Appellation Australia

Some photos and notes from recent dinner to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Black by Ezard did a great job of hosting us with impressive food and excellent service from the sommelier and team.

SASHIMI of hiramasa kingfish, sesame custard, edamame puree, chardonnay and shallot dressing

ORGANIC FARM EGG potato cream, iberico jamón, herb salad

POTATO GNOCCHI handmade, spinach cream, local mushrooms, parmesan, roasted salsify

OXTAIL soy caramelised, celeriac cream, sichuan peppered enoki, chive and crispy taro salad, mushroom soil

RUMPCAP grain fed wagyu MBS 9+, buttered désirée puree, marrow and shallot sauce

CHOCOLATE warm couverture ganache, dulce de leche ice cream, peanut butter mousse

• 1998 Ployez-Jacquemart Champagne Liesse d’Harbonville – France, Champagne
  Powerful nose – biscuit and coconut, earth, honey and floral notes. The richness on the palate is extremely impressive and it has superb length. Even better than a great bottle a month or so ago. 93/100

• 2005 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne – France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
  Tightly wound and closed nose, with some pine needle, musk, lemon and talc aromas. The palate is well balanced, with rich fruit and some driven acidity. Give it some time to come together and I think it would be more impressive, though a bottle in May earlier this year was showing as more open and approachable. 91/100

• 2000 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne – France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
  Pear, peach and slightly honeyed aromas with some nutty oak aromas. The fruit seems to have softened since my last bottle 3 years ago, though it is still quite restrained with good acid cutting through. Another couple of years should serve it well as long as the bottle is sound. 91/100

• 1999 Domaine de la Vougeraie Musigny – France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru
  Earthy nose as well as black cherries, dark florals, lightly peppery and still showing some oak. Lovely texture on the taut and very well structured palate. Really good stuff, but probably needs another 5-10 years to hit its peak. 92/100

• 2000 Domaine de la Vougeraie Musigny – France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru
  Earth and truffle aromas as well as some iron and black cherry – there is a smidge of brett as well, but for me it wasn’t dominant or off-putting. Good length to the palate and still has some grip to. Drinking well now and over the next 5 years. 90/100

• 2001 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Musigny – France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru
  A complex nose of cherry, rhubarb, truffle and black tea leaves. The palate is stunningly silken and pure with wonderful length. Improved greatly in the glass, this is a beautiful wine drinking well now but will certainly continue to improve as well. 93/100

• 2006 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin – France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru
  Stunningly perfumed – extremely lifted floral notes with complex spices, cherry and earth. Beautifully pristine and extremely bright fruit on the palate with richness, structure and depth. A core of minerality carries the fruit into a amazingly long finish. 95/100

• 2009 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze – France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru
  This wine almost left me speechless. The aromas are exhilarating, captivating and unbelievably complex – shifting continually with every inhale – exotic spices, graphite, violets, smoke, tobacco and game. The palate has force through powerful fruit and tannin but there is superb precision and depth to the fruit as well. An incredible wine, maybe the best young red Burgundy I’ve ever tasted. 97/100

• 1999 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage – France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
  Strong kirsch along with earth, pepper and vanilla aromas. The palate is very good indeed, complex and with a lifted freshness through a line of great acidity. Very long and with excellent balance, this will drink well over the next 10-15 years. 93/100

• 1990 Chris Ringland Shiraz Three Rivers – Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Range
  Powerful nose of five spice, tar, tobacco, cedar and pencil shavings. Brilliant power on the palate but it doesn’t seem at all over the top, there is balance and brightness to it despite its richness. There are savoury notes that also help balance the very youthful fruit and it finishes with incredible length. Extremely impressive and unbelievably young at 22 years old, this is a monumental wine. 96/100

• 2001 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Clos Jebsal Sélection de Grains Nobles – France, Alsace, Alsace AOC
  Orange gold coloured. A rich nose of pineapple, honey, floral notes and peaches and really shows that unique identity of sweet Alsace Pinot Gris. Fleshy and sweet on the palate but with real brightness and acid balance. Some complexity to it, but it disappeared quickly due to being delicious. 94/100

• 1995 Giuseppe Quintarelli Recioto della Valpolicella Classico – Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Recioto della Valpolicella Classico
  Compelling and unbelievably rich nose of kirsch, raisin, tobacco, dark chocolate, blackcurrant and tar. The palate is just incredible in its balance between sweetness, deeply rich fruit and acidity. Intense and mouth-filling but somehow superbly drinkable at the same time. This wine was right at the very top level, what an experience! 97/100