NobleRottersSydney - 2010 & prior

Three Rotters down, one guest; otherwise – bullseye! – every single wine (with bonuses!) on theme! Never happened before as far as I can remember. Two awesome fizzes, warm-up whites, and a wide range of fairly impressive regional reds (not so many grape varieties). And a vinous visitor from another era – 1953. Stalin & Prokofiev die on the same day, Ben Hogan wins golf’s Triple Crown, Hillary & Norgay climb Everest, the Korean War stops, Elizabeth II is crowned, DNA’s structure is discovered; Gruaud Larose make a claret for us to drink seventy years later…

• 2008 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année

  France, Champagne

  {cork, 12%} [Gordon] Beautiful brioche nose. A creamy sort of toast – really intoxicating! On the palate lots of yeast, bread, biscuit, but avoids cheesiness. That said, the palate isn’t quite as fresh as the nose suggested. Hefty style, medium/full in weight, with medium-sized creamy bubbles and a medium/long, crunchy and even finish. Impressive stuff which seems right in the drinking window to me.

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• 2006 House of Arras E J Carr Late Disgorged

  Australia, Tasmania

  {cork, 12.5%} [Andrew] Soft lemon nose, hint of honey, minerals, stone. Perhaps because of the long time on lees (2006-2021) it flits between seeming both old and young. This continues on the palate, where intensely fine, creamy but low-key bubbles support the subtle stone-fruit flavours. The main impression is one of delicacy, not power. Long finish, quite even, but no more than medium-bodied. Like the nose, seems both youthful and aged simultaneously.

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• 2002 Petaluma Riesling Hanlin Hill

  Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley

  {cork, 12.8%} [Aaron] Deep lemon, verging on light gold colour. Aging aromas of browning lemon curd, honey, toast. There is a hint of sherry/oxidation on the palate, layering the yellowing citrus flavours. Low acidity gives it a fat sort of presence on the medium-bodied palate, which is even enough along the tongue, and finishes dry but quite short. On this tasting, past best, but then it’s cork-sealed, so hardly a reliable data point!

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• 2010 Yabby Lake Vineyard Chardonnay Single Vineyard

  Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Mornington Peninsula

  {screwcap, 13%} [Aaron] Oak and detergent. Nuts too, with a hint of age-driven tobacco. Watch for splinters on the palate; soapy and buttery with a strong malo presence, low in acid, light/medium in weight. Not a lot of flavour development for me; seems more riding on (classy) oak than anything else, and the structure is too soft to support further worthwhile cellaring.

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• 1953 Château Gruaud Larose

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  {cork} [Gordon] The final remaining table wine from Ted’s cellar. Level only fractionally under the neck. Opened at table & poured instantly (blind). Few thought it 50s, given the option against 60s & 70s. Faint hint of brett, earth, carpet, camphor. These all blew off and it cleaned up, if remaining well aged. Mirror smooth palate, tannins resolved. Cigar box flavours mingled with ancient ripe fruit; gentle, subtle. Medium weight, long finish. Unique sort of experience to taste – well, probably typical for great aged Bordeaux, so perhaps ‘rare’ would be more fitting than ‘unique’. Startlingly good for seventy years old – no question about that!

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• 2009 Mountadam The Red High Eden

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, High Eden

  {cork, 14.5%} [Glenn] Musty sort of nose. Suspicion of cork taint, which it never really blossomed enough to confirm. But the wine remained a disappointing patchwork of acetic VA, astringency and alcoholic heat. Perhaps a little too oxidised. I suspect not typical.

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• 2009 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  {cork, 14%} [Paul] Warmly developing nose of leather and old red fruit, little obvious oak. Warm and cuddly palate, with rich blackberry fruit, liquorice, plenty of balancing powdery tannins, medium acidity. Blurry, luxurious texture, medium/full in weight, with a medium-long finish. Among the favourites on the night.

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• 2000 Tyrrell's Shiraz Vat 9

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {cork, 13%} [David - guest] Two bottles – one decanted yesterday, which was oxidised, and one opened & poured tonight. Yesterday’s was well-oxidised, but the fresh bottles was nicely Hunter, with some of the characteristic earth and sweaty saddle so common (before Tyrrell’s tidied up their cellars!) But the palate is lovely with leather, a hint of chocolate and a fermenting compost-ish sweetness. Light/medium in weight, with low/medium powdery tannins, not oaky, medium length finish. This was very good but seemed to be a bit overlook on the night somehow.

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• 2000 Wantirna Estate Cabernet Merlot Amelia

  Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley

  {cork, 13.4%} [Graeme] Wine ‘A’ in a blind pairing with Potensac. Aged nose of cedar, herbs, currants and a sweet twist of flyspray that sometime marks aussie cabernet. Mature, gentle palate of aged black fruit and subtle French cedar oak. Medium weight, medium dusty tannins, medium acid. Very different to the Medoc wine, more advanced and more popular at the table. But very much ready to drink now. Double-decanted two hours earlier.

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• 2000 Château Potensac

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc

  {cork, 13%} [Graeme] Wine ‘B’ in a blind pairing with Wantirna’s ‘Amelia’. Also double-decanted about two hours prior. This was more austere, tart even, with restrained black fruit, medium/high chalky tannins, grainy oak. Structure trumps fruit here; it’s medium weight, with a medium length finish, and although it will easily outlive the Wantirna cab-merlot, it will never have the charm. Still, there’s nothing wrong with this, even if it’s hardly thrilling!

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• 2004 Torbreck Shiraz The Struie

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa

  {cork, 14.5%} [DavidM] From this point in the dinner the wines took a distinct turn to the bigger. This has a big, developing nose mostly of blackberry jam, not over-oaked. On the palate it turns more to raisins and prunes, and the alcohol becomes obvious too. Medium weight, but the presence sits towards the tip of the tongue and the fading structure manifests most in the warm, patchy and only short/medium length finish. Not quite convincing.

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• 2008 Dalwhinnie Shiraz South West Rocks Pyrenees

  Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Pyrenees

  {cork, 14%} [Andrew] Intense, developing nose of iodine and subsumed mint. The palate is lighter than expected, with dark chocolate flavours and a sweet twist to the finish. Medium weight, low chalky tannins, medium acidity. Fully mature, perhaps a touch simple, with a medium length finish. This was a fairly short-lived label for Dalwhinnie; it was made just half a dozen times from 2003 to 2013. I guess they couldn’t work out why they were doing it after a while.

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• 2006 Chapoutier and Laughton Shiraz La Pleïade

  Australia, Victoria, Central Victoria, Heathcote

  {cork, 15%} [DavidM] Shows every sign of the 15% alcohol; A porty, pruney style of red, full-bodied, with low/medium dusty tannins and medium acidity. But too much alcohol has robbed it of freshness; it’s not too sweet or anything, just unbalanced for me. Odd, because I’ve had other vintages of this which were much better.

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• 2004 Penfolds Bin 389

  Australia, South Australia

  {cork, 14.5%} [DavidH] Blackberry and Ribena nose with subtle vanilla oak. A bit of a formula, but it works. Palate of black fruit, faint coconut. Doesn’t have the 20-year integration you used to find in last century’s vintages; lacks the polish somehow. Medium/full weight, low/medium powdery tannins. Medium length finish, but in a rough-and-ready way I don’t associate with this label. No real rush to drink this, but will it ever lose the edges?

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• 1968 Monimpex Tokaji Aszú Essencia

  Hungary, Tokaji

  {500ml, cork} [Gordon] Caramel with sultanas. Evidently ancient. Masterly palate, medium/dry, with lots of acidity, honey and stewed prunes and then overlaid by a seductive furry caramel that dominates the finish. Medium weight, but with a long, long finish. Wow. Wonderful stuff. Checking my old notes; this triumphantly confirm the bottle we shared back in 2004 was a poor example.

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• 1997 Tokaj Hétszőlő Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos

  Hungary, Tokaji

  {500ml, cork, 11%} [Gordon] There’s certainly a family resemblance here to its older sibling, although this is considerable younger, with its fresh but developing caramel, honey, apricot. Medium weight, medium-sweet. Palate is lush and balanced, with a medium/long finish. Even at the end of a long night, this was memorably impressive. Can be held but lovely to drink now.

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