Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Visits Long Overdue

It was a time to catch up with many people and wine. So a dinner with the Little Aussie Battler and the Drama Queen was on order, to hear the goss and discuss what the coming year might bring. It was all very exciting and fun. The shared passion for good and interesting wines took the same path.
We all love the Rieslings from the Mosel, and this was a second look at a von Kesselstatt Piesporter Goldtropfchen. A few weeks ago, it was a 2001 Auslese. Tonight it was a 2007 Kabinett as our starter. Von Kesselstatt is under the radar here, even though it remains one of the great traditional producers. And Piesport with its Goldtropfchen site a little forgotten nowadays. SWMBO and I were there in 2005. A timeless place, and this was a classic Kabinett and representative of site - full-bodied for a Mittel Mosel, but still retaining freshness and class. A touch of sulphur that will pass. A great glass of wine.
Then onto Rene Engel. A burgundy producer I was introduced to in the early 90s, but not kept up with. The property was sold off a couple of years ago, so a bit of a farewell catch-up drink, overdue, and now a little too late. The 2003 Engel Clos de Vougeot was big, ripe and dark. Plenty of wine here, and still vigorous and very burgundy indeed. A great bottle and one to keep your faith in the 2003s, deemed to be atypical, and wines that may fall over quickly. We didn't see it that way. Glad we visited!
The LAB & DQ brought along a 1993 Domaine Tempier Bandol, the most famous wine of Provence. I haven't seen a Bandol for donkeys' years, and this was a welcome eye-opener. Talk about a trip down memory lane! This was a red wine of long ago. Still black red, dense on nose and palate, with what the DQ said had "waves of flavour sweeping over the tongue". Black fruits and secondary funkiness. Brett for sure, but in a robust wine like this, it all worked. Mourvedre is a beast, but Tempier make it look half-way noble.
Then in honour of the LAB, an oldie that was full of nostalgic memories, a 1977 Brown Brothers 'Koombalah' Cabernet Sauvignon. In its time, Brown Brothers and the cool-climate Koombalah' vineyard were revolutionary. They still are, but everyone's a revolutionary nowadays. Quite elegant and distinctly minty and herbaceous, tending green cedar, with pronounced acidity. It had come together and moved on some. Fruit faded, but not quite dried out. An interesting integrated character however.
We thought we'd continue the visit to Brown Bros. with a wee modern sticky. A 2006 Brown Brothers 'Patricia' Noble Riesling was rich and voluptuous, yet retained an elegance. On its own, it would be seen as a drink now. Those who visit the sticky domaine regularly would be able to suggest this wine probably had another decade ahead of it. We served this as a back-up to something we thought should have been visited a long, long time ago - a 1985 Petaluma Botrytis Riesling Essence in 375 ml. Only 9.0% alc., and an Aussie Trockenbeerenauslese. Bottled in brown glass, we had no idea of how it would be. Maybe we should have opened its door a decade ago? But no worries mate, it was glorious - the wine of the night. Dark mahogany hued gold. Dense, rich and concentrated on nose and palate. Unctuous and decadently sweet. No trace of oxidation, and in fact superb toast and kero intermingling with barley sugar, figs and creme brulee. Air time saw it come together with the slightlest nutty-resin note. But quite sensational.
Lesson learnt: Don't wait too long before visits. You miss out on delights and pleasures you surely deserve.

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