Pinots, Bordeaux and Farewell to a Favourite Haunt

Leonard and Jillian, Lawrence, Joyce, Ming, Alex, Elsa and I gethered for our last ever meal at the Universal, which closed its doors for the last time in the day itself. Lots of nice wines made for a fitting send-off, with a mini-new world Pinot tasting thrown in at the middle and a couple of surprising Bordeaux blends. Alex's '71 Sauternes was a perfect end to another yummy meal.

• 2003 Saint Cosme Condrieu 90 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu

  I thought this was a pretty nice wine. Very typically Condrieu on the nose, with richly flowered and perfumy musk tones blended with honeyed beeswax and large whiffs of spice. Palate had a rich, beeswaxy character. Balance was decent, but the low acidity of the grape was played up by the warmth of the vintage, so that the wine was probably better when served slightly chilled than when it warmed up and showed rather thick and viscous in the glass. Otherwise, it had a nice range of flavours, peach, sweet apricots, kumquats, some chalk dust and a whole basket load of spice - cardammon flavours, cloves, pepper. Finish was decent. Just a tiny bit of heat here and there, with a bit more beeswax and an unusual meaty edge. All in all, a nice wine, with lots of interesting things going on.

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• 2003 Moondarra Pinot Noir Conception 90 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Gippsland

  This has developed somewhat since the last try years ago, but I am not sure it is actually any better. A bit reductive on the nose at first, it took awhile to open up. When it did, it showed attractive pinot character with a dash of new world style - flowers, earth, spice and a sprinkle of vanilla all layered over a bed of sweet, almost dried, dark cherries. Palate was really light on its feet and super fresh, with a pure, snappy fresh cherry expression, a squeeze of orange tangerine and a little toss of earth all wrapped in the silkiest of tannins. There was lots of elegance and plenty of energy and vibrance, rather rare for a new world pinot. Only issue was that it was just a bit too light. Not so much in a light Burgundian way, but almost lacking substance at points, especially across the mid-palate. Still though, there was lots of interest and quite a bit of complexity. Finish had a nice earthy minerality to it. Not much length, but was very nicely integrated. I really liked it at the moment, but a few more years in the bottle might do the wine some good, allowing it to put on some weight.

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• 2005 Kooyong Pinot Noir Haven 92 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Mornington Peninsula

  A really good new world Pinot. Nose was tell-tale new world at first, with sweet winter-melon and rock sugar notes floating around, but there was quite a bit of Burgundy behind that. Subtle cherry fruit scents were wed to earthy spiciness, iron and rocky mineral, a touch of wood spice and grassy, almost asparagus like herb notes. Lots of complexity, which was taken up on the palate as well. Nice and savoury, with more earth and lots of iron notes, and a nice seam of mineral running through sappy cherry flavours seasoned with a touch of orange peel. Plush and silky, with quite a bit of weight, yet it was fresh and super lively from the attack into the longish finish that went through the back-palate with a show of minerally iron and flint notes which just grew and grew in the glass. I really liked this, and I think it should get even better with 2-3 years in the bottle.

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• 2004 Freeman Pinot Noir Akiko's Cuvée 92 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  This was a real hit with the table, but I thought the Kooyong just shaded it as best Pinot. However, I must say that this was a very good showing, possibly because it was decanted for a good half hour before serving. Easily the best of the three bottles that I have tried. Attractive nose, with varietal cherries and strawberries mixed with interesting sour plum scents, a touch of roasted herbs and a floral, dried fruit component, very reminiscent of a Christmas fig cake. Palate was the richest of the trhee Pinots, but was nicely balanced, with plenty of juicy fruit on the attack - cherries I thought - moving seamlessly into the really nicely integrated mid-palate, where there was abit of earth and a touch of just slightly bittersweet herbs. Finish was mid-legth. Fresh again, opening up into more nice fruit expression. Very nice, and still young. This deserves several more years in bottle.

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• 1982 Château Canon 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  This was first class. After about an hour in the decanter it showed all the great qualities of an aged right-bank from a good year. Lovely nose showed lots of leather, tobacco, gravel and smoke layered over some damp, foresty leafiness. Very left bank actually, which was a theme picked up on the palate. Again, lots of lovely deep tobacco flavours, some rich cassis tones and some bloody, ferrous notes. However, there were lovely Merlot notes all throughout, with sweet plums and sappy cherries galore, along with lots of spice and a smooth, soft feel that was just so charming. Finish was lovely too. Ripe cherries, spice, chocolate - a veritable Christmas pudding - all slowly melting into a nice gravelly length. A beautiful wine. This can last for some time yet, but it was at a perfect point to drink when we got to it.

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• 2002 Edi Simčič Duet Lex (formerly Riserva) 92 Points

  Slovenia, Primorska, Goriška Brda

  This was clearly the surprise of the day. My first ever Slovenian wine, and boy it was good. The whole table idenitified it as a Bordeaux blend, but was split on whether it was old world or new world, but we all agreed it was really good. Nose was very attractive. Cassis, plums, peppery spice, vanilla, flowers, some smoky Cab Franc herb and just that tiniest hint of glycerol at the eges. The palate was really impressive too. Extremely well made, it showed a nice freshness and great refinement, with some richness, but a nice, clean fruit expression of plums and cherries undergirded by great balance and nice minerality. Finish had decent, if unspectacular length, with more of that Cab Franc herbiness just straying into bittersweet territory closing the wine off. A solid effort, and one that deserves another decade in the bottle to really show its mettle. Bravo.

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• 1971 Château de Rayne-Vigneau 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  The other bottles reviewed seemed to be over the hill or at least fast approaching the crest. This bottle was just about perfect, tipping an excellent 1982 Canon to the wine of the day crown for me. Nose had a lovely honeyed tone, along with notes of brown sugar, orange marmalade and dried kumquats, along with savoury umami bits with a mushroomy undertone. A little sniff of petroleum swirled around the upper registers along with interesting dashes of cinamon sugar. On the palate, the sweetness had certainly dropped with age. There was still some lingering hints of botrytis, but the wine came across as rich rather than sweet, with a rather profound depth of flavours - lovely preserved lemons, some smokiness. a little stream of minerality, some honey and beeswax, all held in pitch perfect balance. Finish had decent length, with really interesting spicy notes of galangal and ginger sweetened with some brown sugar notes and some loquat curd. A glorious wine. It was singing when we popped it for lunch, and was still going strong when we finished the bottle over dinner.

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