A Relatively Secret Room in Buellton, CA
Tasted Friday, May 13, 2016 by JonnyG with 689 views
I was thrilled that the guys endorsed my suggestion to kick off our new tasting group by dipping our collective toe in the water and trying to present an array of the beauties from Down Under I've come to appreciate oh so well. Chef Jeff put on quite a display for us, to say the least. The only disappointment was my inability to source a Hunter Valley Semillon. How can they be so scarce in the US, especially when they age so well? Oh well, next time...
The wines performed beautifully alongside some amazing starters: raw oysters done three ways (I recall uni and fish eggs, will rely on colleagues to fill in the blanks), a stunning halibut ceviche with citrus and jalapeno, and moules meuniere (yes, it's nice to live in Santa Barbara County), but the success of the pairings should not diminish from the great showing of these wines, which only improved over the next several hours.
In between courses, we dove into to this lighter expression of Grenache, which drank really well.
Served alongside housemade pizza with mushrooms, olive oil and Calabrian peppers. Any of us would love to revisit each of these wines.
High octane can work, too, especially alongside a perfectly cooked duck breast.
Exquisite dry aged beef was the ideal pairing at this point of the evening.
Gents, we are off to a good start. In point of fact, I believe we could do nothing but Aussies for the rest of the year and never miss a beat, there being so much to explore. Oh, and this will be the last event to which I don't bring a sticky, mark my words.
2011 Pierro Chardonnay Margaret River 93 Points
Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River
My first encounter with this bottle and it did Margaret River Chardonnays proud. Chablisienne in style, I was very impressed with its precision and minerality, which made it a fabulous accompaniment for raw oysters three ways as well as the halibut ceviche. Gorgeous aromatics of white peach and lychee, which improved as it warmed. Tremendous, silky mouthfeel, rounding out beautifully over time. Lengthy finish. Easily 4-5 more years of easy drinking to this one.
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2010 Grosset Riesling Polish Hill Clare Valley 93 Points
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley
Just entering its prime drinking window, and unsurprisingly benefited from air through the course of the evening. I love the muscular style of these dry Rieslings. Signature petrol nose. Vibrant and powerful flavors of lime, slate and saline. At is best as it rose near room temperature, picking up some power and viscocity. Very long finish.
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