Wine Weekend 8-10 March 2014

First two wines tasted shown below:

2008 Heemskerk  Coal River Valley Sparkling, Tasmania, Australia.

Mix of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Light bright colour with strong bead. Nose of lemon and fresh zesty citrus. Light palate with good intensity and elegance. Bright and fresh with hints of lemon. Light tannins from the Pinot component and finishing clean. Good balance and pleasant drinking.

2000 Bollinger Grand Annee.

63% Pinot Noir, 37% Chardonnay. 76% Grand Crus, remainder premier Crus.

Beautiful light gold colour with fine persistent bead. Rich nose of lemon curd, brioche, and pineapple. Palate has an amazing richness and intensity that floods the senses in a medium bodied wine with great power and finesse. Great flavours of lemon, grapefruit, toasty bread, and tropical fruit. Long and persistent finish. Great wine!! Drink now to 6+ years…..but why wait! 98/100

Horses, Fashion and Wine

 2 November 2013. It’s Spring Racing season in Melbourne Australia. A time for the glitz and glamour of the horse races with ladies fashion, great racing and hopefully a few winning bets. Today is Derby Day, one of the major race days of the spring racing carnival.

 With the weather being a warm 30 degrees celsius it was the perfect occasion for dressing up, heading for the track and drinking some fine champagne. Our friends Peter and Jane bought a bottle of 2004 Dom and we bought a 2004 Grand Annee….and what a great pair of wines!

2004 Dom Perignon. Flagship wine of Moët and Chandon

 

The 2004 is a blend of 53% Pinot Noir and 47% Chardonnay from an excellent vintage in the Champagne region. The wine has a persistent bead and lovely mousse on pouring. The nose was vibrant and had lovely floral, honeycomb and citrus characters. The palate was sensational with lovely fresh acidity, a light toastiness, pear, grapefruit and hints of honeycomb. Rich, elegant and lingering on the finish. Score 96/100 with great cellaring potential. AU$150-$190

2004 Bollinger Grand Annee. Marquee wine of Bollinger

 

This is a blend of 66% Pinot Noir and 34% Chardonnay sourced from Grand Cru vineyards (76%) and Premier Cru vineyards (24%). The wine poured with a light bead and rich creamy mousse. The nose was instantly rich and intense with grapefruit, white peach, lemon curd, praline and fresh baked bread.  There was a mouth filling richness consistent with the higher percentage of Pinot Noir in comparison to the Dom. There were flavours of grapefruit, peach, honeycomb and fresh toast with a long and persistent finish. Another sensational wine! Score 96/100. Price range AU$150-200.

Preferred Wine??  Preference came to personal taste, the Dom had more acid, minerality and elegance and the Grand Annee was a richer, creamier mouthfilling style. Me, I had a slight preference for the Grand Annee, but would drink either any day of the week! The only sour note was that I didn’t win a single dollar from all my bets!! Can’t win them all…….