NobleRottersSydney - Christmas Lunch 2007
Bruce's place
Tasted Sunday, December 2, 2007 by graemeg with 408 views
Introduction
A few short notes taken at the 2007 Noble Rotters Christmas Lunch and sledging afternoon:
Flight 1 (6 Notes)
Closing
Also some luncheon reds. Clearing out the group cellar of some of the ready-to-drink 1998s:
Richmond Grove Limited Release Shiraz (Barossa) – nicely aged, blueberries, soft tannin, starting to thin out
Rosemount Show Reserve Shiraz (McLaren Vale) – ripe & sweet, but simple. Better than last time
Jacob’s Creek Reserve Cabernet– Aged confection of sweetish fruits. Supple, simple
Maglieri Cabernet Sauvignon (McLaren Vale) – Aged, with musty/metallic flavours, and some VA. Scary.
2002 Cloudy Bay Pelorus (Brut)
New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
[cork, 13%] Lemon yellow, with only a few medium-sized bubbles visible. Surprised to find this is current release, as it smells quite cheesy already. Creamily-textured on the palate, there are biscuity notes and enough freshness, but overall I find it a little dull.
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1994 Leasingham Shiraz Classic Clare Sparkling
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley
[cork, 14.5%] Clean but developing nose. Dusty, musty black fruits – starting to smell old. Leasingham is not as sweet as some sparkling shirazes, but it does walk a bit of a line sometimes. Here, the aging has helped to soften the effect of very sweet fruits. It’s helped by medium-sized creamy bubbles, and a decent length along the palate. Drinking nicely – unlikely to convert antagonists of the style – but I can’t see it improving any further.
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2005 Tempus Two Pewter
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
[cork, 12%] Pinot-chardonnay. Pale. Few bubbles visible. Lightly bread-like nose. Palate of sweetish youthful chardonnay-like fruit, large aggressive bubbles, short finish. No region specified. Great packaging – stylish bottle, classy pewter label. Pity the same imagination didn’t go into the contents. A dull wine.
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2004 Chitose Winery Hokkaido
Japan, Hokkaido
[cork, 15%] Who said the wine world was predictable? This silver medal winner from the 2005 Japan Wine Competition is made, according to the label, from “100% natural grapes”. Encouraging. The wine is a clear yellow-green colour. The nose has some guava/tropical fruit notes, but the dominant aroma is that of resin. Thankfully, there’s no sign of it on the palate, which offers soft honeysuckle and dusty yellow fruits. There’s little sign of Kerner’s parental Riesling grape here, with a thick, greasy texture; it’s more Rhone-like than anything, almost combining some of the flavours of a Marsanne with the mouthfeel of Viognier. Low in acid and rather full-bodied, it’s not as warm as the alcohol suggests, but still finishes rather short. So, not a great Rhone, then. Is it typical of Kerner, the terroir of Hokkaido, or the 2004 Japanese vintage in Japan? I have no idea. There are comprehensive notes on the back label, but not in English. We do get a clue to the vintage conditions though: “Grapes bears well with cool climate and brimful of sunshine.” Says it all, really. A fun wine to try, and actually not deserving of silly jokes.
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2007 Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc Private Bin
New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
[screwcap] Is this a regular bottling or some kind of reserve? Gosh, I can’t remember. It’s very new-style NZ though, all pineapple and passionfruit. Perhaps not exactly sweet on the palate, but there’s nothing here to scare the children. Some zippy acid, but just a little too much like an alcopop for me.
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2000 Grosset Riesling Polish Hill Clare Valley
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley
[screwcap, 13%] I wrote about this recently. A solid gold. Plenty of development on the nose, with lemon aromas turning burnished. Soft acid. Clearly aged on the palate, although not oxidised. Attractive enough, but at peak now. Repeat after me: wines DO age under screwcap…
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