Bollinger Special Cuvee NV Lemon pastry aromas. The palate is clean with medium body and richness. 87/100 Bollinger La Grande Annee 1999 Floral notes and apple on the nose. Palate shows excellent depth and length. Open and ready for drinking now. Very impressive. 91/100 Bollinger La Grande Annee Rose 1999 A lovely, delicate nose – […]
Category: Wine Events
Ayala Brut Majeur NV Tight nose, some peaches. Palate has some richness to it. Simple but provides some pleasure. 86/100 Ayala Brut Nature Rose NV Rose petals and strawberries on the nose. Palate lacks flow and balance. 82/100 Ayala Zero Dosage NV Nose of lemon and peaches. Palate is fresh, crisp and clean but without […]
Over the next couple of weeks I’ll post quick impressions of the 90+ Champagnes I tasted at this event. The stand outs were; Bollinger La Grande Annee 1999 Billecart-Salmon Nicholas Francois-Billecart 1998 Boizel Joyau de France 1991 Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millenaires 1995 Henriot Cuvee Enchanteleurs 1995 Mumm de Cramant NV Jacquesson Avize Grand Cru […]
What a debacle the wine master classes were at Restaurant ’07 (a trade event). Missing wines, corked wines, endless delays and so on … Update: I was contacted today (30/10) by a representative from the organisers of the event, they had me expand on the feedback and said they would pass it on to the […]
Warraroong – Hunter Valley – http://www.warraroongestate.com.au Semillon 2006 – Honey and toast aromas already at this young age. Very nice palate with good balance. Would probably drink over the short to medium term. 88/100 Semillon 2005 – Lemon, lime, floral – much more primary as expected. Palate is even better on this, good depth of […]
Virgin Hills – Macedon Ranges – http://www.virginhills.com.au Really liked this booth for the mini-vertical of their only wine. Virgin Hills 1998 – Tobacco, spice and dusty earth. Palate is of real interest, lots of layers, structure and depth. Great length. Hope to see this wine again sometime. 91/100 Virgin Hills 1999 – Sweaty sock nose. […]
Tulloch – Hunter Valley – http://www.tulloch.com.au/ Sparkling NV – Apple, cherry, lemon and yeasy. Clean palate with good acid. Nice. 86/100 Chardonnay 2006 – Light nose with hints of oak and citrus. Palate is round but not overly rich. 86/100 Verdelho 2006 – Citrus and pineapple. Palate is crisp and clean. Well made but not […]
Tower Estate – Hunter Valley – http://www.towerestatewines.com.au Semillon 2005 – Very mealy on the nose. Good acid, but no depth to the fruit. Not impressed. 85/100 Verdelho 2006 – Tropical fruits. Soft, sweet palate. Fine, but I struggle to find much to like about this variety. 85/100 Chardonnay 2004 – Buttered toast nose. Rich, mouth-filling […]
Thomas – Hunter Valley – http://www.thomaswines.com.au “O.C” Semillon 2007 – Nice vibrancy to the nose with peach and other ripe stonefruit. Palate has a touch of grass to it, with good length. 88/100 “Braemore” Semillon 2007 – Lemon, lime, hay and slate. Palate has excellent focus and real drive along the line. Excellent length and […]
St Hallett – Barossa Valley – http://www.sthallett.com.au Eden Valley Riesling 2006 – Citrus nose. Medium body with enough acid to carry across the length. 87/100 “Poachers Blend” 2006 – Pineapple and other tropical fruit. Fresh, crisp palate but a bit too short. 85/100 Semillon 2003 – Grapefruit and oak characters. Creamy palate with medium body […]