Chardonnay Tasting Monday 26th April 2010

Monday afternoon 2.30pm the sun was shining, it was a typical warm autumn afternoon and the monthly informal wine tasting was about to get underway. This Month the theme is Australian Chardonnay, any region, any vintage. There were 9 Chardonnays in the line up and William was our sommelier this time round after having his wine voted number 1 in the last tasting. William did a fantastic job of organising the wines into their flights of 3. Even if we were all wondering what he was doing on his knees in the kitchen hiding behind the pantry door.

The wines were all tasted blind and we voted on each flight before the wines were revealed. At the end of the 3 flights we arranged the wines voted first in each flight, tasted them blind again side by side to get an overall winner, 2nd and 3rd place.

The first flight:

2008 Hay Shed Hill Margaret River WA:
Tropical fruit including Guava, Nectarine and Peach with a dash of oak spice soared from the glass. This followed through on the palate with perfectly balanced acidity and a perfect soft dash of Oak supporting that wonderful pure fruit. Impeccable balance and just so juicy. WOTF. 2nd overall.

2008 Shaw and Smith M3 Adelaide Hills SA:
Much bigger than the previous wine in the sense that this was what i would call that big bold style of Chardonnay with big fruit and a massive buttery dollop of Oak. Vanilla and Peach on the nose, in the mouth buttery and rich with a mouth coating texture. Spicy and almost oily with nectarine vanilla and spice. Big wine and i really like it. I would like to try this after 5 years in the cellar as i feel it would soften and integrate even further.

2008 Over The Shoulder Yarra Valley Vic:
Floral and Elegant both on the nose and in the mouth. I thought it rather slatey and mineraly with Melon and some citrus. A little short on the palate after the last two wines never the less crisp, elegant and easy to drink.














The second flight:

2008 Leeuwin Prelude Margaret River WA:
The nose on this wine threw me right from the word go. Herbaceous, Banana skin, faint Nectarine and a little funkiness. It followed pretty much the same in the mouth with perhaps some melon and what i thought seemed like Nettle without any funkiness. Well balanced and middle of the road between big and bold and the elegant wines. This seemed to speak more of where it was from than the fruit it was made from. I spent a good 5 minutes or more just smelling this wine. I loved it!

2007 Ashbrook Estate Margaret River WA:
The nose showed burnt Match, Flint, Vanilla and Peaches. The palate was intense with Peaches, Hazelnut, Nutmeg, spicy smokey Oak, intense, long and fairly well balanced. Lovely and Powerful. WOTF. 3rd Overall.

2007 Howard Park Margaret River WA:
Crushed flowers and i think Violet on the nose. The palate was elegant with Honey Dew Melon and Citrus with nice acid and the oak far away in the background. Soft and Crisp this would have been just fantastic with grilled Fish and a green salad.

The Third Flight:

2002 Brands Coonawarra SA (Magnum):
Buttery and soft with toast and the yellow peach fruit fading into the background this caressed the mouth but just seemed a little short and simple. It went rather well with the Paella served at the end of this flight however it was possibly past its prime and just a little simple. Medium in length, this did have great mouth feel and was happily consumed by most washing down the some great Paella.

2004 Bannockburn Geelong Vic:
Peach, Spice, Citrus and Hazelnut on the nose which followed to the palate with the complexity of some caramel and almond which added to the savoury side of the wine and its buttery mouth feel. This wine was well integrated, complex with a soft acid back bone and just divine to drink. Yum Yum Yum! WOTF. WOTN!

2008 Peregrine Central Otago NZ (Ringer):
Very tropical and floral on the nose even a little passion fruit? The palate showed Melon, Nectarine and a little citrus, elegant with lovely acidity. Even a touch floral. Lovely wine to drink.

During and before the wines were served we were treated to some great Mezz plates, Cheeses and warm country bread complete with whole seed and soya bean. After the 3 flights of wine had been tasted it was time to do a little work on filling our stomachs. This months host dished up a fantastic smoked Salmon Fettuccine and green side salad followed by a mouth watering Seafood Paella. These dishes were perfect in keeping with our theme of Chardonnay and did a great job in helping us to consume some of those left over Chardies. To finish things off we had two small deserts, the first Violet Panna Cotta with Black Currant Soup and secondly mini Pear Tart with Vanilla ice cream and Cinnamon, Citrus syrup. A very sweet and mouth watering end to some great wines, food and the usual awesome company!

Note:

WOTF = Wine Of The Flight
WOTN = Wine Of The Night

Super Rare and Premium Wine Dinner 2009

Friday 7th August 2009

For my second blog I have decided to copy across my notes from the Auswine Forum on a very special dinner and wine tasting i conducted about 9 months ago.


Back in June of 2009 I put together a very special selection of wines and closely co-ordinated a degustation dinner with Chef Darren Templeman of Restaurant Atelier in Sydney. The idea went a little something like this:

For some time now I and a fellow dedicated wine drinking and cellaring friend have wanted to open a number of rare and serious wines from our cellars. We wanted to share them with some other wine loving people who are prepared to come on an evening journey into wine.

Our idea was to open these wines among a small group of 8 people in total. There would be 4 to 5 seats available at the table. The wines would be served alongside a specially prepared degustation menu by the head chef at a select Sydney restaurant. Each course would be matched to each one of the wines being served. The dinner would take place in a private dining room at the selected restaurant.

We hoped this would be a chance to make some new friends who share the same passion we do for great and rare wines and share the cost in opening some great and rare bottles of wine. There would be a total of 10 wines and 8 courses of food with 2 particular wines being served either on their own or with an additional cheese course.



The Place was Restaurant Atelier in Glebe, Sydney. The wines came from both mine and very good friend’s cellar. The all important wine list:



1976 Pol Roger, Blanc De Blanc De Reserva, Champagne, France

1988 Krug Vintage Brut, Champagne, France

1979 Leo Buring, DW 116, Riesling, SA

1995 Leeuwin Art Series, Chardonnay, WA

1982 Wynn's, John Riddoch, Cabernet Sauvignon, SA

1990 Penfolds, 707, Cabernet Sauvignon, SA

1976 Penfolds, Grange Hermitage, Shiraz, SA

1966 Penfolds, Grange Hermitage, Shiraz, SA (Red wine clinic 1998)

1958 Seppelt, Bin CH16, Burgundy, Shiraz (Colin Preece wine)

1977 Pieroth, Beeranauslese Riesling, Germany

All Saints, Grand Liqueur Tokay, Vic

The Menu with matched wines is listed below:

Starter: Pol Roger
Canapés

Course 1: Krug

Wild Iranian Caviar Two-Ways, Potato Blinis & White Chocolate

Course 2: Leo Buring

Kangaroo Island Marron Tail, Foie Gras Mousse, Pea & Ham Ice Cream, Fresh Pea Salad

Course 3: Leeuwin Estate

Jamon Iberico, Fennel Agar, Pickled Girolles, & Cipolinne, Seared Scallop

Colin Preece Seppelt – no food

Course 4: John Riddoch

Roasted Rack of lamb, Fresh Burgundian Summer Truffle, Potato Gnocchi, Seared Foie Gras

Course 5: 707

Cocoa-Roasted Striploin of New Zealand Venison, Baby Turnips, Confit Carrot Puree, Liquorice-Infused Sauce

Course 6: Both Grange
Seasonal Selection of Cheese

Course 7: Beeranauslese

Tahitian Vanilla & Chocolate Fudge Souffle, Malt-Chocolate Ice Cream, Malt Milkshake

All Saints - no food

Below is my notes on the wines after the event which took place on Friday 7th August 2009. The only unfortunate thing i did in these original notes was to not write up the food and i should have because it was sensational (see the photos at the bottom for an indication).

Wow Wow Wow!!!!!!!

Last night the Wine gods shined down upon us with great old bottle after great old bottle. A fantastic evening with amazing wines, incredible food and great company.

Firstly a big thank you to everyone one that came last night and participated in this amazing line up of wines. You company was very much enjoyed on such a memorable evening of wine tasting. A special thank you to Dave for bringing a 94 HOG (Hill of Grace) and 39 Seppelt Para port to share with everyone. A very big thank you to Gavin for opening his cellar and providing a number of the wines to make up this awesome line up. I too had a little surprise for everyone in the form of an 83 Penfolds 707 which also went down a treat.

Secondly a massive thank you to Atelier Restaurant for some wonderful food and great service. Darren is certainly a very talented and capable chef and thank you again to Bernadette and our waiter Julian for your friendly and efficient service.

Now onto the wine... Only 1 wine out of the complete line up was past it and had certainly seen better days. I did not take notes on the night as i left my pen and paper at home and i was also rather busy preparing the wines but i will give my impressions on each wine from memory and in order.

1976 Pol Roger - Deep golden almost amber in colour, fine bead with a toffee, biscuit, yeasty toasty nose. The palate showed butter scotch, nougatine, citrus, lemon and grape fruit peel and was very enjoyable. We were off to a great start.

1988 Krug - Unlike the bottle opened 12 months ago which was extremely fruity and complex this wine showed a nose of green apples, mineral and even some apple pie sweetness. The same followed on the palate, complex, tight and massive this was still only a baby and hard to believe it was 21yrs old. Incredible acid and that granny smith apple presence. Still many years ahead of it. A Super wine.

1979 Leo Buring Show Reserve Riesling - Lovely nose showing typical aged riesling characteristics with a little citrus and some Hay. Unfortunately for me the palate just didnt live upto the wonderful nose on this wine never the less an enjoyable experience with some bitter apple, mild citrus and Kero on a lean and short palate. Im guessing we were perhaps 5 years plus too late for this one.

1995 LEAS Chardonnay - Wonderful chardonnay with peach, honey dew melon and sweet glace pineapple the same followed on the palate with some nice buttery well integrated oak. Although this bottle was a touch short on the finish compared to bottles opened recently it was a another great wine and enjoyed by all. The last of the whites and so far we were all very happy with the wine gods offerings.

1958 Seppelt Bin CH16 Colin Preece wine - Firstly an amazing colour for a wine that is 50 years old unfortunately the same couldnt be said for the nose and palate which while the fruit and structure was still some what evident this bottle was clearly long gone and probably a victim of improper cellaring at some stage of its life.

1982 Wynn’s John Riddoch - interesting sweaty nose with asparagus and some mintiness, the palate certainly had structure, fruit (although secondary) fine tannins, spearmint, capsicum and leather. A very enjoyable experience and this bottle i feel still had many years ahead of it.

1983 Penfolds 707 - Lovely redish purple in colour, beautiful nose of red fruits, cassis, boysenberry with a dash of vanilla. the palate was soft and supple with gentle cassis, leather, soft tannins but a little thin on the back palate and more middle weight. As someone else at the table put it "a lovely wine to sit and drink with a good book on Sunday afternoon" Drink up!

1990 Penfolds 707 - Deep purple, lovely nose of Cassis, vanilla, coffee, Anise. Big, bold and brooding this was a superb wine. The palate showed pure blackcurrant, mocha, vanilla good tannin structure and is still yet to reach its peak in my opinion. Fantastic wine.

1966 Penfolds Grange - Quite remarkable! This was something very special indeed. Well integrated, lovely soft reddish purple colour, on the nose very complex, smoke, leather, dark fruits, chocolate, liquorice and coffee which all flowed onto a glorious palate so well integrated, complex and powerful. This was quite simply a glorious old Grange that was an incredible experience to taste and probably one of the best wines i have ever drank. Thank you wine gods!

1976 Penfolds Grange - Wow! Deep purple, lovely nose of blackberry, chocolate, mint, liquorice and tar. On the palate blackberry liqueur, chocolate, coffee, tar, smoke, liquorice and a melange of other flavours in a very powerful and full package that still has so many years ahead of it. For me this wine punched above the 66 with its sheer power and was my WOTN however at the same time the 66 was also in a league of its own making WOTN a very very hard choice.

1994 Henschke Hill of Grace - dark purple in colour, lovely nose of blackberry, tar and anise. The palate showed this wine is still only a pup, powerful, muscular, tight and still quite closed the palate showed some dark berry fruits with a solid tannin structure that is still softening out. A wonderful wine that would have benefited from more time in a decanter than it was given to open and show even better. Still a great wine and a fitting end to the red wines for the evening.

1977 Pieroth Beeranauslese - Golden amber in colour, honey, citrus, apricot and toffee followed onto the palate with a dash of golden syrup richness without being cloying. This is certainly at its peak and for me almost like drinking liquid dried apricots coated in honey and golden syrup with a touch of candied citrus peel. Just Magic!

All Saints Grand Tokay - Toffee, tea, raisin, treacle, mouth coating goodness with amazing depth! I think many of you know the deal here.

1939 Seppelt Para Port - Superb Para Port in pristine condition! (thank you Dave)

Overall an incredible line up of wines with a menu to die for! A wonderful experience with some great new friends! What more could you ask for.

Introduction and Welcome

My name is Shannon aka Red Velvet and i have decided it is time to start blogging about my wine and food experiences, creations and tastings. I am an active participant in two Sydney based monthly Wine tasting groups, one of which i chair and organise myself. I have had an active interest in Wine and Food for the last 10 years and as such have hosted many dinner parties, tastings and so on. I have set up this blog for friends new and old as well as myself to track my wine and food experiences and to hopefully encourage a forum for feedback amongst my Wine tasting group participants and friends alike.

First up why Red Velvet? Red Velvet has been my screen name/nick in a number of wine forums for nearly 5 years now. Red Velvet came about after opening, tasting and drinking a 1996 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz around Christmas in 2004. The wine on this occasion was described by myself as being like "Red Velvet" plush, deep, intense and yet so soft and caressing hence like drinking a glass of Crushed Red Velvet. For anyone who has had the opportunity to drink the 1996 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz i am sure you would likely agree with my explanation of Red Velvet. From this occasion i decided the explanation of one of my favourite all time wines would be my screen name in the online forums i had recently discovered in 2005.