Nikki's Birthday Lunch

Lunch for 16 via the degustation menu at Berowra Waters Inn, who generously allow BYO for a reasonable corkage. Food, service, glassware, care level all exemplary. A "highlight-of-life" moment for me, and especially so for the guest of honour.

• 2008 Jean Milan Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  From a magnum, pale golden in colour with a relatively small number of very tiny bubbles. Wonderful nose, crunchy chardonnay fruit of the white peach spectrum, some autolysis complexity but no bread or biscuit notes. It's on the finish where this shined, with length and intensity of flavour, beautifully balanced and a crowd pleaser 18.5.

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• 2006 Crawford River Riesling Reserve

  Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Henty

  Two more bottles ex Wine Ark and they are so youthful! Luminous pale primrose colour, still with some green tints. Nose is limes, lemons, slate and talc, plus citrus oil that appears again on the muscular palate (13% abv), which does not show the saffron flavours of the most recent bottle. Richness and restraint, and with an indefinite future under the Stelvin seal. The two bottles were identical and 19.

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• 2016 Remoissenet Père et Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières

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

  Medium golden in colour, both bottles less advanced than previous examples of this wine. Again, classic Folatieres nose of spice, honeycomb, roasted pineapple and hazelnuts. A bigger style of PM, reflecting both the maker and the vineyard, so very authentic in its shape. Long honeycomb oak, cinnamon and pineapples finale. Again, better with time in the glass as it tightens up with air (as usual) so decant if you can (we didn't) 18.75+.

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• 2014 Mount Pleasant Wines Shiraz Maurice O'Shea

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Two bottles decanted for 3 hours and it needed 6. I will merely edit and update the previous note. Deep plum scarlet in colour, purple tinges and still youthful. Nose shows less oak spice but the volume of fruit is extraordinary and remains primary. Red fruits predominate, plus some soil, cardamon spice, meaty herbs and licorice. Tannins are chalky, powdery, so persistent without being intrusive. The wine has beautiful shape, a touch of exotic richness and great complexity. We served this with Murray Cod and Paper Bark and it worked 19.

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• 1975 Château Léoville Las Cases

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  Two bottles decanted and served 6 hours later. On opening, tight and ferrous, as in rusty wet nails, again reminding you its LLC and a '75. Later and the ferrous nose remains plus coffee grounds, cedar, cigars, leather and dark black fruits. Firm tannic finish demands protein, and retains the roasted tinge of the vintage. The Sommelier thought it better on opening than later as he felt the fruit had receded so he served the wine in a red burgundy glass to expand the wine's volume. It worked, and both bottles were as near to identical as I could tell and 18.75.

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• 1975 Bollinger Champagne R.D. Extra Brut

  France, Champagne

  A complete gamble to serve this wine so I kept it as something to offer with cheese, paired with 1975 Ch Coutet! A high fill bottle, and the cork breaks in half on opening but the seal is retained. Golden in colour but no browning and on tasting the remaining bubbles pop on the tongue, so it's alive. We let it breathe, and when it's served an hour later it is transformed. The pop of bubbles on the tongue remind you it's Champagne but in every other way it is something completely different. Intoxicating aroma of chestnuts, roses and apples but its the palate where this shines. Rich, creamy, apples roasted in butter, cinnamon, nuts and it enrichens and improves explosively 15 minutes after pouring, so much so that you would swear it had residual sugar. It is fabulous with the cheeses and holds it's own in the company of a 1975 Barsac, the Champagne having acquired a rich sweetness with age and the Barsac having lost the same. Amazing bottle and the wine of the day 19.75+.

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• 1975 Château Coutet Barsac

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  Served with 1975 Bollinger R.D. and cheeses. It is very difficult to improve on AAGRAWAL's note below, as follows. Golden-orange color but no green tinges. Orange blossom, white flowers, mandarin peel, and honey. The wine retains it's Barsac shape so the palate is medium bodied, sweet but balanced by acidity which counterbalances the sweetness until it is barely perceptible through the midpalate, clean palate throughout with some orange blossom, floral, citrus rind; finish is medium length, clean, balanced, and refreshing. I have had this wine 3 times in the past 12 months and each bottle has shown as this one did, so very consistent if well cellared and 19.

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Wow.
Flight 6 the absolute highlight of the afternoon, with pairs of guests sharing a pair of glasses of extraordinary complexity and interest. Amazingly, both were crowd pleasers and that was the last thing I expected.