Some recent interesting wines.
Chateau Haut Beausejour 1995 (magnum)
Ruddy garnet colour, still some depth in the middle. Nose is initially dominated by funk and dirt. Later some more orthodox tertiary scents mingle with roasted characters that are also on display in the mouth. Ripe roasted/stewed fruit and a bit grainy/coarse in terms of feel – evocative of coffee. The palate lightens further by day two but never gets a sense of purity. Serviceable but ageing unkindly. 82-
Bell Hill Chardonnay 2008 (Waipara, NZ)
Oh if only all new world wine makers heeded the need for balance! It should be such a simple thing, and yet whenever I find it, it comes as such a pleasant surprise. This is really quite lovely – rich golden yellow colour and a charming nose that mixes fruit sweetness with a degree of minerality. Inevitably, these sorts of wines tend to be immediately labelled “burgundian” by the learned scribes but are really no such thing; there is still recognisable dominance of fruit over soil/mineral flavours although it clearly sits outside the “norm” for the new world. Perhaps you could mistake it for a richer Meursault or Beaune style but that is not to say it actually tastes like one. So perhaps these sorts of comparisons are useful and perhaps they are not – but they are about as accurate as saying Puligny is “Vosne -like” whereas Chassagne is “Chambolle-like”. However, if making these sorts of comparisons of new world chardonnay to burgundy drives the styles being made towards wines like this then I’m all in favour ! Having got that distracting little rant out of the way let me tell you about this wine some more: creamy textured but without any cloying or unctuousness. This rare beauty even dares to display its poise and balance more and more as the wine warms to room temperature. Hint of reductive complexity, lemon meringue streak and some river stones. Opening further, just lovely. Who knows whether and how these will age given the youth of the vineyard – the balance would suggest “just fine” but its allure is also about that current flavour profile. 90
Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon1998
If black is the new red then this wine is… black. It was a mistake opening this without having a good few hours to decant and air. Brooding treacle fruit and roasted notes. Inky leather and crushed berries, bit of pot-pourri. What’s good is that the balance doesn’t seem too bad – yes, it’s tannic and you can tell that there was a bit of oak involved at some point, but the density of the palate is really impressive. This should come together in a while. Possibly a long while. Serve with truffled ox-blood sausage or something if you must try one now, or take it along when uncle next insists on having you over for his super-spicy-mystery-meat-stew that you’ve always hated; trust me – you won’t be able to taste it. 87+