Tasmania Wine Parting Dinner HKWS st Little Kitchen
What a nice Tasmania Wine Parting Dinner with HKWs last night.
The dinner starts nicely with 2007 Tamar Ridge Riesling, which is smart, sleek, tight and kerosenic with a mineral and citrusy finish.
The sparkling. Freycinet Vineyard Radenti Chardonnay Pinot Noir 2011 being fast, wild, yeasty and structured is almost Champagne. Very lifted acidity, elegant, well-made. My number 2 in the flight. Moores Hill Blac de Noir NV is flatter, with riper fruit, spice, and sweetish with a medium finish. A matter of preference. Pirie Vintage Rose 2010 is giving wild strawberry tones-long and structured. I think this is the best by me.
The following seem to be flagships from each vineyard. Tamary Ridge Pinot Noir Kayena Vineyard 2006 is significant and taste alcoholic. Black-fruited, it is slightly clumsy for my taste with big black fruit and spices as well as mineral and soil. A matter of taste. This wine recalls Girvy single vineyard Premier Cru. The second bottle being a young Freycinet Vineyard Pinot Noir 2017 is my favourite. It has lovely floral scents, and the fruit quality is very good with a good structure. A wine that is feminine and at the same time, can evolve on and on with delicate palate. Very clean, as well. 2017 Devils' Corner Pinot Noir Mt Amos could have my choice for the best Pinot Noir of the Tasmania n Pinots should it have quality red fruit of the Freycinet. It is east yet bodied; it benchmarked nicely on length, intensity and expressiveness. The fruit is a bit dark for me. 2017 Pooly Piot Noir Butchers give suppressed fruit. The new leather from new oak contains a lot of the fruit though. It is too simple by me as a Pinot Noir.
In a roll is 3 Domaine A Cabernet Sauvignon. 2003 Domaine A strikes a balance between an older 1999 and younger 2009. Where 2003 has a backbone of ripe blackcurrant and dry plum/bright fruit throughout, it is balanced, complex enough yet tight and shorter than I expected. 2009 is round, black-fruited with a spicy and long tarry finish. It is the most bodied wine with the lengthen and lots of potential for an already 10-year-old wine. The weakness with 1999, however, is the red 'tomato' tones in the beginning and out of expectation, once dispelled in clear glass for a couple of minutes, the dark fruit becomes intense, dense and plummily fused with 'mutton' tones. There is certain greenness to it which reflects the varietal yet is, leading to a correct, dry, medium finish. I voted in favour of 1999 because this is the more enjoyable wine over a nice meal for the evening.
Despite their considerable differences, all these three stages nose violets, roses and blackcurrants pervade through the wine like an English country garden in varying strength and texture. The tannins are ample and delicate, and there is a lovely freshness(even for 1999) and mineral quality on the palate.
The finale comes a consummation from Josef Chromy Riesling Boytrytis 2015 which works seamlessly with the Fresh Apricot Tart and Sorbet. Never the Sauternes styles nor the riper Noble One style, this wine provides lifted acidities and green apple finish(almost racy) with a citrusy finish. Interesting.
A friendly HKWS tasting.
