Overwhelmed by Over Oldies

The weekend was one of oldies. Overwhelmingly so, some good, some not so good. The Saturday featured a dinner with The Two Docs at B&B's lovely old home. The two B&B's had amassed a lot of old wines that needed sorting out, but they couldn't see the Forrest for the trees. We helped them out, and a number of these Forrest wines came out for the dinner.

We started with bubbles - 2005 Forrest 'Bubbles for Brigid' Methode. Quite big and bold, with plenty of body and flavour. Not fine and elegant as great bubbles should be, but a most pleasing introduction to the night with good fruit and autolysis, sort of in a 'Bolshi' way. The ex-Doc 'B' created the meal and it was better than the wines, bar the next, the 2005 Forrest Riesling. This was everything aged Riesling should be, off-dry, with limes and toast. Very interesting to follow and drink in the glass. The more you sipped, the drier it seemed. Then you needed another sip to counter the dryness. Very clever. Just what the Doc prescribed! A 1999 Forrest Gewurztraminer was not as successful. Golden coloured, it showed oxidation, but the varietal hair-oil and esters spice came through in an unctuous, oily way. 'Unctuous' has good connotations with wine and not so good with other foods. This time it fitted in with the latter, being sickly-so. The 2000 Forrest Pinot Noir was similarly oxidised, and the decrepit notes merging well with forest-floor and decay, all in a lighter, cooler, old, savoury red fruited way. Still tannic in mouth and drying out. The finale was the 1997 Forrest Botrytised Riesling, again somewhat oxidised. Poor on nose, but better on palate. Caramel and figs on an acidic palate, laced with old apples. These oldies were truly over it. However the food was great and the company too.

Sunday night brought out very old friend Doc Lindy and her man Fly High Si. SWMBO and Doc Lindy had been mates for decades and the conversation was very much on old times. The blokies couldn't get many words in, and we were a little overwhelmed by the nostalgic talk - for a while. Some wines showed very well. A 2008 Mt Edward Riesling was floral, citrus and honey tinged, making a great aperitif. This could develop more quickly than the 2007 we are familiar with - say 4-6 years. Then a 2009 Clearview Reserve Chardonnay. Rich, ripe, vibrant and well-tensioned, this label has been modernised somewhat, without losing its essential ballsy nature. Lovely stuff indeed. Reds started with a 2007 Two Paddocks Pinot Noir. Seemingly light at first, this just grew into itself, to become a fine, firmly structured wine with elegant, but seriously flavoured and constructed wine in a burgundian way. It was popular and went down a treat by going down quickly. This was followed by a 2001 Kingsley Syrah, a Tri-Nations winner. We were told to decant it as it might be reductive. We did, and it worked. Great dark and youthful colour. Intense and concentrated black fruits, savoury nuances, pepper, and perfect. The palate the same, just so sleek and slippery. Great wine. Then finishing with a 2009 Spade Oak Reserve Noble Viognier. This gets better and better each time we try it, richer, more together, nutty notes now, less VA lift, more good unctuousness. Creamy and oily with complex nutty-savoury elements. Quite a star. But it could be overwhelming for some people. However, us oldies had no trouble with it.