Appellation Australia

A great night last weekend with a friend flying in some fresh Perigord Black Truffles from France and people bringing along some great wines to match. The food was fairly simple, letting the truffles take centre stage. The flavours and aromas of the food were incredible and a number of the wines really complimented the truffle flavours, especially the Leroy, Pichon Lalandes and the Italian wines.

The Menu:

Fresh bread and truffle butter
Foie gras, slice of truffle
Mushrooms with truffle
Omelette with truffled eggs
Risotto of truffles
Home made fettucini with truffled eggs, mushroom and truffles
Wagyu beef with perigueux sauce
Duck and Chicken with truffle under the skin
Salads
Cheese plate: two truffle-infused bries and a hard pecorino.
Chocolate mousse… with truffled eggs and a little bit of truffle as well.

The Wines:

1994 Seppelt Salinger Methode Champenoise
Straw-yellow colour. Nose is bright and fresh with pineapple and nutty overtones. Really nice acid on the palate with just a smidge of sweetness. The flavours linger on the palate for a good while. Probably the best bottle out of three that I have tried.
89/100

1982 Bollinger Grande Année Rosé Champagne
Salmon-orange in colour. A very fine, delicate bead. On the nose there are aromas of mushroom, earth and light caramel. The palate is a little rough around the edges with a fair bit of acid and not enough fruit remaining to match, although this seemed less of a problem with food and this complimented the truffles well.
87/100

1986 McWilliams Mount Pleasant Single Vineyard Lovedale Semillon (Hunter Valley)
A lovely, expressive nose of floral elements, grapefruit, lime and orange, wax, honey set against a background of nutty complexity. The palate is still amazingly youthful and delicate while maintaining great depth and intensity of flavour. Superb balance and structure, the length went on and on. This wine left me quite lost for words.

Absolutely stunning. This would have been my wine of the night if it had not been for one other wine to come.
95/100

1990 Château Doisy-Védrines (Barsac)
Opened a little bit stinky and funky but this really cleaned up and opened with time in the glass. Golden coloured. Honey, pineapple, roast nuts and caramel on the nose. A medium level of sweetness and intensity on the palate with good balance and length.
91/100

1995 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay (Margaret River)
A nose of restrained oak, grapefruit, pineapple, peaches, apple and light butter. Palate is quite tight with good acid structure but lacking fruit intensity. Very good but not great at the moment, although it could become great with more time.
88/100

1996 Domaine Marc Morey & Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Virondot
Very youthful in appearance and character. A nose of sea spray, lemon and slate. An interesting mouthfeel with just a touch of richness rounding the palate out. Has the potential to get better over the next 5+ years.
90/100

1999 Domaine Jean Pillot et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caille (375ml)
Cheesy, oxidative and caramel nose. Palate is all sour acid. Faulty bottle.
NR/100

1981 Domaine Bonneau du Martray Corton
Some interesting discussion about this wine at the table but I think it was mildly corked (and even if not corked, looking pretty tired).
NR/100

1998 Domaine Leroy Clos Vougeot
A lovely layered nose of squid ink, black cherry, rhubarb, earth, spice and heady perfume. A tightly wound palate with concentrated flavour, fine tannins and awesome mouth-feel and texture. Exceptional length and an excellent wine that will continue to develop for a number of years to come.
93/100

1982 Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande (Pauillac)
Such a seductive, voluptuous wine. A superb nose of smoky cedar, gravel, pencil shavings, cassis, tobacco and black olive. Every element of the palate is working together in seamless harmony. Elegant yet rich, with a velvet like texture as it slides along the palate into an breathtaking length finish. An absolute privilege to get to drink.
98/100

1986 Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande (Pauillac)
There is some real power behind this wine. The nose shows blackcurrant, tobacco and cedar as well as swirling notes of potpourri and violets. A very youthful, vibrant palate with deeply seated fruit and excellent structure. Built in intensity of flavour with time in the glass. Very enjoyable to drink now, but will improve.
94/100

2000 Pio Cesare Fides Barbera d’Alba (375ml)
Wheat germ on the nose with a touch of florality. A sweetly fruited, medium bodied palate with soft tannins and medium length. Enjoyable to drink but not much more.
87/100

2000 Pio Cesare Nebbiolo d’Alba (375ml)
Pepper, spices, cherry and raspberry on the nose. Nice depth and intensity of fruit, although the tannins are standing out a bit at the moment.
88/100

1989 Gaja Barbaresco
Aromas of roasted meat, wet earth, spice and tar. There is a really lovely texture to the palate and a very long, lingering finish. A very good wine, but missing a bit of complexity and personality to take the step up to excellent.
90/100

1996 Rocca Albino Vigneto Brich Ronchi Barbaresco
Very meaty aromas with leather, raspberry, smoke and tobacco in the background. Palate has promise initially with some nice complexity and initial primary fruit intensity but it trails away into a metallic and short finish. I suspect some brett influence here.
85/100

1998 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia
Deep, seductive and luscious aromas of raspberry, cherry, cassis, five spice and tobacco. The palate, while quite obviously young, tight and concentrated is also approachable and enjoyable to drink. Exhibits really nice depth of fruit and has very good length. Give it another 8-10 years and it should really be singing.
93/100

1996 Château Nairac
Light apricots, citrus peel and botrytis influence on the nose. Fairly dense concentration and sweetness on the palate. The length is good and it is pleasant to drink, but overall I don’t think the wine has the acid structure to get a great deal better.
88/100