, pears and slightly oxidative nose. Palate is intense but still retains balance and structure with a crisp finish. My favourite wine on the night. 93/100

Grosset Polish Hill Riesling 2005 – (Clare Valley, South Australia): What a disappointment, this is meant to be one of Australia’s very best (and expensive) Rieslings – all lemon and lime and a watery palate with no backbone, no structure, no length, no intensity. A bit of sweetness on the finish.

Wine critics have been generally extremely positive about this wine, but I have seen reports from others that their bottle was similarly poor. 85/100

Bindi Composition Chardonnay 2004 – (Macedon Ranges, Victoria): The antithesis of what I don’t like about Australian chardonnay. No buttery, over-oaked characters here. Fairly tight nose, some cinnamon and grapefruit. Some flinty minerality, good underlying oak and a bit of acid at this stage. Length is good. I liked it. 89/100

Felton Road Pinot Noir 2003 – (Central Otago, New Zealand): Cherries, tomatoes, some stalks, touch of funk initially that blew off. Thought there was some acid poking out but not nearly as much as some others at the table found. Fell away at the back of the palate. 87/100

Henschke Cyril Henschke Cabernet Sauvignon 1994 – (Eden Valley, South Australia): Savoury nose with elements of earth and blackcurrant at the forefront – lovely tannin structure and great texture/mouthfeel. My second favourite wine on the night. 93/100

Henschke Mount Edelstone Shiraz 1994 – (Eden Valley, South Australia): Powerful nose with spice, pepper, some background oak and a hint of mint and menthol. Once again good structure and length. 90/100

Sorrenberg Gamay 2001 – (Beechworth, Victoria): Spice, earth, smoked smallgoods, some floral notes and a touch of butterscotch(?). Fleshy palate with some sweetness. Something different and definitely needs to be had with food. 88/100

Elk Cove Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2000 – (Oregon, USA): I think probably the first US Pinot I’ve tried and it’s not too bad! Earthy, forest floor, dirty and funky nose with some stalks in the background. Balanced and silky on the palate. Just lacking in some wow factor. A bit of a polarising style as well, with some liking it and some hating the dirt and funk. 89/100

Lindemans St George Cabernet Sauvignon 1991 – (Coonawarra, South Australia): Original release rather than the recent museum release bottling. Pencil shavings, cedar, cassis. Lovely complexity on the palate, great length. Very Bordeaux like. Super stuff. 92/100

Katnook Estate Prodigy Shiraz 1997 – (Coonawarra, South Australia): Tomato leaf, fair amount of vanilla oak. Palate is pretty good but the oak is still too prominent. 89/100

Rockford Grenache 1996 – (Barossa Valley, South Australia): Very ashy on the nose. Components of the palate are well integrated. I don’t know if this was meant to go 10 years but it was holding up fine. Decent enough but probably not a bad move to move the fruit into their GSM blend (Moppa Springs). 87/100

Rosemount Hunter Valley Trockenbeerenauslese Riesling 1982 – (Hunter Valley, New South Wales): A rarity! The story is that during the Fosters/Southcorp merger, inventory of warehouses were being done and 16 cases were found in a corner and nobody knew what they were. It turned out to be lost museum stock of this wine.

Colour was a deep orange brown, almost looked like a fortified wine. Nose was obvious aged Riesling with a bit of botrytis for good measure. Acid was there on the palate and holding the palate together. Very sweet but very nice. Fell apart after about half an hour in the glass, but was wonderful for the time it was alive. 92/100

Sydney experienced a 45° celsius (113° fahrenheit) New Years day this year, so we did what any sensible group of wine lovers would do – go ahead with the dinner anyway and celebrate the New Year with some great wine.

This was my first visit to Elio, an Italian restaurant which is based in Leichhardt and I would certainly go back for an offline in future. The food was excellent, service was very friendly and most importantly they were one of the few places open on New Years Day. Corkage was $5.50 per bottle which is about average for decent Sydney restauarants.

Krug Grande Cuvée MV – (Champagne, France): My first taste of Krug MV (multi-vintage blend) and I’m almost already a convert. Full, powerful nose of almonds, hazelnut, yeast and toast, while at the same time exhibiting fresh citrusy lemon and lime characters. Exceptional length on the palate with waves of flavour. I could easily get used to this! My favourite wine on this evening.. 95/100

Tyrrell’s Vat 47 Chardonnay 2000 – (Hunter Valley, New South Wales): Citrus, peaches and a touch of butter and oak in the background. Quite a powerful, intense palate. Not showing much development yet but has the structure to hold while secondary characters are taken on. 89/100

Suckfizzle Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 1998 – (Margaret River, Western Australia): Herbaceous, grass, tobacco leaf, tinned beans and what I thought was a whiff of disinfectant on the nose. A tangy element to the palate. I didn’t enjoy this but others at the table did. I came back to the wine later in the evening to see if my opinion would be kinder to it after some time had passed, but I still didn’t like it. 84/100

Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 1997 – (Margaret River, Western Australia): Oatmeal, citrus, toasty oak and a bit of cheese dominate the aromas. Nice creamy mouth-feel but a touch of acid sticking out disrupts the line and otherwise good length. 89/100

Bass Phillip Reserve Pinot Noir 2000 – (Gippsland, Victoria):This may be the only wine that I come close to picking blind this year at offline and I didn’t get the vintage, but I’ll take what I can get. Would not (and did not) pick this as being as young as 2000.

Stalks, cherries, violets, some confection and a touch of earthiness. Upfront, very smooth and easy to drink but also showing good texture and structure. I really quite liked the wine, but I rather less like the price tag associated. 92/100

Domaine Jean Gros Vosne-Romanee 1989 – (Burgundy, France): Earth, wild mushrooms, sour cherries and some spicy oak aromas form the forward nose of this wine. The palate lets the wine down a little bit, with some acid poking through that I don’t think will be resolved with any further time. 90/100

Chateau Bon Pasteur 1995 – (Bordeaux, France): Freshly shaved sawdust and tobacco on the nose. Tannic and lacking fruit. I didn’t pick any obvious TCA elements but will give the wine the benefit of the doubt as one member of the table had a better bottle previously. Not Rated

Pillitteri Estates Winery Sparkling Icewine Riesling 2002 – (Ontario, Canada): An interesting and unusual experience. Only a very light sparkle to it. Lifted fresh nose of apricots, raisins, lemon, pear and ginger. The palate was very sweet on its own but was toned down slightly when having it with dessert. Acid structure is there in the background but needs to come forward a little to achieve balance.

This is the first vintage of sparkling Riesling Icewine from this winery (and apparently the first sparkling Riesling Icewine from the region) and I’m sure they’ll improve the results with more experience. 89/100

Charles Melton Sparkling Red NV (Disgorged Nov-99) – (Barossa Valley, South Australia):Cherries along with spicy and meaty notes comprise the nose. Palate had just a touch of sweetness about it. Not bad. 87/100

From the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia – Almost no sediment. Browning only a slight amount around the edges of the otherwise deep red colour. Intoxicating nose – Savoury, earthy, briary with a touch of leather and a small hint of menthol. A fully mature, complex palate. Excellent length and balance. At its peak and showing no signs of fading. It’s super wines like this that remind me of why I’m so fascinated by this subject. 95/100 Drink: Now – 2007

A nose of fresh apples, citrus and just a slight hint of yeast. Palate also shows fresh fruit and a little kick of refreshing acidity. Simple but somewhat calming for the price (Around $17AU). 85/100 Drink: Now