I went to a hastily arranged dinner at Sakana-Ya in Crows Nest following the Torbreck tasting at North Sydney Cellars that I wrote about here. The quality of the dishes was good and there was some interesting food that I haven’t tried previously (Fried Eel being an example). The service was attentive and polite. Take your own glassware if you are serious about wine as the provided stemware is sub-par. It was slightly on the expensive side, but I guess when you are paying for high quality, fresh sushi-grade seafood it is to be expected.
All wines were tasted blind except for the Plantagenet and the Leo Buring.
Clos Cazals Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru 1997 (Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Champagne):
Slightly toasty, apples, pears, lots of flint and minerals on the nose. Very elegant and what I would call a “pure” tasting palate with good length and balance. It started to take on a bit of extra palate weight with air time but still had fine and focused flavour.
90/100
Gaston Chiquet Tradition Brut Premier Cru NV – Disgorged November 2004 (Dizy, Champagne):
80% 2000 and 20% 1999 fruit. 45% Pinot Meunier, 35% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir. Nose is fairly intense with slightly funky/sulphurous notes and earth, with yeast and brioche. I found the palate a little bit broad and just a bit short.
An interesting contrast in style to the Clos Cazals.
87/100
Plantagenet Riesling 1992 (Mount Barker, Western Australia):
The nose is obviously quite developed – honeyed with some marmalade and orange and just a small whiff of petrol. Palate has some decent intensity to it, but is lacking the acid structure to retain balance.
It was doing alright for a 14 year old Western Australian Riesling, but the Plantagenet 1991 we tried 6 months ago faired a considerable amount better.
84/100
Leo Buring Leonay DW16 Watervale 1994 (Clare Valley, South Australia):
1994 was one of the few vintages when a Leonay was produced from both Eden Valley and Clare Valley fruit.
There was some gasoline and citrus (lemon and lime) on the nose. The palate is loaded with acid and a slight spritz as well as a bitter character on the finish. Not really falling over, but I doubt that this bottle would have come into any kind of balance in its remaining life.
I had enjoyed a stunning bottle of the Eden Valley Leonay last year, but this was just not as good.
86/100
Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz 1999 (McLaren Vale, South Australia):
This is clearly a serious wine. I found it to be brambly, a bit leafy and spicy which led me on the wrong path with options, as well as some bitter chocolate. Good tannins and what I thought was well integrated oak provided good structure. Clearly needs some time to develop fully, but I didn’t mind drinking it as is.
89/100
Wild Duck Creek “Yellow Hammer Hill” Shiraz Malbec 2000 (Heathcote, Victoria):
65% Shiraz, 35% Malbec. This is apparently inspired and moulded on the Wendouree Shiraz Malbec blend and only available through some restaurants and to some customers at cellar door.
A nose comprised of earthy, gamey, weedy and a hint of cheesy characters. It is certainly a wine with a point of difference. Nicely integrated palate components – everything working together well. I enjoyed it for being out of the ordinary.
88/100
