Appellation Australia

A few quick notes from a recent casual dinner with friends;

1979 Bollinger Grande Année Champagne

A slow, fine bead and tenuous mousse. The nose is explosive and intense with marzipan, yeasty bread, honey, apple and mushrooms.The palate is a delight, with lovely, balanced mouth-filling honeyed flavour and with an excellent core of acid to take it into to a very long finish.

93/100

2002 Domaine Laroche Chablis Premier Cru Vieilles Vignes Les Fourchaumes

Open with aromatic floral notes, as well as pomegranate, orange and peaches – very pure nose. Medium intensity and great depth of minerality and flavour on the palate leading into a long, clean finish. Really delicious to drink now, but will probably be better in 3 years time.

90/100

1999 Maison Louis Latour Cote de Beaune-Villages

A light, stewy nose with a touch of oak but not much else of note. Palate is awkward and disjointed. I feel that this may have been a poor bottle.

NR/100

2000 Domain Alain Burguet Gevrey-Chambertin En Reniard

Violet, strawberry, earth and wet hay on the nose. The palate is balanced but is simple and lacks depth. Probably around its peak and nicely drinkable, but nothing more.

87/100

2000 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vignes

Lots of cherry with some gamey complexity, undergrowth and earth. Good texture and palate length with the complexity of the palate not really matching that of the nose. Still, a lovely wine with some potential to improve.

90/100

2003 Two Hands Max’s Garden Heathcote Shiraz

A bold, attractive nose of blueberry, cherry, spice, raspberry plus some coffee and cedar. The palate is quite restrained with the fruit richness balanced against some savoury characters. The initial wave of flavour trails off slightly toward the finish. Quite good structure overall, although I think it is going to be drinking at its best over the next couple of years.

90/100