NobleRottersSydney - Tamar Trip Sep04 (3): Stillwater dinner
Stillwater, Launceston
Tasted Saturday, September 4, 2004 by graemeg with 805 views
Introduction
Dinner was at Stillwater, a wonderful new winebar/restaurant in Launceston. Food was excellent – losing nothing to the best Sydney can offer – and service was impeccable. A special degustation menu was put together for the fourteen of us, as we sat in the private wine room and tried to deal with the constant flow of bottles (some 34 in all) down the table… Wines here represented most of the major Tasmanian regions, not just the Tamar.
Although Tasmania is regarded as a single region by the Geographic Indications Committee, within the state there are seven recognized regions; the North West, centered around Devonport and Deloraine, the Tamar Valley north of Launceston, Pipers River just to the east of the Tamar Valley, the East Coast covering the large coastal strip between Triabunna and Bicheno, the Coal River just north of Hobart, the Derwent Valley to the north west of Hobart, and Southern around Southport. We tasted wines from all but the first and last of these.
Flight 1 (6 Notes)
The first flight of wines was accompanied by an extraordinary range of hors d’ouvres, followed by the official menu;
Saltwater & Sashimi plate – Calamari with lime/palm, sugar/chilli and scallop with artichoke essence/truffle oil.
Flight 2 (8 Notes)
Lime and sugar cured Tasmanian Salmon with green mango, laksa leaf salsa, dressed fine noodles, lime/pepper paste
Flight 3 (6 Notes)
Duckling tartlet, leek fondue, braised shallots, sherry vinegar caramel, pounded rock/caper sauce
Flight 4 (6 Notes)
Seared scallops with double mushroom custard on roasted Portobello mushrooms with tomato beurre blanc
Flight 5 (4 Notes)
Soy and sake prime Tasmanian beef fillet with parsnip puree, ponzu beef demi, fine noodles and wasabi aioli
Flight 6 (3 Notes)
Assiette of sweets;Lemongrass and palm sugar pannacotta with orange chilli caramel and honeycomb semifreddo
Closing
Stunning food. Just stunning.
1997 Kreglinger Brut
Australia, Tasmania, Pipers River
The Kreglinger was served from magnum, and appears to be a leftover from the wines served by Pipers Brook at Mary Donaldson’s Danish Royal Wedding. I gather Kreglinger is the export name for the Pirie sparkler, as this bottle sported the Belgian importer’s address in Antwerp, and with Pirie’s departure from Pipers Brook the new name will be used shortly in Australia as well. The wine showed plenty of yeast, biscuit and dough-like characters on the nose, with a hint of pinot strawberry as well. The creamiest of beads, and a terrific length of flavour makes this a wine fit for a princess. Lovely interplay of fruit components on the palate, long finish. Great stuff.
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1999 Bay of Fires Pinot Noir Chardonnay
Australia, Tasmania, Tamar Valley
The Bay of Fires (pinot-chard) showed chardonnay notes on the nose, with some apple tones. A fine bead, and quite biscuit-like on the palate, it played a good second fiddle to Kreglinger.
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1999 Taltarni Clover Hill Sparkling
Australia, Tasmania, Northern Tasmania
Clover Hill showed obvious yeast notes, but the aromas were simple compared to the preceding wines, which also made it look at bit coarse and short on the palate, but overall it’s not bad at all.
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2003 Bay of Fires Sauvignon Blanc Tigress
Australia, Tasmania, Tamar Valley
The Tigress (cork) showed greenish gooseberry and capsicum aromas. Fruit flavours and acid were initially very soft on the palate, and the finish died quickly. Coming back to this wine after the other two SBs I suspect this wine was faintly tainted with TCA.
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2004 Tamar Ridge Sauvignon Blanc
Australia, Tasmania, Northern Tasmania
The Tamar Ridge (screwcap) was particularly pungent with gooseberries and asparagus. Initially tart on the palate, the zippy green acids are for those who feel NZ has lost the plot lately! Length of finish was OK if you like the style.
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2004 Stefano Lubiana Sauvignon Blanc
Australia, Tasmania
The Lubiana (screwcap) displayed more herby yet ripe highly focused vegetal and capsicum aromas. The fruit is actually the first thing noticeable about the palate – the acids build later to a persistent point. Despite the nose, the wine is in no way unripe. By far the longest finish of these three wines.
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