GASTROVINS @ CIRCA - May 19th, 2010

The theme for the evening was Beaucastel vs Vieux Telegraphe, but the star of the night came from a little further north��.


Gastrovins is fast approaching its 30th year of existence, and the duty of organising the May dinner fell on the shoulders of one of the table's youngest members Chris Crawford, who is certain to see the brilliant legacy of the tables founders continue on unabated. Chris decided to pull no punches and put together a stunning line up of wines, that left all of the members and guests in no doubt as to how much time and effort was put into the evening, complemented by a thoughtful menu created by chef Matt Wilkinson and the team at Circa. An early mention must be made of the great job handled with aplomb by star Sommelier, Liam O'Brien.


The evening commenced with the obligatory Champagne options, and the tone for the rest of the night was set in stone. 1996 Louis Roederer 'Cristal' looked a little flat, with some observers having the distinct impression the wine was cork affected. Not TCA, but certainly showing a little developed mushroom note. Despite this minor setback, the telltale thrilling acidity of 1996 shone like a beacon and everyone agreed the pedigree of the wine showed through. A classic case of looking through the taint; Len Evans would have been proud.


Before the onslaught of heady southern Rhone wines began, two whites were poured and the reactions of the whole table included heavy sighs, raised eyebrows, appreciative groans and the odd expletive deleted. They were nothing short of brilliant! Options given, no one got close, as that tricky bastard Crawford had put on two incredibly difficult to procure wines in the form of 2006 Coche-Dury Meursault 'Les Rougeot' (a village wine but grand cru quality with ease) and Coche's Corton-Charlemagne from the same year (completely unevolved, pure and precise, with an incredible future). Wayne Condon looked a little smug (alarmingly similar to a Prius driver) after being the only member to prefer the Grand Cru over the village wine. For Chris and two of our guests Dan Sims and Sally Humble, it was the first time they had tried the wine, and a few tears of joy had to be choked back, especially when combined with the delectable Moreton Bay bug lasagna, avruga, basil and shellfish that accompanied them.

Reluctant to move on to the reds after such beauties, the next bracket was an older vertical of four wines from Vieux Telegraphe, the vintages being 1990, 1985, 1983 and 1978. Leaving aside the corked 1985, the table agreed the freshness, generosity and precision of the 1990 was a standout. There was also plenty of debate as to whether the quite hard tannins of the 1978, were too much, although the partridge breast and chestnuts did help in this regard. The 1983 was the surprise for me, as despite the appearance of brettanomyces the aromatics of the wine continued to improve and there was a truly sophisticated beauty to the wine. In the words of Michel Bettane 'Ahhhh, ze brett you know, vis 20 years begins to smell like ze rose!' Maybe he was right.

Eight more reds beckoned and it was a gloves off, ding dong battle between two of the heavyweight producers of Chateauneuf du Pape, Vieux Telegraphe and Beaucastel. Who would come out on top? Would the elegant and agile Grenache dominant VT be able to stand up to the raw power of a producer using all 13 permitted varietals and a bare knuckled dose of Mourvedre? The wines were lined up facing each other, and the vintages were 2007, 2001, 2000 and 1998. The Craw (with a little help from Philip Rich) had managed to get the 2007 Beaucastel flown in just for the dinner, and a good thing too as the wine was magnificent and yes, for the time being, as clean as a whistle.

After slugging it out with much debate the two top wines favoured by the group were the 07s, as their seductive, vibrant, bright and fresh fruits delivered a knock out blow of flavour, and bell like clarity. The VT was voted in as the top pick, and Beaucastel had the two least favoured wines in the 2000 and 1998. Interestingly for such a vaunted vintage, the 1998's were both madeirized and stuffed and looked very similar. In Beaucastel's case the 2000 was a zoo, but there was real joy to be had in the 2001, which was clean, lithe and long. VT was more consistent with the 01 showing incredible perfume and precision, and the 2000 was clean but a little lack lustre, certainly a function of the vintage. Chef Wilkinson had hit the nail on the head (again) by offering a gorgeous Hopkins River eye fillet with a tart fine of wild mushrooms and celeriac.

What would Gastrovins be without a little Vintage Port to clean up the palate, and two splendid wines were put on the table, with some tricky little options for our booze addled brains to try and make sense of. Chris had paid homage to his birth year (and mine) with a lovely sweet, spicy, and clearly defined Quinta do Noval 1970, which Norm Tranter and David Thomas showed great appreciation for. Let's face it; if you've impressed these two stalwarts of the VP tradition, you have kicked a major goal. Ian Robinson followed this up with a juicy little 1970 Sandeman's that Norm Tranter nailed to the floor. A great way to conclude a stellar evening.

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