Dinner at Park Palace

Park Palace, Grand Park Hotel
Tasted Friday, August 15, 2014 by Paul S with 365 views

Flight 1 - BUBBLES (1 Note)

  • NV Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Le Rosé 90 Points

    France, Champagne

    Pretty good. This had a pretty red-fruited nose, with fresh scents of strawberries and flowers chased by little inflections of citrus and mineral – a nice, clean bouquet. This was nicely echoed on the elegant palate. Again, there were those clean red-fruited notes, with fresh raspberries and strawberries and the slightest hint of mineral at the finish, all lined with a fine mousse and a lithe balance. A touch simple maybe, but this was compact and yummy, with a very fresh, lively youthfulness to it. Not bad.

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Flight 2 - WHITES (2 Notes)

  • 2007 Domaine Trouillet Pouilly-Fuissé Aux Chailloux 88 Points

    France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Pouilly-Fuissé

    Very advanced for a 2007 – this was decent but not exactly great. With whiffs of mushroomy earth alongside sweet pineapple and tropical fruit and a ring of oak, this really nodded towards the Macon. Same thing on the palate. It was decently balanced with a drop of fresh acidity, but somehow felt rather richer, rounder and softer than one would expect from a Cote de Beaune white in a vintage like 2007. The fruit character was also sunnier, with rich notes of kumquats and tropical fruit and grapefruit gummies showing a little sweetness and a touch of alcoholic warmth. A breath of slightly zippier acidity added a bit of definition at the finish before a linger of toasty oak rounded the wine off. Decent enough overall, but this is not a wine that will set anyone’s world alight. Advanced too – it drank like something a good 5-6 years older.

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  • 1981 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain 93 Points

    France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

    We were definitely stepping up with this wine. Poured blind, it was not only clearly the oldest wine that we had so far, but also clearly the most profound and impressive. The nose started out a bit tight when the wine was served too chilled, but as it opened up, it unfurled in layers of aromas: first tropical lycheee, then orange peel and Luxardo cherry liquer; then hints of mineral, a little osmanthus flower, followed petrol and lanolin, and a little hint of sweet vanilla – lots going on here. The palate was perhaps less impressive, but there was still a lovely complexity to it. There was a backbone of really dry, almost steely minerality and a little Chablis-like saltiness underlying mature flavours of orange peel, kumquats, brown pears. It felt old, perhaps fraying a little at the seams, and I have a feeling the wine’s very best days were some years back, but there was still a drive to it, with lovely strength and energy and a nice sense of depth to it all, and plenty of dry extract still present on the minerally backpalate. A true wine of character. Perhaps not the best nor most complete Rangen de Thann that we have had in recent years, but this was still very good indeed. My wine of the night.

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Flight 3 - REDS (4 Notes)

  • 1996 Domaine Denis Bachelet Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes 91 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

    As often with Bachelet, this was a very solid village Gevrey. It had a lovely nose - very earthy, with sous bois and meat and slightly stewed red fruit aromas - strawberries and raspberries – chased by a drift of flowers and spice. The palate was really rich and weighty for a village wine, with punchy flavours of dark cherries and red berries nevertheless still showing a nice clarity, with the juicy acidity of the vintage and tannins that still gave a little grip lending the wine a nice backbone. I thought it felt a little older than a 1996, with lots of secondary flavours, like orange peel and earth, coming out towards the finish. Other than that, this was a really quite a good village – time to start drinking though

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  • 2007 Jacques Maillet Vin de Savoie Autrement 88 Points

    France, Savoie, Vin de Savoie

    Interesting. Served blind, I thought this was a Beaujolais village. It turned out to be a blend of Gamay, Pinot Noir and Mondeuse (the native Savoie varietal). The nose was certainly very Bojo, with fragrant, slightly green notes of herb and bramble woven through sweet strawberry aromas. On the palate, gobs of fresh, lively, juicy acidity gave a real sense energy to the wine’s otherwise light bodied flavours of strawberries and fresh red berries laced with some sous bois funk. There was something almost citrus about it I thought. Nothing profound, but this was interesting, and just about pleasant enough to keep it very drinkable.

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  • 2007 Antinori Tignanello 92 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

    Pretty good, but rather too young. 80% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc. The Cab Franc was added into the usual blend to give some structure in a soft, ripe vintage, otherwise, this was very typical for what it is – most of the table actually guessed Super-Tuscan when served blind. There was just something rather telltale about the nose especially, with its sweet aromas of plums and blueberries, menthol and fragrant Italian herbs wed to Cabernet smells of smoky tobacco and spice. It was clearly a bit young on the palate, with fine powdery tannins still sticking out amidst ripe flavours of plums and blueberries, again seasoned with tobacco and spice and a sprinkre of bramble and garrigue towards the finish. Tannins aside, this came across as an easy-drinking, hedonistic sort of wine, with a soft balance and pleasantly ripe, fleshy flavours. It should give plenty of pleasure over the next decade, maybe a bit more, but not a Tignanello for the ages I think.

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  • 2007 Domaine A Cabernet Sauvignon Stoney Vineyard 91 Points

    Australia, Tasmania, Coal River

    Pretty good. A classic Bordeaux blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 
4% Merlot, 
4% Cabernet Fran and 
2% Petit Verdot, this came serendipitously after a 2007 Tagnanello and provided an interesting contrast. Of course, there was a lot more Cabernet on this, and it showed in the notes of cassis and plums and tobacco on the nose along with slightly sweeter berries and earthy, eucalyptus smells that nodded towards Australia. The palate had a rather Antipodean feel to it as well, with fresh, lively acidity and fine tannins framing sweet, modern, but clean notes of cassis and blueberries seasoned with more of the eucalyptus picked up on the nose. A nice, lithe finish of mineral and spice then rounded the wine off. It will still improve with a few more years in the bottle no doubt. On the night, it lacked a touch of depth and complexity – both a reflection of the younger vines as well as the lack of bottle age I suspect. Otherwise, this was sleek and elegant interpretation of a new world Bordeaux blend, reflecting the cooler climate of high-altitude Tasmanian wine nicely. I liked it.

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