Casual Night at Home

Kelvin, Ming and Marlene came over for a casual Saturday night drink. A great way to spend the evening.

• 2000 Geoff Weaver Cabernet Merlot Flawed

  Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Lenswood

  Whoops. Dead wine. Very Aussie nose. Eucalyptus, Lebanese vine leaves and ripe Cabernet fruit which had taken of age and whiffs of vanilla-ish oak. Pleasant enough. Palate was super over the hill though, a rush of acid, raisin flavours and a short, truncated finish. Dead as a doornail. Storage I suspect.

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• 2004 Lake's Folly Cabernets 91 Points

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  In a bit of an awkward stage in its evolution I think, but very nice for all that. Funky on first pour, very reminiscent of old Hunter shiraz in its leathery, animale and wet soil nose. This slowly peeled away though, to show layers of minerally scents, blackcurrants, some red-fruited sundried tomatoes, damp tobacco leaf, Indian spice and a little hint of nutty woodiness. Almost like a Tuscan Bordeaux-blend. It really evolved in the glass after that, with a very old world meatiness coming to the fore, and then a completely Aussie peppermint and eucalyptus smell just came out of nowhere. Fresh pour from the decanter, and old-school Bordeaux and all its attendant smells appeared again. On the palate, still very tight, but clearly nudging closer to old world than the nose, with leather and earth, pure, clear cassis notes, an inner mineral coil, floating spicy notes and a great sense of balance and structure - with fresh acid and a spine of tightly wound tannins buried deep into the wine. Finish was still a bit tight and miserly, with some savoury meatiness peeking out. Needs time, but really enjoyable for what it is. Not altogether world class, lacking a bit of depth for that, but as always, very good and full of complex interest, and lovely drinking too at only 12% - now, how many other Aussie Cabs can say that?

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• 2001 E. Guigal Châteauneuf-du-Pape 90 Points

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

  This was a pretty decent CdP. Rather tight at first, so that it came across almost as a coiled up young Burg. Tons of umami smells, mushroom, soy sauce, dried oysters, savoury meat, chicken essence, along with mature smelling red fruit and woody, piney accents. With a splashy decanting and some time, the CdP came out quite clearly, with prunes, flowers and bloody meaty accents appearing, along with pepper, lavender and garrigue. Palate had lots of acidity, it just hits you on the attack, then red fruit, strawberries, red cherries et al. It started out quite tight, with a nice amount of concentration, but lacking a bit of the lushness on the midpalate. Some black tea at the finish mingled with more fruit hints, blackcurrants this time, and a touch of tannins. With time, lots more spice notes started coming out. Another 45 minutes in the decanter brought out thick prune scents, and the palate filled out quite a bit too. One gets a feeling this needs quite a bit more time yet though, and preferably some meaty food!

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• 2006 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Le Corton 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

  Really solid stuff! Really young of course. But from a 375ml, this came across as one of those precocious, eager to please 2006s, and was drinking surprisingly well for a young Corton. What a gorgeous nose it had. Meat mixed with wild flowers, perfumed, with an underlayer of truffles, earth and dark fruit, and just little floating note of anise and pepper. With time, some bright red raspberry and strawberry fruit scents emerged, nestling amongst very Corton mineral notes. Palate was even better. A nice spiciness on the attack was wrapped around with ripe red fruits and sour cherries, with the mid-palate showing beautiful depth. Past the fruit, there was just perfectly integrated oak playing a little vanilla counterpoint in the background, before the powerful finish set in, and boy, it just went on and on and on, pulling away into the distance with a show of subtle dark fruit and hints of mineral. Not great complexity yet, but everything is in the right place. We were debating whether this was masculine or feminine, and someone said that it might have feminine accents on the surface, but the core was all masculine, with real power and strength. I thought that was spot on. In spite of the beautiful fruit and enticingly perfumed nose, this had a beautiful sense of structure, with fine grippy tannins and pitch perfect balance forming a solid backdrop for the rest of the wine. Wow. A complete wine, and one that will no doubt be a stunner when its time comes - possibly in a decade or so.

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