A quick get together at Borelli’s Italian Restaurant in Epping. The restaurant was good for what it is, a small local place that has food with good flavour and large servings, with fairly priced meals (for us it was around $50 AUD per person for three courses and tip) and corkage at $4 a bottle. Most importantly, it was centrally located for the people attending this get together. We had an interesting little mix of wines on the night with a couple of them standing out at the end.
Pol Roger Brut 1996 – (Champagne, France):
A nose of green apples, citrus, some minerals and a touch of yeast but seemed to have softened in intensity since I last tried it in December 2004. There was a slight musty character that reminded me of a similar character on the 1988 Dom Perignon that I had at the French wine dinner at Marque I but I don’t think it was corked (nor did anyone think the Dom corked), it can be hard to tell sometimes though. A glass left to the side for a few hours didn’t seem to have any obvious level of taint to it. The palate had some nice texture to it and a cleansing wave of acidity across the length. A bad bottle or not, I still thought it was a nice wine.
88/100
Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 1996 – (Margaret River, Western Australia):
Citrus peel and roasted nuts on the nose. Generous flavour on the palate and the length was good except for a weird bitter echinacea like character on the mid to back palate. Seemed quite developed – not as good as a previous bottle that I had late last year. Based on this bottle and even the one previous, I’d been drinking it over the next couple of years.
86/100
Paul Jaboulet Domaine de Thalabert Crozes-Hermitage 1997 – (France):
Cherry, liquorice, stalks, iodine and tar. Tannins and oak well integrated on the fairly sappy palate. Drinking pretty nicely at the moment, I don’t think it would benefit from much more age.
87/100
E. Guigal Hermitage 1997 – (France):
Blackberry, liquorice, dark berry fruits, dark chocolate. Again the slight sappy green element to the palate, but not as pronounced as with the Jaboulet. Structure, tannins and length seemed to be slightly better than the Jaboulet. A nice wine that will probably be a bit nicer with a few more years in bottle.
88/100
Castagna Genesis Syrah 2002 – (Beechworth, Victoria):
Pepper and spice with background apricot as well as bright raspberry and cherry aromas, there were some floral notes coming through as it just started to open up. I didn’t think the viognier too overt (although if you hate it, it is certainly there in the background). Palate exhibits some excellent texture and structure. Needs another 5+ years to really shine.
91/100
Parker Estate Terra Rossa First Growth 1994 – (Coonawarra, South Australia):
Lots of blackcurrant and cassis, smoke, hints of slightly roasted vegetables and capsicum. Palate is smooth and the components seem well integrated, but it surprisingly has very little secondary development as yet. Very good now and should probably get better if everything stays balanced while it develops complexity.
92/100