A quick search through my notes this year revealed the following list of “exceptional” wines. There’s a slight chance an additional wine or two may make the list before the year is out.

98 points -

1975 D’Yquem

97 Points -

1967 D’Yquem
1980 Krug Clos de Mesnil
1982 Ch. Leoville Las Cases (St. Julien)
1961 Ch. Malescot-St.-Expurey (Margaux)

96 Points -

1996 Dom Perignon
1967 Lindemans Classic Release Vintage Port
2001 Zind-Humbrect Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl SGN
1982 Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon

95 points -

1984 Hollicks Cabernet Sauvignon
Morris Old Premium Muscat
1982 Paul Jaboulet Hermitage “La Chapelle”
1996 Jean-Jacques Confuron Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru
2005 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier
1988 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill
1989 Krug
1982 Cheval Blanc
1991 St. Huberts Cabernet Sauvignon Barrel Select
1996 Pol Roger Vintage
1966 Château Haut-Brion (Pessac)
1990 Leo Buring Leonay DWT17 Eden Valley Rhine Riesling
1995 Pol Roger Blanc de Blanc
Seppelt Rutherglen Rare Tokay DP59
1997 Louis Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru “Les Champs-Canet”
1985 Cheval Blanc
1985 Ch. Leoville Las Cases
1985 Ch. Canon
1994 Dr. Thanisch Berncastler Doctor Riesling
Trockenbeerenauslese
1990 Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile Vendange Tardive
1990 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Clos Jesbal Vendange Tardive
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The 1975 Yquem deservedly got the nod as my wine of the year. For a thirty-one-year old this stunning beauty displayed an incredible youthful luminescence, a classical bouquet of nuance bordering on perfection for a Sauternes and a palate to die for. The trouble is, I think it will be better in ten, twenty or, perhaps, thirty years! The 1967 version of the same label is fully mature, much deeper in colour, reveals a greater degree of massively complex tertiary character on both nose and palate. If the bottle generously brought to by a fellow wine lover to dinner recently is representative of the vintage this wine should be drunk over the next five years. While the ‘75 revealed a taught structure with acidity to burn, the ‘67 was thick and unctious with a much broader, but no less impressive, profile. Still both are sensational examples of the marque albeit it in totally different stages of their development.

The “bolter” of the year must go the 1961 Chateau Malescot. For a maker I knew almost nought about, this bottle literally blew away everyone seated at the table. Not only did the wine reveal an incredible colour, a perfect fresh and vigorous bouquet of violets, cassis, cedar, sweet earth and saddle leather, the palate was incredibly expansive, brimming with vitality and freshness with layer upon layer of flavour, amazing purity and sublime structure. Even more surprising - all this from, admittedly, a very well cellared bottle, but with a level in the mid shoulder with a decidedly dodgy looking cork, although it was (carefully) extracted intact.

Honorable mentions must go the 1980 Krug Clos de Mesnil, perhaps the most mesmerising Champagne I’ve tried since I received a batch of recently disgorged 1973 Bollinger some years ago. The slightest hint of negative oxidation on the nose probably the only reason I didn’t award a perfect score. The palate defies description. Also the 1982 Leoville-Las-Cases was simply awesome - blessed with a plushness rarely encountered. Simply exceptional from start to finish, this wine was almost impossible to fault and stays at the top of the heap as one of the best Bordeaux’s I’ve had the pleasure of sharing. 

Terrific afternoon/evening with a few friends and our Queensland visitors in fine form at my place yesterday - late morning to mid-evening - everything taken at a very sedate pace (especially with this bloomin’ “never-ending” heat wave we’re suffering here at the moment).

Pol Roger 1995 Vintage - spectacularly good - still fresh and invigorating but with incredible depth and complexity - 93 - served with softened Jindi brie and juicy strawberries on wafer biscuits.

Donnhoff 1998 Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spatlese - a bowl of summer fruits in a glass - gorgeous aromatics, plenty of fruit weight mimicking the nose on the palate with terrific acid cut, excellent length, just starting to attain a little of the secondary petro-character - still just a pup - 92 - served with fresh smoked Tasmanian, baby Asian greens, avacado, capers, red onions, sour cream and chives - the food/wine match worked very well.

Tyrrell’s Vat 47 2002 Chardonnay - pristine Oz Chardonnay (and will last for several years, too!) - nicely worked mealy barrel characters, melon/fig fruit, great line, wonderful balance and mouthfeel, just about spot on to my liking - 93 - served with extra large king prawns bbq’d whole after marinating in garlic, lemongrass, ginger, chillie and sesame oil - yummo!

McWilliams Mount Pleasant O.H. Hermitage (Shiraz) 1965 - level just below the neck - still a solid mature hue - apart from slightest hint of oxidation/v.a. on the nose and palate, this incredibly good wine (for it’s age, that is) displayed the typical Hunter thumbprint of old leather, earth, soft sweet fruit and cigar box. Probably a year or three too late to catch its drinking window but a wonderful experience all the same - 89 (at a push) - served with chargrilled capsicum and eggplant wrapped in Parma prosciutto.

Ch. Palmer (Margaux) 1979 - level just into neck - opened with a fair amount of barnyard in the bouquet but with a good decant and plenty of time in the glass, this wine just got better and better, revealing more purity and “sweetness” as it opened out. Balanced, mature, complex and long - another 93 pointer! - served with marinated (Moroccan spices, garlic, pepper and oil) beef eye fillet shaslicks alternatively skewered with onion, bacon, zucchini and button mushrooms and served with Turkish-styled bean dish (cooked for hours with tomatoes, garlic, onion and spices).

Taylor’s Vintage Port 1983 - opened early in the afternoon to see how this was travelling - way too volatile from the spirit/high alcohol - and with Roy Hersch’s reco’s still echoing in my head - decanted this about 3 p.m. and drank it five hours later - much better for it - superb cherry/almond fruit, elegant but still with underlying controlled power and authority - couldn’t get over the brilliant balance and smoothness but with just the right amount of astringency on an incredibly long palate - 94. My WOTD/N just pipping several other similarlarly-pointed very high quality wines. What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon (thankfully in air conditioned comfort)!

Comte de Vogue occupies a very special place in the top echelon of the Burgundy heirarchy. Unfortunately, over the many years of collecting and drinking fine wines from the Cote D’or, I’ve only tried this producer’s offerings on, perhaps, half a dozen occasions.

Fellow blogger, Dave Brookes (who also earns his bucks as Sydney Auction Manager for Australia’s leading wine auctioneers, Langtons) kindly brought a bottle of 1983 de Vogue Chambolle-Musigny to my place earlier this year which, after a very shaky start, unfolded and blossomed in the glass into a glorious Burgundy worthy of an outstanding rating. A great effort, particularly for a village wine and a difficult vintage where hail and then rot caused considerable problems across the Cote.

Excellent juice. Typically for Chambolle, not a great depth of colour and just a bit too oaky (for me) on the nose just at the moment but underneath the sappy/musky Pinot fruit was trying its best to make some sort of counterbalancing statement. The palate tells a different story with ripe glossy red cherries, green plums and even a touch of blackberry to the fore, the acidity/oak/tannin balance is nigh spot on and the finish is exemplary - everything sitting on a medium-bodied, relatively elegant platform. Probably will merit a higher score later (give it 3-4 years), but on last night’s performance somewhere around 90/91. Drink 2010-2015.
  

 Gorgeous bright lemon gold. Fantastic exuburent, spicy, honeyed nose of musky florals, rose petals and lychee sitting over exotic tropical fruit followed by an unctuous palate of creamy, oily, concentrated fruit mimicking the nose to a tee. Amazing mouthfeel, ohso pure, beguiling and utterly compelling - a hedonist’s delight - finishing quite soft but long with enough acidity to hold the whole equation together. Drink now or over the next few years. A flamboyant white worthy of a solid 93 points.

Fantastic night, albeit tinged with some expected sadness, over the early passing of loving husband and father, truly great friend and mentor on all things wine and food, Tom Low.

Tom’s wife, Toi and daughter’s, Adelle and Clare joined my family and the remnants of my original tasting group, with notable absent original member, Bruce, whose mother suffered a stroke earlier in the day. All our thoughts are with Jean and family for a speedy and full recovery. Michael Chin (now living in Darwin) made the long trip down to join us.

Orlando Steingarten Riesling 2002 - Outstanding varietal aromatic definition, although a little toasty on the palate for the age. Otherwise about as good as it gets. 92

Marc Bredif Vouvray 1985 - Amazingly fresh and lively, very apply and acid to burn. Will live for decades. Initial sulphur and cheesiness blew off pretty quickly - what evolved thereafter looked extremely good indeed. 90

Domaine Colin-Lequin Chassagne-Monrachet “Les Vergers” 1998 - One of the surprise packets of the evening - brimming with complexity, just fantastic nuance and structure, very youthful with the uncanny ability of combining rich, succulent fruit and gorgeous oak treatment with a steely minerality that permeated through the wine - quite brilliant. 93

Francois Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru “Montee de Tonnerre” 2000 - unfortunately served after the Chassagne. Typically flinty, steely with terrific acid cut. A keeper. 91  

Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile Riesling VT 1990 - less developed than the last bottle opened recently (and perhaps just a little less exciting) with decidedly more freshness and sweetness paticularly on the mid-palate. Remarkably youthful in colour and nuance, finishing almost bone dry. 93

Jean Grivot Vosne-Romanee Grand Cru Richebourg 1987 - level 3cm from cork - Not a great year in Burgundy, but compared to the disjointed, albeit seemingly more youthful, 1988 I tried in Sydney a few weeks back, this wine delivered the goods, although, after a good half hour in the glass, started to dry out a tad on the finish. Otherwise, sublime gamey/earthy/mushroomy aromatics with a strong spine of sappy cherry and plum. Powerful, integrated palated, fully mature and quite thrilling apart from the touch of senility mentioned above. 90

Frederic Esmonin Gevrey-Chambertin Grand Cru Clos-de-Beze 1996 - very impressive colour; wonderfully pure, hedonistic nose of black fruits, earthy pinot sap and spicy, savoury oak with hints of mushroom and game pie followed by an authoritative palate crammed with mouth-filling extract, a fair dollop of integrated new wood and some seriously good grape tannins on a long, firm finish. Just needs another 3-5 years for the grip to settle a tad and the equation should be perfectly balanced. Looked quite a few notches above the Grivot. 93

Ch. Malescot (Margaux) 1961 - WOTN - from Tom’s cellar and generously brought by his family. Mid-shoulder, black/white mouldy cork (top half), totally soaked. From the moment I removed the black sludge from the neck and gently opened this wine, captivating, enthralling aromas of violets, cassis, cedar, sweet earth and saddle leather filled the olfactories. The incredible feat of sheer perfection found on the nose is duplicated on the palate - Bordeaux at its’ finest. Words cannot do this little masterpiece justice. A most moving tribute to the man we honour on this special night. Rates with the 1982 Leoville Las Cases as my equal highest pointed wine of the year. Bravo! 97

Ch. Canon (St.Emillon) 1985 - mistakenly poured instead of Toi’s great looking bottle of ‘79 Palmer - opened with some bottle stink and barnyard but over the next hour transformed into a terrific example from this top right-bank producer. Developed beautiful sweet, earthy ripe fruit matched to melting tannins on a soft, lingering elegant finish. Ready to go. 92

Ch. Mouton-Rothschild (Pauillac) 1994 - deep, powerful, brooding wine more akin to the new world with exuburent savoury oak predominating the longer the wine was open. Luxurious and opulent with abundant cedar, tar and curranty fruit, this wine is way too young with grippy tannins dominating on a power-packed finish. Needs another 10 years. 91

Very late in the night a Penfolds Kalimna Bin 28 1996 Shiraz (very good/excellent, 89 points) made an unlikely appearance and the hard core stayers got a small taste of the luscious, raisaned Seppelt Show Muscat DP 63 (outstanding, 92 points) to polish off what was an extraordinary good night of food, wine and fellowship. I’m sure Tom would have enjoyed himself if he was there in person.

A night to remember, particularly that stunning 1961 Margaux!