Had a terrific meal with fellow board member Andrew Hamilton at Perth’s Print Hall last night. Food and service were exceptional. Wines weren’t bad either. Jean-Charles our most excellent Somm partnered the Mimolette cheese course with Ferran Adria’s beer which made for a masterful combination. Andrew and I partnered everything else with Burgundy and Barolo which also made for masterful combinations.
2007 Benoit Ente Puligny-Montrachet ‘Les Referts’ 1er Cru: Has a whiff of smoke and an engaging scent of citrus blossom. In the mouth it has a light butteriness coupled with piercing mineral line. It has great shape and intensity and finishes with sharp lemon juice cut.
2005 Comte de Vogue Chambolle-Musigny ‘Les Amoureuses’ 1er Cru: Has such an engaging aroma that immediately draws you in. It smells of black cherry, violets, smoked meats and mineral. It is rich and powerful in the mouth but also light and airy. At its heart is cherry stone and just below the flesh so much geological matter. I love the wine’s poise, power and detail. So good now, even better in a couple of decades.
2005 Bruno Giacosa Barolo: Even after a couple of hour decant this was reticent at first. Given a bit of time in the glass and after working a bit more air through the wine she blossoms. There are notes of dried flowers, cranberry, balsamic, sweet earth and tar. It is beautifully perfumed yet there is muscle here. Tannins are ripe but sinewy and the wine has nice elegance and terrific persistence.
Quinta do Noval 20 Year Old Tawny Port: Chocolates and raisins a plenty on the nose. Full, sweet and rich in the mouth with a nice clean spirit and plenty of nutty, chocolatey flavour. It finishes with a savoury edge and length is excellent.
Wonderful evening Jeremy, thanks again. I was very happy with all aspects of the experience; the food, wine, and service were all excellent! I was a bit worried about the Giacosa initially, I thought a couple hours would be enough for it to open but as you mentioned it just needed more time in glass.
I’m still blown away by the Comte de Vogue Les Amoureuses, it was truly singing straight out of the bottle. Such a pretty yet powerful wine. The Benoit Etne was also just superb. Thanks for making the hard choices.
Andrew, I see folks saying that the 05’s are shut down. This is certainly not my experience. They are no where near their apogee but boy are they good.
Glenn, Perth was a very fun place to be in the 80’s. It is still fun now.
I see folks saying that the 05’s are shut down. This is certainly not my experience.
I’ve not had too much experience with the 05’s other than a few on release Jeremy but I can only reiterate the fact that the de Vogue we had was ridiculously good as a pop and pour proposition.
Glenn, you should try to get back down here sometime. I’ve only been here since 99 and the changes this city has gone through in that time are quite amazing. The quality of food and wine here have made terrific improvements. A lot of that is due to the amount of cash floating around town from the mining and resources boom we’ve had. The only negative is the cost of these experiences and the cost of living in general. I chuckle when people say New York City is expensive, every time I’m there I reckon it’s cheap when compared to Perth.
Instead of going to church on Sunday everyone just goes to the pub for the weekly “Sunday session”. Given I’m originally from North Carolina experiencing that was quite an eye opener!
Andrew - when I was last in Perth, 1983/84, I was young, single and running about. I had no high-end food/wine experiences but had loads of fun nonetheless!!!
Andrew - when I was last in Perth, 1983/84, I was young, single and running about. I had no high-end food/wine experiences but had loads of fun nonetheless!!!
When I first arrived out her in 1999 for a semester study abroad I was single and the Australian dollar was worth 50 US cents. I didn’t drink wine then, but much like you I definitely had loads of fun! It’s a great town, big enough to have all modern amenities but it has a small town/country feel due to the isolation.