Nice wines I have drunk recently - Red or White

A special night last night with some of my good mates from Vivino:

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The line up of wines were themed around 1998:


  • Moet & Chandon Dom Perignon Epernay Sparkling White 1998
  • Jacques Selosse Avize Sparkling Rose NV
  • Mount Pleasant Lovedale Semillon 1998
  • Penfolds Yattarna Chardonay 1998
  • Seppelt Bin EC4 Private Bin Hermitage Cabernet Barossa Valley Great Western 1977
  • Mount Pleasant Maurice O'Shea Hunter Valley Shiraz 1998
  • Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 1998
  • Parker Coonawarra Estate Terra Rossa First Growth 1998
  • Clarendon Hills Astralis Vineyard Shiraz 2002
  • Henschke Hill of Grace Eden Valley Shiraz 1998
  • Kuentz-Bas Eichberg Grand Cru Gewurztrammer Alsace 1998
  • Seppelt Para Liqueur Port Barossa Valley 1947

The wines were all amazing in their own ways. But the standout wines for me were the Penfolds Yattarna, the 40 year old Seppelt Hermitage and the Hill of Grace. All, bar the O'Shea, came from auctions and private collections. With only the Wynns being Brett affected (but still drinkable for most).

The setting was stunning at Ripples, Chowder Bay in the national trust harbourside of Sydney. We were blessed such a beautiful evening of fine weather.
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The AFF version of this dinner (themed 1999) will be this Friday. I can't wait.
 
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The last Yattarna I opened had a cork issue in that the cork pretty much disintegrated. It was fro the first production so I haven't opened another one. The taste was ok.
 
cove said:
The last Yattarna I opened had a cork issue in that the cork pretty much disintegrated. It was fro the first production so I haven't opened another one. The taste was ok.
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The Yattarna 98 was really nice, Cove. It might have helped that I had very low expectations, which were exceeded.

Massive nose that filled the room. Lovely aged Chardonnay notes. Good structure. And a white wine that was holding up well for 19 years. I'd say drink them soon if you want them still in their drinking window.
 
afro said:
is that coffee filter paper on the decanter ?
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I'm not sure, Afro. Our Sommelier was doing all sorts of tricks to keep the wines in optimum condition through the afternoon and evening. She was amazing. One or two of the wines probably needed longer decants. Most of the reds were opened around 4 pm, and were consumed between 8 pm and 11 pm. The Astralis was a gift on the night, so was not opened until 7 on, and it took quite a while to rid it of its initial pong and open up in the glass. That was probably a mistake opening that so late. But we have another to try this Friday where the Sommelier will have more time to work with the wine.
 
Wozza said:
I'm not sure, Afro. Our Sommelier was doing all sorts of tricks to keep the wines in optimum condition through the afternoon and evening. She was amazing. One or two of the wines probably needed longer decants. Most of the reds were opened around 4 pm, and were consumed between 8 pm and 11 pm. The Astralis was a gift on the night, so was not opened until 7 on, and it took quite a while to rid it of its initial pong and open up in the glass. That was probably a mistake opening that so late. But we have another to try this Friday where the Sommelier will have more time to work with the wine.
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i have one of those "mesh strainer/filter" for the decanter but still end up with quite a bit of sediments at the bottom, i did thought of using a coffee filter but just don't know how to execute this properly.
 
Here's my first (and, God willing, hopefully not last) tasting note on a Hill of Grace - specifically the 1998 vintage:

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"Arguably Australia's pinnacle single vineyard Shiraz. It didn't disappoint despite the sumptuous price tag and stratospheric reputation this wine and vintage have. I was lucky enough to share this birthday treat with my Vivino mates.

Planted in the 1860s by German settlers, the famous 4ha HoG vineyard lies in the rich alluvial soils of Eden Valley opposite a small Lutheran church called Gnadenberg, meaning 'Hill of Grace'. The wine and vineyard bear the same name. Robert Parker said it was his best HoG scoring it a 98.

A big spellbinding nose and rich, deep colour leads to a palate fit for the heavenly banquet. As a silken, feathery web of fine tannins work with a powerful mid palate wave of complex flavours. There's blackberry, plum, red peppers, game, tobacco, graphite, violet & spice. It's a sumptuous & magnificent experience. A Wozza 97/100 (4.6) from me."

http://www.vivino.com/users/warren-dav/reviews/65369351
 
botchee said:
Nice write up but one must wonder what a wine must do to get a 98, 99 or 100.
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Thank you Botchee. Greatly appreciated.

Yes!

On my Wozza scale I am now (I say now, as my scoring has tightened over the last 6 months) reserving those last three scores for the absolute world beating best bottles (remembering the old saying: there's no great wines, only great bottles). For instance, the Seppelt Para 100 Year Old Tawny 1914 was, I think, my only Wozza 98.

The Hill of Grace was super special. In fact, it was in a league of its own when tasted alongside the Maurice O'Shea, the Astralis, the John Riddoch and the First Growth. All world class wines in their own right. But it just didn't have enough for me to push it up to the same score as the 1914 Tawny where I practically ate the glass to ensure I savoured every last drop!

If I do find that 98, 99 or 100, I will be sure to post it here ...

Cheers, Wozza
 
botchee said:
Nice write up but one must wonder what a wine must do to get a 98, 99 or 100.
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At the risk of raining on Wozza’s birthday parade, I wasn’t quite as impressed with the HOG as others at the table. It was a very nice wine, but for me it really was not expressing the quintessential Barossan shiraz characteristics that I was expecting from the wine. In some regards it almost tasted more like an aged Cab Sav than an aged shiraz. I also found the mid-palate a little unbalanced, with a few rough edges showing through. I was really excepting a bigger richer mid-palate experience from the HOG. Something more akin to an aged Meshach. We tasted the HOG alongside an ’02 Austalis, and whilst the Astralis was a little more closed, due to the short decant, I felt that it had better structure and was a little more complete than the HOG. I would rate the HOG at 95/100 and the Astralis at 96/100. So at the end of the day it comes down to personal preference and expectations. Still a very fine wine though, and a fantastic event.
 
botchee said:
Nice write up but one must wonder what a wine must do to get a 98, 99 or 100.
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You need to get it reviewed by James Halliday or Robert Parker!

In all seriousness though, there's a lot of wine in the world - Australia produces thousands of labels every year. And Bordeaux alone produces more wine than all of Australia combined. Even though a wine might be an Australian flagship doesn't mean that it's necessarily a good vintage for that wine, or that it was opened at the right time, or that it's that great compared to everything else available in the world. Edit: not to mention all the subjective factors that creep in: what else you've drunk, what you're eating, what your preferences are, what altitude you're drinking the wine at, whether you've got a cold etc. etc. etc.
 
Delectable Blue said:
At the risk of raining on Wozza’s birthday parade, I wasn’t quite as impressed with the HOG as others at the table. It was a very nice wine, but for me it really was not expressing the quintessential Barossan shiraz characteristics that I was expecting from the wine. In some regards it almost tasted more like an aged Cab Sav than an aged shiraz. I also found the mid-palate a little unbalanced, with a few rough edges showing through. I was really excepting a bigger richer mid-palate experience from the HOG. Something more akin to an aged Meshach. We tasted the HOG alongside an ’02 Austalis, and whilst the Astralis was a little more closed, due to the short decant, I felt that it had better structure and was a little more complete than the HOG. I would rate the HOG at 95/100 and the Astralis at 96/100. So at the end of the day it comes down to personal preference and expectations. Still a very fine wine though, and a fantastic event.
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AnonymousCoward said:
You need to get it reviewed by James Halliday or Robert Parker!

In all seriousness though, there's a lot of wine in the world - Australia produces thousands of labels every year. And Bordeaux alone produces more wine than all of Australia combined. Even though a wine might be an Australian flagship doesn't mean that it's necessarily a good vintage for that wine, or that it was opened at the right time, or that it's that great compared to everything else available in the world. Edit: not to mention all the subjective factors that creep in: what else you've drunk, what you're eating, what your preferences are, what altitude you're drinking the wine at, whether you've got a cold etc. etc. etc.
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Good comments chaps.

I am looking forward to trying the Standish The Standish 03 on Friday evening - Robert Parker did give this a 99! One more point than the HoG 98 we had on Monday.

The Astralis 02 will also be opened alongside The Standish, and I think with a longer decant will show a lot better than it did on Monday night where it was only decanted for 2 hours.

We'll see how they go.

I am quietly hoping the Standish will blow the icon wines out the water! We'll see.

As AC, quite rightly says, its all very subjective and context, context, context.

I'm looking forward to reading both your write ups on the wines sampled on Monday night.

And, of course, I am looking forward to hosting some lovely AFF Wine Lovers this Friday in savouring these great wines ...
 

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