Etihad Business Class & Lounges

Sydney, Abu Dhabi, Frankfurt
Tasted Sunday, September 9, 2018 - Friday, September 14, 2018 by graemeg with 165 views

Flight 1 - Lounges (15 Notes)

The Sydney Etihad Business Lounge is intimate but comfortable, with a fair selection of food & drink.

Abu Dhabi is enormous, of course, and everything you'd expect as far as food goes (but no bacon for breakfast!), although the wine offerings aren't much better than remote Sydney.

In Frankfurt they use Lufthansa Business which has the usual dire selection of industrial swill. Really only one drinkable effort here. Lucky that the queues in the airport were so long I only had a few minutes to kill.

  • 2017 McPherson Wines Sauvignon Blanc Three Vineyards

    Australia, South Eastern

    (9/9/2018)

    {screwcap, %11.5} Steely nose & palate. Smoke. Seashells & brine. Quasi-sancerre palate; light-bodied, steely in character with medium acid but a short finish. Clean and crisp, refreshing, no more (Etihad Business Lounge Sydney).

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  • 2017 Burns & Fuller Chardonnay Adelaide Hills

    Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills

    (9/9/2018)

    {screwcap, 13%} Subtle woodsmoke and grapefruit flavours and aromas. Lightweight palate, rather anonymous. Watery texture. Low key wine in every respect, to the point of blandness (Etihad Business Lounge Sydney).

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  • 2017 Sileni Pinot Noir Satyr

    New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay

    (9/9/2018)

    {screwcap, 12%} Gentle sour cherry with a stalky note. Clean light palate, tart, with high acid and lowish tannins. Light body, little oak. Faint cherry and plum flavours. Low key in every way but otherwise sound (Etihad Business Lounge Sydney).

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  • 2016 Tellurian Shiraz Redline

    Australia, Victoria, Central Victoria, Heathcote

    (9/9/2018)

    {screwcap, 14.5%} Sweet blackberry jam. Plums too. Furry and voluptuous, with soft dusty tannins and medium acid. Palate isn’t quite up to the nose; it’s got a high-yield quality to it; an industrial thinness if you like. Thanks to the soft structure, it’s no more than medium-bodied, with a rather transient finish, just hinting at hollow sweet fruit. Bistro wine at best (Etihad Business Lounge Sydney).

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  • 2016 Alkoomi Cabernet Merlot

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Frankland River

    (9/9/2018)

    {screwcap, 14.5%} Liquorice, plum, chocolate, currant. Palate has plum, currant and a bit of malt. Some coconut oak too. But it’s still a bit hollow despite the merlot, with a mid-palate dip. Low powdery tannins. Finish is dry but on the short side. Medium-body; seems to have insufficient stuffing for the alcohol level, hinting at very ripe but high-yield grapes. So-so. Another bistro job (Etihad Business Lounge Sydney).

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  • NV Jean-Pierre Marniquet Champagne Cuvée de Printemps

    France, Champagne

    (9/9/2018)

    Plenty of yeast here. Strong autolysis character to the flavours, but also fairly coarse bubbles. Distinctly foamy in fact. The palate is light-bodied, dry, fresh and crisp, relying more on acid than much on the way of fruit. Never-the-less, a strawberry tint to the flavours, light as they are. Sour, dry, crisp finish. Seems like it would benefit somewhat from cellaring (Etihad Business Lounge Sydney).

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  • 2013 Bodegas As Laxas Rías Baixas Laxas

    Spain, Galicia, Rías Baixas

    (9/10/2018)

    {screwcap, 12.5%} Deep yellow. Smells quite aged. Seashells, brine, machine oil. Developed palate too; with broad melon flavours, low-medium acidity, and a dry but short finish tending towards the flabby. Better younger (Etihad Business Lounge T3 Abu Dhabi).

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  • 2012 Le Baron de Malleret

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

    (9/10/2018)

    {cork} Fairly closed nose; hint of herbs, nothing more. The palate has soft jubey fruit; blackberry, plum. There are ultra-fine medium tannins; it actually coats the tongue rather nicely. The drawback is very short length. Workmanlike at best; not for keeping (Etihad Business Lounge T3 Abu Dhabi).

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  • 2014 Acústic Celler Priorat ritme

    Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

    (9/10/2018)

    {cork} Closed nose (from a freshly opened bottle). Hint of dark chocolate, malt; no more. The palate is inky-tasting, with medium-high powdery tannins and lowish acidity. Finishes astringent & a bit warm (although this is very much room temperature in Abu Dhabi, which makes it around 24C by my guess; much too warm. Not obviously oaky; the tannins seem largely grape-derived; it’s medium/full-bodied but has – as do so many commercial offerings – a rather short finish; just a memory of the alcohol, no more. Second bottle (on the way back to Sydney), already opened, was smokier & more open, a bit less strident (Etihad Business Lounge T3 Abu Dhabi).

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  • 2016 Bouvet-Ladubay Saphir Brut Vintage

    France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur

    (9/14/2018)

    {cork, 12.5%} Apple/lime juice nose. Light-bodied, but plenty of action from the vivacious bubbles. Flavours tend toward the lemon/citrus spectrum, the acid is fairly low, and there seems to be a fair bit of sugar still in this despite the ‘Brut’ tag. The finish is rather short and front-palate due to these structural attributes. Not more-ish. (Lufthansa Business Lounge Frankfurt T1)

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  • NV Schloss Reinhartshausen Insel Mariannenaue Secco

    Germany, Rheingau

    (9/14/2018)

    {screwcap, 11%} Sour melon nose. Medium sized bubbles on palate, fairly aggressive, but the confected shertbert flavours all sit right on the tip of tongue. The sugar (I’d call this off-dry) gives it light/medium weight but shortens the finish a bit it seems, despite what seems like medium acidity. (Lufthansa Business Lounge Frankfurt T1)

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  • 2017 Vignobles Canet Vin de Pays d'Oc Beaux Lieux

    France, Languedoc Roussillon, Vin de Pays d'Oc

    (9/14/2018)

    {screwcap, 13.5%} Cough mixture and cherries. There are some very artificial tasting spicy red fruit flavours, All the length of finish seems to come from a bit of sugar. The palate is low-key, light-bodied, low in acid and pretty dull all-round. Clean but boring. Less a wine than a fruit drink with bonus alcohol. (Lufthansa Business Lounge Frankfurt T1)

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  • 2015 Bodegas El Coto Rioja Crianza

    Spain, La Rioja, Rioja

    (9/14/2018)

    {cork, 13.5%} Sweet liquorice & coconut aromas. Conveys the concept of Rioja well, even at this price. The palate has gentle furry vanilla/coconut oak tannins, low level, with sweet strawberry fruit. So sweetly-accents you wonder about residual sugar here. Soft acid, but a medium length finish. Hasn’t the structure for aging though. (Lufthansa Business Lounge Frankfurt T1)

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  • 2017 Riff Pinot Grigio

    Italy, Delle Venezie

    (9/14/2018)

    (12.5%, screwcap) Gentle pear aromas. Youthful palate with soft pear/apricot flavours. Low acid, no oak. Has no real finish at all. Slightly alcoholic fruit juice, although at least it’s not sweet. A bit like a mildly-flavoured water. (Lufthansa Business Lounge Frankfurt T1)

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  • 2015 Errazuriz Chardonnay Max Reserva

    Chile, Casablanca Valley

    (9/14/2018)

    {screwcap} Lots of oak & butter. The palate has a fair bit of slithery oak texture, less tannic than buttery. Actually light on for grape flavours; it’s a bit neutral with a bit of melon. Light/medium body; not as heavy as the nose seems to indicate. Dry, with all the (short-lived) finish on the front palate (Etihad Business Lounge T3 Abu Dhabi).

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Flight 2 - In the air (12 Notes)

Fairly decent offerings in the air. I usually go for the un-named 'Sommelier's Selection' just to see what pot-luck brings me; often some partly oxidised South African curio, or some other batch of about-to-expire wine. Even in 1st class there are no classed growth Bdx though; chatting with a fellow passenger in the A380 round bar he had a dusty 09 Haut Laroque (I had a sip); you wouldn't buy a 1st class ticket for the wine!

  • NV Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Cuvée Brut

    France, Champagne

    (9/9/2018)

    Something of a house wine across all flights & the Abu Dhabi business lounge, and for at least the last 12 months, so PH must be delivering for Etihad (they serve a vintage PH in 1st). Several bottles of this over a few days were consistent; chardonnay-dominant, with medium–sized bubbles, dry, light-body, just a little autolysis character. There’s not much complexity on offer here though; it’s a sound, not terribly exciting champagne.

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  • 2015 Drumheller Chardonnay Columbia Valley

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

    (9/9/2018)

    {cork, 13%} Mid yellow. Quite nutty. Paw-paw aromas. The palate is a tad thick & greasy, with rather soft acid struggling to overcome some lees contact/barrel aging character. The flavours are dominated by vanillan oak; it’s as though someone dissolved a few vanilla slices in the tanks prior to bottling. Barely a hint of true tannins though; instead it’s fairly slippery on the palate; it thankfully finishes dry but without a lot of textural interest. Flavours are rather anonymous, to be honest, it tastes more of winemaking technique than fruit. Rockmelon, perhaps? At any rate, went well enough with a plate of nuts on an A380 (EY451 Sydney -> Abu Dhabi).

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  • 2015 Rijk's Chenin Blanc Touch of Oak

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Tulbagh

    (9/9/2018)

    {cork} Muted nose, but a touch of cork isn’t in doubt. Honestly, this could pass for a slightly developed chardonnay. The palate is a bit neutral too, it has vanilla flavours leavened with oak, but ultimately it’s a bit bland. Medium-short finish & medium body; just doesn’t quite hit the mark somehow (EY451 Sydney -> Abu Dhabi).

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  • 2012 Symington Douro Altano Quinta do Ataíde

    Portugal, Douro

    (9/9/2018)

    Muted blackberry nose, but with a distinct overlay of vintage port aromas. The palate is dry, jubey and juicy with cranberry and taut cherry fruit, but also a certain ripeness somehow. The barest oak seasoning gives gentle gritty tannins. Medium weight, medium length. OK, probably near peak. Blossoms a bit with time in glass; has a confected richness to it. Simple but nice enough (EY451 Sydney -> Abu Dhabi).

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  • 2014 De Martino Carménère Legado Reserva

    Chile, Maipo Valley

    (9/9/2018)

    {cork, 13.5%} Gosh, this is verging on feral. The aromas are a touch animal-like; fungal, liquorice, with a dusty pungent quality. The palate is rustic too, with wild blackberry flavours, a white pepper note overlaying it all, some tobacco flavour, and a gentle, open palate of low gritty tannins (little oak), medium acid, and a medium length finish (EY451 Sydney -> Abu Dhabi).

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  • 2015 Château Bastor-Lamontagne Só

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    (9/9/2018)

    {375ml, screwcap} Mmm, there’s nothing like cheap Sauternes is there? This smells of vanilla ice cream laced with a honey sauce. Medium dry, with honey and cumquat flavours; gentle botrytis but not overt, it has a pleasant sweetness with a bit of air, and a medium-weight palate & medium finish. Although not without a soft steely cheapness somehow (EY451 Sydney -> Abu Dhabi).

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  • 2015 Château L'Argenteyre

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc

    (9/9/2018)

    {cork} Mix of old & new worlds. There is some blackberry fruit richness here, verging on a currant character. The oak is soft, but it also has all the fine-grained tannin of Bdx (not that the oak is especially obvious). But there’s a really artificial blackcurrant cordial flavour that does rather seem to permeate the wine. Still, it’s dry, medium-bodied, has no nasty green profile to the flavours. Tidy, basic Bdx, with perhaps a couple of years in it to improve slightly. Only slightly, though (EY451 Sydney -> Abu Dhabi).

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  • 2017 Famille Paquet Mâcon-Lugny Les Charmes

    France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Mâcon-Lugny

    (9/9/2018)

    Oak-free nose, Tart rockmelon aromas. Restrained, neutral palate ; cool, minerally, whiff of grapefruit ; dry, light-bodied, short-medium finish. Inoffensive at best, served a bit cold. Low-key stuff. (EY1 -> Abu Dhabi -> Frankfurt)

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  • 2015 Château Martinon Bordeaux Supérieur

    France, Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur

    (9/10/2018)

    Youthful, vanilla-chocolate nose of mild intensity. The light-medium-bodied palate has transparent blackberry flavours, little oak, with low/medium durty tannins and a generally low-key presence. Seems ripe enough but pretty thin anyway, bourne out by the dry but thin yes slightly warm finish. Industrial Bdx, not for keeping (EY1 -> Abu Dhabi -> Frankfurt).

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  • 2014 Leyda Pinot Noir

    Chile, San Antonio Valley, Leyda Valley

    (9/14/2018)

    Aging smoked plum aromas. The palate has a significant nose of spritz, and a warm and watery character on the palate, with soft flavours of plums and strawberries. A newly opened bottle perhaps?; it’s quite prickly on the palate, with medium-high acidity, a smoky aspect to the flavours but they aren’t especially oaky. Low chalky tannins, light-medium weight. Warm, short-medium length finish (EY9 Frankfurt -> Abu Dhabi)

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  • 2014 Schloss Vollrads Riesling Kabinett feinherb

    Germany, Rheingau

    (9/14/2018)

    {vinolok, 11%} Stewed apples, cinnamon. Off-dry, surely. Light-medium body, medium acid. Generous fruit, slightly developed. Good palate balance, shortish, perhaps a simple finish, but easily the best wine Etihad has served up so far! (EY450 Abu Dhabi -> Sydney)

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  • 2015 Planeta Sicilia La Segreta Bianco

    Italy, Sicily, Sicilia

    (9/14/2018)

    {screwcap} Lots of vanilla, nuts. Gentle oak seasoning on the palate, but more texture than overt flavour. Some melony fruit. A touch watery and short-finishing. Low-medium acid, dry, light-bodied. Not interesting. (EY9 Frankfurt -> Abu Dhabi)

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