Colin’s turn to host ‘Monday Table’ and we gathered at Melbourne’s Flower Drum Restaurant to check in on a few Dujac Grand Crus. The food and service was exemplary and we enjoyed an evening of good humour and friendship.
2009 Dom Perignon Champagne: Fine, fresh and creamy with plenty of yeasty, Vegemitey action.
2009 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut: Complex, rich and creamy. There are red berry, citrus and white peach fruits. It is intense with a sweet core of fruit and plenty of yeast and mineral nuance. Great drive and length.
1998 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill: Advancing a little with some brulee and honey notes coming to the fore. Quite rich and creamy in the mouth with good persistence.
2002 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill: Simply outstanding. Has some green apple, preserved lemon and flora. It is direct and precise with great depth and breadth. Bead is super-fine and it is a Champagne of focus and real class.
2002 Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche, Grand Cru: Expressive with a core of sweet black cherry fruit and plenty of earthy nuance. It has some pine needle sap, camphor and compost.
2003 Domaine Dujac Clos St. Denis. Grand Cru: A really good '03. Has some camphor to the aroma along with highly perfumed black cherry fruit. It is a deep and luscious wine with some violet and floral spice. It is expansive and very persistent.
2005 Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche, Grand Cru: A spicy and ripe nose of blood plum, black cherry, vanilla and liniment. It has a dense, creamy and voluminous palate, filling the mouth with flavour and finishing with great authority and drive.
1999 Domaine Dujac Bonnes Mares, Grand Cru: Tight and youthful with black cherry, sandalwood and earth notes. It has great build and the wines floral perfume unlocks once it’s been in the glass a while. It has good chew and outstanding length and needs plenty of more time in the cellar.
2001 Domaine Dujac Bonnes Mares, Grand Cru: Showing some whole bunch florals and a touch of compost development. It is a structured wine with plenty of earth and tangy acidity.
2002 Domaine Dujac Bonnes Mares, Grand Cru: Open knit and engaging, with deliciously crunchy cherry fruit and something cool and stony at its heart. It is silky of texture and expansive. There’s excellent balance and great length.
2005 Domaine Dujac Clos St. Denis, Grand Cru: The aroma has some undergrowth and earth along with ripe cherry and berry fruits. It is deep, creamy and luscious with excellent length.
2005 Domaine Dujac Charmes-Chambertin, Grand Cru: Charming by name and by nature. Still youthful but also very expressive. Dark fruits are trimmed by floral spice. It is generous and creamy with good concentration and an earthy finish.
2005 Domaine Dujac Echezeaux, Grand Cru: The nose is like a rose garden, all petals and dark earth. The palate is fine and impeccably balanced. Red and black fruits are trimmed with aniseed spice. It has great shape and complexity and finishes with good authority.
1861 or 1864 Chateau Vigneau Sauternes: Several years ago, I purchased some wines from a private cellar in Burgundy. On offer were two bottles of 19th century Chateau Vigneau, one without a label, one with an illegible label. The cellar notes of the owner of the wines indicated they were the 1861 and 1864. We sent photos of the bottles to Chateau Rayne-Vigneau and they came back indicating that the bottles were indeed consistent with what was used prior to 1880 and the pewter capsule that sealed the neck of the bottles was used up until the 1930’s.
The wine was quite dark but still had khaki green tinge. The nose had some nuttiness and volatility but also some honey, coconut and preserved fruits. The palate was remarkably good, not just a curio. It tasted of tinned peaches, vanilla, freshly ground coffee and earth. There was good sweetness and perfectly balanced acidity. Length of flavour was absolutely superb and it was as an engaging wine as I’ve had this year.
1949 Bodegas Toro Albala Don PX Selección: Some nutty, aldehydic things on the nose along with sweet raisins and passionfruit skins. It is rich and heady, with some florals and plenty of earth. Balance is really good and flavours linger for a long time.
1968 Bodegas Toro Albala Don PX Selección: Incredibly sweet and rich with complex notes of honey, dried apricot, cold tea, molasses and raisins. The palate is super-intense, as the treacle like nectar invades every crevice of the mouth. It doesn’t feel heavy but a small glass is more than enough.
