The death of Whitney Houston sent shudders through my total being. Would this now give Anthony Hall the green light to play ‘I will always love you’ on incessant loop as some sort of homage to the departed diva? We mentioned Whitney and he spooled up aforementioned awful song as a joke and played it for just a little longer than might be considered a joke, I think he was quietly enjoying it.
Anthony’s musical tastes are still in doubt but his hospitality is not and he hosted another fine evening of wine and brilliant food cooked by Kay. We wet the whistle with a deliciously creamy 1996 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne and then launched into the serious business via a splendid magnum of 1981 Krug collection. This fizz was absolutely on the top of its game with engaging aromas of mandarin peel, citrus blossom champignons de Paris and cracked wheat. It had brilliant line in the mouth with rich bready and citrus flavours and tremendous focus. It looked a decade younger and was terrific with freshly shucked oysters and Kay’s cheese straws.
Pan seared scallops with snowy mountain samphire that Anthony had foraged for (he didn’t really) and sage leaves worked a treat with our first bracket of younger Ramonet Montrachets. The 2008 Ramonet Montrachet had a strong scent of spearmint cream, smoke and ripe peaches. It was full and fat with plenty of grunt but without perhaps the detail of the other three wines of the bracket. The 2007 Ramonet Montrachet is a seriously good bott opened seriously too young but you could sense its potential greatness. The nose was a refined combination of white peach, smoke, flint and white flowers. In the mouth a huge wave of high glycerol fruits overlay a solid mineral spine. With air there was a beautiful thread of aniseed running through the wine. The best drink of the bracket now for mine was the 2005 Ramonet Montrachet. At first it was a little cheesy and leesy but soon in booted the smoky minerals and pure white peach aromas and flavours. It was sweet of fruit and dense but beautifully countered by the mineral elements and a wine of great poise. The surprise package of the first bracket was the 2006 Ramonet Montrachet. This too had quite a flinty, smoky nose with some honeysuckle and fruit peel. It was explosive in the mouth with really good line for the vintage and was supremely long.
The next bracket was marred by an oxidised 2000 Ramonet Montrachet that showed some cool fruit underneath and an oxidised 2001 Ramonet Montrachet that showed more oxidation underneath. There was some redemption by way of the superb showings of the 04 and 02 and Kay’s stunning spanner crab ravioli with truffle paste, passionfruit and gelatinous bouillon. The 2004 Ramonet Montrachet had a lovely cool fruit feel with an engaging aroma of mint, mineral and spice. It was rich with plenty of energy and had great cut to the finish. The 2002 Ramonet Montrachet was a vinous millefeuille, with layers of cream, mint, limestone, toast and orchard fruits. It had near perfect balance and latent power with a finish that drove on long and hard.
Anthony decided we needed a ‘wedgie’ at this stage and wedged an oxidised 2002 Drouhin Montrachet-Marquis de Laguishe into the line-up before having to wedge a 2002 Domaine Leflaive Batard-Montrachet in as a wedgie to cover the oxidised wedgie. The Leflaive was in great form, holding up well in illustrious company and showing aromas of nougat, white flowers and almond. It was rich, round and sappy in the mouth with great line and perfectly harnessed power. Served blind I picked it as Leflaive’s Chevalier such was the elegance and pristine shape of this Batard.
Fellow tasting group member Greg Melick had brought a couple of monster Tasmanian crayfish over with him and we wondered if those on the direct flight from Hobart to Melbourne were concerned about the scratching sounds emanating from the overhead storage compartment. Kay decided to create a very special ‘surf ‘n’ turf dish by coupling crustacean with beautiful chicken breast cooked sous vide with tarragon (a herb that should be used more often and a perfect match with chardonnay). The 1997 Ramonet Montrachet is a delicious white wine from a vintage that really wasn’t destined to age. There was some fruit rind development characters along with a hint of vanilla. It was round and relatively complex with sneaky persistence. The 1995 Ramonet Montrachet was perhaps wine of the night. Again you get a big whiff of smoky minerals followed by some aniseed and fennel, which morph into a smell of liquorice. It was super complex, rich and powerful but with a certain weightlessness. It had incredible length of flavour. The 1998 Ramonet Montachet was dank and mushroomy, affected by tca. The 1996 Ramonet Montrachet looked like 96 Salon without the bubbles. It was incredibly youthful with a pale colour and green tinges. It was lean, sinewy and muscular with citrus and white peach fruits and a chalk-laden finish. A few of us wondered if it would eventually ever flesh out before it oxidised but you have to marvel at this piercingly pristine wine.
During the past bracket Anthony’s music selection actually deserves a little praise, we had a set from Thelonious Monk which ambled along nicely in the background but this is where things turned pear shaped….I could now hear ‘Tubular Bells’ playing. Now, I’d rather cut my own cock off and throw it into heavy traffic than listen to Mike Oldfield, fortunately a piece of Comte and two very good vintage Ports arrived to distract me. The 1997 Quinta do Noval Nacional was very tasty and pretty close to prime time. It was quite chocaltey with some notes of cassis and salty plum. There was a hint of teak and curry leaf and it finishes long and spirity. The 1955 Taylor’s Vintage Port is majestic. It is rich and complex with dried fruits and fruitcake spice on the nose. The fruit is just drying off a little leaving a fine spirit that is reminiscent of fine cognac. It is mouthfilling and quite ethereal.
Homemade brioche was served with sugar syrup, poached plums and blackberries and yoghurt and blackcurrant soufflé. It was a fine dessert to bring a memorable meal to its closure. The 1997 Chateau Rieussec was very nice with its notes of lavender and apricot jam. It was textured with good underlying structure. The 1989 Chateau d’Yquem was on another level. The infamous Gerry, who was sitting next to me, was not so enamoured. As we were playing options it was revealed as Yquem and we were trying to guess the year, he blurted out ‘whatever it is I’ve got it for sale’! I thought it was very smart with a complex nose of vanilla, toast, candied peel and cumquat. It was full and exotic with a nice savoury finish and good length.
Paul Hanna, Gerry and I were staying at the same hotel and shared a cab back into Melbourne. I suggested a beer, Paul suggest he crack a bottle of 1990 Clos de Tart he had ‘en baggage’ so we had a cleansing red Burg before retiring for the evening. The 90 CdT is a wine that I have enjoyed since release although I haven’t seen it for a few years. It opened up with a little musky funk but breathed to show and engaging scent of sweet strawberries and earth. It had lovely balance with nicely delineated fruit and good acidity. We enjoyed our last sip whilst overlooking the iconic Flinders St station with no background music.
Cheers
Jeremy