Chinese New Year Lunch with Lawrence

The Lee's at AMK
Tasted Tuesday, February 16, 2010 by Paul S with 777 views

Introduction

ALex, Fiona and I paid Lawrence and Susie a visit. They cooked up a nice meal and we popped what turned out to be quite a few bottles of wine! Excellent stuff for a lazy CNY afternoon.

Flight 1 (9 Notes)

  • 2007 Castillo de Maetierra Libalis Rosé, Rosado de Lágrima 89 Points

    Spain, La Rioja, Rioja

    Wonderful to be greeted by a glass of cold Rosé on a hot day. This was pretty good as well - plenty of character to go with its refreshing freshness. Colour was an orangey red - reflecting a blend of free-run juice from Moscatel de Grano Menudo (Muscat de Petit Grains I think?) and Granacha Tinto. Nose opened up really nutty, almost caramelly at points, but fleshed out quickly to show plenty of cranberries and cherries with some earthy spice. Lots of acidity on the palate, so fresh that it almost seemed a little tart when served cold. Much better when warmed up slightly, showing fresh cherries, cranberries, more earth and, moving into the suprisingly dry finish, ferrous mineral and plenty of prickly spice. Not the most complex, but a well-built wine - I liked this.

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  • NV Gosset Champagne Brut 91 Points

    France, Champagne

    From a 375ml just before we mixed it with Creme de Cassis to make Kir Royales. Almost a waste I thought - this was much better than I expected. Plenty of character and depth to it - with a yeasty, soy and mushroom nose, moving into a well-defined palate shaped in a slightly oxidative style, with browning apples mixed with meaty, umami notes, all underscored with fresh, lemony acidity and a nice sparkly mousee. Finish was decent as well, with more yeast reasserting itself alongside earthy, spicy notes. An very nice NV indeed.

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  • 2007 Evans & Tate Chardonnay Gnangara "Unwooded" 88 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    Pleasant wine. Nose was a bit Sauvignon Blanc like, with a touch of grassiness and passion fruit tones mixed in with more Chard-like peaches and cream, apple, pear and a touch of ice-cream soda. I thought the palate was better than the nose let on. Lovely freshness, with a touch of steely mineral, more apples and pears and, again, SB like notes of grapefruit and guava. Finish was rather short, with a burst of spice ending the wine off. Rather simple, but fresh, food friendly, and an excellent pairing with the pear and lettuce salad we had.

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  • 1981 Château Potensac 89 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc

    From a magnum that was opened the night before. Still going strong. Nose had me thinking Aussie Shiraz for some reason, with prunes, plums and blueberry notes laced with plenty of varnish and glycerol, sprigs of menthol and a funky, meaty edge. Plenty of acid on the palate, and still with quite a bit of berry and cherry fruit on show. I thought it was just a little on the lean side, but Lawrence thought it was fine. Towards the shortish finish, there was eucalyptus, mint and more leathery, meaty notes before a final sprinkle of spice. Not terribly complex or exciting for a 29 year old wine en magnum, but very pleasant indeed.

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  • 2001 Nino Negri Valtellina Superiore - Inferno Mazér 90 Points

    Italy, Lombardia, Valtellina, Valtellina Superiore - Inferno

    I liked this quite a bit. Nose was almost Syrah like at first, with plums, cassis and peppery spice, but it opened up with time to show ferrous mineral and fragrant notes of anise and cherries with a kirsch like sweetness. Palate was really nice. Fine tannins still showed lots of firmness, with a lovely depth of cherry flavour balance with good acidity and seasoned with dashes of spice. Some length on the finish too, with fresh peppery spice and smoked notes. A modern intepretation, but well-balanced and delicious, and pretty food friendly, going by the way it paired with the lightly creamy ham and courgette pasta. A very well put together wine.

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  • 2003 Henschke Euphonium Keyneton Estate 89 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa

    70% Shiraz, 14% Cab, 10% Merlot, 6% Cab Franc. A very decent effort, although I was somehow not quite as impressed as I thought I would be. Served blind by Alex, both Lawrence and I thought it was a Barossa Shiraz from somewhere around 2004-2005. Very typical profile. Nose showed sweet cherries, plums, creme de cassis and menthol, along with a high-toned varnishy crushed beetle note that is distinctly Aussie Shiraz. More sweet fruit on the palate - prunes, blueberries, more creme de cassis. In spite of high acidity and firmish tannins, it came across as rich and rather heavy. Finished was medium length, with prunes mingling with oaky, Milo powder accents. Not bad, but lacks a bit of the elegance and class that the higher-end Hensckes have.

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  • 2006 Philip Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon No. 5 92 Points

    Australia, New South Wales, Central Ranges, Orange

    This was a real surprise. I was expecting a decent wine, but this was really quite good - and far too young to drink! Nose had an international touch to it, wih creamy, cocoa notes and a bit of sweet glrycerol and blueberry ripple. There was plenty of depth underneath that though, with savoury earth and bramble and deep cassis tones along with some Aussie menthol and eucalyptus notes, so that it never came across as sweet. Palate was very serious. Still tight, with primary cassis notes and earth tones at the fore. Some richness there, but what came across was a certain level of polish in the way the wine was structured, with fresh acidity and fine tannins giving shape to a concentrated package with textured layers. Finish had decent length, with a hint of prunes, some orange peel, peppery spice and more cocoa notes. Plenty of quality here, with a touch of class. Would be interesting to see what this tastes like in 10 years time.

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  • NV Cantine Florio Marsala Superiore Secco Vecchioflorio 88 Points

    Italy, Sicily, Marsala Superiore

    Sweet, simple but delcious dessert wine. Superb pairing with tiramisu. Nose had a rich raisin and dried fig scent, along with a touch of earth, umami and woody spice. Much the same on the palate - rich, syrupy fig paste with a touch of mushroomy, umami and lots of spice moving into the finish. Nice way to end a meal.

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  • 1961 Talijancich Muscat Swan Valley 94 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, Greater Perth, Swan Valley

    First class. An absolutely beautiful wine. Nose was replete with dried figs, dates and sultanas, along with a layer of prunes and spice cake. Really gorgeous. If anything, the palate was even better. Rich and unctuous, yet impecabbly balanced, it showed tons of complex raisin, fig, prune and spice notes along with a lovely caramel and honey mid-palate and a dash of coffee grounds. Just lots and lots going on in the mouth, with a syrupy layers of flavour interspersed with super-integrated freshness. Finish was long, sappy, really delicious and balanced to the very last spicey, figgy, raisiny and honeyed drop. Lovely stuff.

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