V64 Wine night

21 members and 5 guests attended. The members were divided up into five teams to compare, discuss and present a consensus on each flight of wines.
The meal was :
Starters A Spinach Timbale with Twin Sauces
Main Meal Glazed Leg of Ham with Red Onion Jam, Minted Baby Potatoes and Fresh Green Salad
Desert Pecan Pie & Cream or Home Made Ice Cream
Tea & Coffee

Two Marlborough SB's, one a single vineyard wine, the other a regional blend.

• 2004 Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc

  New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough, Wairau Valley

  Pale straw coloured with lovely vibrant gooseberry on the nose. A mouth filling wine with intense flavours including gooseberry & citrus. Very refreshing, a wonderful start to the evening and extremely "more-ish" . Good long finish on the palate with a lovely balanced level of acidity. I would have no hesitation in recommending this to any one looking for a good SB.

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• 2004 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc

  New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough

  Straw coloured, clear with passionfruit and gooseberry notes on the nose. A lovely mouth filling fruitiness on the palate with gooseberry and passionfruit flavours. Good crisp acid and length. This wine differs from the WitherHills in that it is not a single vineyard wine but rather a regional blend. A very good value wine enjoyed by the members as an aperitif.

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• NV Charles Heidsieck Champagne Brut Réserve Mis en Cave 1998

  France, Champagne

  The wine presented as a deep golden colour with a very light, almost unnoticeable bead. The nose was bready, floral with citrus overtones. On the palate the wine gave strong first impressions with hints of marmalade but with good balance and a soft mouse. A very good wine.

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• NV Pol Roger Champagne Brut Réserve

  France, Champagne

  Tasted at Vintage '64 Club dinner meeting, 24 May 2005.
  
  Straw in colour with a robust bead. The nose was yeasty, with lime. On the palate the wine first presented crisp and quite dry, then quickly opened up to sweeter, ripe fruit flavours.

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Four Cab Sav based wines were tasted double blind by the members. They varied in age from 1986 to 2003 and were all from different regions. The team had great trouble picking the wines but enormous fun discussing, arguing and pontificating on their merits.

• 1986 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon John Riddoch

  Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

  Deep purple colour, the wine had a lovely nose of berry and French oak. The berry flavours continued through on the palate depite its obvious age, with a richness and a balance that was delightful. The oak was well integrated on the palate and there were also tobacco and cigar box flavours. The finish was long and classy. The wine generated a lot of discussion amongst the members with none of the teams identifying it correctly. For a number of the members, this was there favorite wine of the flight.

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• 1991 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  The wine was a little restrained on the nose but there were berry aromas, with spicy notes. The colour was a medium crimson colour with typical evidence of it age. The palate was wonderful with a well integrated velvet mouthfeel that felt opulent and fresh with cedar oak flavours, chocolate and spice all suggesting a wine of refinement and class. This wine got the majority vote as the favourite in the flight although this may have had something to do with the fact that the members are more acustomed to drinking Margaret River Cab Sav and thus are more comfortable with it.

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• 2003 Mitolo Cabernet Sauvignon Serpico

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  This wine was put into the tasting to test the members. Nobody guessed its age and a good number of the members had this as their preferred wine of the flight. Given the quality and age of the other wines this was an interesting comparison. The wine has a vibrant colour with a very powerful nose of blackcurrant and spices. The palate is complex, with very definite but soft tannins, intense flavours and good balance. Not a type of wine that I have had previous experience with but it will certainly be one that I hope to experience more often in the future.

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• 1991 Mount Mary Cabernets Quintet

  Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley

  This wine was the disappointment of the flight to me. I enjoyed it very much but few of the members picked it as a really top class wine. It had crimson purple colour, with typical age effects on the rim. The nose was slightly earthy and the palate was well structured, with leafy notes, berry, vanilla and more earthy flavours. The structure was sound and the flavours very well integrated with soft tannins still evident. Everybody loved the wine but they all preferred one or other in the flight.

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A very young, but different McClaren Vale Cab Sav and a Pemberton Shiraz with a bit of age.

• 2004 Mitolo Cabernet Sauvignon Jester

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  A deep and vibrant red colour with berry aromas on the nose. The palate is surprisingly powerful and yet elegant, with tannins that are soft and approachable. There are complex flavours that bely the youth of the wine with a wonderful long finish. It is dificult to equate the vintage with the power on the palate and its approachability. A wine that punches well above its price point in my view and delivers more than it promises.

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• 1999 Merum Estate Shiraz

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Pemberton

  A lovely crimson colour, the wine delivered a very plummy nose that was even more evident on the palate. There was lovely fruit flavours with oak and cherries all well integrated and making for an extremely impressive wine at this price point. The wine was drinking well and appeared to have the structure and acid to keep further although it was unlikely to improve much more in my opinion and should be enjoyed now.

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A 2000 muscat from the Southern Rhone and a 1992 Botrytis Semillon from the Riverina were chosen for the members to compare. The wines are very different with the Noble One being a much bigger, richer style that had far more complexity in my view.

• 1992 De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Sémillon

  Australia, New South Wales, Big Rivers, Riverina

  The colour was a magnificent rich dark golden hue. The nose was full and fruity, promising a lush and mouthfilling palate. This was delivered with a wonderful sweetness that was balanced by acid and a length that was remarkable. There were citrus, toffee and lychee flavours with toasty oak undertones that were beautifully integrated. It was drinking extremely well now but it will last and continue to improve and change for many more years to come.

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• 2000 J. Vidal-Fleury Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise

  Colour was straw coloured. The nose was very floral and dramatic. The palate was rich and concentrated, the sweetness nicely counterbalanced by the acid. A well made wine that was drinking very well and thoroughly enjoyed. It was a much lighter style then the De Bertoli Noble One that it was being compared to.

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The evening was characterised by much discussion and debate with a lot of opinions being freely handed out. It was very enjoyable and a great time was had by all. The wines were nearly over shadowed by the food that was simple but delicious and much to the members' taste.