Matteo's Dinner 06/02/12 - Bring A Bottle Night

One of the highlights of the year is Patrick's Bring A Bottle Night. Not to take away from his hard and inspired work of assembling wines of a theme and quality suitable for our demanding palates, but on this night everyone pulls out all stops to bring a bottle of incredible quality.

We did have a few corked/NQR wines this night. However, in the past, we've had an unbelieveably good strike rate.

The rules are simple:
* Each person brings one bottle.
* This bottle is least 10 years old and from a classic European Region.
* Each wine is served blind. Only the convener of the night knows all the wines.
* Each wine is guessed using the 'options' game.
* A good night is had by all.

This night we indulged in...

Larmandier Bernier Brut Tradition NV Champagne Still my go to Champagne when I have the luxury to drink it. Floral, good stone fruits, plenty of chalky/minerally/stoney notes. Great balance on the palate. Opens up with time in the glass as it gets warmer. Delicious. All hail the king of the growers!

Josmeyer Pinot Gris Vieilles Vignes 1997 Alsace Smells lovely. Floral, lime, pure, crystalline, talc, banana skin, dry and savoury.
The palate is lean with nice mouthfeel, very clean, hint oxidised on the finish.  A great drink.

Muller Caroir Haatdter Burgergarten Riesling Trocken 2000 Pfalz Spice, peaches, melons, floral and lime. Just a whiff of liquid paper (but in a good way if that makes sense?).
Zesty, dry, citrus icypole. Less body than the Josmeyer but really refreshing.

Dr Burklin Wolf Ruppertsberger Geisbohl Riesling Spatlese 1970 Pfalz Really rich. Crab meat like, peppermint, toasty, minerally/stoney, buttery.
A lot of richness on the palate. Hints of botrytis, honey, creme brulee and spice. Looking really good for its age.
Incidentally I tasted this wine with Patrick about 9 years previously as a young, timid and beardless wine sales assistant. It tastes better than I remembered then.

Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape 1999 Rhone Valley This was my wine. I smelt it in my initial run through and thought, "Gee I hope that isn't mine". D'Oh!!!! It was stale, that is all I can say. It wasn't corked. Didn't seem oxidised. It was just stale. I have tasted this wine previously and it was stunning. As James Halliday once said, "There are no great old wines. Just great old bottles."

Rayas Pignan Chateauneuf du Pape 2001 Rhone Valley Stoney, red fruits, floral, compost, zesty. Perhaps a hint of brett? (what is brett?)
Silky, meaty/bretty, vibrant fruits, dry leaves, pickles. A really enjoyable wine from a great producer.

Sassacaia Bohlgeri 2000 (update 26/3/12 thank you anonymous) Tuscany The initial offering of a Barolo was corked. So our generous donator went and sourced a bottle of Super Tuscan to fill in our line up. Frustratingly, I did not write down the vintage. I shall find it and correct this error!
Bananas, vibrant, liqueur fruit compote, caramelly oak.
Rich, ripe, vibrant, jelly fruits, very firm tannins. Young, dense, tight, syrupy fruits and tar.
Impressive wine, very young though and has a lot of time ahead of it.

Hammand-Geoffrey Gevrey Chambertin La Bossiere 1er Cru Monopole 1998 Burgundy Dry, minerally, stoney, tea leaf, zesty.
The palate was rich, light, mineral laden clean and fresh.

Chateau Ferrand Lartigue St-Emilion 1996 Bordeaux Beautiful nose. Pure, rich, lifted, cheesy. Lovely.
Light, pretty, fresh, aromatic. A very Burgundian Bordeaux in a lot of ways.

Chateau Cos d'Estournel St Estephe 1993 Bordeaux Pea, straw/grass, red fruits, smoke, minerals.
Dry, stoney, silky, pepper and jelly fruits.
This is one of my fav Bordeaux Chateau. It is always a pleasure to taste this wine!

Chateau Lagrange St Julien 1995 Bordeaux Corked. Sadly. It happens. What did James Halliday say again?

Chateau Soutard St Emilion Grand Cru 1989  Bordeaux Pure, dry leaf, herbal, minerals.
Silky palate, dark fruits, meaty, jelly fruits,
currants, dry tannins. Resembles an old Coonawarra Cab.

Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 1989 Bordeaux Pure, dark, steak, plums, currants, floral/violets.
Silky, pure, dry spice, seamless, clay notes, tobacco.
Another of my fav Bordeaux. It was looking spectacular!

Fonseca Vintage Port I missed the vintage of this wine too. However, it was young, vibrant and rich. Like any of the charming Grand Marque Port houses.

Martinborough Or Bust

I was recently invited to attend a tasting that contained the best and brightest of Martinborough on New Zealands North Island. Sadly, I have not been there myself, although it sounds like one of those places I will have to make the pilgrimage to at some point in my life.

Martinborough, a sub-region of the Wairarapa region is still relatively new. Really it has only been a commercial site since the early 1980s. Most of the region's vineyards are concentrated around the town of Martinborough on special soils that are refered to as 'The Martinborough Terrace'. Low rainful, large diurnal temperature fluctuations and strong winds all contribute to it's unique terroir. They have built a strong reputation for quality Pinot Noir.


An example of the free draining, stoney soil in the area.

I've almost always liked the wines I've tasted from the region. In general the Chard is classy, the Sauv Blanc generally shows some restraint, the Pinots Noir aren't the Grenache like monsters of Otago and the Gris is quite pretty.

The chance to go and taste them as a group was too good to pass up on. I won't go through all of my notes (as I tasted quite a few wines and it's not all that engrossing), but I am happy to if you really want.

Below are my highlights:
Ata Rangi Everything they do is good. The Gris in particular was looking great (featured in our Pinot Gris offer). Dry, floral and really enticing. And of course their Pinot Noir; floral, dark, pretty, fruit cake and long. Great drinking!

Craggy Range These guys are hard to fault in any of the wines or regions they work in. Their Sauv had great texture. The Riesling was excellent, really well balanced, tart, fleshy and crystalline. The Pinot was lean, dry, spicy, dark fruited and meaty. Very enjoyable.

Escarpment The 09 Pinot was dark and spicy, really silky and a hint bitter. A great wine from a riper year.

Martinborough Vineyards Once again, the whole range was hard to fault. They do great work in getting a textural element in their wines that a lot of new world producers over look. Chard, the two Pinots and Pinot Gris were awesome.

Palliser Estate Their Estate Pinot 09 showed good depth, nice balance and lovely concentration.

Te Kairanga Showed three Pinots that increased in quality as you went up the tree. A newly bottled Estate PN that showed potential. The dark, savoury, truffly/undergrowthy Runholder Pinot 08 and the fantastic John Martin Reserve 09.

Some Wine Re-Research

So these wines were happily spruiked in my current Cellar Dozen. But I do like to be thorough... and I really enjoyed them last time I tasted them.

Franz Haas Pinot Grigio DOC 2010  - I've tasted quite a few really good Gris/Grigio wines in the recent past and this is one of the most enjoyable ones. It is quite subtle at first but certainly opens up with a bit of swilling in the glass. The perfume is quite fresh and pure. Lots of lovely floral notes, hints of spice and apple/pear. The palate is really refreshing but has nice body from the lees aging. The balance between all the factors is a real highlight especially when it is lightly chilled (too cold and you will kill all the subtleness).

Speri ‘La Roverina’ Valpolicella DOC 2009 - Valpol is not a widely drunk style, but it really should be. It has all the weight and power of good warm climate shiraz but with more savouriness, moderate alcohol and balance.
Quite dark and backwards at first - looking like oxidised blackberries. It really picked up with time, showcasing it's true worth on the table. Lots of dark fruits, plums and spice. With hints of leather and some spiced meat/salami thrown in. As I mentioned there is a good bit of body to this wine, and some firm tannins on the back of the palate. What I really love in this wine is the savoury element. The Italians sure do excel at that and makes their wines unique and enjoyable drinking prospects.

Marcarini ‘Lasarin’ Nebbiolo delle Langhe DOC 2010 - Nebbiolo is like the Italian Pinot Noir. Once you start really appreciating it, it is hard to go passed it (or stop thinking about it). Haunting perfume, elusive flavours and lots of complexity. Oh and the tannins. So much tannin.
Despite the colour looking quite light this is not a meek wine. Again, it really needs time in the glass to open up (or ideally a few years). Cherries, rose petal, pepper, hung meats, earth and undergrowth. This wine just cycles through layers of flavours. In the mouth it is all action. Those monsterous Neb tannins are somewhat tamed for this wine but they still grip onto every part of your mouth. Despite this the flavours and the acidity still cut through the tannins and make it a pleasureable drinking experience. Highly recommended.


If these guys sound tasty you can always email or call 0418230482 to place an order. And if you want to take it to the next level, all their 'big brothers' are available in our Special Bottle Club this month.

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Adventures with Olde Wines.

A little while ago I purchased a couple of crates of old wines from Australia. They were cheap and came with no guarantees where they had been kept or what shape they were in. I've had a few wines that were good enough to warrant the price of the whole purchase and I have slowly gone through the wines when I am in the mood to freely pour wine down the sink because it is terrible.

My most recent attempt included four such bottles. They weren't all bad, I did enjoy one small glass of the Redman Claret 69 - it had red fruits and a rose petal like note, it just was faded and not built to last 43 years. And the Osicka's Cabernet NV (from the 70s, probably a blend of vintages) was still reminisciently Cabernet. But too dried out to actually enjoy.

The 'misses'

There is a point to this story: When tasting old wine, always have a back up... or two. Thankfully mine performed superbly.

The Back ups

Lunch At RACV Club

Recently I was lucky enough to have lunch at the RACV club and no lunch there would be complete without some amazing wines.

Bass Phillip Rose - Dry, spicy and savoury. Nice elegance and texture. Really freshing and really moreish. The best I have seen this wine in ages taste wise. Not so sure about the new packaging though.  

Crawford River Riesling 2010 - Once again confirming why, this is one of my favourite wines in Australia. Textured, dense, aromatic and compelling. Still very young, but the freshness and structure is worth the price of admission alone.

Durche Gevrey Chambertin 06 - A producer who I did not know before this lunch. Very typical Gevrey; firm structure and dark fruits. A lot of charm and drinkability despite it's youthfulness.

Quinta do Noval Tawny NV - One of the Kings of the port producing sphere, this is a great entry point to Tawny and absolutely, in no way related to the typical Australian take on the style. It is dry, savoury and complex with refreshing acidity and fine but firm tannins. It also has the key to great port - it is extremely well balanced.

Toro Albala Pedro Ximenez 82 - Because more is often more at a lunch like this we indulged in a vintage PX from Montilla, not Jerez so it is not Sherry but made almost identically. Dark, silky, rich and with plenty of character and sweetness. One glass is often enough for me. But the aged PX tends to have a density and savoury edge that allows of a second or third glass to be savoured.

Wine Notes

A selection of wines I have tasted in the recent past that I have enjoyed.

DR BURKLIN WOLF TROCKEN PFALZ RIESLING 2009 - The Bűrklin-Wolf estate is based in the Mittelhaardt, the quality core of Germany’s world-renowned Pfalz. Since the 2001 vintage Bűrklin-Wolf have classified their wines according to the vineyard site (similar to Burgundy) rather than sugar weight (as the 1971 German wine laws dictate). They have discovered that today’s top vineyards are exactly the same as those identified in the 1828 Bavarian Land Taxation Laws: A time when these vineyards produced some of the most expensive and highly regarded wines in the world.

This is a great introduction (or a welcome return) to the Pflaz style. Citrus, stone fruits and a mineral undertone. Dry (trocken means dry in this context) and clean with good fleshy fruit and mid-weight body.

DR LOOSEN DR L DRY MOSEL RIESLING 2010 - The King of the Mosel. Owning sizeable amounts of land across the great vineyards and villages of the region, Ernie (not actually a Doctor) and his team craft the best drinking wines out of the whole region, while the top end wines cellar and improve for a long time.

An easy drinking, zesty style of Riesling that offers lovely mineral, citrus and floral notes while having nice weight in the mouth and plenty of clean acid.

MAX FERD RICHTER ESTATE MOSEL RIESLING 2009 - There are many producers who are more recognisable in the Mosel, but Dr Richter at the family Estate consistently makes some of the best and most balanced Rieslings from the region. In great years like 2009 even the entry level wines will benefit from age. The Spatlese level wines are simple amazing too.

Produced entirely from Estate fruit this wine has juicy, ripe fruit and crunchy crisp green apple. The palate is off‐dry, perfectly balanced, fine and mineral.

MARC BREDIF VOUVRAY LOIRE VALLEY 2009 Chenin Blanc may not be the most popular or the most famous wine grape, but the good examples are seriously good! Lovely, fleshy/flowery apples and pears, a nice mineral - flinty streak, lemon zest and a touch of dough. I have always described good Chenin as feeling ‘pillowy’ and I stand by that. Round and fluffy mouth feel but the zesty acid kicks it into shape. Great balance and harmony. Entirely too drinkable, but like all great Chenin it will age surprisingly well (and long). If you are thinking of cellaring, drink from 2019-goodness knows when.

BERNARD DEFAIX LES VAILLON CHABLIS 1ER CRU 2009 - The estate owns 25 ha of vineyards in Chablis of which half are Premier Cru and the largest holder of the famed Cote de Lechet. A natural approach in used in the vineyard and they are getting close to organic certification. The wines are made to be pure, fresh and textural.

Vaillon gernerally makes a more round style of Chablis due to the higher content of clay in the soil. This wine shows crisp apples, and some pepper and leesy/dough like notes. The palate has a hint of richness of texture, and some stoney/chalky minerality. Overall it is well balanced and has a classic bone dry finish. Will fill out with more time.

PRAGER HINTER DE BURG WACHAU GRUNER VELTLINER 2009 - Innovative is his approach winemaker Toni Bodenstein has been in control of winemaking since the early nineties and has positioned the Prager estate as one of the very top echelon. The estates vineyards cover 13ha; 65% planted to Riesling, 25% Gruner Veltliner. A strong use of stainless steel retains freshness in the wines without sacrificing the lovely Gruner texture that everyone loves.

Like drinking some divine tea. This wine has apple blossom, lemons, white flowers, peaches, white pepper and some savoury leesy notes. The palate is lighter than the nose would suggest and drier. But has great fruit richness and amazing length. So much complexity packed into one bottle. Very enjoyable.