TN: Australia v. France (blind tasteoff)

Ian:

Agreed with you...all but one of the wines were too young for current drinking.

I'm not a great fan of white Graves, but I think the Carbonnieux would have shown a hell of a lot better with 5-7 years on it.

The Cullen is, I think, at its best now. I'm afraid that with much more time on it, it would have lost its aggressive Pouilly-like character that makes it so appealing. Maybe the alcohol/pepper will tone down and a little rounding out will be good, but I'd vote for drinking it now.

The Puligny was a complete baby. I haven't quite figured the 2002 vintage out yet. Compared to other good vintages, I think it's perhaps a little more forward, but not enough to make me worry. I've had a few '86s recently that were still stunning. But the '94s are really starting to come apart. Both were pretty approachable when young. I don't know which way this will go, but I'm betting more like '86. I'd be happy to sock away a case of the village Leflaive until 2015 and maybe check in on it in about 2010 just to make sure all is well.

The Leeuwin is a lot more forward, ripe in style, but it could still use 3-4 years for the oak to integrate. It's a burst of fun when first poured, but within 30 minutes, the oak overtakes the fruit.

I don't know what to think of the Aussie pinot from Paringa. I really didn't like it, though it was fine and sound in every way. I have no idea where it will go with time, because I seldom drink similar wines and have never bought a bunch to follow over time.

Rion is not my favorite producer, but this wine showed pretty well. Prevailing opinion was that it was completely ready. I agree that it is far from closed down, but following its evolution in the glass leads me to believe it would be helped by another 3-5 years...maybe more.

The Chave was indeed infanticide. Nothing more to say about that except to acknowledge that I can understand how people enjoy drinking this young. My preference runs very strongly to mature wines and secondary character and such. I was stunned by this wine in terms of where it can go. But I do have to admit that it was simply a lot of fun to drink as an infant, too.

Okay...what about the Torbreck? There was so much richness, sweetness, chocolate and such...hard to know where it is going. Though I've got a lot of admiration for the commitment that goes into producing such concentration in the vineyard and extraction in the winery without falling completely out of balance, this is not a wine I am likely every to buy. I'm not sure I'd ever look for it to transform the way the Chambolle or Puligny or Hermitage or St. Julien would, but I do have a sense that it might just all come together in a more sculpted way. I'd love to taste it in 3-4 years, but it'll have to be someone else's bottle.

I really, really liked the Moss Wood, Ian. I'll have to chase down their pinot. To my mind, this was the best value wine of the night. It was enjoyable to drink now, but I suspect it could also benefit greatly from 6-8 years. I didn't vote for it, because the Ducru moved ahead at the end, but this was my favorite of all the Aussies.

The Ducru was way, way closed. It eventually opened enough to showed that those guys made a great wine in 1996, but it also has encouraged me to keep my hands off all '96s except for the satellites.

I enjoyed the event. It gave me a chance to check in on some wines I would never open on my own at this age. Nice datapoints. However, it was a little frustrating to watch people picking the Leeuwin over the Leflaive when the Leflaive was just shut tight. The Leflaive was head and shoulders better.

Hey, I can't bitch. Someone else did the work to organize it. I just came along for the ride.

Thanks,

Jim

Ian, Interesting that you have been impressed by the Moss Wood Pinot Noir as I have been also. They are far better known for their Cabernet Sauvignon in Australia which is regarded as one of Australia's best. The Pinot Noir is not similarly rated at all, perhaps because it is by no means a typical of Australian wines from that grape.

Hooroo Keith

Salut/Hi Keith,

le/on Sat, 22 Jan 2005 06:32:29 GMT, tu disais/you said:-

Well, my brother's sister in law (to save you trouble... it's his wife's sister) lives near Perth, and when they visited them, they got to taste Moss Wood's wines. He knows my love of Burgundy (heck, even the local cats know that!) and having been truly impressed with it, brought me back half a dozen, which I felt was a truly generous gesture.

I think it's a lovely wine, much more restrained that many new world Pinots. The only dilemma I have is over when to drink it. It is really atttractive now, but Tony (my bro) was given the advice that it was a wine that would age very well, and as an oenogerontophile, I don't want to be in the silly situation of finding that my very last bottle was head and shoulders better than the ones I'd drunk earlier!

"Ian Hoare" skrev i melding news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

You are that old, Ian? Wonder whether any youngster today even has heard the name? :-) Anders

One of the Australian wine writers who seems pretty good at estimating drinking windows suggests 5-8 years from vintage for the Moss Wood Pinot Noirs for most vintages but 8-12 for the great 1995 vintage. That might give you some idea. I don't have personal experience of these wines aged (sadly).

Hooroo Keith

Myrna Loy was one of FDR's most ardent supporters and he liked her in return. They only met briefly but had FDR lived who knows? She was in vanguard of Hollywood personalities who cared about social issues and fought McCarthyism even though it cost her a few roles.

This has nothing to do with wine, but she was an excellent foil for William Powell in the Thin Man, which even today, is quite a movie.