Skeels BBQ - value wine night

Tasted Monday, November 25, 2013 by JulianSkeels with 668 views

Introduction

All wines under $50/bt (except the Trotanoy, which was a mistake).

Flight 1 - Champagnes (2 Notes)

With Parma ham and parmasan

  • NV Pierre Péters Champagne Brut Rosé for Albane 93 Points

    France, Champagne

    Bottle disgorged Dec 2011. I don't usually like rose champagne, but this has become a house wine... And again the class showed. Great value rose for drinking with or without food. Low acidity, but still great balance. In the last year the wine has thinned - it's no longer packed and stacked with red fruit - and become richer, though it still has a deep core of cherry, rasberry and orange. Always a crowd favourite, and it's still improving!

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  • 1999 Alfred Gratien Champagne Brut Millésimé 92 Points

    France, Champagne

    Rich champagne with strong pear and toast notes. Medium bubbles and low acidity. Just lacks a bit of length, complexity and... Focus. Great value and fun, albeit outclassed by my usual champagnes. Will improve but not a long term keeper.

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Flight 2 - Starter (2 Notes)

Grapefruit, orange and chilli cerviche. A side plate of baked garlic and chilli kale chips

  • 2009 Kumeu River Chardonnay Hunting Hill 93 Points

    New Zealand, North Island, Auckland, Kumeu

    3hr slow oxed and cooled down, and this could have done with longer. Young and still a little muted on the nose - some saline, almonds and gunpowder (really). Very acidic in the mouth, with a lime and a bit of alcohol. This is young, with some oak still showing through... but clearly has balance - perhaps the best of the whole Kumeu range (imho). With more air the acidity and alcohol integrates, and the wine becomes richer, more buttery and... What balance! Still young, but so precise. This drinks well now but will be even better with medium-term cellaring. Drink from 2016, and back up the truck until then.

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  • 2002 Domaine Morey-Coffinet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Romanée 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

    Great juice! 5hr slow ox and cool-down, which this wine truly needs. Golden colour with good acidity, with air the wine deepens and shows its ripeness. Full bodied, rich, and medium length lots of flint and minerals and (with the acidity) shows best with food. Nice subtle use of oak, which is well integrated. Very refreshing and crisp with mouth-coating wax and butter.

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Flight 3 - Meats (8 Notes)

Whole beef tenderloin (usual Skeels preparation), lamb loins (2 day Punjab dry rub), pork tenderloin (peri peri) and large seasonal Australian asparagus

  • 1997 Château Pavie Decesse 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

    5hr slow oxed and double decanted, but not as good as last week although again improved with air. Floral and blueberry aroma, with cocoa in the mouth leading to an initially nice mouth feel which still finishes too quickly, - so disappointing after the encouraging entry. Smell in the decanter was fantastic.

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  • 2004 Prats and Symington Douro Chryseia 92 Points

    Portugal, Douro

    Enjoyed this. Slow oxed 7hrs and double-decanted. Lots of sediment - clogged funnel, needs to be stood up for some time before serving. Has improved in the last year, still very dark and sweet, lots of fruit and a fantastic and complex mid-pallet. Finish has improved now though - almost reminds me of Christmas pudding at this time of year! Just wish it had a touch more acidity to score higher, gets a bit tiring to drink after a while.

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  • 1999 Fox Creek JSM 90 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    Lots of blueberry on the nose, with cassis behind and a lovely finish of violet. Wine is almost black, has aged well and punches well above its weight. Smooth finish, not too much white pepper. Aromatic and balanced with plenty of time in hand. Exceedingly good value.

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  • 1983 Château Trotanoy 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    3hr slow oxed and double-decanted. Perfect bottle and cork, but seemed more mature than my last bottle - next time pop n pour - with tawny, almost orange rim despite cooling the bottle down before serving. Fully mature, very balanced with initial nose of mulberry, violet and rose with air leading to a great entry of tobacco, cloves, nutmeg, mushrooms and forest floor. Drying on the finish though, otherwise would be a cracker. Mid-palate improved significantly in the glass, becoming dark chocolate and truffle. This really does drink wonderfully and is much more enjoyable than suggested by critics (who have under-scored this one). Drink up over next 5yrs. Opened by accident (costs more than $50, meant to serve an 83 Leoville Barton). Oops.

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  • 1998 Clos du Mont-Olivet Châteauneuf-du-Pape 92 Points

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

    A wonderful QPR for traditional-style CDP. 7hr slow-oxed and double decanted. The wine improved in the glass slightly but it was great from the start. Visible signs of maturity, this is a medium-bodied and light CDP without much tannin or heat. Very savoury with usual CDP notes but also distinctive elements of a decent mature Brunello (specifically it reminds me of 97 Banfi, which also has the La Chapelle meaty character and finish of cloves that this shows). No hurry whatsoever, I'll try to save bottles to drink to 2020. Again went wonderfully with spicy meats.

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  • 2009 Domaine Métrat et Fils Fleurie La Roilette Vieilles Vignes 89 Points

    France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie

    Lovely dense Fleurie, which is less purple than I recalled. Still a little muted, this wine has closed down in the last year, but balance is getting there and there is heaps of promise in store. Slow oxed for 5hrs. Slight toffee nose, with lovely floral taste in the mouth but some acidity that distracts at present. Those tanins are still strong as well. Patience… this is heading in the right direction and will be a cracking wine. Revisit in 3yrs.

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  • 1997 Maison Roche de Bellene Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes Collection Bellenum 87 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

    Slow oxed for 7hrs, but still needed longer! Tanins a little rustic, but the stewed strawberry nose still showed - although seemed to fade in the glass. Mouthfeel a real let-down and little complexity or length. Will improve, but fruit may not support long aging. No sediment. For stewed strawberry, there are many Yarra and Tasmanian Aussie pinot's I would rather drink than this...

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  • 2001 Château Bourgneuf 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Slow-oxed for 7hrs and double-decanted. Needed longer, this really is a long-distance runner. Great iron-clay minerality but this bottle came across as much more rustic than my previous experiences… but I put this down to youth. This wine really needs to be left for another 5yrs – based on previous bottles, I think that with more air this would have become much richer/sweeter. Still, awesome Pomerol QPR for those who will patiently cellar their bottles. From from 2020.

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Flight 4 - Deserts (2 Notes)

4yr comte, followed by fresh chocolate mousse

  • 1975 Graham Porto Vintage 92 Points

    Portugal, Douro, Porto

    Consistent with previous bottles. A vintage port that drinks like a 40yr tawny port and only needs 30mins in the decanter. My favourite cheese port at the moment. Dark tawny port colour. Love the wonderful toffee and butterscotch nose. Perfectly integrated with a buttery finish leading to only slight heat. With further air the nose becomes orange peel, raisin, cake - it's Christmas pudding with coffee cream! Really enjoyable, but drink in the next 5yrs.

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  • NV Berry Bros. & Rudd Porto "William Pickering", 20 Year Old Tawny 89 Points

    Portugal, Douro, Porto

    Same as previous notes. From a new bottle, hence the loss of a point. This seems to taste best from the fridge but having been open for a few days already (becomes better balanced with less noticable alcohol and acidity)

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Flight 5 - Digestive (1 Note)

Served with Pralus Ghana single-source chocolate

  • NV Dalmore 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 43% 95 Points

    United Kingdom, Scotland, Highlands

    A wonderful digestive whiskey. Almond, orange and toffee cinnamon. So dark, rich and incredibly complex with multiple layers of flavour. Almost difficult to finish a drink. The 09 Cos Estournel of whiskey?

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