Welcome Back Kelvin

A good friend was finally back from the USA, and the gang gathered at an old watering hole for a splendid welcome back dinner. Like so many of our open-themed, blind wine dinners, we ended up with a really nice symmetry in terms of the wines brought and the pairings, which half by accident came out quite perfect indeed. No one could have predicted that we would have three completely different whites, two 1996 Dom. Laurents and two Bordeaux blends on the same night, but it it turned out to be an impeccably balanced dinner. Here's to another great night of food and fellowship.

• 2001 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile 94 Points

  France, Alsace

  Absolutely brilliant stuff. I was very impressed by the last bottle I had, but that felt a bit tight. This was decanted and chilled half-an-hour before dinner, which really gave the wine time to come out and play. Still young for sure, but boy was it ever showing nicely. In true Trimbach fashion, the nose, though attractive, was always subtle, even reserved, with light scents of petrol, green mangoes, sweet green apples, some light honey tones, floral hints, a bit of smoky mineral and seashell and some mushroomy earth. Lovely subtle scents that opened up slowly with time and unfolded one after another in a great show of gentle complexity. However, for all that, it was the palate that really knocked my socks off. It clearly had tons of weight and substance - this much was obvious from the very first sip. However, it was so sublimely balanced that it came across as lithe, supple, almost effortlessly graceful. Here rich flavours of white fruit shading into yellow tones, lovely ripe apples and pears and citrus lime accents were underlined by beautiful minerality. The finish, like every other part of the wine, was impeccable. Gentle, subtle, yet so long, gliding away with a graceful show of fruit and a bittersweet twist of wet stone that hung persistently at the back of the mouth. Paired with some fried appetisers, the wine took on yet another dimension, showing just a teasing touch of fruitiness around the mid-palate. This was restrained but brilliant; super complex but subtle. Yet for all this, one got a feel that we were only peeking at the wine's potential greatness. A great wine from a great vintage, I can only imagine how good it will be in 10 years' time. The first of three lovely white wines on show, this really started off the dinner with a bang.

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• 2000 Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux

  A really nice wine, definitely one of the better Pavillon Blancs I have had to date. The nose was ultra-expressive, with all sorts of sweet and salty smells - dried mangoes, fuzzy white peach, hints of mown grass, and then preserved limes, vanilla and musk scents, all layered on a saline base with lots of seashell notes. As with almost every other vintage I have tried, the palate was big and fruity, with a rich, creamy texture and plenty of sweet fruited melon, honeydew and lemon flavours. However, where some of the other wines came across as flabby or disjointed, this was really quite well-blanaced. The long, powerful finish showed some savoury preserved lime and just a touch of oak before sliding away with a whiff of some alcohol and something a bit synthetic - jet fuel maybe, or Durian fruit. Other than that, I found this a top-notch wine. It certainly helped that it was a great pairing with a dish of steamed prawns with truffled egg-whites as well.

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• 2006 Cullen Wines Chardonnay Kevin John 93 Points

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  A truly excellent new world Chard. I have harboured the suspicion over the past few years that Cullen has overtaken taken the Leeuwin Art Series as the best Chard to come out of Australia and this bottle showed just why. It had a lovely nose, somewhat straddling Burgundy and the new world, with very earthy, mushroomy notes wed to sweet fruit and ripe lemons scents, along with little accents of toasted vanilla bean, creme brulee and some woody oak notes. Modern, but definitely not OTT or overoaked. Really attractive stuff. The palate was rich, voluptuous and very sunny, with ripe yellow fruit flavours, toasted bananas, sweet ripe lemons. Delicious stuff, but the wine had much more beyond the bright fruit, showing some really solid weight and substance on the mid-palate with a lovely sense of balance and focus that made it seem almost elegant. A nicely long finish with a touch of saline mineral with a bit more vanilla rounded the wine off. Lovely deft use of oak all round. Really solid stuff. Clearly new world, but so well-made - this stood toe-to-toe with a couple of top-notch French whites and did not bat an eye-lid. Worked really well with food too. Opened a few hours before dinner, it was drinking beautifully when we got to it. However, I suspect that it will only hit its peak in another 4-5 years. A super-enjoyable wine.

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• 1996 Dominique Laurent Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

  A very pretty wine for a Suchots. This was the better of the two Dominique Laurents on the night for me. It had a beautiful nose. Very flowery, with red cherries and strawberries galore, some orange peel, bits of mushroom and earth and a hint of spice. Gorgeous, lifted stuff. The palate had a lovely clean feel, with super fresh acidity, a bit of spritz there, but also lots of body, with delicious raspberries and red cherries in the mouth. Rather straightforward, but very pretty and extremely tasty. All that acidity made it a wonderful pairing for the Peking Duck too. The wine tailed off with a lovely fresh finish, with juicy red fruits and just that hint of perfumed florals and spice. With time, the primary flavours toned down a little, and some leather, herb and dried fruit tones emerged at the edges. I enjoyed this quite a bit. Like many 1996s, I suspect this is just about coming into its own and is starting to drink very nicely.

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• 1996 Dominique Laurent Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Monts-Luisants 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis 1er Cru

  A good-ish wine, but what are the chances! Against all odds, we had two 1996 Dominique Laurent Burgundies on the table on an open-themed night, and both were identified correctly by the group right down to the maker and the vintage. This was far more rustic than the very pretty Vosne Suchots in the same flight, and a little simpler as well. The nose here showed terroir further to the north for sure, with lots of earth, leather and meat scents, ripe plums, red fruit and herbs. Very masculine. I thought it was a Gevrey at first. The palate had more of that meaty tone, along with angelica root herb and a nice amount of red berries and currants. Fresh and nicely balanced, although not exactly refined. This went better with the stir-fried duck meat with its gamier flavours than the more delicate Peking Duck. It finish a little with a little woody, herby note and lots more of those meaty flavours. All in all, a pretty yummy wine, but nothing really outstanding.

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• 1996 Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon Cinq Cépages 93 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County

  I thought this was a pretty outstanding Cali Cab blend. Decanted for a couple of hours and served next to a 1989 Pape Clement, this drank like a right-bank Bordeaux and was every bit as good as its left-bank "neighbour". The nose here was almost perfumy, with green tobacco leaves, reds capsicum, flowers cassis and mint scents wafting out of the glass. The palate was excellent. Tannins were soft and melting by this point and the wine had touch of new world plush thickness, yet it was well-structured and beautifully balanced with super fresh acidity. On the mid-palate, beautiful flavours of ripe cassis and plums were seasoned with spicy anise, pepper and mint notes. There was just a little patina of chocolate-milk and vanilla oak at the finish, alongside some raisin and black cherry flavours, but it was all so nicely integrated and woven together that the wine came across as a delicious whole. This was the Wine Spectator wine of the year back in 1999 when I first got seriously into wine if I recall correctly. I could not get a bottle then, but am glad that I got to try it some 11 years later. At this age, it was drinking quite at peak. Lovely stuff, and a wonderful pairing with roasted lamb shoulder to boot.

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• 1989 Château Pape Clément 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  A really fine wine. The bottle was opened in the morning and it was decanted for another couple of hours by the dinner table before serving, yet unlike some 1989s that are clearly at maturity, this actually came across very young. Blinded, I actually thought it was a precocious 1996 left-bank. Nevertheless, this was solid stuff. The nose was aggresively minty and eucalyptus-scented at first, but this slowly melted away to show classic tobacco, smoke and sweet cassis notes. Very fragrant bouquet here, almost like smoking a cigar. On to the palate then, and here the fruit comes out more. Lovely clear flavours of cherries and cassis - ripe, but very fresh and juicy. Past the mid-palate, more smoky scents start emerging - smoked meats, some rubbery notes and even menthol hints as the wine moved into a long, strong, powerful finish were more melting cherry and cassis notes mingle with the cigarry tones. This was a weighty, powerful wine that filled the mouth with deliciously rich flavours. Clearly a child of a warm vintage, it even seemed bigger than the Cali Cab blend on the same flight. Yet for all that, it always had great balance and poise and more than adequate structure for the long-haul. It drank very well on the night and went perfectly with a roasted lamb shoulder, however, I would happily stow it away for another 3-4 years before drinking. Great stuff.

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• NV John Kosovich Wines Rare Muscat 92 Points

  Australia, Western Australia, Greater Perth, Swan Valley

  Another one of Alex's little treasures from the Swan Valley. This was a really nice bottle, choked full of flavour and complexity, but perhaps just a little too cloyingly sweet for greatness. The nose on this wine was certainly full-throttle - dried figs, sultanas, chocolate, raisins, toffee nut - gorgeous Christmassy stuff. The palate was super rich, super thick, super sweet, almost like drinking liquified dates and raisins mixed up with maple syrup and honey, and a coffee and toffee finish sprinkled with chirstmas spice. Very delicious, but I could not take more than sips of this. Not the best that the Swan Valley offers, but solid, idiosyncratic stuff that is full of character. This could last forever in the bottle, but I suspect leaving it alone for another 10 years or so would do it a world of good.

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