Dinner with Melvin & friends

WINE TALK
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@melvinyeo and 5 other Singaporeans came to NZ for a holiday including walking the Milford Track. We had them over for dinner. homemade smoked salmon dip (with home smoked Recioto chilli powder) to start and then Beef Bourguignon, then cheese and Pineapple Pannacotta to finish

we drank well~

2020 Roses de Jeanne Les Ursules. decanted for 30mins. quite a dark yellow with a hint of salmon pink. Lovely vinous nose with some stone fruits, the palate was simultaneously powerful and refined. Great depth to the palate, very pinot fruited with some hints of red berries but also some brioche. Finish is long and powerful. Strong acidity framed the wine perfectly. Long and intense and impressive

1993 Bouchard La Romanee: Decanted for 90mins. Dark red, dark red black fruited nose with strong iron earth note. The palate was big and powerful with tons of dark red fruits and more iron notes. Still quite tannic and youthful even. Not a delicate style at all, more like an old school Faiveley. Needs another 20 years I reckon!

1991 Mt Mary Pinot Noir: Not decanted. Mevin instantly stated Chambolle which made a lot of sense. Pale red, inviting nose of pale red fruits with some old wine vinous sweetness showing. Lovelty etheral texture, silky fine boned and delicious. Really good bottle of Yarra Valley Pinot travelling well at 35 years

1998 VCC: decanted 3 hours. Dark red. Showing some lovely floral Cab France notes on the nose. Dark plum fruits, pure and clean and precise. Long balanced finish, good weight and powerful with and effortless balance.Great showing tonight. Everyone initially preferred this over the Magdelaine

1998 Magdelaine: Decanted 3 hours. Dark red. Nose was dark fruited with some earthiness. Started off as a wee bit monolithic compared to the VCC and grew in the glass over time and ended being the preferred wine. Very long and deep with red plum fruits. A bit more bass to the VCC tenor. Long lifer ahead but a great showing today

2007 Raveneau Montee de Tonnerre: Mid yellow, distinctive chablis nose of iodine, sea shells and citrus. Textural and tactile with lots of mid palate extract and depth. Lemon fruits and great acidity with intensity to burn. Last bottle but just approaching its venith

2006 Kumeu River Hunting Hill Chardonnay. Under screw cap Also mid yellow. More Cote d’Or in style with more ripeness and a touch of framng oak. Great papalate presence. A lovely mix of white stone fruits and minerally notes. This has developed into a lovely mature balanced Chard drink really well. A tribute to the Brajkovich family to produce excellent age worthy Chardonnays in a challenging climate location (which is now being surrounded by housing sprawl)

1998 Dr Loosen Berkasteler Badstube Eiswein. Dark yellow orange colour. What a cracker of wine to finish. Bright and intense with electrifying acidity coursing thru its veins. Lovelu orange and citrus and flowers to the palate and nose. Small pour went a really long way. Crazy long finish.

A great time was had by all and it was great to be able to return Melvin’s hospitality.

cheers Brodie

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WINE DINNER IN AUCKLAND - (8/4/2026)

Brodie and Raz generously hosted a group of us who were visiting NZ, opening a line-up of excellent wines with excellent food for dinner at their beautiful home by the beach. Personal favourites were the ‘20 Ursules, ‘98 Magdelaine and ‘91 Mount Mary Pinot Noir. The ‘06 Kumeu River was also shockingly good, a pleasant surprise after our lovely visit earlier in the day. Always happy to catch up with internet wine friends in-person and really a testament to how great WB is as a platform to connect so many people together.

  • 2020 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne UR/R20 - France, Champagne
    Crisp red fruit with slight hint of oxidative notes, clearly BdN but I thought Egly. Had the salinity of the best growers. Gained presence with air as the bubbles receded, wonderful balance as always with Bouchard. (94 points)
  • 1993 Bouchard Père et Fils La Romanée - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Romanée Grand Cru
    Powerful, youthful dark fruit with some savoury and bloody iron notes that made me think Gevrey. Agree with a previous note that this could have been mistaken for a Nebbiolo because of the tannins. A real treat to have tried this though. (93 points)
  • 1991 Mount Mary Pinot Noir - Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley
    Wow I actually preferred this over the La Romanee because of its elegance. Some tertiary notes so I was in '80s, but the floral and slightly sweet fruit made me guess Chambolle. A truly eye-opening experience (although this turned slightly plummy with air). (93 points)
  • 1998 Vieux Château Certan - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
    Much more ready than my last bottle, when blind I guessed '90 because this was clearly from a strong vintage. Still some pyrazine notes that I noted from the last time which made me guess left-bank, but when revealed to be '98 right-bank I guessed Figeac. Structure had receded compared to my previous experience with some secondary truffle notes. Really liked the wild character of this at first but after some time thought that the Magdelaine alongside was the more complete wine. (93 points)
  • 1998 Château Magdelaine - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
    Initially a little reserved compared to the VCC alongside but clearly a right-bank from a strong vintage because of the slightly plummy notes. With time this evolved along a similar trajectory to my previous experiences, showing a wonderfully layered nose and the palate was an iron fist in a velvet glove. Still a long way to go for this wine yet. (94 points)
  • 2007 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
    Quite similar to my previous impression. Quite opulent and rich for a Raveneau so guesses were all over the place but I initially said this was Raveneau (and the wine alongside was Dauvissat) because of the waxy texture and lactic note that I associate with the producer. In line with my previous experience, this benefitted from more air so would hold off on these for now. (93 points)
  • 2006 Kumeu River Chardonnay Hunting Hill - New Zealand, North Island, Auckland, Kumeu
    Wow I guessed this as a Dauvissat alongside the Raveneau because of the precise and cutting citrus fruit. Some reduction with steely notes, showing good development under screwcap. Kumeu Rivers can definitely age based on this evidence and our tasting at the winery earlier in the afternoon. I also usually prefer the Hunting Hill to the Mate's Vineyard, possibly because of the Mendoza clone for the latter which lends a richer expression. (94 points)
  • 1998 Dr. Loosen Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Eiswein - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
    Interesting to try an Eiswein as I don't think I tried one before. Darker orange colour that suggested age but still had electric acidity, interesting mix of apricot and marmalade on the palate. Excellent intensity for a producer that I've had mixed experiences with. (92 points)




Very much looking forward to Round 2!

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Sounds like an amazing occasion. The food must have been pretty delicious, since no one looked at the camera while serving themselves!

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Melvin = the best!!

Got to meet him in Singapore a few months ago.

What a lineup! Love the 20 Ursules note. Have one and am debating grabbing another

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Very nice. Food looks incredible, as per usual :slight_smile:

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@brodie_thomson and @melvinyeo
Great notes. Makes me want to come back. Thanks!

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Terrific, thanks. Very pleased to see the 07 Raveneau was pristine/unflawed. Crackers to read about that old Mt. Mary—I haven’t had any of theirs but I’ve had some good Yarra PN in my past. Also great to read the positivity around the 06 Kumeu River, never been patient enough to leave mine that long.

Looking forward to my first meetup with Melvin and the posse in 11 days or so.

Haere Ra

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It was pretty damn tasty for sure. See comments below…

The 2020 Les Ursules was really really good. Get another if you can afford it.

Raz outdid herself. The Beef Bourguignon took 3 days to make. It had three different cuts of meat. We have a blind beef tasting along with the blind wine tasting!

Anytime Warren

Hi Mike, I think the Mt Mary and the KR Hunting Hill were impressive especially because of how well they showed against some serious Burgundy competition. The Hunting Hill was a tribute to the effectiveness of ageing under screw cap - showing lots of development and maturity.

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