NobleRottersSydney - Lots of birthdays this year

The Noble Rotters resume dining and drinking activities for 2005. Over the last 7 months, five members have clicked over a ‘zero’ birthday; two 40s and three 50s. This was the culmination dinner for Gordon & Stephen’s respective 50th’s. Five years of Stephen’s persistent lobbying saw Gordon prise the famed 55 Yquem from his cellar; Stephen stumped up a couple of early 70s Granges to help the party along. Although the ‘official plan’ was for everyone to bring something wonderful to dinner, unbeknownst to the birthday boys, evil minds were hatching plots concerning substituted labels, and the innocent presentation of swill masquerading as trophy wines with the intention of causing as much confusion and embarrassment as possible. No matter. Thus, the wines drunk were a wild mix of the sublime and the ridiculous; notes below are in drinking order, with junk wines (1980 generic white burgundy, 1981 barossa 'beaujolais') excised.

• 1998 Moët & Chandon Champagne Vintage Brut Impérial

  France, Champagne

  Pale straw. Initially there’s bread and yeast aromas on the nose, followed quickly by pronounced lifted strawberry tones. Lovely fine bead, warm on the palate – very much an appetite stimulant. At this young age the wine is quite light-bodied, although the finish is of respectable length and very refined.

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• 1992 Tyrrell's Vat 47 Pinot Chardonnay

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Still only a mid straw in colour, the nose offers secondary-development aromas of melon and peach with cedary oak. On the palate there are soft spicy oak nuances, together with plenty of acid. Attractive length of finish, although a picker of nits might note that the back palate has faded away. Overall, a lovely wine, just starting to show that it’s reaching the end of its peak and will probably start the decline soon.

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• 1964 Moulin Touchais Anjou Blanc

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Anjou

  A golden orange colour, glowing very brightly. The aromas here are of figs, nuts, caramel and light butterscotch, all overlaid with a patina of faint oxidation. The palate is aged yet fresh, the sweetness still very much present and giving the wine a syrupy feel. There’s still acid freshness too. A long gentle finish. Lovely. Showing no decay as it sits in the glass (over 2 hours), this wine could live virtually forever.

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• 1995 Leeuwin Estate Pinot Noir Art Series

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  Pale red. A lean stalky nose has a distinct medicinal note. There’s some sour cherry fruit, but a real greenness pervades the nose. On the palate the wine is tart and angular, harsh and, most of all, hot. Weighting in at 14.0%, it’s remarkable that Leeuwin managed to find so much alcohol, yet so many unripe flavours. It simply lacks the fruit to cover the crude bony structure. A wine to stand up to a hot curry and win the fight!

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• 2000 Penfolds Shiraz RWT

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  The RWT showed a contrasting nose of ripe raspberry, jammy, fruit with meaty overtones. On the palate it’s young, spicy-sweet and tannic all at once. The rich fruit smoothly coats all the palate – tannins are fine and subtle. An attractive and classy wine – but I wouldn’t pay the asking price…

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• 1998 McGuigan Shiraz Personal Reserve

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Mid red. This wine was tasted as a barrel sample by the group back in 1999 in the Hunter Valley. Very brutish back then, it now has transformed into a soft, faintly earthy, spicy wine. There are mixed red berry fruits on the nose, together with charry oak. The palate has furry, persistent tannins, a little acid contributing to some freshness. The wine has a generally soft and blurry feel to it; a friendly, warm climate personality. The finish is not particularly long, however, and there’s no great depth of complexity here. Still, easily the best wine I’ve ever tasted that bore a McGuigan label…

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• 1972 Penfolds Grange

  Australia, South Australia

  Both wines [72 &75] were decanted for an hour or so prior to drinking. The 1972 was astonishingly dark in colour – solid red with barely and hint of brick around the rim. An initially outstanding nose shows formic acid, tar bitumen and dark pepper-spice fruit. The palate didn’t quite live up to the promise, being surprisingly astringent, with just a hint of volatility. Quite hefty in weight – not at all what you would expect from 1972, although I have read about some real inconsistencies among bottles from this vintage. Although I found this to be initially more impressive then the 75, as the two wines sat in their glasses the tables gradually turned and the 75 came to the fore. Only a moderate length of finish, though, and with more swirling time I felt the 72 was showing signs of drying out. But really very good, and far above expectation.

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• 1975 Penfolds Grange

  Australia, South Australia

  The 1975 was virtually identical in colour, and seemed to me to be slightly more oxidized initially. An attractive leathery nose, similar to the 72, but perhaps more savoury, with almost hint of saltiness. The 75 was even more tannic than the 72 and appeared to have a shorter finish. But as it sat, the fruit seemed to take on more weight and sweetness until it became quite full and rich in the mouth. Ultimately, I think it became the better wine, but it was a matter of degree. I suspect we had an above-average 72 and a slightly below-par 75. Still, by any standard both are very good indeed, and outstanding for 30-odd years.

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• 1994 Château Rauzan-Ségla

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Served blind. Rauzan-Segla was mid red with a pungent, warm red nose. Soft cherry/berries on the palate, with a fair dose of astringency as well. The fruit feels strained, as though ripeness was hard to find in the grapes. Medium-bodied, with structural components in balance well enough, but ultimately falls short of piquing much interest. 1994 in Margaux has never been much heralded, perhaps this is why?

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• 2002 Falls Wines Merlot

  Australia, New South Wales, Central Ranges, Cowra

  The Falls Wines is a warm, fuzzy, tannic, moderate-bodied clean wine showing not a lot of interest with one-dimensional chocolate/coconut flavours and a short finish. Mediocre.

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• 1996 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  This is an impenetrable deep red-blue colour. Intense, concentrated nose of blackcurrant/cassis fruit, with cedar/vanillan oak. The flavours are dark, if that makes sense – neither showing especially warm nor cool climate characters, rather seeming to combine the best of both. On the palate it does feel quite warm (14.0%), but there’s plenty of stuffing in this wine. Fine chalky tannins emphasize its undeveloped and backward nature. Maybe a tiny mid-palate hole?? A big firm quality wine, still needing time to develop interesting secondary characters. Pretty damn good. Try again in 5 years.

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• 1990 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707

  Australia, South Australia

  This is an impervious dark crimson red. The nose is a blast of sweet ripe blackberry/blackcurrant/jam fruit overlaid with forceful vanilla notes. As Darth Vader might say “The oak is strong in this one.” It’s high quality, but you’ve got to be sympathetic to oak to like this. On the palate it’s rich, powerful and chocolatey. There’s not so much secondary development as a mere lessening of the primary fruits. The wine is still very tannic. Mid-palate is yet more restrained than Moss Wood. Long ripe finish, nicely balanced at 13.5% alcohol, with plenty of time in front of it to improve further. Very good. We’ve drunk this wine three times in the past 5 years, and I still think the first of those was the best of them. This is not to be sniffed at, however (er..if you know what I mean)!

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• 1999 Pfaffenheim Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive Cuvée Sainte Catherine

  France, Alsace

  Pale straw green. An explosive, classic, varietally correct nose of pot-pourri, exotic spices and sweet grapey fruit. On the palate, terrific acidity carries the sweetness, although in the final analysis, the sugar does dominate the finish a little at this early stage in the wine’s life. There’s some oiliness on the palate – something that seems to me characteristic of Alsatian gewurz. I’ve little experience with this style of sweet wine at this age, but I think with another few years it will develop more interesting flavours. Very good for now, and potentially outstanding.

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• 1955 Château d'Yquem

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  In addition to the sheer novelty of drinking 50-year-old Yquem, this particular bottle was signed (with salutation) by Comte Alexandre de Lur Saluces himself on 19/3/95. It also bore an American importers label, which hinted disturbingly at a complex cellaring history. Meanwhile, the wine was caramel-brown in colour. Aromas of caramel, butterscotch, burnt toffee compete with a strongly oxidized note. The palate is rich and semi-sweet, but overlaid with a distinctly brassy character, displaying a touch of volatility as well. A bit liqueur-like in many ways. Most of the flavour settles on the front and middle palate; the finish is quite persistent but lacks freshness. Considering other notes on this wine and vintage (but without much experience of my own) it has to go down as a disappointment. Just a bit oxidized and, well, old. Has come to be more Madiera than Sauternes.

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• 1900 Henriques & Henriques Madeira Malmsey Century Solera

  Portugal, Madeira

  The real thing! Three Dulux shades darker than the [1955] d’Yquem, but of a very similar colour spectrum. Burnt caramel, cold tea and marmalade aromas precede a rich, warm, alcoholic palate. The wine blooms in the mouth with pungent flavours of leather and hints of tangy orange rind. Long and persistent. In many ways not hugely dissimilar to the d’Yquem, but the higher alcohol levels seems to keep the wine from tasting stale in any way.

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