Notes from Oz lunch at Je Suis Gourmand with Jojo, Johnny, Aaron, Arnie and Selina.
Schild Estate Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc 2008 - From Adelaide Hills. Rich, ripe fruit. Prickly on the tongue. Real friendly wine with noticeable sweetness. Very good.
Rosemount Mountain Blue Shiraz/Cabernet 1998 - Color starting to brick. Ripe fruit with some good acidity making it food friendly. Cabernet nose; all pencil and cedar. Tastes Old Worldy. A food wine. Seems just past peak. Excellent but if you have it, don't wait any longer.
Browns of Padthaway The Brigstock Shiraz/Cabernet 1998 - Smells oaky. Much more youthful looking than the Rosemount. Toffee and caramel then an acidic hit on the finish which seems a little strange to me. Got a little more interesting after an hour or so with some Indian spice coming in. Disjointed but it improved tremendously with food. Good.
Clarendon Hills Romas Grenache 2003 - Very fruity - all strawberry and cherry. Young and tannic. Much lighter than I expected. Lovely stuff. Well balanced and gains weight with air. Needs a few more years to come around but should have excellent potential.
Kilikanoon McLaren Vale M Shiraz 2003 - Cafe au lait. Really smooth. Minty. Easy to drink and likely at peak. I would have preferred some structure to be provided by tannin or acid. It wasn't flabby, just lacking in grip - it slides down the throat too easily. Good, though.
Domaine du Pegau Reserve Chateauneuf du Pape 2004 - The only non-Oz wine. Fragrant wood and berries. Ripe sweet fruit. Young and tannic. Very complex. No poop on the nose but you sense it after swallowing the wine. Earthy, milk chocolate, coffee, slightly cheesy, black olives, this wine just keeps going on and on. Beautiful and should continue to evolve. I hope Jojo has more of this! Outstanding and very impressive.
Ben Schild Reserve Shiraz 2005 - Too bad this followed such a great wine but it was more of an afterthought to try this. Toffeeish and hot. No subtlety here. Not my type.
Sir James Sparkling Shiraz NV - The only lady at lunch gave a resounding yes when I asked if we still wanted to try this so how could I refuse? Very dark. Good balance with muted sweetness. We were puzzled by the lack of fizz after the initial pour but this is one of the better examples of Sparkling Shiraz I've tried.
De Bortoli Noble One 1998 - Once again a resounding yes from the lady after I asked if we wanted dessert wine. Alarmingly dark. Selina put the wine next to her amber ring and the wine was a close match. Very sweet but with good balancing acidity on the finish. Orange marmalade and burnt sugar. Just past peak I would say but still, very good.