Wine Geek's BBQ @ Jillian and Leonard's
Mount Faber Lodge, Singapore
Tasted Saturday, April 4, 2009 by Paul S with 579 views
Introduction
This was a really luxe BBQ with an interesting wine theme - any BBQ wine except Shiraz. Thanks to Jillian and Leonard for organising and hosting and to everyone for the yummy food. Amongst other things, we had William's excellent clams, prawns and the freshest of crayfish, the usual suspects like sausages, beef, lamb and yummy chicken wings, a very alcoholic fruit salad from Michele and, the piece de resistance, a whole suckling pig that Lawrence ordered.
Not surprisingly, all sorts of oddities came out when the wines were unveiled. Most were blind, and we got most wrong - a testament to the unsual stuff that everyone brought. Truly a wine geek's BBQ.
2007 J.M. Boillot Bourgogne-Aligoté 91 Points
France, Burgundy, Bourgogne-Aligoté
Very impressive. Simple, but really yummy. Nose showed umami, white and yellow fruit, dusky earth and starfruit. Palate was clean and balance, with nice acidity and green apple and white peach flavours moving into a broad finish with decent length.
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2007 Constantia Uitsig Sémillon 87 Points
South Africa, Coastal Region, Cape Peninsula, Constantia
Strange, super vegetal nose - choked full of lentils, capsicum and grass. Palate was more.. well... palatable - creamy, oily texture, a touch of heat, fresh lemons, a touch of honey. Actually went very well with a herbal chilli fish that we had. Not bad, but I certainly would not rebuy this.
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2006 Tscharke Albariño Girltalk 89 Points
Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
Strange wine - a Barossa Albarino. Not bad, but completely different from the Rias Baxias expressions. It opened with a touch of chalk, but that quickly faded, to show sweet lemons along with a touch of grass and sweet yellow and white fruit. Very ripe for the varietal. The palate was dry, with lots of acid, lemon and mineral moving into a decent finish. Not too bad, and pretty good pairing with BBQ seafood. Just a little big and lacking in definition, as if it was on steroids.
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1998 Montes Chardonnay 88 Points
Chile, Curico Valley
Deep gold colour - I really expected this to be over the hill, but it actually showed very decently. Fruit has almost dwindled to nothingness, but there was lots of butterscotch, caramelised apple on the nose, and just a touch of lemony acid on the soft, round creamy palate. Very rich, a bit of alcohol heat, but certainly not disastrous. Drinkable, but not a rebuy.
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2006 Tahbilk Marsanne 88 Points
Australia, Victoria, Central Victoria, Nagambie Lakes
Another little oddity - Marsanne from the very African sounding Nagambie Lakes in Victoria, Australia. A little OTT at first, but it did settles down into a rather nice wine. Sweet nose, alcohol and heavy yellow fruit. Palate was really crisp though - grass, capsicum and mineral moving into an okay finish. The crispness made this go pretty well with the food. I would like to evaluate this at a more conducive setting to be fair to the wine, but it was pretty interesting. Good with the spices we used in the food.
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2007 Künstler Hochheimer Kirchenstück Riesling Spätlese 92 Points
Germany, Rheingau
I thought this was excellent - very much speaking of Rheingau. Nose had a little spot of detergent in a lemony, flowery way, along with a healthy does of white flowers and a touch of ice-cream soda. Quite effervescent and certainly attractive. Sweet 2007 palate, maybe lacking just a bit of acidity on the attack, but hey, this is no Mosel. Instead, I got sweet white fruit, a touch of yellow fruit, pineapple juice, sweet spices and more ice-cream soda moving into the dry, musky finish. Very pretty and it worked really, really well with the suckling pig. Yummy.
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2005 Domaines Schlumberger Pinot Gris Kitterlé 91 Points
France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru
Another very nice white. Clean nose with green apple, flowers and musk giving way to a rich, creamy, almost oily palate with white fruits like ripe pears and apples lifted by clean acidity. Quite a bit of alcohol, but it was rather balanced still. Nice, round finish closed with a touch of mineral. Another wine that went nicely with suckling pig.
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2007 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Tavel L'Espiégle 88 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Tavel
This was bottled under Jaboulet's new labels, which I find tacky and characterless. Nevertheless, the wine was pretty decent, if a bit punishing - this was a serious rose. A deep, deep rose flush. Nose showed hibiscus, Rosé, cherries and strawberries and cream. It had a bit of the sticky sweetness on it that I do not really fancy in Rosé. The palate, on the other hand, was completely dry, restrained and minerally, with cherry flavours completely laced through with hot, slatey stone. Finish was decent. When I came back to the glass later, the wine had put on a layer of tight tannins. Served blind, I would have sworn it was a red. Not a bad BBQ wine at all - but serve it at least slightly chilled. It was not quite as pleasant after an extended tenure out of the ice-box.
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2005 Burge Family Olive Hill 91 Points
Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
We popped this when the lamb came off the grill and I must that it was surprisingly good. Admittedly, we served it a little cooler than normal, which may have skewed the tastes slightly, but most around the table pinned it as a Southern Rhone. Nose was pretty complex - lots of sweet granache notes, like cherry, kirsch, bramble, stewed tomatoes and garrigue. The palate showed pepper, red cherries a bit of meat and some licorice. It got riper as it warmed up, especially towards its decent finish, where the fruit melded with a hint of oak. Very integrated, good acidity and immensely drinkable. A nice, restrained effort when compared with some of the other Aussie GSMs. Perfect BBQ wine.
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2002 Irvine The Baroness 89 Points
Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley
Not bad at all, if a little non-descript. Sweet nose, with earth wed to lots of cherries, plums and currants. A little alcoholic unfortunately. The palate was more lifted. The sweet fruit was there, but there was also good, clean acidity and quite an obvious tannic structure. Finish was okay. This was merlot on steroids. Slightly too sweet even for BBQ'ed red meat. Just a bit better with the suckling pig. Decent as it was, it is not a rebuy.
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2005 Gaston Phébus Madiran 86 Points
France, Southwest France, Madiran
What on earth was this? Not undrinkable, but not exactly decent either. Nose was all oak and prune juice, along with just a touch of plum and the tiniest sprinkle of spice. Swirl, sniff, and more oak and prunes. 10 minutes later, repeat process, same thing. Palate had fresh acidity along with ripe, but indistinct fruit and a dry woody texture spirnkled with peppery spice and a short finish. Not very enjoyable and, not surprisingly, no one picked it out as a Madiran. There are far better examples of this wine to be had.
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2003 Rubicon Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Cask 89 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
This started off rather punishingly - all oak and exploding fruit-bomb - but got much better with time. Clearly a new world Cab. Nose had blueberry pie, lots of confected berries, overripe prunes, alcohol and a touch of buttery oak. This would please some people quite a bit - it left me rather non-plussed though. It did not help that the palate attacked with harsh tannins and a large does of pepper and spice. It screamed modern Napa from a long way away. The wine did soften quickly though, to show sweet ice-cream soda flavours, more confected fruit, some currants, and a buttery vanilla finish. Balance was decent, and it had a nice velvety texture. I can see what people would like in the wine, but not my favourite style of Cab.
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