Miki's Birthday Lunch

A perfect long lunch on an early Autumn Sunday to celebrate Miki's birthday. All the wines were provided with incredible generosity by Runny, other than the Port that was brought by Greg.

• 2004 Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay Art Series 93 Points

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  Green-tinged straw colour. Nose of lemon peel, gooseberry, chalk and flint with a touch of nail varnish and then fresh dough mix as it opens up. On the palate it has a lovely crisp acidity, some fresh but not sweet pineapple, stony....not buttery at all. Fresh hazelnuts and a lovely acidic backbone. Oak is completely integrated and very quiet in the background. Impressive length. Excellent.

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• 1971 Penfolds Grange 96 Points

  Australia, South Australia

  A disconcertingly muddy and dusty blood red colour which suggested heat exposure and did not augur well. However it showed a lovely perfumed nose of old tinned prunes that evolved into dried rose petals and opium smoke. Although the nose faded quite quickly the palate went from strength to strength: initially a beautiful and captivating melange of fresh warm stewed plums, new tennis balls, eucalyptus and unfolding into demerara sugar and warm hillside thyme and rosemary. Overall, a very multi-layered and fast-evolving, hugely complex palate if all rather understated. It had a mouthfeel of old plush velvet and was complemented by plums on the back end of the palate. Huge length and very persistent ethereal resonance in the head on the finish. Utterly gorgeous and the most interesting bottle of the '71 that I have drank in terms of its ethereal quality. Despite the cloudiness, this just kept getting better and better on the palate whereas I had expected it to quickly drop off a cliff. It was a bit of a shame that the nose did fade very fast though.

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• 1982 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon John Riddoch 94 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

  Transparent deep crimson colour with no bricking at all. Absolute pure rich hit of cassis, warm tarmac, wet stones and intense blackberries on the nose. Touch of strawberries on the back. Great acid-framed palate of Ribena and blackcurrants. Evolves into additional distinct milky mocha coffee. Very refreshing and fresh acid frame with fresh cut green pepper emerging. Long length and some resonance in the head. Had impressive staying power in the glass over extended time. Fantastic.

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• 1998 Clarendon Hills Cabernet Sauvignon Brookman 92 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, Clarendon

  Black/ red opaque colour. Bit of heat on the nose, boxwood, lavender- perfumed floor wax; a young and high-toned nose. Resinous, refreshingly acidic palate of sun-dried thyme , eucalyptus and spices. Bloody raw lamb on the back end. Quite impressive length and resonance in your head. Still very young. Thins out a touch with extended time in the glass but is very good indeed and should improve with more age. Is evolving slower than I had expected since drinking this a year ago.

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• 1994 Fonseca Porto Vintage 94 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  Drank side by side from a small port glass and from a large wine glass. Still black in a small glass but purple opaque at the edges in a large wine glass. Box wood and fresh tobacco leaf nose. Fantastic deep thick rich beguiling palate of very deep rich jammy but fresh black and red fruits and fresh plump raisins. Great sweetness. Beginnings of tertiary flavours. Lighter frutiness at the back end.....strawberries. Reasonable length. Much more concentrated in a small port glass with more jam evident. Nice tannic mouth-drying finish. Very young but clearly has wonderful promise as it matures.

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