Dinner of the Century Burgundy 2009 at The Point 09/10/12

One of the greatest parts of running your own business (apart from setting your own hours) is you can follow what you love and what interests you. So when wine importer Euan McKay suggested we do a dinner showcasing Burgundy 2009 I said yes before he had finished his sentence. For me the only thing better than drinking Burgundy from a great vintage is drinking old Burgundy from a great vintage.

So the DINNER OF THE CENTURY was born (you have to imagine Pete Smith saying it!). The Point at Albert Park was selected as the venue and from the moment they sent through a sample menu I was salivating.



As you can see it is a rather visually appealing venue too!

You can read my basic overview on the appellations, producers and vintage and see the pricing once you are thoroughly tempted.


Champagne J. Lassalle Brut Preference N.V. A stunning Champagne made from five vintages and a blend of one third of each of the three varieties (Chard and Pinots Noir and Meunier). Brilliantly floral, nice crispness and excellent length and great body. I think I am smitten! Certainly this is one of the best Champagnes I have tasted in a long time.

Tete de cochon, pickled chanterelles and black pudding  2008 Pierre Morey Meursault ‘Les Tessons’ These two wines were quite different in outlook. The 08 showed a lot more funky, dirt and earthy notes over the floral, peach, creamy and hint lactic notes. The palate was all silk, purity, clean and clear white Burgundy. Just so lovely. Especially when the food arrived.
2009 Pierre Morey Meursault ‘Les Tessons’ By contrast the 2009 was more pure, clean and restrained with a fuller, richer and riper edge as you would expect from the vintage differences. There was a lot of charm in the powerful and full palate which made it great drinking on its own.
Both Tessons did share an elegance and finesse with so fine boned phenolic and acidic grip. They were a very impressive start.


The kind of wines you'd like to meet in a dark alley. Or a restaurant.

Murray cod, creamed leeks, parsnip and Avruga  2008 Michelot Meursault Premier Cru ‘Genevrieres’ The step up to premier cru was evident here. There is an extra level of denseness and concentration. Again the 08 showed a hint of funk to balance the pristine stone fruits. Great purity, clean with nice mid-palate fat. Such an enjoyable wine.
2009 Michelot Meursault Premier Cru ‘Genevrieres’ This wine showed a line of stony/minerality, with red apples and a hint of doughy/lees. Powerful and pure this wine was just a baby and really needs to hide in the cellar for a while yet.
This pair certainly showed more typical Meursault power and muscle while being finely balanced and very drinkable (as shown by numerous empty glasses before the plates were cleared!).

Yarra Valley duck, roasted breast and confit leg, leek and truffle pithivier, Griottine cherries  2009 Tollot-Beaut Savigny-Champ-Chevrey Premier Cru ‘Monopole’ If I could only drink one wine for the rest of my life this would be it. It has the charm and vibrancy that makes Pinot Noir great with some gritty, earthy tones and succulence on the palate. Great drinking now but it certainly has a lot more to offer if you can stay away.
2009 Violot-Guillemard Pommard Premier Cru ‘La Platiere’ This wine was very raw and youthful. Sour cherries, pepper and mineral. The palate had nice flesh and silk, hints of ironstone and dark chocolate. Powerful Pommard at its very best. Leave for at least seven years for best effect. Might I comment that the duck dish was a stand out of an exceptionally great menu. The wines played a happy foil to it with the different textures of duck marrying with the different expressions of Pinot.


An impressive line up. Same line up in ten years time? I'll make a time capsule!

Cheese – Epoisses, Cote-d’Or France, Jean Perrin Le Secret de Scey, Franche-Comté France  2009 Christian Serafin Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru ‘Les Corbeaux’ Wow! Dense, rich, dark and with a fair hint of oak. There was plenty of red fruits and mid palate silk with this wine that is a tightly wound coil at the moment. This needs time to relax and unwind to show its very best, but let me say again 'wow!'
2009 Hubert Lignier Morey-St-Denis Premier Cru ‘Les Chaffots’ Smoke, earth and minerals, red blue and black fruits, silk and flesh, firm tannins and lots of muscle! A wine with something to prove. I think this wine will always be slightly tannic but with the right dish that will be swept away and the complexity and perfume will really shine. Also, not being shown next to the Serafin could help the cause haha!
I'm a sucker for Epoisses, I think of all the dishes the cheese didn't marry as well with the wines but separately the food and wine of this course were awesome.

The final verdict? Who wants to do it again next week? Seriously though, impressive wines through out. 2009 is a vintage you will regret not buying more no matter how much you have. And if you haven't eaten at The Point you should add it to your to do list!

Wine of the Week

Wine of the Week

 

Feudi di San Gregorio Sannio Falanghina DOC 2010

Having tasted quite a few of the San Gregorio wines recently I've been heartily impressed with them all. Their Aglianico red wines and sparkling wine are well worth buying but this wine from the variety Falanghina takes the trophy of most enjoyable.

Nevermind the long and confusing name. This is one of the most lovely white wines I've tasted in a long time. Textural, vibrant, floral and layered. This wine would be at home at a picnic or paired with the finest fish/white meat dish you could muster!

If you've never taste Falanghina before do yourself a favour!

$47ea

Wine of the Week

Wine of the Week

Du Cedre 'Heritage' Cahors 2009

It was a pretty hard job trying to pick my favourite wine of the week, but this lovely wine won out for its charm and drinkability at the South West France tasting this week. That and the weather has gone cold again!

An entry level red to the wonderful realm of South West France. This wine is from Cahors - one of the best regions you have probably never heard of. For more info on the region and its wines see my blog entry. 



Made from mostly Malbec and therefore sporting a fair structure, this wine showed dark fruits, while being light, fresh and a hint herbal. Some grippy fruit tannins were evident with some spice and cardomom notes. A great entry level to the reds of the region for drinking now.

$28ea and worth a lot more!!!!

Wine of the Week

Wine of the Week 

 

 

Sigalas Santorini Assrytiko 2009


The wine of the moment

Not surprisingly that following the Greek dinner and masterclass last night I've found an interesting Greek wine to recommend.

This wine is definitely not a sit down a drink on its own affair. But that is where the beauty of this wine lies. With the right food match it sings and hums in a magical way.
 
It really smells and tastes of where it is grown; the side of a windswept volcano covered in sand with the only water it receives being blown up from from the sea.


The might Greek wine Empire.

Such a unique drink on the vinous landscape.

$38ea. philip@thewinedepository.com.au

Greek Wine Masterclass @ The Press Club 12/09/12

Greek wine has a very poor reputation, mostly because for a long time they have been churning out some pretty ordinary wine! We in Australia are just seeing the good quality producers being brought into Australia. So when importer Pete Johns suggested we show some open minded wine drinkers some great wines from Greece I jumped at the chance.
For the first time in a long time I walked into a wine event knowing almost nothing about the wines we were about to taste. It was a great feeling be free of preconceived notions and be able to learn from start. When you add a trip to the Press Club into the mix it becomes quite an exciting night!

I have attached my brief notes and orderform from the night. You will have to excuse any typos relating to Greek names, I tried my very best.



The major regions of Greece.

On arrival we were treated to Tselepos 'Amalia' Brut NV made in the methode traditionelle from native Greek variety Moschofilero. This wine was bright, fresh, grapey and floral with citrus, chalk and a clean and long palate. It was very much like a Prosecco in outlook and could easily be interchanged if you wanted to try something a bit different.
Note: 'Tselepos' is the producers name. 'Amalia' is the name of the a family member of the wine maker and has no meaning beyond that.

Artichoke - Jerusalem, celeriac, parsnip, smoked walnut, toursi onion, kalamata olive paired with Tselepos Mantinia Moschofilero 2011. This was great to compare a still Moschofilero to a sparkling one. This table wine was spicey, floral/handsoap like, lychees and musk. It had a great mid palate weight, with a fresh and clean mouthfeel and just a hint of bitterness. A very sweetly perfumed wine but still quite dry. It is like a devine cross between Gewurztraminer and Muscat.
Note: Andrew from the Press Club is quite knowledgeable on Greek wines and explained that 'Moscho' means grey, which refers to the grey almost pink colour of the ripe grapes (much like Pinot Gris). 'Mantinia' is the region the wine comes from.



The Press Club

Swordfish - "Poiseidon god of the sea", sea weed & vegetables, ouzo mayoneza, nicola. This was a pretty amazing bracket and an equally amazing dish. We had Sigalas Assrytiko Athiri 2009 a  blend of 75% Assrytiko with 25% Athiri which showed brine, citrus, stones and a hint of seaweed with a sweet core of tropical fruits and a long, lean, floral and dry palate. Very refreshing and a bit gluggable before the food turned up. Compared with the Sigalas Santorini Assrytiko 2011 100% Assrytiko which had a strong tone of seaweed, brine, minerals, stones, white flowers and green olives. It was focussed, textured with an oystershell note. It was a bit off putting at first because it was so dry but when the swordfish arrived it became so glorious to drink. The change was amazing. Santorini is a volcanic island in the Aegean Islands. The tourists and locals mainly live inside the top of the volcanos crater. The outside is a windswept sandy place that gets little to no rainfall, all the moisture is blown up off the sea. If you can picture that you can imagine that the wine tastes like where it is grown.
Note: 'Santorini' is the region/island. 'Assrytiko' and 'Athiri' are grape varieties.

Interlude Driopi Rose 2011 a stunningly perfumed wine of bright, red, crunchy, marachino cherry, floral and grapey notes. Quite spicy, sweet fruited and clean on the palate. Despite how sweet it smelt it was in fact as dry as a dry rose can be. A great cleanser and perfect for drinking in more informal occasions too. It is made from Agiorgitiko and we got to drink a red table wine example next up.
Note: 'Agiorgitiko' is a variety that has been used to make, red, rose, sweet and sparkling wine in Greece. To pronounce it remember the 'g's are silent.

Veal - Loin, sweetbread, kefalograviera consomme, anchovy, almond, kounipidi A wonderful dish that was easily as good as the swordfish and matched beautifully with the Driopo Nemea Agiorgitiko 2009. In contrast to the rose this was dense, red fruited, smokey, dark chocolatey, soot with a clean, schisty/mineral core. This reminded me of a great Hunter Shiraz with its fruit power but structural balance. Lovely wine, great match with the food.
Note: 'Nemea' is the region on the Peloponnese.



The menu - stunning!

Wagyu - 24 hr oyster blade, horta, heirloom carrots, smoke almonds & oats This was a seriously sticky and flavoursome dish that required something special to wrestle the attention away. As it happened we had Sigalas Mavrotragano 2009 which was a brute! Dense, deeply coloured, dark fruits, dry herbs, olives, hint terracotta, dry earth, smoke and firm tannins (despite being decanted for a few hours). This was a musclar wine that demands food at this stage but so very delicious. Very much like an Aglianico for those that have tried the variety.
Note: 'Mavrotragano' is the variety, 'mavro' means dark/black.

Sokolata - Zeus & his 8 mistresses with Michael Cluizel single origin chocolate Wow! What a dish. So chocolately, nine tastes in all. It certainly makes quite an impact and a great way to finish off. The wine match was Sigalas Vinsanto 2004. Until recently I thought Vinsanto was a traditional Italian drink, as it turns out it is something they adopted from the Greeks. It involves a very long process of sun drying and barrel aging grapes to make a sweet wine of power and finesse. There was plenty of stuffing, with floral notes, raisins, white choclate and a silky and charming mouthfeel.
Note: Vinsanto could easily translate to hedonism!



Zeus and the ladies. They got on surprisingly well.

This was such a fun evening and Pete Johns did such a great job explaining what makes the best wines of Greek so special.

Wine of the Week

Wine of the Week

Paradigm Hill Riesling 2011

Paradigm Hill is an impressive vineyard on the Mornington Peninsula. Probably most famous for their Pinot Noir I have always had a soft spot for their Riesling. We visited Paradigm Hill on Sunday when Main Ridge Estates cellar door was closed (so sad). It is a great experience and they have a beautiful 'puppy' (she more the size of a small lion!) Jemima.



Too drinkable. Should be in 1 litre bottles.

The Riesling has nice crunchy, zesty acidity, floral notes and a grapey, melon like edge. Great texture too. Brilliant Spring drinking this year or even better in five Springs from now.

$35ea - cheaper by the dozen. Email orders or questions to philip@thewinedepository.com.au

Bordeaux 2009 @ Mezzo 03/09/12

WOW! Not since the 2005 vintage Bordeaux (of which I did three separate tasting in the space of a week) have I felt the need to write 'wow' in capital letters. I was a bit nervous to see if the wines lived up the the massive hype for a couple of reasons. First and foremost after the last three Bordeaux vintage dinners 2006, 07 & 08 we needed some joy. And secondly I had bought quite a bit En-Primeur.

Thankfully the wines were stunning. Once again Patrick had the unenviable task of picking the wines but the representative sample was great for an overview and there was not a dud amongst them.

Lanson 2002 Vintage Champagne The third time we have started with this wine. It is still charming although it has only been a couple of months it seems to have softened and broadened a little making it all the more drinkable.

Cantemerle Haut Medoc 5th Growth 2009 Smoke, spice, graphite, red currants, hint dried green herbs, pepper.
Firm but elegant oak tannins, hints of gravel, lean and very very long, floral and red fruited core. Hint bitter.
Stunning wine for the money and could easily have been mistaken for being of much higher quality than its lowly 5th Growth ranking.

D'Issan Margaux 3rd Growth 2009 Plums, choco, terracotta, violets, red, spicy.
Dirty, meaty, earthy, core of dark fruits, black currants and dark choco.
This was a beautifully elegant wine that was infact my favourite for its perfume and simplicity.

Phelan Segur St Estephe Cru Bourgeois 2009 Fragrant, blue/purple fruits, primary, meaty, hint hand soap.
Silky, good flesh, fine tannins, very lean, tight core, hint hollow? Builds intensity on finish. Black currants, hint chalky, high acid.
This and the Cantemerle were the cheapest on the table but both punch well above their weight.

Batailley Pauillac 5th Growth 2009 Herbal, spice, hint of green mint/peppermint, oak becomes prominent. Pepper, spiced meats, cinnamon.
Plums, oaky, choco, flesh, spice, dry tannins, hint bitter. Great harmony.
This was voted equal wine of the night along with Leoville Barton. It is a young and exuberant wine that has a long time to go before it fully matures.

Leoville Barton St Julien 2nd Growth 2009 Dense, cool, plums, fragrant, spearmint, violets & roses, spice, very perfumed, bubblegum.
Vibrant, crunchy, blue/purple, structured, sweet fruited, hint short? Primary and raw.
This was the second most expensive wine on the table and it was impressive but extremely young. For three times the price of Phelan or Cantemerle you'd certainly grab three bottles of the others if you were going to drink the wine now. In 15-30 years time it may be another story. However, Options wine number one might just turn that thought on its head.

Clos Fourtet St Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe 2009 Dark, smoke, graphite, oak, cardomom, complex, hint of jam at core.
Silky, weighty, dark, choco, firm, clean, tart red fruits, red liquorice, hint bitter, briary.
The most expensive wine on the table and the only Right Bank wine. I think it suffered for that in part as most didn't enjoy it where I found it quite lovely but perhaps too expensive. We also had a discussion about the fact Robert Parker gave this wine 100 points out of a possible 100. Was this wine perfect? Was it better than the Leoville or Batailley? Over time will it become perfect?

Options Wine # 1
Cantemerle Haut Medoc 5th Growth 1995 Kevin brought this along to complement the 2009 we were having and it was stunning.
Dry, green leaf, tobacco, spearmint, dry leaves, earth, prune, plums, spice.
Sweet fruits, clean, cool, elegant.
Unfortunately noone picked it as being the Cantemerle but this wine was stunning. Exactly why you buy and store Bordeaux. If you could bottle this and sell it you would.... 

Options Wine # 2
Pichon Lalande Pauillac 2nd Growth 1979 Patrick's favourite Bordeaux producer and a wine he holds close to his heart.
Green olives, tea leaf, earth, stone, currants.
Dry, lean, clean, sweet core, red fruits, red currants.
Can be summed up as "Pretty, floral, red and vibrant". There was a mustiness to it but more an age rather than cork issue. It was stunning old Bordeaux that still had a fair whack of tannic power.