A Meeting of Masters and Mentors

I’ll always be indebted to the advice and guidance given by The Chairman and The Master.  They’ve been kind and thoughtful and provided me with tools to further my career and work. Over the years, both SWMBO and I have become good friends with them, beyond the professional aspects, so it was a privilege to be able to offer both of them some hospitality at a serendipitous meeting when all of us were in the same space and time. 

It was a celebration of sorts, so there was no hesitation in cracking open the 2002 Pol Roger Champagne Rosé.  Soft in colour and soft in presentation, the gentle strawberry aromas and flavours are so beautiful in how they are interwoven with the yeast autolysis.  And the flow across the palate quite a sensation.  This has got to be my favourite Champagne at present.

We all headed down to our local Asian eatery, with The Young One and The J-Lady in tow for another slap-up feed.  An assortment of wines covered all the bases.  On the white front, a German Riesling is mandatory.  This time it was a 2009 S.A. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett.  Quite reductive and smoky-flinty on nose, but with considerable weight and richness on the palate.  More so than expected for what usually comes from the site, but then the year was favourable.  Possibly carried by the sugar a little, but SWMBO, The Master and The Chairman liked it.  The quiet achiever was the 2011 Ata Rangi Martinborough Pinot Gris.  Low-key and beautifully pristine white stonefruit aromas and flavours backed by a little more than a whisker of sweetness, and just so precise and detailed.  A lovely refined example.  And a favourite, a 2009 Kumeu River ‘Hunting Hill’ Chardonnay.  The Puligny-Montrachet style of what the Brajkovich family does.  Usually very complex-flinty, but this time more citrus and floral, with racy acidity which worked well with the food.  A star for SWMBO and The Master.

Two different reds, at the opposite end of the spectrum.  The 2008 Drouhin Beaune 1er ‘Clos des Mouches’ is from a lighter, cooler year.  Bright fruited with lively fresh cherry fruits, moderate extract and noticeable acidity, this was attractive, easy drinking.  And it went down a treat, being the quickest to get to the bottom.  I felt it wasn’t quite there, something that The Chairman agreed with, but you can’t argue with how well it drank as a wine.  The 2008 Penfolds ‘Bin 150’ Marananga Shiraz was rather overlooked.  Darker, riper with plum, liquorice and sweet oak.  A big rich wine, the tannin structure building and becoming more significant in the glass.  I always felt it was a ‘mini-RWT’. But it doesn’t have the silky opulence.  It’s certainly more robust now than on a release.  The Chairman felt there was a little bitterness, but I’ll be happy to have another meeting with this wine with my masters and mentors in the future…