Bring A Bottle Night @ Matteo's 06/08/12

Twice a year everyone in our group digs into their own cellar to share something special. Each wine has to be 10 years old and European. They are all served blind and it is up to each of us to guess the wine after being given a series of options. Not surprisingly we call this game "options".

The most recent event was filled to the brim with excellent wine. As always there was some very generously shared wines that made it a special experience. Unfortunately my guessing was thoroughly wrong apart from the odd success. But I only get to drink wines like this at nights like this so I'll happily get them all wrong for that cause!

The first step of any excellent wine night always involves a magnum of Champagne, Agrapart Mineral Blanc de Blancs 2005 did the trick nicely. From the Grand Cru village of Avize and made in the 'Extra Brut' style (meaning it contains almost no residual sugar). Dry and chalky but with a serious weight of fruit and power to it. Like the best Champagne from growers this is an impressive wine that happens to be fizzy. It did get a bit grating towards the end of the second glass but I believe in another 5-10 years this will be just gorgeous.


Young, dry Champagne. It will grow into a beautiful swan!

Sadly our first wine was NQR - Raveneau Chablis Premier Cru Montee de Tonnerre 2001. Bummer! I really love Raveneau and I tasted this wine many years ago and it was lovely. Thankfully someone happened to have a bottle of Albert Bichot Domaine Long Depaquit Chablis 2009 that their favourite wine merchant had sourced for them and gallantly volunteered it for tasting. So lean and pure with a long of green apple crunchy underneath the slatey/white stones and floral notes. Young and looking more so due to the age of the rest of the wines but extremely enjoyable for drinking now but would round off in 5 or so years.

I provided the only other white Domaine Baumard Savennieres 'Trie Speciale' 2000. Followers of my ramblings will know of my fondness for Chenin Blanc from the Loire and Baumard is one of the best in my opinion. This wine was floral, sweetly herbaceous, clean and vibrant with a hint of botrytis like tropical fruit and maramalade. The palate was nice and clean with a steely mineral streak through the core, good fleshy fruit and nice silk. Yum. Went really well with my Tempura of Bamboo Funghi which I enjoyed immensly despite its vegetarian-ness.

Into the reds next. And what a line up.

Jean Grivot Vosne Romanee Les Beaux Monts 1er 98 Minty, red/blue fruits, aniseed, hint herbal, vibrant, meaty, limestone and Asian spice. There was a high amount of acid, purple fruits and fine tannins to the dry palate. I thought it was Barbaresco. It was enjoyable but it is looking at its peak now.

Laurent Roumier Clos de Vougeot 2001 Toasty, savoury, undergrowth, mineral/stones, meaty, fungi, hint of sulphide, seeds and currants. It was dense and curranty with a nice softness. This vineyard is often talked down for various reasons and I can't help but feel in less impressive company this would have stood up more.

Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche 2001 This is a wine we tasted at Matteo's on release many, many years ago (we tasted the big three Dujac Grand Cru's on that night). I remember it was impressive that night and impressive on this tasting too. Smoke/soot, spice, earth, floral, purple fruits, clay almost terracotta like notes. It was silky with tart red fruits, smoke/soot, meaty and a mineral streak. I wrote 'lovely' as my last note. It sure was!

Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle 2000 This is another wine that has graced our tables numerous times (not always this vintage). Cakey, chocolate, smoke and ironstone, bacon fat and floral. Soft, clean, silky with good finesses. I really enjoyed this wine, not least because I picked it as Hermitage before the options were given!

Faiveley Mazis Chambertin 1996 At this time Faiveley were making unashamedly muscular and tannic wines for long term storage. I tasted the 1995 at one of my Burgundy on Boxing Day rituals. Sadly that did not help me. Mineral, herbal, stoney, hint sappy and crushed ants like. The palate was rich, silky, dense with plums and a herbal note. I love the Faiveley wines, this was one of the best I've tasted.



Hermitage at its best.

Delas Hermitage 1983 This came from one of the most impressive wine cellars in Australia. Although I've never been it sounds like an Aladdin's cave of wine goodies. Floral, herbal, manure, soot, stones, earth, slate, a hint of B.O. and floral notes. Dense, curranty, smoke, boney, lean and tight despite its age. Yum!

Chateau d'Issan Margaux 2000 Dry, spice, meat, game, baked earth. Very Bordeaux like (which is great when you trying to guess what it is!!!), red currants and floral notes. Dry spicy, spiney, light floral. This wine actually was very reminiscent of Margaux.

Chateau Smith-Haut-Laffite Pessac Leognan 1996 Dry, coffee, tea leaf, undergrowth and wet leaves. The palate was ripe, red and silky maybe even erring towards overripe? Plums and prunes evident too. There was a lean acid spine to balance the ripeness, plenty of oak tannins and it was really long. Looking really good for its age and ready to be drunk.

Chateau Leoville Barton St Julien 1996 A lot of my best Bordeaux experiences have been wines with Barton on the label. This was seriously impressive. Pure, pristine, currants, spice, delicate and chocolate. Fleshy, silky, meaty, firm and driven. This tasted young, extremely young and still had plenty of mid-palate fat. Wow!


Behold! The line up in all it's glory.... and Dave's arm...

Barbeito 20 year old Malvasia was an inspired Port substitute. Full of delicious nutty, coffee, caramel notes. Madeira is a great drink and one every wine lover should get to know..

There was also a glass of Bindi Composition Pinot 2010 which showed beautifully aromatic and fragrant much to my relief as my last tasting experiences it was awfully disappointing. And a glass of Craiglee Shiraz Viognier 2000 while the rest of the crew tucked into a glass of Whiskey.

I'm not sure if you can have too much good wine in one night, but we are certainly pushing the limits to find out!

Barbaresco Dinner at Mezzo 02/07/12

That is right folks, it has been an Italian-a-thon in my tasting circles. But far out it has been a great adventure. This was my third Italian wine event in a week and while I was a bit tired, my enthusiasm for their wines is as strong as ever.

This dinner revolved around the 2001 vintage of Produttori del Barbaresco. Last month we tasted a range of their magnificent 2007s at Matteo's.

2001 was an excellent vintage in Barbaresco and we were all keen to see if an extra six years meant the wines were softer and more seductive.

The short answer is not yet. Like the 2007s they were tannic, acidic and chewy. But they did possess an impressive core of densely packed fruit. They just need a lot of time. And by that I mean 15 or more years. Which for some people is a scary prospect. Which is why you have to start your cellar when you are young.

We had quite a long chat about the value of the wines and if people would be willing to cellar them. The consensus was no. Because people are not sure the wines will come around. I love these wines and feel they are as good if not better than a lot of Bordeaux and Burgundy. They are also significantly better value in my humble opinion.  

So the challange has been laid on Patrick to find some really lovely older examples to prove just how good these wines are at their peak.

Until then I can reminisce about the good times I had with these wines.


A likely looking lot. This was all the 2001s we tasted with 2007 'minders'

Charles Orban Blanc de Blancs NV A lovely, fresh, clean and crisp Champagne that went perfectly with yummy oysters from Merrimbula and my favourite Mezzo starter arancini balls.

The six wines from Producttori del Barbaresco we tasted below were all from 2001. Patrick put them in order from most elegant to the beefiest (that is an authentic wine term!). These were all dry and savoury wines with long and clean acidity and hefty tannins. They were all so young and vibrant but tightly packed.

Barbaresco Riserva DOCG 'Moccagatta' Red, currants, stoney, hint of rubber and spice. The palate was spicy, with hints of oak, pepper, rocket and brilliant length. Definitely the lightest of the line up in terms of weight and tannin intensity but probably one of the best balanced.

Barbaresco Riserva DOCG 'Rabaja' Oxy dark berries, olives and a hint of oyster shell. This wine was a bit shy at first but eventually jumped out of the glass and was one of the favourites of the night. The palate was beautifully sweet with red fruits, floral - rose petal notes. Very long and refined. This was a pleasure to drink.


The sleek and sexy wine. It was lovely drinking.

Barbaresco Riserva DOCG 'Pora' This wine had the most overt nose. Cardomom, floral/roses, aniseed, smoke/flint and jubey fruit. In the mouth it was dark, smokey/flinty/stoney, very long, vibrantly fruited on the finish and firmly acidic. This was the most complete and the best balanced of the wines. It really showed well on the night and was my favourite for drinking. 

Barbaresco Riserva DOCG 'Asili' Initially this was my favourite wine. It showed lovely dense smoke, dark fruits, plums and toasty/spicy oak notes. The palate showed red and jube like fruits, tea leaf and was long and dense. But as the night wore on it became apparrent this wine was suffering from cork taint and by the end of the night it was definitively corked. Shame because this was the third vintage I had tried of this wine and the previous two were awesome. This will require re-tasting because it had so much potential!

Barbaresco Riserva DOCG 'Ovello' This guy was a monster. Dark, earthy, dense with a hint of grapeyness. The palate was the tightest, most tannic and muscular. Great if you want to put a wine away from 25 or more years but once the food was gone it was pretty hard work to drink now.

Barbaresco Riserva DOCG 'Montestefano' It was almost perceptible the minute I sat at the table but this wine was so corked that it was DNPIM (Did Not Put In Mouth) and everyone was subtly pushing their glass as far away from themselves as they could. Stupid cork. Such an attention seeker!


Not sure why I always end up with bottles in front of me...

Seppeltsfield Rare Tokay In a break from two traditions we had no mystery wine and didn't have a Port. I have to say I missed the mystery wine experience sorely. However I was happy to be drinking such a classy fortified. Rich, silky, dense with lots of layers for flavours. This sort of wine really needs a nice hunk of blue cheese though, as I find the sweetness gets a bit much for my savoury obsessed palate.

As we were leaving Mezzo's owner Silvio gave me a taste of a mellow, elegant and vibrant Willows Cabernet 2002 and a caramel, stoney fruity and mid-weight Moss Wood Chardonnay 2010.  Not a bad job if you can get it.

Barbaresco Dinner at Matteo's 04/06/12

Continuing my Italian Odyssey (sadly without leaving Melbourne) Patrick's group assembled to taste most of the Single Cru wines from one of the worlds best cooperatives Produttori del Barbaresco
from the fantastic 2007 vintage.

It is a sight of beauty.

Barbaresco is in the region of Piedmont in North West tip of Italy, you can read a general overview of the region I wrote for TWDs Piedmont Dinner. Barbaresco is made with 100% Nebbiolo, a variety that packs a fair punch with tannin and acid power. They are notable for their ability to age and evolve very slowly for a very long time. The classic descriptor for the variety is "Tar and Roses" supported by a lot of savoury characters with some red fruits.
The 2007 vintage was celebrated for its long ripening season that allowed the grapes to reach maturity and therefore the resulting wines to be aromatic with plentiful but ripe tannin and a rich core of fruit. Something that was a common theme amongst the wines we tasted on the night.

None of these nights would function without Champagne. Happily it was the same one I loved at our last dinner at Mezzo Bar.

Lanson Gold Label Vintage 2002 Zesty and citrus with strong autolytic undertones. Really refreshing and enjoyable.

Sadly we did have to sacrifice doing our regular study of Riesling for this month. But it was for a good cause. 

The next eight wines are all from Producttori del Barbaresco and the vintage 2007. They are all single cru (single vineyard). First of all let me say that they were all excellent. They all showed a common theme of savoury wines with a tight core of fruit and a firm, ripe corset of tannins. Trying to split these in terms of quality was almost impossible, but it was well worth the 'headache'.These were all stunning wines and well worth tasting. But the other theme they all had in common is they need a lot of time. Check out TWDs Produttori del Barbaresco offer for pricing and availability.

Asili defintely stood out. But it was in great company.

Barbaresco Riserva DOCG 'Asili' Dry, floral - roses, cherry, stones, rubber, limestone, aniseed.
Tart, tannic and bacon fat, fine tannins, minerals, great length, great core, spicy, meaty, long, ripe. A very majestic wine and the wine that stood out to me as being the best in a great lot of wines.

Barbaresco Riserva DOCG 'Moccagatta'  Dense, earthy, fresh red lift, smokey, blood orange, dusty.
Tart, zesty, clean, crunchy, cardamom, herbal finish, dry fruit tannins.

Barbaresco Riserva DOCG 'Montefico' Light, spice, rubber, hint of mint?, sweet plums.
Plush and silky, smoke, mineral, fruit tannins, fruit cake, chocolate, comparatively soft.

Barbaresco Riserva DOCG 'Montestefano' Red currants, tart, fine, spice, earth, black stones, soot, pepper.
Round, silky, tart, mineral, fine, hint bitter, cardamom.

So hard to separate these wines.  

Barbaresco Riserva DOCG 'Ovello' Roses, floral, red fruits, spice and sweet spices, ripe sweet fruits.
Dry, savoury, very tannic, cinnamon.

Barbaresco Riserva DOCG 'Paje' Dark, rubber, blue and black fruit, spice, tea leaf, dense, hint of oak.
Silky, dense, dark fruits, hint oaky palate too.

Barbaresco Riserva DOCG 'Pora' Red fruits, fresh, lively, tea leaf, deep, rich cinnamon.
Silky, dense, v tart, clean, cinnamon, good length. A very good wine.

Barbaresco Riserva DOCG 'Rio Sordo' Floral, red fruits, stones, tea leaf.
Great balance, red fruits, dry tannins, mineral drive, density and fat. Very, very good wine.

So similar yet so different. A great problem to have.

Options Wine - This month was a good lesson in not over thinking this part of the night!
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva DOCG 'Asili' 1997 Initially it looked really old. Cloudy, brown and a bit unappealling to the eye. The nose was quite waxy, savoury, tea leaf, hint of VA and a fair whack of aniseed.The palate had undergrowth, sweet fruits, chocolate, red apple, rose petal. Fine, balanced and long.
At first I was thinking old Chateauneuf du Pape, but after re reading my notes for this post I don't know why, it reads like all the other Barbarescos we just tried. When we were told it was Barbaresco and from the same Cru as one of the wines already on the table I remember aniseed and went with the only other wine I had tasted that had that character. So atleast I picked the Cru.

This wine really opened up with time in the glass and with more time it showed its true class and value. These wines are seriously cheap for the quality level.

Like a kid at a candy store.

Fonseca 10yo Tawny Corked - curse the silly things. Given we were already quite full of Nebbiolo it was probably a good thing.

There was also a Macedon Pinot, glass of beer and a glass of Cognac. None of which I feel the need to remind myself of.

Dinner at Mezzo 07/05/2012

Having missed one month due to work pressures, the Mezzo crowd were all pretty keen to catch up and taste some seriously good wine.  And we were far from disappointed despite cork playing a starring role in two of the wines. CURSE YOU VILE THINGS! This month the theme was 2004 Burgundy, a vintage that I have tasted a lot of and enjoyed since release. A lot of people don't rate this vintage because it was a cold vintage, but the good producers made excellent wines. The wines below are a good example.

Lanson Gold Label Vintage Champagne 2002 I'm a huge fan of Lanson Champagnes (see why) and this wine only served to further my love. Great texture, zesty, floral, good amount of yeasty/autolytic notes and plenty of life in it. This is one Champagne that definitely lends itself to aging. Even a few years on this would have some of the lovely honey, toast, brioche and truffle notes that good older Champagne develops.

Maurice Ecard Savigny-Les-Beaune Les Narbantons 1er Cru 2004 Floral, mineral, ironstone, chocolate, tea leaf, dried leaf, herbal tart and hint oxidised.
Nice tart acid, clean, fresh, rounded, mineral/stoney, chocolate, very long.
Everything you want from a good Savigny!

Most of the 04s we tasted.

Robert Chevillon Nuits-St-Georges Les Vaucrain 1er Cru 2004 From the Southern end of the village of Nuits this wine initially showed signs of TCA. It did also show some good character too. Herbal, dry, leafy sour, pickles, red fruits, potatoes. The nose certainly changed with air.
The palate showed coffee, chocolate, increased density, good flesh, nice tannins if a hint on the astringent side, ironstone. V. long and persistent.
I'd love to see another bottle of this as I have had a few of their 04s and they just had more lift. The makings of an excellent wine were there though.

Jean Grivot Nuits-St-Georges Les Boudots 1er Cru 2004 This vineyard is situated at the Northern end of Nuits right next to Vosne and was served as a bridge between the Chevillon and the Mongeard that followed.
It was lovely, almost wine of the night! Floral, lifted crushed ants, currants, tobacco, blood orange mulch, mulberry.
Dark cherry, tart, chunky tannins, stoney, marachino cherry, hint bitter.
Very enjoyable wine from an excellent producer

Mongeard-Mugneret Vosne Romanee Les Suchots 1er Cru 2004 Defintely the wine of the night. Les Suchot is a Premier Cru situated amongst some of the greatest of the Grand Crus. At its best it rivals them. Tonight, it was by far and away the best wine on the table.
It opened up a lot with time in the glass. Coffee, savoury, rocket, pepper, brown spice, clay, meaty, pickle, dense, musky, oak.
On the palate it was dense, silky, pretty, red frutis, musk, violet and cherry. It was a complete Burgundy that just made me happy to be drinking it.

The Two Echezeaux

Bruno Deaunay-Bissey Echezeaux Grand Cru 2004 This was an unsual wine. It was green as a they come on the nose, a really good example of why people might dislike the vintage.
The palate was much better though. It had dark fruits, olives and minerals. But it was still tart and green. I have no experience with this producer but it was a shame because it wasn't all that enjoyable.

Mongeard-Mugneret Echezeaux Grand Cru 2004 Sadly this was a corked as they come. It was almost DNPIM (Did Not Put In Mouth). But curiosity got the best of me and I instantly regretted it. It was definitely and undeniably corked.

Options Wine
Lynch-Bages Pauillac 5th Growth 2004 If you saw my notes from last Matteo's Dinner (here) you would remember the pride I had at picking the options wine. Well it all came undone tonight. I thought it was Italian, then Merlot based and then Patrick gave up and told us what it was.
Earthy, dirt, dense, clay/terracotta, hint beef and pepper.
Fine moderate tannins, limes tones. Long, floral cherries, seductive.
It was an excellent wine but just a baby. It has a lot longer to go yet!

Lynch Bages 2004 - Awesome wine. Just a baby.

Additional Wines
Grosset Gaia Cabernet 2002 I'm not sure how we came to be drinking Gaia. It was definitely welcome on the table, but as always, Australian wine tends too look sweet, thin and bland after a lot of good European wines.
I thought it looked quite smart if you ignored the French winese. Currants, cherry, clay, earthy, stalky. The palate was silky, elegant and it looked young and lean despite being the equal oldest wine on the table.
Good old screwcaps, sealing in freshness and keeping away nasty cork taint!

Awesome Aussie Cabernet - Grosset Gaia 2002

Outis Nessuno Etna 2007 So this was the last wine of the night and if you don't know much about it, neither do I. It comes from Sicily and the region is Etna which is near the Mount Etna volcano. The varieties are Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio, both of which are native varieties.
It was a lovely drink, but again after all that old wine looked and tasted almost like a fortified. There was some nice characters there.

Matteo's Dinner 05/12/11

One of my most favourite traditions (second only to Burgundy on Boxing Day) is Patrick's Monday dinners held on second month at Matteo's in Brunswick.

This month we looked at four German Rieslings from the excellent vintage of 2007 and three Bordeaux from the much overlooked 2001. Plus the usual Champagne on arrival and mystery wine to finish.

My highlights were the Von Buhl & Kunster Rieslings and the Ferriere. Of course it is quite hard. At these dinners the quality of wine we drink means some great wines are overlooked.

*A NOTE OF WINE NAMES*
So when you get to the German wine names don't freak out. All those words mean something (mainly where they are from and the quality/ripeness level) and sort of mean nothing. German wines with short names are generally not as interesting! Email me if you want an explaination
On Arrival
The Champage was De Sousa Grand Cru NV Blanc de Blancs - No great thing. Have made better wines at cheaper prices.  But the Champagne always suffers once the food and the main show arrives.

Entrees
Muller Catoir Haardter Burgergarten Spatlese Trocken 07 - Dirty, dough, zest, mineral, peach, hint of lime. Balanced and clean, long. Lovely wine, but the most simple of the three sound wines. Will definitely improve with time though.
Von Buhl Jesuitengarten Forst Trocken Grosses Gewachs 07 - Lime, floral fresh, dough, hint of soda water, slate/stone. Great harmony, length, delicate, perfumed, dense back palate, v. long. V. impressive. Unfortunately v hard to get hold of any.
Franz Kunstler Holle Grosses Gewachs 07 - Kerosene, dirt, floral notes and minerals. The palate was spicy, long and mineral. Very clean, and a bit chalky. Great wine, all compact and ready to spring into action in 15 or more years.
Von Buhl Paradiesgarten Deidesheim Trocken Grosses Gewachs 07 - Corked. Curse those vile pieces of bark.

Mains
Figeac St Emilion 1er Grand Cru 01 - Hint alcoholic, cherry choco, cheesy, caramel/oaky, dry spice. Quite silky, bitter choco, dark spice, rich mouthfeel, dry tannins. Good wine, a good olde worlde take on a new world style.
Pontet Canet Pauillac 5th Growth 01 -  I think this was slightly oxidised. But still quite drinkable. Dark fruits, hint backwards (oxy), herbal, plums, meaty, hung meats, floral notes, smoke. Pepper and dry - clay like notes.
Montrose St Estephe 2nd Growth 01 - Classy, violets, sweet red & black fruits, currants, spiced ham. Rich in the mouth with lovely silk, a floral lift. Was long and clean. Impressive.
Mystery Wine
Ferriere Margaux 3rd Growth 98 En Magnum - Beautifully perfumed and floral. V pure, hint varnish, dried meats, brown earth, pepper and oak. Very silky with fine dry tannins. The wine did fade a bit, but the initial taste was brilliant. Comfirms that magnums are the perfect storage vessel.

No port to finish. Disappointing, but given I had a cold and could barely hear, probably the wiser option.