Saturday 16 July, 2011
Quarter Twenty One/Becasse Private Dining Room
Tartare of cured kingfish, blood orange, radish and crème fraiche
1952 Heidsieck & Cie, Dry Monopole, Champagne
1985 Perrier Jouet, Cuvee Josephine, Champagne
Seared local swordfish, squid, apple, fennel and coriander
1961 Clovis Lefevre, Vouvray Sec, Grand Cru, Loire Valley
1962 Clovis Lefevre Vouvray Sec, Grand Cru, Loire Valley
Winter heirloom vegetables, yabbies, pea mousse and black olive
1967 Jos Jos Prum, Gracher Himmelreich, Riesling, Mosel Saar Ruwer
1969 Schloss Rheinhartshausener, Hattenheimer Hassel, Riesling, Rheingau
Sauté of king prawns, crisp pigs ear, garlic custard and persillade purée
1967 Schloss Eltz, Eltviller Sonnenberg, Auslese, Riesling, Rheingau
1976 Langwerth Von Simmern, Hattenheimer Mannberg, Auslese, Riesling, Rheingau
Pickled veal tongue with caramelised sweetbread, mushroom and truffle risotto
1947 C Marey & Liger Belair, Musigny Grand Cru
Pressed belly & roast cutlet of lamb, Jerusalem artichokes, preserved lemon & anchovy jus
1947 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli, Riserva Antichi Vigneti Propri, Barolo, Italy
1971 Giovanni Scanavino, Serralunga d’Alba, Barolo, Italy
1947 100 Parker Points Pomerol
1947 Chateau Lafleur, Pomerol, Bordeaux
Testun di Barolo cheese with beetroot, mulled wine gel and honeycomb
1992 Bests Thompson Family Shiraz (Magnum)
1973 Lindeman’s, Bin 4810, Classic Release, Burgundy Shiraz
Banana crème brulée, salted peanut brittle & milk coffee sorbet
1959 Pieroth, Gau Kongernheimer Vogelsang, Trockenbeerenauslese
1949 Pieroth, Gau Odernheimer Petersberg, Beerenauslese
1909 Domaine Sainte Croix Rivesaltes
1952 Heidsieck & Co, Dry Monopole
Unfortunately this wine had seen better days and of all the wines on the line up this was the one i was most concerned about and it seems i was write~Damn it!
1986 Schales Bacchus Troken Seck
This was the replacement bottle for the 52 Heidsieck: An initial nose of pure sweet Lychee fruit and a little yeasty funkiness, a fine and powerful bead that was persistant the whole time it was in my glass, Lychee, lemon sherbet, drying minerality, white flowers, earthy mushroom characters appearing with time in the glass, creamy mouthfeel with a dry finish.
1985 Joseph Perrier, Cuvee Josephine
Yeasty Citrus nose, big orange and honey tossed peaches, yeasty, slight roasted nuts, crisp acidity helping to mould the very very long creamy mouth filling finish that persisted and coated every corner of the mouth. This was very big wine indeed and superbly delicious.
1961 Clovis Lefevre, Vouvray Sec, Grand Cru
Smoky and waxy, golden amber in colour, malt and peat with dried fruit characters on an oily almost sherry like palate, perhaps showing some very faint signs of minor oxidation but not in an unattractive way. Quite delicate and complex.
1962 Clovis Lefevre, Vouvray Sec, Grand Cru
Quite floral with slight petroleum notes, lemon pith and fresh flowers, lovely earthy characters with lemon citrus on an incredibly fresh and long palate carried by fresh persistant accidity that just kept everything in amazing balance. Complex and powerful this was a stunning wine.
1967 J J Prum Gracher Himmelreich, Riesling.
Persistant lemon, some gingery spices on a waxy palate that just seemed a little too simple and short. A bit one dimensional for my liking. Never the less rare and interesting to taste.
1969 Schloss Rheinhartshausener, Hattenheimer Hassel, Riesling
Lovely lemon and glace pineapple, cinnamon and gingerbread spice, silky and bold, toasty, unctious and long in the mouth, bright lemon acidity which carried the unctious fruit and spice layered palate onto a glorious finish.
1967 Schloss Eltz, Eltviller Sonnenberg, Auslese Riesling
Wow what a stunningly fresh and complex wine, smoky yet delicate with a melange of fruits including apple, pear and apricot. Floral and bright with a slight kero hint. A delicate yet voluptuos wine that filled the mouth with yet perfectly balanced acidity. A Wonderful thinking mans wine which stopped me in my tracks and made me really have to think about the layers of complexity that were so well melded together.
1976 Langwerth von Simmern, Hattenheimer Mannberg, Auslese, Riesling
Huge amounts of vibrant, big, ripe fruit including apricots, baked apples and tropical fruits. The length and sheer power of this wine is testament to the warm and perfect vintage of 1976 it fills the mouth with huge amounts of apricot/tropical fruit supported by suttle Kero, spice, gingerbread and citrus zest. I have to say i feel i agree with other tasting notes that call this wine "an absolute masterpiece" What a wine!
1947 C Marey & Liger Belair, Musigny Grand Cru, Burgundy
The sommelier passed around a glass with a very small amount of this wine, maybe 5 - 10ml before it was served just to show us the incredible nose on this wine. Like nothing i have ever encountered before, so incredibly powerful, open fire, tobacco, bush fire singed undergrowth, wood, cinnamon spice, forest growth and barnyard earthy goodness. Savoury and earthy the nose carried some what to the palate which was littered with Cherry type fruit and those ever so accurate earthy, forest and savoury characters that carried to that spicy palate supported by bright almost orange like acidity. Amazing integration and true wow factor. Serious stuff and a nose i could have just sat and smelt for hours on end.
1947 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli, Riserva Antichi Vigneti Propri, Barolo
This wine was a little dissappointing for me, i have read tasting notes from others who have tried this wine and they have been in two different veins and unfortunately our bottle tonight was the lesser. Light pink strawberry in colour with hints of brown, suttle orange and sour cherry flavours that seemed almost sherry like with funky leafiness meshed in very suttle savoury wood characters. An interesting wine if nothing else and certainly not tainted nor dead but only just hanging in there on this occassion.
1971 Giovanni Scanavino, Serralunga d'Alba, Barolo
Crushed berries, old leather, cedar like cigar box and savoury spices on the nose. Lovely warm mulberry and caramel covered cherry fruit balanced out with beautiful savoury herbal and earthy characters, pressed flowers and wonderful fine drying tannins, long a truely lovely wine. Really great Barolo drinking in the prime of its life i felt.
1947 Chateau Lafleur, Pomerol
Bring out the big guns! A Show Stopping Wine! The nose simple pumped up with layers and layers including fruit cake/fruit pudding, rich and sweet with suttle cassis, leather, Violets, smoky bacon and Antique timber furniture. The palate was a powerhouse of old and youthful characters all melding together in an amazing show of balance and presise power. Overflowing with fruit pudding, cassis, cinnamon, toffee, English fudge, roasted meats and cool berries framed by incredibly youthful drying tannins and background acidity that sling shot the wine into an amazing juicy finish that persists and persists. The richness of this wine almost defies belief and i can fully understand some feeling it almost heads into port territory yet certainly not hot or in an overworked way. Extraodinary wine that left everyone in the room wishing there was two bottles and not one. This wine could last another 50yrs!
1992 Best's Thomson Family Shiraz (magnum)
This wine was extremely youthful and tight following the previous wines and if you have this in Magnum i would say hold it for another 20yrs. It was more like a 5yr old wine than a 19yr old wine. A tough line to follow after the Lafleur. Lively and bright with the ever so perfectly elegant balance that only Best's can do. Blackberries, plums, cherries and peppery spice with a dash of creamy oak very drinkable but much better in 20yrs i think.
1973 Lindeman's Bin 4810, Classic Release, Burgundy Shiraz
Funky almost musty leather and barnyard earth, savoury dark cherry and secondary fruit characters with mushroom and truffle goodness. This wine did a fantastic job of standing up and shouting out its presence following the Lafleur. A truely great bottle in fantastic condition, this was superb and a true testament to the wondeful wines the Hunter can produce if you are able to hang onto them for 40yrs in perfect cellaring conditions. I loved this wine for its savoury, funky, balanced and complex briar and earth characters, so round and gently caressing on the palate.
1959 Pieroth, Gau Kongernheimer Vogelsang, Trockenbeerenauslese
Very dark treacle in colour, golden syrup drenched apricots, orange with caramel, burnt brown sugar, powerful botrytis spice albeit a touch of bitterness on the very rich and long palate. Very very good indeed.
1949 Pieroth, Gau Odernheimer Petersberg, Beerenauslese
Much more floral and tropical fruit in spectrum than the previous wine, honey drenched apricots, glace pineapple with acidity that just dances across the palate. Long in the mouth, yet elegant and fresh this was a wonderful BA that persisted and persisted in the mouth for a good minute after it was gone.
1909 Domaine Sainte Croix Rivesaltes
Lovely fresh and bright, light ruby in colour, incredibly young with nutty tea leaf like flavours, toffee coated raisins and coffee. A true pleasure to drink and very fitting end to wonderful line up of wines.
Surely a Night To Remember! :D
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