Appellation Australia

A wonderful dinner on Saturday night at Tetsuya’s in Sydney with my family. Food, service and atmosphere were impossible to fault even though my expectations were sky high after such a wonderful experience on my first/last visit last year.

The menu was only changed very slightly from my last visit in May last year, but when the dishes are this good, that is perfectly fine by me.

Sweet Corn Soup with Basil Ice Cream

then

Pacific oysters with Rice Vinegar

Tartare of Tuna on Sushi Rice with Avocado

Tuna Marinated in Soy and Mirin

Soft Smoked Ocean Trout with Asparagus

Marinated NZ Scampi with Chicken Parfait and Walnut

with

Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne 1998

Pale straw-yellow in colour with a very fine bead and only a very small amount of mousse. Had a lightly scented nose of toast, lemon, vanilla and slate. There is a fresh core of focused, balanced acidity to the palate and the length is excellent with lingering flavour, but it is perhaps just lacking the level of clarity and layers of flavour that the stunning 1996 had in order to take the step from excellent to exceptional. Enjoy over the next 8-10 years.

92/100

Confit of Petuna Tasmanian Ocean Trout with Konbu, Daikon and Fennel and Seasonal Green Salad

Ravioli of Queensland Spanner Crab with Tomato and Basil Vinaigrette

with

Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon 1999

Light yellow colour. It took a little while for the nose to open up on this, but when it did it provided the kind of interesting and newly revealed aromas with each sniff that I would have been happy to sit and smell it over an entire night.

Aromas of extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, lemon rind, straw, hints of star anise and very light toast and smoke. Delicate and pure on the palate initially, it built a small amount of richness and weight in the glass across the excellent length, but stayed in balance and maintained its purity of flavour. This proved to be a very good match for the food, complimenting each other well rather than skewing the focus one way.

I would suggest that it will start to enter a mature drinking phase around 2010 and continue improving for another 5 years afterward.

92/100

Twice Cooked De-Boned Spatchcock with Braised Daikon and Bread Sauce

Grilled Wagyu Beef with Asian Mushrooms and Lime Jus

with

Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reservee 1979

I was concerned about how this would show, as it was bought at auction with unknown provenance (but with excellent fill level) and also wasn’t sure if it would complement the food. It was perhaps not the right occasion to take the risk, but it has been said that fortune can favour the brave!

Opened with a brilliantly layered, complex nose from the very start, with burnt butter, black cherry, smoked meat, damp soil, floral notes, tea and mixed spices. The elegant palate has lovely texture, with subtle spice and delicate sweet fruit. Only a touch not long enough to reach toward perfection, but a brilliant wine regardless. Almost more in the mould of Burgundy on the palate, it was perfect for the food to my tastes.

Fully mature and while it didn’t show any sign of decline over the hour and a half it was enjoyed, I would certainly open it now or in the near future if you are holding onto any bottles.

96/100

Pineapple and Yoghurt Sorbet

Strawberry Shortcake

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with White Beans and Dates

Floating Island with Praline and Vanilla Bean Anglaise

with

Inniskillin Vidal Icewine 1996

A deep amber colour was briefly worrying, but upon my first sniff I could tell that there was no reason for concern. Soft toffee was the initial aroma and this was followed by marmalade, cherry, vanilla, peach and a espresso note in the background. Refreshing and clean rather than cloying on the palate, with great focus to the integrated acid counterbalancing the medium level of sweetness. Has impressive length and it was genuinely delicious to drink.

93/100

Petit Four with Coffee

I can’t wait to go back!

The third and final workshop on the second day of the Frankland Estate International Riesling Tasting in Sydney.

This workshop focused on Riesling from the new and old world, in an off-dry style.

Dry River “Craighall” 2004

Slightly less pungent nose than the 2005 I tried the previous day, but still had some sweaty, funky elements as well as crisp green apples, lemons and lime. There is a good balance between sweetness and structural acidity. Nice drinking and will probably provide enjoyment over the next 2-3 years, but was just seeming to lack something special to take it up to the next level of quality.

88/100 

Cave Spring “CSV” 2004

The nose is fresh and shows notes of florality and grape juice. Palate shows very aggressive acidity that disrupts the line and length of the wine. I don’t know if it’ll settle down with time, but on this showing it was very difficult to drink.

84/100

J. L. Wolf Forster Pechstein Spatlese 2004

In contrast to the 2004 Spatlese Trocken that I tried from this maker in workshop two, I thought this was quite good. It has a very floral, perfumed nose with apples, pear, steel, slate and minerals. Shows excellent palate structure and has a lingering finish. The sweetness is restrained and plays only a background role.

88/100

Wittmann Westhofener Morstein Spatlese 2004

Pure citrus peel and lime scents on the nose. Acid is aggressive on the front of the palate, but then drops away in the middle and leaves cloying sweetness on the finish. This wine seemed to be struggling to find balance on this occasion.

85/100

Bonny Doon “the Heart has its Rieslings” 2005

Has to be a contender for one of the most cringe inducing names I’ve encountered. Had a nose of lime, lychee, slate, grapefruit and pear. Palate shows good length but needs some additional acid in order to avoid the sweetness dominating and to find balance.

87/100

Clusserath-Weiler Trittenheimer Apotheke Spatlese 2004

Pungent, powerful, slightly over the top nose of washed rind cheese, yeast and sulphur. The palate is good, balanced and long - but it’s hard to drink when your nose is sending you a signal that you don’t really appreciate in your Riesling.

85/100

Reinhold Haart Piesporter Goldtropfchen Spatlese 2004

Has a reductive nose, minerals, sulphur and phenolic characters. Biting acidity on the palate comes in over the top of the sweetness. Hard to judge at the moment, it may calm down with additional time in bottle.

86/100

Weingut Clemens Busch Pundericher Marienburg Spatlese 2004

A nose of good purity - steely, slate and minerals. Balance and length suffer from cloying sweetness on the back palate.

87/100

Emrich-Schonleber Monzinger Halenberg Spatlese 2004

Old wet sweaty boots along with struck match sulphur. Acid dominates the palate. I was not too fond of this wine.

80/100

Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshohle Spatlese 2004

Like freshly squeezed lime juice on the nose. The palate is tight and elegant, with sweetness present but cooperating with the other elements of the well-structured palate. I could see this getting better with additional time in bottle.

89/100

Weingut Josef Leitz Rudesheimer Berg Schlossberg Spatlese 2004

Aromas of slate, petrol and apricot on the nose. A really good acid structure and balance to the rich palate, seamless integration of components and a lingering finish. It should be very good with time to develop.

89/100

Dr. Loosen Urziger Wurzgarten Spatlese 2004

Icing sugar, slate, earth, lime and violets form the nose. Displays an elegant palate with tight focus and superb depth of flavour. It is delicious to drink now, but give it 10-15 years and it should be brilliant.

91/100

Gunderloch Nackenheim Rothenberg Spatlese 2003

This looked a bit out of place as a product of the 2003 vintage alongside the previous 2004 wines. On the nose it had ripe peaches, mango, pineapple, a floral candy like element and concentrated raisins. A rich and slightly broad palate, with the acid struggling to keep to the tempo of the rest of the elements.

86/100

Pegasus Bay “Encore” 2004

Grapefruit, passionfruit, honey, apricot and a fair hit of botrytis. Palate exhibits very high richness, excellent flavour depth and fruit concentration, but the core acid structure reins things back from being cloying. Lacks complexity at the moment, but could improve if given another 3-4 years.

90/100

Mount Horrocks “Cordon Cut” 2004

Lemon meringue, pineapple and some sulphurous notes. Palate lacks acid and the sweetness seems cloying as well as exhibiting harshness on the finish. This was not nearly as good as the excellent 2005 that I had on general tasting. Sealed under screwcap, but I wonder if there was something slightly off about this bottle.

82/100

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

The North American class was an interesting one – it is obviously a region with some unexplored and unacknowledged potential.

I heard some rather complimentary things being said about these classes from fellow attendees, and while there were some very good, bordering on excellent wines being shown, there were an equal number of wines that were displaying serious winemaking and viticulture faults, which took some of the gloss off the otherwise impressive showing.

Still, it is a region that is worth watching, and as the good vineyard sites are determined and as the winemakers gain additional experience, we are sure to see some exciting wines. Hopefully they will be back next year with their 2005 offerings.

Current Vintage (2004) Dry

Atwater Estate “Dry” - 91/100
Heron Hill “Ingle Vineyard Johannisberg” - 90/100
Dr Konstantin Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars ”Dry” - 88/100
Lamoreaux Landing “Reserve” - 87/100
Vincor “Genesis” - 87/100
Sheldrake Point “Dry” - 87/100
Waters Crest Winery - 86/100
Belhurst “Traditions Dry” - 86/100
Keuka Spring Vineyard - 84/100
Anthony Road “Dry” - 82/100
Nk’Mip - 81/100
Widmer’s “Brickstone Dry” - 76/100

Current Vintage (2004) Semi-Dry

Dr Konstantin Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars “Johannisberg Semi-Dry” - 91/100
Chateau Ste Michelle “Eroica” - 89/100
Keuka Spring “Reserve” - 88/100
McGregor Vineyard “Semi-Dry” - 87/100
Fox Run Dry - 87/100
Hawthorne Mountain Vineyards - 86/100
Hillside Estate - 85/100
Chateau Ste Michelle “Cold Creek” - 85/100
Fox Run - 82/100
Lamoreaux Landing “Semi-Dry” - 82/100
Anthony Road “Semi-Dry” - 81/100

Current Vintage (2004) Sweet

Sheldrake Point “Ice Wine” - 92/100
Heron Hill “Late Harvest” - 90/100
Heron Hill “Ingle Vineyard Icewine” - 89/100
McGregor Vineyard - 87/100
Belhurst Traditions “Semi-Dry” - 86/100
Widmer’s Brickstone “Semi-Dry” - 78/100

15 classes of Riesling featuring 338 entries from Australia, New Zealand, Germany and North America? $15 entry and you get to pour your own samples and you get to take home whatever half bottles that are left over at the end? All I have to do is drive 4 hours to Canberra? I’m there.

So it was on the 22nd of October this year, I found myself in Canberra tasting through a rather daunting list of Riesling. My focus was on tasting briefly a wide selection of Riesling rather than detailed analysis of a limited sample. Thus, only a brief summary of each class followed by points from the standout wines.

The official awards from the judges follow;

Best Museum Class - Peter Lehmann “Reserve” 2001
Best Open Class - Palandri Wines 2004
Best Current Vintage - Madfish 2005
Best Riesling for the Canberra District - Mundoonen “Canberra” 2002
Best Riesling from New Zealand - Villa Maria “Reserve Noble” 2003
Best European Riesling - Weingut Schales “Eiswein” 2004
Best North American Riesling - Sheldrake Point “Ice Wine” 2004

The Best Riesling - Madfish 2005

My awards in the same categories would have been;

Best Museum Class - Jacob’s Creek “Steingarten” 2002
Best Open Class - Villa Maria “Reserve Noble” 2003
Best Current Vintage - Seppelt “Drumborg” 2005
Best Riesling for the Canberra District - Helm “Classic Dry” 2005
Best Riesling from New Zealand - Villa Maria “Reserve Noble” 2003
Best European Riesling - Weingut Schales “Eiswein” 2004
Best North American Riesling - Sheldrake Point “Ice Wine” 2004

The Best Riesling - Jacob’s Creek “Steingarten” 2002

I’ll post my notes and scores on each class over the next few days …

Once again a merry band of men and women from the Winestar Forum met up in order to enjoy some food and wine.

The Restaurant: I quite liked the restaurant; my entree of Balmain Bug Raviolo was excellent and was perfect for the white wines. Wasn’t quite as impressed with the main of Char-grilled Sirloin on mushrooms, but it was still good. Service was fine and corkage very reasonable ($3pp). Came to about $70 per head including bread, a small starter, entree, main, dessert, gratuity and corkage.

The Wines: Only the Kalleske Cleanskin was served masked on this occasion.

Charles Heidsieck NV (Mis en Cave 2000) Brut Reserve - (Champagne, France): Hyper-active, fine bead. A little bit of toast initially, with a hit of unbalanced acid on the finish. Pleasant enough, but I don’t think it is going anywhere special. 86 Points

Mount Mary Triolet 2001 - (Yarra Valley, Victoria): Blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle. Something off-putting on the nose asides from some grassy notes, someone at the table mentioned oysters and I wouldn’t disagree. It didn’t have a great deal of complexity or interest on the palate - some tropical fruit but it was only barely there. Pulled up a bit short and watery on the finish. Didn’t live up to the reputation for me, perhaps just not my style. 84 Points

Plantagenet Riesling 1991 - (Mount Barker, Western Australia): Nose was not giving anything away. Much better on the palate, aged toasty characters with structure holding in-tact. Balanced across the palate with a good length finish. No kerosene characters. Was holding up very well for a 14 year old West Australian Riesling and I though was quite pleasant to drink but without having the intensity of a great aged Riesling. 89 Points

Savaterre Chardonnay 2001 - (Beechworth, Victoria): A wonderfully complex nose of peaches, cream and pears with well integrated oak supporting. Restrained elegant power on the palate, lovely mouth-feel, still showing some freshness. Great balance and structure. Clean, long finish. Best Australian Chardonnay I’ve had this year and I’m going to do my best to source some of this. My favourite wine this evening. 93 Points

Giaconda Cabernet Sauvignon 1992 - (Beechworth, Victoria): Tobacco and smoked meat on the nose. I noted down that the tannins are still quite prominent. A modicum of class, perhaps a shadow of the past. A good enough wine and I certainly wouldn’t refuse a glass, but not mind-blowing, and certainly not living up to reputation or price. 88 Points

Seppelt Dorrien Cabernet Sauvignon 1991 - (Barossa Valley, South Australia): Nice enough savoury bouquet and palate, but the fruit was missing in action, presumed dead. Finish pulled up short. Mike, who brought this bottle, had tried a much better bottle earlier this year. Ah, the “joys” of bottle variation. 86 Points

Penley Cabernet Sauvignon 1990 - (Coonawarra, South Australia): Notes are a bit scarce on this one sorry. Was a bit green (on the nose) and mean (unbalanced tannins). I thought that it was lacking in length and pulled up short on the finish. 86 Points

Clos L’Eglise Pomerol 1999 - (Pomerol, France): Thought this was looking a bit tired and weary for a ‘99. The shop is closed for business, nothing there to hold any interest. Might just be going through a phase which it will come out of. 85 Points

Kalleske Shiraz Cleanskin 2002 - (Barossa Valley, South Australia): A glass stainer. Massive nose - Somebody mentioned Chocolate Bullets which summed up perfectly the liquorice and chocolaty oak. Despite the full on body, there was still balance to be found. Perhaps a little bit short on the finish, but I don’t think you’ll find better value for $7.50 anywhere. 89 Points

Preveli Merlot 2002 - (Margaret River, Western Australia): Sadly, without any doubt corked. Not Rated

Clarendon Hills “Sandown” Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 - (Clarendon, South Australia): Nothing happening at first. Was given a couple of hours in the decanter to open up (and I believe a number of hours beforehand) - If anything it got worse as time went on and in my opinion was offensive in the end smelling a bit like rotting cabbage. Maybe TCA affected but definitely not a good bottle either way. Not Rated

Oliver’s Taranga Shiraz 1996 - (McLaren Vale, South Australia): Deep red in colour. Quite powerful but lacking balance and I found the alcohol overbearing, leading to a hot finish. 86 Points

Henschke Keyneton Estate 1996 - (Barossa and Eden Valleys, South Australia): Blend of 65% shiraz, 30% cabernet and 5% merlot. Yes it was a little bit gamey (read: bretty) but I thought it was all the more interesting for it. Lovely complex nose, great balance and a good length finish. Close to hitting its peak. My favourite red wine of the night. 91 Points

Seppelt Great Western Shiraz 1991 - (Grampians, Victoria): Was a bit clunky and all over the place to begin with, but after half an hour seemed to pull itself back together and was quite enjoyable, if lacking in anything to make it stand out from the crowd. Likely a couple of years past its best. 88 Points

Miranda Golden Botrytis 2002 - (Riverina, New South Wales): Didn’t pick up a whole lot of botrytis in this. Not a great deal of intensity. Some overt sweetness sticking out, but not enough to ruin my enjoyment. Medium length finish and a good accompaniment for dessert. 88 Points

Malivoire “Moira Vineyard” Chardonnay 2002 - (Ontario, Canada): Disappointing. Very developed in colour for a reasonably recently bottled Chardonnay. A very oniony, sulphury nose put down to mercaptans. “Do Not Put In Mouth” stuff. Took most of the bottle home to see if they blew off but was just as bad the next evening. Can only put this down to being a bad bottle, I will write to the maker and see if they care to respond. Not Rated

Perhaps this offline should be known as the “It has shown better in the past” night with so many bottles not showing as well as they had previously! I had a good time regardless and am looking forward to the next one.