a rather special tasting (trying again)

[Ken Gargett]

right, having stuffed up the first attempt, here goes again.

spent the last couple of days in the Barossa for the Yalumba 175th anniversary (not bad for a new world winery). extraordinary stuff. 

some of the stars - please remember that time meant there was no way to look at all the wines and i missed some amazing ones and didn't get photos of some. but not a bad lot. 

okay, huge thanks to John S for his magnificent work in downloading these as my computer has decided that is all too difficult. 

please note, these are not in any specific order. done in various brackets. and not tasted in this order. 

 

we started with a glass of Pol, as one does. the 1921 Pol Roger (some champers experts have described this as one of the greatest champagnes ever made). disgorged in 2013. Pol kindly contributed the three bottles for the day. personally, worth the trip alone. heaven on a stick. i will confess that i asked one of my friends at Yalumba if they'd mind if i took one of the empties home for the shelf. no problem. turned out to have a couple of inches left!! there are now, and no they will not be posted, photos of me guzzling from the bottle as fast as i could put it down my throat. 

 

 

the Chardonnay bracket, magnums except for the DRC. all three superb. DRC tops, Giaconda and then the Bonneau but loved them all. 

Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne 1999

DRC Montrachet 2004

Giaconda Chardonnay 2011 (interesting that the choice was for one of the worst ever Aussie vintages, compared with a cracker for white Burgs). 

 

 

 

 

 

i missed a few in the Riesling/whites bracket. 

the star was the Egon Muller, again in magnum. amazing wine. 

Hugel Schoelhammer Riesling 2009

Yalumba Pewsey Vale Contours Riesling 2004

Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Auslese 1988 just wow!

 

 

 

 

This was the Cab and friends table. 

Tignanelllo 1985 magnum - this was sensationally good. 

Sassicaia 1985 - I've seen this wine twice before and both times you would not hesitate to give it 100 points, more if possible. i think it is one of the all time greats. they opened two bottles. one was a touch corked (this tasting surely must have convinced those there that it is the time to dump the cork), the other was very good but not absolute top shelf. 

La Conseillante Pomerol 1982 magnum - for me, disappointing. should have been better.

Vega Sicilia Unico Gran Reserva 1985 - just stunning. perhaps the best Vega i have ever seen. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

some Bordeaux, which were amazing.

Haut Brion 1990 - really good. 

Lafite 1990 - if you had to show an alien what great Bordeaux can be, this would be the bottle. 

Latour 2012 magnum - huge wine. wonderful. 

 

 

this was always going to be the bracket for me. 

Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche 1995 - magnum. superb Burg.

 

then we had two truly legendary wines. and they drank like it. lots of debate as to which took the bikkies. i went back and forth but in the end gave the 99, 99 points (power of suggestion) and the 85 100 points. but i feel i shortchanged the 99. these are 'lord, take me now' wines. 

DRC La Tache 1985

DRC La Tache 1999

 

 

 

 

 

 

the Grenache table was full of stars - 

Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf 2010 

Beaucastel Chateauneuf 2009

Yalumba Tricentenary Grenache 1999

Rayas 1999

loved them all but in the rush, only got a pic of the Rayas. it and the VT the stars but the other two within the proverbial bee's appendage. 

 

among the tables i managed to miss (and still kicking myself but just not time to do them justice), the Shiraz table - a couple of older Yalumba Octavius, Henschke Hill of Grace 2009, Guigal 'Hommage a Etienne Guigal' 2005 and the Chave Hermitage 'Cuvee Cathelin' 2009 (missing those last two really hurts). 

saw some from the Cab Shiraz table including the Penfolds 389 from 1964. no photos. 

 

Then the dessert and fortified table. 

magnum of Yquem 1999 - drinking exquisitely.

warres 1977 in magnum. had been sent from the cellars. seen a lot of this wine and always loved it. but this was the best bottle (magnum) by a street. just ethereal. decades to go. 

finally, a curio but what a wine. 

Yalumba Port 1923. a version of an Aussie colheita. bottled in 1935. over 100 years old and yet i doubt anyone who saw it would ever imagine it won't go another century. 

 

 

 

 

finally, a cleanser before dinner, the 2016 Pol Roger. 

 

 

 

it was a bit of a special day. 

 

 

[MossybackR]

My oh my — that is one helluva a lineup!

[JohnS]

Great stuff, Ken. Living large! 

[Ken Gargett]

2 minutes ago, JohnS said:

Great stuff, Ken. Living large! 

thanks John. but what i failed to mention was that it was, of course, all work. 

[traveller]

21 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

thanks John. but what i failed to mention was that it was, of course, all work. 

It's a tough job, but some one's got to do it.

I doubt I'll ever even get to touch wine's like these, but what makes a wine a 100? Complexity? Smoothness? The flavors you would expect for a varietal of wine?

[Ken Gargett]

18 hours ago, traveller said:

It's a tough job, but some one's got to do it.

I doubt I'll ever even get to touch wine's like these, but what makes a wine a 100? Complexity? Smoothness? The flavors you would expect for a varietal of wine?

i'd guess that just like cigars, more than a degree of the subjective. all manner of things for me. certainly complexity. balance is key, length, intensity. the varietal is a difficult question because if it is a blind tasting then we do not know what it should be aiming for or what it should represent as a varietal. the ability to age is usually considered relevant. flavour is key. people often talk about the 'wow' factor. some wines have it. just something about them. but of course, what is wow for me might not be wow for you.