Queensberry, Central Otago, New Zealand
Tasted Sunday, June 23, 2019 by Marc with 116 views
Blinii with Cold-smoked Salmon, Creme Fraiche, Lumpfish roe
Watercress Soup with Oysters
Roast Rack of Lamb with Parsley (Lutece)
Cheeses
Justine, Jen, Dave, and Ricardo
2006 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut La Grande Dame 93 Points
France, Champagne
Essence of Veuve - medium body, layers of flavour, brilliant bottle development. A great balance between freshness and yeasty/toasty complexity. This particular bottle might have slightly erred towards being a too developed, but it was clearly outstanding.
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2004 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile 93 Points
France, Alsace
Bone dry Alsatian riesling at its apex of development. Supple textures, aged and generous body, clean acids, beatify balance, mineral nuance, brilliant complexity. This will continue to age and develop, although I wonder if it will improve.
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2001 Harlan Estate The Maiden 92 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Party, dense, chocolate, cheery, VA, thick tannins. better with cheese than the Lamb. Clearly an outstanding wine, but its overt personality tends towards a lack of traditional balance. Next to the (still opulent and modern) Craggy Range Le Sol 2002, this came off as slightly less composed.
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2002 Craggy Range Sophia 94 Points
New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay, Gimblett Gravels
Drunk next to the Harlan Maiden 2001 , this was by general consensus (and also my opinion) the finer of the two wines. Very much styled in a Cult style, with highish alcohol and some VA, this was far more classically rendered than the Harlan. the balace is exquisite, with a marvellous tannic background that keeps the opulence of the fruit in check. By comparison, the Harlan's fruit (admittedly far more opulent and higher in alcohol) was not easily balanced by its even higher levels of tannic structure. The CR was brilliant withe the Lamb, while the Maiden *(with its portyness) was prefer wit the cheese.
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